---
title: Fast with an extra helping of faster
description: Today AMD announced a set of industry benchmark performance records for
  hyperscale OpenStack running on Ubuntu OpenStack (Icehouse) and AMD’s SeaMicro SM15000™
  system. The benchmarking, which is the largest known demonstration of OpenStack
  scalability ever, highlights how OpenStack can quickly and reliably provision on-demand
  computing. A […]
url: https://canonical.com/blog/fast-with-an-extra-helping-of-faster?format=md
---

1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog)
2. Article

---

[Mark Baker](https://canonical.com/blog/author/markbaker "More about Mark Baker")

13 May 2014

# Fast with an extra helping of faster

[AMD](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/amd)
[OpenStack](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/openstack)
[Ubuntu](https://canonical.com/blog/tag/ubuntu)

---

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Today [AMD](http://www.amd.com/en-gb) announced a set of industry benchmark performance records for hyperscale OpenStack running on Ubuntu OpenStack (Icehouse) and AMD’s [SeaMicro SM15000](http://www.seamicro.com/products)™ system. The benchmarking, which is the largest known demonstration of OpenStack scalability ever, highlights how OpenStack can quickly and reliably provision on-demand computing. As a result, there are three new benchmark records set:

* The first created 75,000 VMs and in just 6.5 hours; this is a whole 1.5 hours faster than any previous record and days faster than a usual implementation of this scale.
* The second benchmark of 100,000 VMs on 380 hosts, blows past the previous record in a speedy 11 hours.
* The third, possibly the most notable, is the number of VMs that could be launched with the hardware; the benchmark reached 168,000 VMs with 576 physical hosts.

These benchmark records were made possible thanks to the integration of our own Metal as a Service (MAAS) tool, combined with SeaMicro SM15000 provisioning API. MAAS automates the deployment of Ubuntu and is finely tuned to do so exceptionally quickly, meaning systems can be provisioned at scale. The solution is available today and is the most scalable, automated application for deploying OpenStack in hyperscale environments.

At the OpenStack summit this week, Disney’s Chris Launey talked about the need for speed in cloud is paramount. The previous choice of fast or cheap is now fast and fast and if you give a developer enough fast, they will make their own cheap. Speed matters and Ubuntu OpenStack on the SM15000 can deliver that – the numbers speak for themselves.

[Read all about it at here in AMD’s press release](http://www.amd.com/en-us/press-releases/Pages/seamicro-sets-record-2014may13.aspx).

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