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Nested virtualization support for m8id instance types

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EC2 nested virtualization is documented as supported on M8i but not M8id. Is M8id intentionally unsupported due to a technical/platform constraint, or is it simply not yet qualified/productized? Are there plans to extend support to M8id? Thanks!

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asked a month ago82 views
2 Answers
6

I think it is already supported !?!

Even though the hardware supports it, nested virtualization is disabled by default. To use it on an M8id instance, you must explicitly enable it during launch or modify the instance attributes:

aws ec2 run-instances \
    --image-id ami-1234566 \
    --instance-type m8id.4xlarge \
    --cpu-options "NestedVirtualization=enabled"

Then, look under the Advanced Details section during the launch wizard for CPU options.

Why do I think it is already supported:

It is common for AWS documentation to list the primary family (M8i) as a catch-all for its sub-variants. Because the nested virtualization feature is implemented via the Nitro Hypervisor exposing hardware-assisted virtualization (specifically leveraging VMCS Shadowing and Intel TDX capabilities on Xeon 6), there is no technical or platform constraint preventing the "d" variants from supporting it. Both M8i and M8id use the same underlying compute fabric; the only difference is the presence of the local NVMe controller.

EXPERT
answered a month ago
EXPERT
reviewed a month ago
  • Thanks, Florian. That was my original thinking as well, but the UI didn't allow me to enable Nested Virtualization for m8id. Let me give it a try through the API and see if that works.

    Update: I tried it with the API and looks like it doesn't support it. :/

    aws: [ERROR]: An error occurred (InvalidParameterCombination) when calling the RunInstances operation: The specified instance type does not support Nested Virtualization. Specify a supported instance type and try again.
    

    What's interesting is that I did notice a blog post (https://dev.classmethod.jp/en/articles/ec2-nested-virtualization-support-non-bare-metal/) from Feb 14 from a 3rd party mentioning trying it out and the list of instances when they used 'aws ec2 describe-instance-types' did list the 'd' variants in the supported instance types. When I tried it now, it's no longer showing as supported.

    Hopefully the support for Nested Virtualization can arrive soon for the 'd' variants since there shouldn't be any theoretical lack of support (based on CPU).

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Based on the available documentation, nested virtualization is currently supported on C8i, M8i, and R8i instance types, along with their flex variants. The M8id instance type is not explicitly mentioned in the list of supported instances for nested virtualization.

The documentation specifies that nested virtualization is supported on 8th generation Intel-based instance types, including c8i, m8i, r8i, and their flex variants. However, it does not provide specific information about why M8id instances are not included in the supported list, whether this is due to technical constraints, or whether there are plans to extend support to M8id instances in the future.

For the most current information about support for M8id instances and any future plans to extend nested virtualization capabilities, I would recommend reaching out to AWS Support or checking for the latest updates in the AWS documentation, as product capabilities and supported instance types can evolve over time.
Sources
Use nested virtualization to run hypervisors in Amazon EC2 instances - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Nested virtualization on virtual Amazon EC2 instances | AWS re:Post
CpuOptionsRequest - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
LaunchTemplateCpuOptionsRequest - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

answered a month ago

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