Customers tell us two things about modernizing their datacenters: every CPU cycle counts, and predictable latency beats peak throughput.
That’s why we’re bringing Accelerated Networking (AccelNet), the same technology used in Azure, to Windows Server 2025 Datacenter. With AccelNet, you can run more VMs per host, deliver consistent performance, and free up CPU for what matters most: your workloads.
Why Accelerated Networking?
Traditional networking paths route packets through the virtual switch, consuming CPU cycles and introducing variability. This overhead can mean unpredictable performance. Accelerated Networking (SR‑IOV) for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter solves this by:
- Bypassing the virtual switch for data plane traffic using SR‑IOV, reducing CPU overhead.
- Lowering latency and jitter, delivering predictable performance for critical workloads.
- Freeing CPU cycles for compute, so you can maximize VM density per host.
AccelNet delivers near line‑rate throughput while dramatically reducing host CPU overhead for Hyper‑V workloads. Built to work seamlessly with Hyper‑V features and Failover Clustering, AccelNet lets you modernize without sacrificing resiliency or manageability. Additionally, because it’s based on the same principles that power Azure networking, you get a consistent operational model across hybrid environments, ensuring predictable performance wherever your workloads run.
AccelNet shines in scenarios such as:
- Transactional and OLTP workloads
- High-speed in-memory caching layers
- Traffic between VMs in scale-out architectures
- Dense virtualization environments with many VMs per host
AccelNet isn’t just about enabling SR‑IOV, it’s about making it simple, scalable, and consistent across your cluster. Traditionally, configuring SR‑IOV meant manual cumbersome setup for every NIC: driver checks, NIC SR-IOV support, consistency validation across the cluster, etc. which was a process prone to errors and drift. To solve this, Accelerated Networking comes with a guided Windows Admin Center experience and matching PowerShell cmdlets. You can enable AccelNet across a cluster in a few clicks, verify which hosts and VMs are enabled, and troubleshoot with clear, actionable checks.
How to Get Started
Enabling Accelerated Networking is straightforward:
- Ensure a valid Azure Arc Pay-as-you-go subscription or Software Assurance license.
- Confirm your adapters support SR‑IOV, are part of a Network ATC compute intent and are certified for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter.
- Navigate to the "Accelerated Networking" tab on your Windows Admin Center cluster view, then select your configured intent and node reserve.
- Once the cluster is enabled, you can now enable/disable AccelNet on one or more VMs at a time!
For a full guide, please refer to our Learn documentation: Accelerated Networking for Windows Server | Microsoft Learn
Summary
Accelerated Networking brings improved performance to Windows Server, reducing CPU overhead and improving predictability for your most demanding workloads. With intent driven enablement, you can deploy SR‑IOV at scale without complexity, thus unlocking higher VM density and consistent performance across your environment.
Ready to accelerate your network? Check out the official docs and start optimizing your cluster today!
For any questions, please reach out to us a edgenetfeedback@microsoft.com
Microsoft