SR-IOV is explained as the gold standard for GPU sharing in virtualized environments.

SR-IOV (Single Root Input/Output Virtualization) is a specification that allows the isolation of PCI Express resources between different users and is already the standard used to share networking resources and secure network traffic. AMD MxGPU is the industry's first SR-IOV-based GPU sharing technology designed for cloud and datacenter, each resource having Virtual Functions (VF) associated with which each VM can only access the physical resource via its own allocated VF.

The decision to adopt SR-IOV as the foundation for MxGPU was deliberate and strategic. Back in 2009, veteran blogger Scott Lowe wrote an introduction to SR-IOV predicting it would become mainstream. While AMD could have accelerated to market using a bespoke proprietary memory management unit (MMU), the company instead chose to work with the major hardware, hypervisor and operating system vendors to evolve the technologies to an industry-wide fit for long-term needs. This approach prioritized security and quality by aligning to core technology standards, which offered potential long-term scalability that a bespoke implementation would not have provided.

The rewards of this strategy are now evident. In 2016, AMD was able to release the world's first SR-IOV based GPU sharing solution for cloud and virtualisation. Other vendors—particularly Microsoft—have placed SR-IOV at the core of their technologies and infrastructure, streamlining joint projects and leading to the announcement of MxGPU into the Azure cloud to enable cost-effectively sized and priced GPU enabled VMs. MxGPU SR-IOV support is also available and proven for Citrix XenServer, XenDesktop and XenApp, VMware ESXi, Horizon View and open source KVM. AMD's product management team attended Microsoft Ignite (November 4-8) at booth #249, with technical session BRK1114 (Friday, Nov 8, 9am) and hub session THR1086 (Tuesday, Nov 5, 9am).

The SR-IOV standard is controlled and maintained by the PCI-SIG foundation, with regulation and scrutiny maintained through cross-industry membership and funding, alongside a compliance programme and certified integrator list. While MxGPU comprises more than SR-IOV alone, AMD is pleased to have been the first vendor to achieve GPU sharing via the SR-IOV "gold-standard."