Batch & HPC · AWS vs Google Cloud
Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) vs Cloud RDMA (RoCE VPC networks)
Elastic Fabric Adapter maps partly to Cloud RDMA, which uses RDMA over Converged Ethernet v2 (RoCE) VPC networks on HPC series such as H4D and on GPU machines.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) | Cloud RDMA (RoCE VPC networks) |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | An OS-bypass network interface (SRD protocol) for MPI and NCCL traffic on supported instance types. | RDMA over Converged Ethernet v2 network profiles for HPC (for example H4D) and GPU machine series. |
| Pricing model | No extra charge for EFA. It comes with supported instance types. | Billed through the machine types that support RDMA; see Compute Engine pricing. |
| Docs | Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) docs | Cloud RDMA (RoCE VPC networks) docs |
| Pricing page | Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) pricing | Cloud RDMA (RoCE VPC networks) pricing |
Key differences
- Cloud RDMA uses RoCE v2 network profiles; EFA uses AWS's SRD protocol with libfabric.
- RDMA must be configured when you create the instance; it can't be added to an existing HPC VM.
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- No extra charge for EFA. It comes with supported instance types. Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) pricing →
- GCP
- Billed through the machine types that support RDMA; see Compute Engine pricing. Cloud RDMA (RoCE VPC networks) pricing →
And on Azure?
Partial match Azure's equivalent is InfiniBand on Azure HPC and GPU VMs. AWS vs Azure comparison →
FAQ
What is the Google Cloud equivalent of Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA)?
Elastic Fabric Adapter maps partly to Cloud RDMA, which uses RDMA over Converged Ethernet v2 (RoCE) VPC networks on HPC series such as H4D and on GPU machines.
How does pricing compare between Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) and Cloud RDMA (RoCE VPC networks)?
AWS: No extra charge for EFA. It comes with supported instance types. Google Cloud: Billed through the machine types that support RDMA; see Compute Engine pricing. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
What is the Azure equivalent?
InfiniBand on Azure HPC and GPU VMs (partial match). AWS Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) maps to InfiniBand on Azure H-series and ND-series VMs.