Different AMD instances may require specific driver and kernel versions to run. When you purchase an AMD instance type, you should use an officially supported operating system version. This ensures that the operating system includes the necessary driver and kernel versions for your AMD instance. This topic describes the compatibility between different generations of AMD instances and various operating system images.
Operating system support for different generations of instance types
Different generations of AMD instances are compatible with specific operating system versions. The AMD Zen architecture was released in 2017. Some new processor features may have functional limitations on older operating systems. The following table lists the compatibility between different generations of AMD instances and various operating systems. It also provides links to official compatibility documents.
When you purchase an AMD instance type, use one of the officially supported operating system versions listed in the table.
If you must use a different operating system version for specific needs, select a different supported instance type. Alternatively, you can search for and use your target operating system from community images. For more information, see Create an instance from a community image.
If you run an unsupported operating system version on your AMD instance type, you must assess and assume the potential risks.
Instance type generation and processor | Applicable instance families | Officially supported operating systems | Official compatibility documents | Known risks |
9th-generation AMD instance types, based on the AMD Turin processor platform. |
|
| When you start Ubuntu 16 or Debian 9 on a 9th-generation AMD instance family (such as g9a), a system panic occurs. You can install a patch by following the instructions in the patch document to start the system. However, long-term stability is not guaranteed. | |
8th-generation AMD instance types, based on the AMD Genoa processor platform. |
|
|
| When you start Ubuntu 16 or Debian 9 on an 8th-generation AMD instance family (such as g8a), a system panic occurs. You can install a patch by following the instructions in the patch document to start the system. However, long-term stability is not guaranteed. |
7th-generation AMD instance types, based on the AMD Milan processor platform. |
|
|
| When you start Ubuntu 16 or Debian 9 on a 7th-generation AMD instance family (such as g7a), a system panic occurs. You can install a patch by following the instructions in the patch document to start the system. However, long-term stability is not guaranteed. |
6th-generation AMD instance types, based on the AMD Rome processor platform. |
|
|
| None |
AMD general-purpose instances that support multiple generations of processor platforms. |
|
|
| When you start Ubuntu 16 or Debian 9 on the u2a general-purpose computing instance family, a system panic occurs. You can install a patch by following the instructions in the patch document to start the system. However, long-term stability is not guaranteed. |
For more information about instance types, see Instance families.