Faster

Faster is an optimization tool that cuts Databricks Spark costs by up to 80 percent using machine learning.

Faster is a cost optimization tool for Databricks Spark that uses machine learning to reduce cloud bills by up to 80 percent. It works by continuously monitoring job performance, reading CPU, memory, and I/O-wait traces from Databricks system tables, and dynamically adjusting instance types and worker counts in real time. The system maps the Pareto frontier of runtime versus cost across compute configurations to find the lowest-cost setup matching your SLA. It is designed for data engineering and analytics teams running heavy Spark workloads who want to eliminate wasted spend and improve job runtime. The platform operates on a performance-based pricing model where you pay only if you save money.

Faster at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Pricing: Performance-based model; you pay only a portion of savings and pay nothing if you do not save money.
Released: July 2024
Category: AI productivity tool
Website: espresso.ai

Key features

Monitors job performance in real time
Changes instance type and worker count dynamically
Reads CPU, memory, and I/O-wait traces from Databricks
Estimates cost and runtime for candidate configurations
Handles retries as workloads grow or shrink
Maps the Pareto frontier of runtime versus cost

Use it for

Reducing Databricks Spark cloud spend
Right-sizing under-provisioned or over-provisioned Spark jobs
Improving job runtime alongside cost reduction
Automating instance and worker configuration management

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