hardware acceleration Archives

Winsage

December 26, 2025

SSDs on some Windows machines with BitLocker enabled are about twice as fast thanks to BitLocker hardware acceleration.

Windows 11 Pro has introduced a hardware-accelerated version of BitLocker, enhancing storage encryption without compromising performance. This update allows compatible devices to maintain storage read and write speeds similar to when BitLocker is disabled. The hardware-accelerated BitLocker utilizes the encryption processor in the System on Chip (SoC) to streamline encryption and decryption processes. It is available on devices with a supported built-in encryption processor and uses the XTS-AES-256 encryption algorithm. Users can check if hardware BitLocker is enabled by executing the command manage-bde -status in the command prompt. Performance metrics indicate that CPU cycles during storage access remain consistent with machines that have BitLocker disabled, and benchmarks show that hardware BitLocker can double sequential read and random write speeds. The integration of the XTS-AES-256 encryption processor into Intel's upcoming third-generation Core Ultra processor, Panther Lake, suggests future advancements for hardware-accelerated BitLocker.

Winsage

December 25, 2025

Microsoft’s Hardware-Accelerated BitLocker Brings Massive Performance Gains

Microsoft has introduced a hardware-accelerated BitLocker encryption system for Windows 11, which shifts the encryption workload from software to dedicated accelerator units in future CPU microarchitectures. This new system is available in Windows 11 version 25H2 and Windows Server 2025 following the September update. Initial testing shows that certain workloads can achieve double the storage performance and reduce CPU usage by over 70%. The encryption processing is offloaded to a fixed-function cryptography engine within the system on chip (SoC), and encryption keys are hardware-wrapped for enhanced security. The initial rollout focuses on Intel vPro platforms with Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake" processors, with plans to extend support to other vendors. Performance data indicates that while sequential read and write speeds are similar between software and hardware approaches, random 4K operations show significant improvements, with hardware-accelerated BitLocker being 2.3 times faster in RND4K Q32T1 tests and demonstrating a 40% speed increase for single-queue random reads and a 2.1 times speed increase for single-queue random writes.

Winsage

December 25, 2025

Microsoft forced slow software-accelerated BitLocker on Windows, but will nearly double storage performance with new CPU hardware-accelerated crypto — will improve battery life also, but feature requires new CPUs that aren’t available on the market yet

Microsoft has introduced hardware-accelerated BitLocker encryption in Windows 11 (25H2) and Windows Server (2025 with the September Update), enhancing performance and efficiency. This feature, revealed at Ignite 2025, utilizes UFS Inline Crypto Engine technology to address performance issues associated with software-based encryption, which historically reduced SSD performance by up to 45%. The new technology can deliver up to twice the storage performance in certain workloads and is compatible with TCG Opal-compliant storage devices. Future implementations will use Intel Core Ultra series 3 CPUs with crypto offloading capabilities. Supported devices with NVMe drives will use hardware-accelerated BitLocker with the XTS-AES-256 algorithm by default, resulting in up to 70% fewer CPU cycles for BitLocker workloads and improved battery life for mobile devices. Performance tests show significant improvements, with read speeds increasing from 1632 MB/s to 3746 MB/s and write speeds from 1510 MB/s to 3530 MB/s.

Winsage

December 24, 2025

Microsoft rolls out hardware-accelerated BitLocker in Windows 11

Microsoft is enhancing Windows 11 with hardware-accelerated BitLocker to improve security and performance, particularly for resource-intensive tasks like gaming and video editing. BitLocker, which encrypts sensitive data, traditionally relied on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for managing encryption keys. With advancements in NVMe storage technology, Microsoft is now using system-on-a-chip (SoC) components with hardware security modules (HSMs) and trusted execution environments (TEEs) to offload cryptographic operations, leading to improved performance and reduced CPU usage. Devices supporting NVMe drives and crypto offload-capable SoCs will automatically use hardware-accelerated BitLocker with the XTS-AES-256 algorithm. This update applies to various encryption scenarios, and hardware-accelerated BitLocker has shown a reduction in CPU cycles by approximately 70% compared to software-based versions. The new implementation also enhances security by using hardware-protected keys, minimizing the risk of cyberattacks targeting CPU and memory. The updated BitLocker feature is available with Windows 11 24H2, following the September updates, and will also be included in Windows 11 25H2. Initial support is rolling out with Intel vPro systems featuring Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, with plans to expand to other SoC vendors. Users can check their BitLocker mode by executing the command manage-bde -status. If unsupported configurations are detected, BitLocker will revert to software-based mode.