Apache Spark on Gluten with Velox documentation review

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/spark-velox-cobalt/_index.md

@@ -3,10 +3,6 @@
 description: Learn how to deploy, configure, and benchmark Apache Spark SQL on Azure Cobalt 100 Arm64 VMs using the Gluten plugin and Velox backend for native query acceleration, with step-by-step setup and performance validation.
 title: Run Apache Spark SQL workloads on Azure Cobalt 100 Arm64 using Gluten and Velox for accelerated analytics
 
-draft: true
-cascade:
-    draft: true
-
 minutes_to_complete: 120
 
 who_is_this_for: This is an advanced topic for data engineers, platform engineers, and developers who want to build and optimize high-performance Spark SQL workloads using native execution engines on Arm-based cloud environments.
@@ -16,7 +12,7 @@ learning_objectives:
   - Build and integrate Gluten with the Velox backend for native query execution
   - Configure Spark SQL for columnar and vectorized execution
   - Generate and load TPC-DS datasets for benchmarking
-  - Run Spark SQL workloads and compare performance between vanilla Spark and Gluten + Velox
+  - Run Spark SQL workloads and compare performance between vanilla Spark and Gluten with Velox
 
 prerequisites:
   - A [Microsoft Azure account](https://azure.microsoft.com/) with access to Cobalt 100 based instances (Dpsv6)

content/learning-paths/servers-and-cloud-computing/spark-velox-cobalt/background.md

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 ---
-title: "Overview of Azure Cobalt 100 and Apache Spark with Gluten and Velox"
+title: "Understand Azure Cobalt 100 and Apache Spark with Gluten and Velox"
 
 weight: 2
 
@@ -8,56 +8,22 @@ layout: "learningpathall"
 
 ## Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based processor
 
-Azure’s Cobalt 100 is Microsoft’s first-generation, in-house Arm-based processor. Built on Arm Neoverse N2, Cobalt 100 is a 64-bit CPU that delivers strong performance and energy efficiency for cloud-native, scale-out Linux workloads such as web and application servers, data analytics, open-source databases, and caching systems. Running at 3.4 GHz, Cobalt 100 allocates a dedicated physical core for each vCPU, which helps ensure consistent and predictable performance.
+Azure’s Cobalt 100 is Microsoft’s first-generation, in-house Arm-based processor. Built on Arm Neoverse N2, Cobalt 100 is a 64-bit CPU that delivers strong performance and energy efficiency for cloud-native, scale-out Linux workloads. These workloads include web and application servers, data analytics, open-source databases, and caching systems. Running at 3.4 GHz, Cobalt 100 allocates a dedicated physical core for each vCPU, which ensures consistent and predictable performance.
 
 To learn more, see the Microsoft blog [Announcing the preview of new Azure VMs based on the Azure Cobalt 100 processor](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azurecompute/announcing-the-preview-of-new-azure-vms-based-on-the-azure-cobalt-100-processor/4146353).
 
 ## Apache Spark with Gluten and Velox
 
-Apache Spark is an open-source distributed data processing engine designed for large-scale data analytics. It provides high-level APIs for SQL, streaming, machine learning, and graph processing, and is widely used for building data pipelines and analytical workloads.
+Apache Spark is an open-source distributed data processing engine designed for large-scale data analytics. It provides high-level APIs for SQL, streaming, machine learning, and graph processing, and is widely used for building data pipelines and analytical workloads. For more information about Apache Spark, see the [Apache Spark Documentation](https://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/).
 
-By default, Spark executes queries using the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), which can introduce overhead in CPU-intensive workloads. To address this, modern acceleration frameworks like **Gluten** and **Velox** enable native execution for improved performance.
+By default, Spark executes queries using the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which can introduce overhead in CPU-intensive workloads. To address this, modern acceleration frameworks such as Gluten and Velox enable native execution for improved performance.
 
-**Gluten** is an open-source Spark plugin that offloads Spark SQL execution from the JVM to native engines. It acts as a bridge between Spark and high-performance backends, enabling efficient query execution while maintaining compatibility with existing Spark workloads.
+Gluten is an open-source Spark plugin that offloads Spark SQL execution from the JVM to native engines. It acts as a bridge between Spark and high-performance backends, enabling efficient query execution while maintaining compatibility with existing Spark workloads. For more information about Gluten, see [Gluten Project](https://github.com/apache/incubator-gluten).
 
-**Velox** is a high-performance, vectorized execution engine written in C++. It is optimized for modern hardware, including Arm64 architectures such as Azure Cobalt 100. Velox processes data in a columnar format and uses vectorized execution to significantly reduce CPU overhead and improve query performance.
+Velox is a high-performance, vectorized execution engine written in C++. It is optimized for modern hardware, including Arm64 architectures such as Azure Cobalt 100. Velox processes data in a columnar format and uses vectorized execution to significantly reduce CPU overhead and improve query performance. For more information about Velox, see [Velox Engine](https://github.com/facebookincubator/velox).
 
-Together, **Gluten + Velox** provide:
+### What you've learned and what's next
 
-- Native (off-JVM) execution of Spark SQL queries  
-- Vectorized processing for faster computation  
-- Reduced memory and CPU overhead  
-- Improved performance on Arm-based infrastructure  
-
-To learn more, see:
-- [Apache Spark Documentation](https://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/)
-- [Gluten Project](https://github.com/apache/incubator-gluten)
-- [Velox Engine](https://github.com/facebookincubator/velox)
-
-
-### Key Capabilities
-
-- **Native Query Execution:**  
-  Spark SQL queries are executed using Velox instead of JVM-based execution.
-
-- **Columnar Processing:**  
-  Data is processed in columnar batches, improving cache efficiency and throughput.
-
-- **Vectorized Execution:**  
-  Multiple data values are processed in a single CPU instruction, accelerating computation.
-
-- **Hardware Optimization:**  
-  Velox is optimized for modern CPUs, including Arm64 (Azure Cobalt 100), delivering better performance per core.
-
-### In This Learning Path
-
-In this Learning Path, you will:
-
-- Deploy Apache Spark on an Azure Cobalt 100 Arm64 virtual machine  
-- Build and integrate Gluten with the Velox backend  
-- Configure Spark to use native execution  
-- Run Spark SQL workloads using Gluten + Velox  
-- Generate and load TPC-DS benchmark datasets  
-- Execute analytical queries and measure performance  
-- Compare accelerated workloads against vanilla Spark  
+You've now learned about Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based processors and Apache Spark. You've also understood how frameworks such as Gluten and Velox improve Spark SQL performance.  
 
+In the next section, you'll create a Cobalt 100 virtual machine for building a Spark SQL workload.