Version 1.8. This version is no longer supported. For information about how to upgrade to version 1.9, see Upgrading Anthos on bare metal in the 1.9 documentation. For more information about supported and unsupported versions, see the Version history page in the latest documentation.
Google Distributed Cloud supports a wide variety of systems running on the
hardware that the target operating system distributions support.
An Google Distributed Cloud configuration can run on minimal hardware, or on
multiple machines to provide flexibility, availability, and performance.
Regardless of your Google Distributed Cloud configuration, your nodes and clusters
must have enough CPU, RAM, and storage resources to meet the needs of clusters
and the workloads that you're running.
Minimum and recommended CPU, RAM, and storage requirements
When you install Google Distributed Cloud, you can create different types of
clusters:
A user cluster that runs workloads.
An admin cluster that creates and controls user clusters to run workloads.
A standalone cluster is a single cluster that can manage and run
workloads, but a standalone cluster can't create or manage user clusters.
A hybrid cluster can manage and run workloads, and a hybrid cluster can
also create and manage additional user clusters.
In addition to cluster type, you can choose from the following installation
profiles in terms of resource requirements:
Default: The default profile has standard system resource requirements,
and you can use it for all cluster types.
Edge: The edge profile has significantly reduced system resource
requirements. Use of this profile is recommended for edge devices with limited
resources. You can only use the edge profile for standalone clusters.
Resource requirements for all cluster types using the default profile
The following table describes the minimum and recommended hardware requirements
that Google Distributed Cloud needs to operate and manage admin, hybrid, user, and
standalone clusters using the default profile:
Resource
Minimum
Recommended
CPUs / vCPUs
4 core
8 core
RAM
16 GB
32 GB
Storage
128 GB
256 GB
Resource requirements for standalone clusters using the edge profile
The following table describes the minimum and recommended hardware requirements
that Google Distributed Cloud needs to operate and manage standalone clusters
using the edge profile:
Resource
Minimum
Recommended
CPUs / vCPUs
2 core
4 core
RAM
Ubuntu: 4 GB CentOS/RHEL: 6 GB
Ubuntu: 8 GB CentOS/RHEL: 12 GB
Storage
128 GB
256 GB
To configure standalone clusters using the edge profile, follow these best practices:
Run bmctl on a separate workstation. If you must run bmctl on the target
cluster node, you need 2 GB of memory to meet the
minimum requirements. For example, you require 6 GB for Ubuntu and
8 GB for CentOS/Redhat.
Set MaxPodsPerNode to 110. The cluster runs no more than 30 user pods per
node on average. You might need extra resources for a higher MaxPodsPerNode
configuration or run more than 30 user pods per node.
Kubevirt components are not
considered in this minimum resource configuration. Kubevirt requires
additional resources depending on the number of VMs deployed in the cluster.
Number of machines needed
Google Distributed Cloud requires at least one machine, which serves as both
workstation and cluster node. For highly available (HA) nodes and improved
performance, we suggest a realistic minimum of five machines meeting the
recommended resource requirements.
Additional storage requirements
Google Distributed Cloud doesn't provide any storage resources. You must provision
and configure the required storage on your system.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud can operate on diverse hardware, offering flexibility in configuration from minimal setups to multi-machine deployments.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eClusters in Google Distributed Cloud can be categorized as user, admin, standalone, or hybrid, each with specific roles in managing workloads and other clusters.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eInstallation profiles include a default profile with standard resource demands and an edge profile with reduced requirements, suitable exclusively for standalone clusters on resource-limited devices.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe default profile for all cluster types necessitates a minimum of 4 CPU cores, 16 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage, while the edge profile for standalone clusters requires at least 2 CPU cores, 4-6 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage, depending on the OS.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhile Google Distributed Cloud doesn't provide storage resources, it is recommended to have at least five machines to meet the recommended resource requirements for high availability and performance, and you should take into consideration any additional resources required for workloads, as they are not covered in the minimum and recommended requirements.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Configuring hardware for Google Distributed Cloud\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud supports a wide variety of systems running on the\nhardware that the target operating system distributions support.\nAn Google Distributed Cloud configuration can run on minimal hardware, or on\nmultiple machines to provide flexibility, availability, and performance.\n\nRegardless of your Google Distributed Cloud configuration, your nodes and clusters\nmust have enough CPU, RAM, and storage resources to meet the needs of clusters\nand the workloads that you're running.\n\nMinimum and recommended CPU, RAM, and storage requirements\n----------------------------------------------------------\n\nWhen you install Google Distributed Cloud, you can create different types of\nclusters:\n\n- A user cluster that runs workloads.\n- An admin cluster that creates and controls user clusters to run workloads.\n- A standalone cluster is a single cluster that can manage and run workloads, but a standalone cluster can't create or manage user clusters.\n- A hybrid cluster can manage and run workloads, and a hybrid cluster can also create and manage additional user clusters.\n\nIn addition to cluster type, you can choose from the following installation\nprofiles in terms of resource requirements:\n\n- **Default**: The default profile has standard system resource requirements,\n and you can use it for all cluster types.\n\n- **Edge**: The edge profile has significantly reduced system resource\n requirements. Use of this profile is recommended for edge devices with limited\n resources. You can only use the edge profile for standalone clusters.\n\n| **Warning:** The following resource requirements don't take into account the requirements of your workloads. You must consider separately the resource requirements for your workloads to operate optimally.\n\n### Resource requirements for all cluster types using the default profile\n\nThe following table describes the minimum and recommended hardware requirements\nthat Google Distributed Cloud needs to operate and manage admin, hybrid, user, and\nstandalone clusters using the default profile:\n\n### Resource requirements for standalone clusters using the edge profile\n\nThe following table describes the minimum and recommended hardware requirements\nthat Google Distributed Cloud needs to operate and manage standalone clusters\nusing the edge profile:\n\nTo configure standalone clusters using the edge profile, follow these best practices:\n\n- Run `bmctl` on a separate workstation. If you must run `bmctl` on the target\n cluster node, you need 2 GB of memory to meet the\n minimum requirements. For example, you require 6 GB for Ubuntu and\n 8 GB for CentOS/Redhat.\n\n- Set `MaxPodsPerNode` to 110. The cluster runs no more than 30 user pods per\n node on average. You might need extra resources for a higher `MaxPodsPerNode`\n configuration or run more than 30 user pods per node.\n\n- Use [`containerd` as the container runtime](/anthos/clusters/docs/bare-metal/1.8/installing/runtime).\n You might need extra resources to run with the Docker container runtime.\n\n- [Kubevirt](https://kubevirt.io) components are not\n considered in this minimum resource configuration. Kubevirt requires\n additional resources depending on the number of VMs deployed in the cluster.\n\nNumber of machines needed\n-------------------------\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud requires at least one machine, which serves as both\nworkstation and cluster node. For highly available (HA) nodes and improved\nperformance, we suggest a realistic minimum of five machines meeting the\nrecommended resource requirements.\n\nAdditional storage requirements\n-------------------------------\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud doesn't provide any storage resources. You must provision\nand configure the required storage on your system.\n\nFor detailed storage requirements, see the\n[Installation prerequisites overview](/anthos/clusters/docs/bare-metal/1.8/installing/install-prereq).\n\nFor more information about how to configure the storage required, see\n[Configuring storage for Google Distributed Cloud](/anthos/clusters/docs/bare-metal/1.8/installing/storage)."]]
