This document describes the features of the Compute Engine general-purpose machine family. The general-purpose machine family has the best price-performance with the most flexible vCPU to memory ratios, and provides features that target most standard and cloud-native workloads.
The general-purpose machine family has predefined and custom machine types to align with your workload, depending on your requirements. E2, E2 shared-core, N2, N2D, and Tau T2D are second generation machine series in this family; N1 and its related shared-core machine types are first generation machine series. The newest generation, C3, is powered by 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors and offers a sustained, all-core turbo frequency of 3.0 GHz, 8 channels of DDR5 memory, and up to 200 Gbps per VM Tier_1 networking performance.
| Machine series | Workloads |
|---|---|
| C3 |
|
| E2 |
|
| N2, N2D, Tau T2D, N1 |
|
| Tau T2A |
|
To learn how your selection affects the performance of Persistent Disk volumes attached to your VMs, see Configure your persistent disks and VMs.
C3 machine series
C3 VMs are powered by the 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (code-named Sapphire Rapids), DDR5 memory, and Google's custom Intel Infrastructure Processing Engine (IPU). C3 VM shapes are optimized for the underlying NUMA architecture to deliver optimal, reliable, and consistent performance.
The new C3 machine series is a major leap in our purpose-built infrastructure offerings:
- Leveraging our latest Infrastructure Processing Engine (IPU) to offload networking
- Delivering high performance block-storage with Hyperdisk
- Speeding up ML training and inference with Intel AMX
C3 is the first machine series to launch with Google's IPU. The IPU enables higher levels of networking performance, isolation and security. The C3 machine series supports a default network bandwidth of up to 100 Gbps and up to 200 Gbps per VM Tier_1 networking performance. The Google IPU has been designed from the ground up to enable updates that don't impact running workloads.
In summary, the C3 machine series:
- Is powered by Intel 4th Generation Xeon processors and Google's IPU.
- Currently supports up to 176 vCPUs and 352 GB of DDR5 memory.
- Supports standard network configuration with up to 100 Gbps bandwidth and Tier_1 networking with up to 200 Gbps bandwidth.
- Supports Intel Advanced Matrix Extensions (AMX), a built-in accelerator that significantly improves the performance of deep-learning training and inference on the CPU.
- Supports the following discount and consumption options:
- Does not support sustained use discounts (SUDs).
C3 Machine types
C3 VMs are currently available in the highcpu instance configuration
(2 GB memory per vCPU),
in six instance sizes ranging from 4 to 176 vCPUs and
up to 352 GB of memory. The highcpu configuration offers the lowest price
per performance for compute-bound workloads that do not require large amounts
of memory.
C3 highcpu
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Default egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier_1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
c3-highcpu-4 |
4 | 8 | up to 23 | N/A |
c3-highcpu-8 |
8 | 16 | up to 23 | N/A |
c3-highcpu-22 |
22 | 44 | up to 23 | N/A |
c3-highcpu-44 |
44 | 88 | up to 32 | up to 50 |
c3-highcpu-88 |
88 | 176 | up to 62 | up to 100 |
c3-highcpu-176 |
176 | 352 | up to 100 | up to 200 |
* A vCPU represents a single logical CPU
thread. See CPU platforms.
‡ Default egress bandwidth can't exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking
for larger machine types.
C3 doesn't support custom machine types.
Supported disk types for C3
C3 VMs support only the NVMe disk interface and can use the following block storage types:
- Balanced Persistent Disk (
pd-balanced) - SSD (performance) Persistent Disk (
pd-ssd) - Hyperdisk Extreme (
hyperdisk-extreme)
C3 VMs don't currently support local SSD disks.
| Machine types | Max number of Persistent Disk volumes per VM | Max number of Hyperdisk volumes per VM* |
Max total disk size (TB) across all disks† |
Local SSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
c3-highcpu-4 |
128 | 0 | 257 | Not supported |
c3-highcpu-8 |
128 | 0 | 257 | Not supported |
c3-highcpu-22 |
128 | 0 | 257 | Not supported |
c3-highcpu-44 |
128 | 0 | 257 | Not supported |
c3-highcpu-88 |
128 | 8 | 257 | Not supported |
c3-highcpu-176 |
128 | 8 | 257 | Not supported |
* The maximum size per Persistent Disk or Hyperdisk volume is 64 TB.
† The maximum total disk size applies to all disk types (Persistent Disk and Hyperdisk) attached to the VM.
Network support for C3 VMs
C3 VMs require gVNIC network interfaces. C3 supports up to 100 Gbps network bandwidth for standard networking on the largest VM size and up to 200 Gbps with per VM Tier_1 networking performance.
C3 VMs require an updated driver for the gVNIC network interface. Before
migrating to C3 or creating new C3 VMs, make sure that the
operating system image
that you use has full support (includes the updated drivers). These images
include the updated gVNIC driver, even if the guest OS shows the
gve driver version as 1.0.0. If your C3 VM is using an operating
system with limited support (includes an older version of the gVNIC driver),
the network bandwidth for C3 VMs is limited to 100 Gbps for
Tier_1 networking on the largest VM sizes.
If you use a custom image with the C3 machine series, you can manually install the most recent gVNIC driver. The gVNIC driver version v1.3.0 or later is recommended for use with C3 VMs. Google recommends using the latest gVNIC driver version to benefit from additional features and bug fixes.
E2 machine series
The cost-optimized E2 machine series have between 2 to 32 vCPUs with a ratio of 0.5 GB to 8 GB of memory per vCPU for standard VMs, and 0.25 to 1 vCPUs with 0.5 GB to 8 GB of memory for shared-core E2 machine types. The E2 machine series offers both Intel and AMD EPYC processors. The processor is selected for you at the time of VM creation. Machine types in this series are available in all regions and zones and support a virtio memory balloon device.
In summary, the E2 machine series:
- Support up to 32 vCPUs and 128 GB of memory.
- Support Intel and AMD EPYC Rome and Milan processors.
- Available in predefined and custom VMs.
- Offer the lowest on demand pricing across the general-purpose machine types.
- Does not offer sustained-use discounts; however, they do provide consistently low on demand and committed use pricing.
- Does not support GPUs, local SSDs, sole-tenant nodes, or nested virtualization.
Shared-core VMs
The E2 machine series also contains shared-core machine types that use context- switching to time-share a physical core between vCPUs for multitasking. Different shared-core machine types sustain different amounts of time on a physical core.
Unlike predefined machine types and custom machine types, shared-core machine types have a predefined price that includes both vCPUs and memory. For more information, see VM instance pricing.
CPU bursting
Shared-core machine types offer bursting capabilities that allow instances to use additional physical CPU for short periods of time. Bursting happens automatically when your VM requires more physical CPU than originally allocated. During these spikes, your VM will opportunistically take advantage of available physical CPU in bursts. Note that bursts are not permanent and are only possible periodically.
e2-micro,e2-small, ande2-mediumshared-core VMs can burst for dozens of seconds.- If the CPU is utilized at 100%, then the burst lasts as follows:
e2-micro: 30 secondse2-small: 60 secondse2-medium120 seconds
e2 shared-core, f1-micro, and g1-small VMs.
E2 Limitations
- The E2 machine series provides consistently low on-demand and committed-use pricing. They do not offer sustained-use discounts.
- The E2 machine series does not support GPUs, local SSDs, sole-tenant nodes, or nested virtualization.
E2 machine types
E2 is available in standard, highmem, and highcpu configurations, as well
as shared-core machine type. In general, E2 shared-core machine types can be
more cost-effective for running small, non-resource intensive applications than
standard, high-memory, or high-CPU machine types.
E2 standard
E2 standard machine types have 4 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
e2-standard-2 |
2 | 8 | 128 | 257 | No | 4 |
e2-standard-4 |
4 | 16 | 128 | 257 | No | 8 |
e2-standard-8 |
8 | 32 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
e2-standard-16 |
16 | 64 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
e2-standard-32 |
32 | 128 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
†Persistent disk usage is charged separately from machine pricing.
‡Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual See Network bandwidth.
E2 high-mem
E2 high-memory machine types have 8 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
e2-highmem-2 |
2 | 16 | 128 | 257 | No | 4 |
e2-highmem-4 |
4 | 32 | 128 | 257 | No | 8 |
e2-highmem-8 |
8 | 64 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
e2-highmem-16 |
16 | 128 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
†Persistent disk usage is charged separately from machine pricing.
‡Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors. See Network bandwidth.
E2 high-cpu
E2 high-cpu machine types have 1 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
e2-highcpu-2 |
2 | 2 | 128 | 257 | No | 4 |
e2-highcpu-4 |
4 | 4 | 128 | 257 | No | 8 |
e2-highcpu-8 |
8 | 8 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
e2-highcpu-16 |
16 | 16 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
e2-highcpu-32 |
32 | 32 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 |
†Persistent disk usage is charged separately from machine pricing.
‡Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors. See Network bandwidth.
E2 shared-core
E2 shared-core machine types are cost-effective, have a virtio memory balloon device, and are ideal for small workloads. When you use E2 shared-core machine types, your VM runs two vCPUs simultaneously shared on one physical core for a specific fraction of time depending on the machine type. Each vCPU can burst up to 100% of CPU time, for short periods, before returning to the time limitations described in the preceding section.
e2-microsustains 2 vCPUs, each for 12.5% of CPU time totaling 25% CPU time.e2-smallsustains 2 vCPUs, each at 25% of CPU time totaling 50% CPU time.e2-mediumsustains 2 vCPUs, each at 50% of CPU time totaling 100% CPU time.
| Machine types | Description | vCPUs | Fractional vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
e2-micro |
Micro machine type with 0.25 vCPU and 1 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core. | 2 | 0.25* | 1 | 16 | 3 | no | 1 |
e2-small |
Small machine type with 0.5 vCPU and 2 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core. | 2 | 0.5* | 2 | 16 | 3 | no | 1 |
e2-medium |
Medium machine type with 1 vCPU and 4 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core. | 2 | 1* | 4 | 16 | 3 | no | 2 |
†Persistent disk usage is charged separately from machine pricing.
‡Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors. See Network bandwidth.
N2 machine series
The N2 machine series has flexible sizing between 2 to 128 vCPUs and 0.5 to 8 GB of memory per vCPU. Machine types in this series run on the following processors:
Ice Lake—offered in specific regions and zones. It is the default processor for larger machine types.
Cascade Lake—the default for machine types up to 80 vCPUs. If you want to create VMs with
Ice Lake, you must set it as the minimum CPU platform.
You can find more details about these two processors on the CPU platforms page.
Workloads that can take advantage of the higher clock frequency are a good choice for this series. These workloads can get higher per-thread performance while benefiting from all the flexibility that the general-purpose machine family offers.
In summary, the N2 machine series:
- Supports up to 128 vCPUs and 864 GB of memory.
- Supports 50 Gbps, 75 Gbps, and 100 Gbps high-bandwidth network configurations.
- Is available in predefined and custom VMs.
- Has higher memory-to-core ratios for VMs created with the extended memory feature. Using the extended memory feature helps control per-CPU software licensing costs while providing access to more than 8 GB of memory per vCPU.
- Supports committed use discounts (CUD) and sustained use discounts (SUD).
For details on the pricing information, see the VM pricing page for details. Disk usage and network usage is charged separately from machine type pricing. For details, see Disk and image pricing and Network pricing.
N2 machine types
N2 standard
N2 standard machine types have 4 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Default egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
n2-standard-2 |
2 | 8 | 10 | N/A |
n2-standard-4 |
4 | 16 | 10 | N/A |
n2-standard-8 |
8 | 32 | 16 | N/A |
n2-standard-16 |
16 | 64 | 32 | N/A |
n2-standard-32 |
32 | 128 | 32 | 50 |
n2-standard-48 |
48 | 192 | 32 | 50 |
n2-standard-64 |
64 | 256 | 32 | 75 |
n2-standard-80 |
80 | 320 | 32 | 100 |
n2-standard-96 |
96 | 384 | 32 | 100 |
n2-standard-128 |
128 | 512 | 32 | 100 |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware Hyper-thread on one of
the available CPU platforms.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking for
larger machine types.
N2 high-mem
N2 high-memory machine types have 8 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Default egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
n2-highmem-2 |
2 | 16 | 10 | N/A |
n2-highmem-4 |
4 | 32 | 10 | N/A |
n2-highmem-8 |
8 | 64 | 16 | N/A |
n2-highmem-16 |
16 | 128 | 32 | N/A |
n2-highmem-32 |
32 | 256 | 32 | 50 |
n2-highmem-48 |
48 | 384 | 32 | 50 |
n2-highmem-64 |
64 | 512 | 32 | 75 |
n2-highmem-80 |
80 | 640 | 32 | 100 |
n2-highmem-96 |
96 | 768 | 32 | 100 |
n2-highmem-128 |
128 | 864 | 32 | 100 |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware Hyper-thread on one of
the available CPU platforms.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking for
larger machine types.
N2 high-cpu
N2 high-cpu machine types have 1 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Default egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|
n2-highcpu-2 |
2 | 2 | 10 | N/A |
n2-highcpu-4 |
4 | 4 | 10 | N/A |
n2-highcpu-8 |
8 | 8 | 16 | N/A |
n2-highcpu-16 |
16 | 16 | 32 | N/A |
n2-highcpu-32 |
32 | 32 | 32 | 50 |
n2-highcpu-48 |
48 | 48 | 32 | 50 |
n2-highcpu-64 |
64 | 64 | 32 | 75 |
n2-highcpu-80 |
80 | 80 | 32 | 100 |
n2-highcpu-96 |
96 | 96 | 32 | 100 |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware Hyper-thread on one of
the available CPU platforms.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking for
larger machine types.
Supported disk types for N2
N2 standard
N2 standard machine types have 4 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | Max number of persistent disks (PDs) |
Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD |
|---|---|---|---|
n2-standard-2 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-4 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-8 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-16 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-32 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-48 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-64 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-80 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-96 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-standard-128 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
N2 high-mem
N2 high-memory machine types have 8 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | Max number of persistent disks (PDs) |
Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD |
|---|---|---|---|
n2-highmem-2 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-4 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-8 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-16 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-32 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-48 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-64 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-80 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-96 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highmem-128 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
N2 high-cpu
N2 high-cpu machine types have 1 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | Max number of persistent disks (PDs) |
Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD |
|---|---|---|---|
n2-highcpu-2 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-4 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-8 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-16 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-32 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-48 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-64 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-80 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
n2-highcpu-96 |
128 | 257 | Yes |
N2D machine series
The N2D machine series can run on either AMD EPYC Milan processor or AMD EPYC Rome
processors. The third generation
AMD EPYC Milan processor
is available only in specific regions and zones.
To use AMD Milan as your
minimum CPU platform,
request it when you create your VM instance.
The N2D series is the largest general-purpose machine series with up to 224 vCPUs and 896 GB of memory and a vCPU to memory ratios of 1:1, 1:4, and 1:8. The AMD EPYC Rome processors in this series runs with a base frequency of 2.25 GHz, an effective frequency of 2.7 GHz, and a max boost frequency of 3.3 GHz.
In summary, the N2D series:
- Support up to 224 vCPUs and 896 GB of memory.
- Support 50 Gbps and 100 Gbps high-bandwidth network configurations.
- Available in predefined and custom VMs.
- Offer higher memory-to-core ratios for VMs created with the extended memory feature. Using the extended memory feature helps you avoid per-CPU software licensing costs while providing access to more than 8 GB of memory per vCPU.
- Powered by third generation AMD EPYC Milan and second generation AMD EPYC Rome processors.
- Support committed use and sustained use discounts.
- Does not support GPUs or nested virtualization.
- Support Confidential VM.
N2D Limitations
N2D VMs do not support: + GPUs + Nested virtualization
N2D machine types
The following table lists the features of the N2D machine series. For some machine types, certain features are not applicable (N/A).
N2D standard
N2D standard machine types have 4 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n2d-standard-2 |
2 | 8 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n2d-standard-4 |
4 | 16 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n2d-standard-8 |
8 | 32 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 16 | N/A |
n2d-standard-16 |
16 | 64 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | N/A |
n2d-standard-32 |
32 | 128 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | N/A |
n2d-standard-48 |
48 | 192 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-standard-64 |
64 | 256 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-standard-80 |
80 | 320 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-standard-96 |
96 | 384 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
n2d-standard-128 |
128 | 512 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
n2d-standard-224 |
224 | 896 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware cluster multithread on
one of the available CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking for
larger machine types.
N2D high-mem
N2D high-mem machine types have 8 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n2d-highmem-2 |
2 | 16 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n2d-highmem-4 |
4 | 32 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n2d-highmem-8 |
8 | 64 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 16 | N/A |
n2d-highmem-16 |
16 | 128 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | N/A |
n2d-highmem-32 |
32 | 256 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | N/A |
n2d-highmem-48 |
48 | 384 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-highmem-64 |
64 | 512 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-highmem-80 |
80 | 640 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-highmem-96 |
96 | 768 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware cluster multithread on
one of the available CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking for
larger machine types.
N2D high-cpu
N2D high-cpu machine types have 1 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n2d-highcpu-2 |
2 | 2 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n2d-highcpu-4 |
4 | 4 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n2d-highcpu-8 |
8 | 8 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 16 | N/A |
n2d-highcpu-16 |
16 | 16 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | N/A |
n2d-highcpu-32 |
32 | 32 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | N/A |
n2d-highcpu-48 |
48 | 48 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-highcpu-64 |
64 | 64 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-highcpu-80 |
80 | 80 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 50 |
n2d-highcpu-96 |
96 | 96 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
n2d-highcpu-128 |
128 | 128 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
n2d-highcpu-224 |
224 | 224 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32 | 100 |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware cluster multithread on
one of the available CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# Supports high-bandwidth networking for
larger machine types.
Tau T2D machine series
The Tau T2D machine series run on the third generation AMD EPYC Milan processor with a base frequency of 2.45 GHz, an effective frequency of 2.8 GHz, and a max boost frequency of 3.5 GHz. This series has predefined machine types of up to 60 vCPUs, support 4 GB of memory per vCPU, and up to 32 Gbps of network egress. It also supports committed use discounts and reservations.
This series is available only in select regions and zones.
Machine types in the Tau T2D machine series have simultaneous multithreading (SMT) disabled; therefore a vCPU is equivalent to an entire core.
Tau T2D Limitations
Tau T2D VMs do not support:
- Debian 9 OS
- Local SSD
- Regional persistent disk
- Custom VMs
- Sole-tenant nodes
- Extreme PD
- GPUs
- Nested virtualization
- Sustained use discounts
- Confidential VMs
Tau T2D machine types
Tau T2D standard machine types have 4 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
t2d-standard-1 |
1 | 4 | 128 | 257 | No | 10 | N/A |
t2d-standard-2 |
2 | 8 | 128 | 257 | No | 10 | N/A |
t2d-standard-4 |
4 | 16 | 128 | 257 | No | 10 | N/A |
t2d-standard-8 |
8 | 32 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 | N/A |
t2d-standard-16 |
16 | 64 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
t2d-standard-32 |
32 | 128 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
t2d-standard-48 |
48 | 192 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
t2d-standard-60 |
60 | 240 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
* SMT is not supported. Each vCPU is equivalent to an entire core.
See CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
Tau T2A machine series
The Tau T2A machine series run on the Ampere Altra Arm processor with a base frequency of 3.0 GHz. Tau T2A offers predefined machine types with 1 to 48 vCPUs, support 4 GB of memory per vCPU, and up to 32 Gbps of network egress.
This series is available only in select regions and zones.
The Tau T2A machine series doesn't support simultaneous multithreading (SMT); each vCPU is equivalent to an entire core.
Tau T2A Limitations
The Tau T2A machine series does not support:
- Custom machine types
- Sole tenant nodes
- Nested virtualization
- Extreme persistent disk
- Local SSD
- Regional persistent disk
- Virtio-SCSI Storage Controller and Virtio-Net Ethernet Adapter
- Windows Server or Windows Client OS
- 32-bit mode ELO (guest userspace support)
- Committed and Sustained-use discounts
Tau T2A machine types
Tau T2A standard machine types have 4 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
t2a-standard-1 |
1 | 4 | 128 | 257 | No | 10 | N/A |
t2a-standard-2 |
2 | 8 | 128 | 257 | No | 10 | N/A |
t2a-standard-4 |
4 | 16 | 128 | 257 | No | 10 | N/A |
t2a-standard-8 |
8 | 32 | 128 | 257 | No | 16 | N/A |
t2a-standard-16 |
16 | 64 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
t2a-standard-32 |
32 | 128 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
t2a-standard-48 |
48 | 192 | 128 | 257 | No | 32 | N/A |
* SMT is not supported. Each vCPU is equivalent to an entire core.
See CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
N1 machine series
The N1 machine series is Compute Engine's first generation general-purpose machine series available on Intel Skylake, Broadwell, Haswell, Sandy Bridge, and Ivy Bridge CPU platforms.
In summary, the N1 machine series:
- Supports up to 96 vCPUs and 624 GB of memory.
- Has both predefined machine types and custom machine types. Custom machine types can be created within a wide range of memory-to-core ratio, ranging from 1 GB per vCPU to 6.5 GB per vCPU.
- Offers higher memory-to-core ratios for VMs created with the extended memory feature.
- Offers a larger sustained use discount than the N2 machine series.
- Supports Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in select zones.
- Can support up to 8 virtual interfaces per instance.
N1 machine types
N1 standard
N1 standard machine types have 3.75 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n1-standard-1 |
1 | 3.75 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 2 | N/A |
n1-standard-2 |
2 | 7.50 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n1-standard-4 |
4 | 15 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n1-standard-8 |
8 | 30 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 16 | N/A |
n1-standard-16 |
16 | 60 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-standard-32 |
32 | 120 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-standard-64 |
64 | 240 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-standard-96 |
96 | 360 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware Hyper-thread on one of
the available CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# 32 Gbps for Skylake or later CPU platforms. 16 Gbps for
all other platforms.
N1 high-memory
N1 high-memory machine types have 6.5 GB of system memory per vCPU.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n1-highmem-2 |
2 | 13 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n1-highmem-4 |
4 | 26 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n1-highmem-8 |
8 | 52 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 16 | N/A |
n1-highmem-16 |
16 | 104 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-highmem-32 |
32 | 208 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-highmem-64 |
64 | 416 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-highmem-96 |
96 | 624 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware Hyper-thread on one of
the available CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# 32 Gbps for Skylake or later CPU platforms. 16 Gbps for
all other platforms.
N1 high-cpu
N1 high-cpu machine types have 0.9 GB of system memory per vCPU. High-CPU machine types are ideal for tasks that require a moderate increase of vCPUs relative to memory.
| Machine types | vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ | Tier 1 egress bandwidth (Gbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n1-highcpu-2 |
2 | 1.80 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n1-highcpu-4 |
4 | 3.60 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 10 | N/A |
n1-highcpu-8 |
8 | 7.20 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 16 | N/A |
n1-highcpu-16 |
16 | 14.4 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-highcpu-32 |
32 | 28.8 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-highcpu-64 |
64 | 57.6 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
n1-highcpu-96 |
96 | 86.4 | 128 | 257 | Yes | 32# | N/A |
* A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware Hyper-thread on one of
the available CPU platforms.
† Persistent disk usage is charged separately from
machine type pricing.
‡ Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual
egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors.
See Network bandwidth.
# 32 Gbps for Skylake or later CPU platforms. 16 Gbps for
all other platforms.
N1 shared-core
Each vCPU can burst up to 100% of CPU time, for short periods, before returning to their prescribed CPU time limitations.
- When you run an
f1-micro, your VM sustains a single vCPU for up to 20% of CPU time. - When you run a
g1-small, your VM sustains a single vCPU for up to 50% of CPU time.
| Machine types | Description | vCPUs | Fractional vCPUs* | Memory (GB) | Max number of persistent disks (PDs)† | Max total PD size (TB) | Local SSD | Maximum egress bandwidth (Gbps)‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
f1-micro |
Micro machine type with 0.2 vCPU and 0.6 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core. | 1 | 0.2* | 0.60 | 16 | 3 | No | 1 |
g1-small |
Small machine type with 0.5 vCPU and 1.70 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core. | 1 | 0.5* | 1.70 | 16 | 3 | No | 1 |
†Persistent disk usage is charged separately from VM pricing.
‡Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors. See Network bandwidth.
Custom machine types
If none of the predefined machine types in the general-purpose machine family match your workload needs, you can create a VM with a custom machine type.
Creating a VM with a custom machine type is ideal for workloads that require more processing power or more memory, but don't need all of the upgrades that are provided by the next larger predefined machine type.
It costs slightly more to use a custom machine type than an equivalent predefined machine type, and there are limitations in the amount of memory and vCPUs you can select.
It's possible to create a VM with a custom machine type from any machine series in the general-purpose machine family, except the Tau T2D machine series which is not available as custom machine types. Custom machine types are subject to the same persistent disk limits as E2, N2, and N1 predefined machine types. The maximum total persistent disk size for each VM is 257 TB and the max number of persistent disks is 128.
E2 custom machine types
- E2 custom machine types support predefined platforms with Intel or AMD EPYC processors. You can create E2 custom machine types with vCPUs in multiples of 2, up to 32 vCPUs. The minimum acceptable number of vCPUs for a VM is 2.
- By default, the general-purpose machine series you choose determines the memory per vCPU that you can select for a custom machine type. For E2, the ratio of memory per vCPU is 0.5 GB to 8 GB inclusive. When creating a standard E2 machine type, the minimum memory you can select is 1 GB.
Examples of invalid machine types:
- 1 vCPU, 1024 MB of memory. Invalid because the vCPU count is too small. E2 custom machine types require a minimum of 2 vCPUs.
- 32 vCPUs, 1 GB of total memory. Invalid because the ratio of vCPUs to memory is incorrect. The acceptable ratio is 0.5 GB of memory to 1 vCPU.
Examples of valid machine types:
- 32 vCPUs, 16 GB of total memory. Valid because the total number of vCPUs is even and the total memory is an acceptable ratio of memory to vCPU.
- 2 vCPUs, 8 GB of total memory. Valid because it has 2 vCPUs, which is the minimum value, and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is also within the acceptable range of 0.5 GB to 8 GB per vCPU.
E2 shared-core custom machine types
- E2 shared-core machine types support predefined Intel or AMD EPYC Rome processors, which are preselected for you at the time of VM creation. You can create shared-core machine types with a vCPU range of 0.25 to 1 vCPU. The memory range is 1 to 8 GB, with a maximum ratio of 8 GB per vCPU.
e2-micro: 0.25 vCPU, 1 to 2 GB of memorye2-small: 0.50 vCPU, 1 to 4 GB of memorye2-medium: 1 vCPU, 1 to 8 GB of memory
N2 custom machine types
- For N2 custom machine types, you can create a machine type with 2 to 80 vCPUs and memory between 1 and 864 GB. For machine types with up to 32 vCPUs, you can select a vCPU count that is a multiple of 2. For machine types with greater than 32 vCPUs, you must select a vCPU count that is a multiple of 4 (for example, 36, 40, 56, or 80).
- You can create N2 custom machine types on different processors:
- Cascade Lake, the 2nd generation of the Intel Xeon processor. This is the default processor for N2 custom machine types with less than 80 vCPUs.
- Ice Lake, the 3rd generation of the Intel Xeon processor. Ice Lake processors are available in specific regions and zones.
- By default, the memory per vCPU that you can select for a custom machine type is determined by the machine series you use. For the N2 machine series, select between 0.5 GB and 8.0 GB per vCPU, inclusive. Higher amounts of memory are possible by enabling extended memory.
- N2 machine types are available in these regions and zones.
- N2 custom machine types have an option for a higher bandwidth Tier 1 maximum
egress of 50 Gbps to 100 Gbps with a minimum of 30 vCPUs.
- 32 to 62 vCPUs have a total egress of 50 Gbps
- 64 to 78 vCPUs have a total egress of 75 Gbps
- 80 vCPUs have a total egress of 100 Gbps
Examples of invalid machine types:
- 2 vCPUs, 0.5 GB of total memory. Invalid because the total memory is less than the minimum 1 GB for an N2 VM.
- 34 vCPUs, 34 GB of total memory. Invalid because the total number of vCPUs is not divisible by 4.
- 1 vCPU, 1024 MB of memory. Invalid because the vCPU count is too small. N2 custom machine types require a minimum of 2 vCPUs.
Examples of valid machine types:
- 36 vCPUs, 18 GB of total memory. Valid because the total number of vCPUs is even and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is also within the acceptable range of 0.5 GB to 8 GB per vCPU. Because the number of vCPUs is larger than 32 vCPUs, the number of vCPUs must be divisible by 4.
- 2 vCPUs, 7 GB of total memory. Valid because it has 2 vCPUs, which is the minimum value, and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is also within the acceptable range of 0.5 GB to 8 GB per vCPU.
N2D custom machine types
- The maximum number of vCPUs allowed for a custom machine type is determined by the machine series you choose. For the N2D machine series, which support AMD EPYC Rome and Milan platforms, you can deploy custom machine types with 2 to 96 vCPUs.
- You can create N2D custom machine types with 2, 4, 8, or 16 vCPUs. After 16, you can increment the number of vCPUs by 16, up to 96 vCPUs. The minimum acceptable number of vCPUs is 2.
- By default, the memory per vCPU that you can select for a custom machine type is determined by the machine series you choose. For N2D machine types, select between 0.5 GB and 8.0 GB per vCPU in 0.256 GB increments. Higher amounts of memory are possible by enabling extended memory.
- N2D custom machine types are available only in select regions and zones.
- N2D custom machine types support per VM Tier_1 networking performance
maximum egress limits of 50 Gbps to 100 Gbps. When enabled:
- VMs with 48 to 94 vCPUs have a total egress limit of 50 Gbps.
- VMs with 96 vCPUs have a total egress limit of 100 Gbps.
Examples of invalid machine types:
- 2 vCPUs, 0.4 GB of total memory. Invalid because the total memory is less than the minimum 1 GB for an N2D VM.
- 34 vCPUs, 34 GB of total memory. Invalid because the total number of vCPUs is not divisible by 16.
- 1 vCPU, 1024 MB of memory. Invalid because the vCPU count is too small. N2D custom machine types require a minimum of 2 vCPUs.
Examples of valid machine types:
- 32 vCPUs, 16 GB of total memory. Valid because the total number of vCPUs is even and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is 1 GB, which satisfies the minimum requirement. Because the number of vCPUs is larger than 8 vCPUs, the number of vCPUs must be divisible by 16.
- 2 vCPUs, 7 GB of total memory. Valid because it has 2 vCPUs, which is the minimum value, and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is also within the acceptable range of 1 GB to 8 GB per vCPU.
N1 custom machine types
- You can create N1 custom machine types with 1 or more vCPUs. Above 1 vCPU, you must increment the number of vCPUs by 2, up to 96 vCPUs for Intel Skylake platform,or up to 64 vCPUs for Intel Broadwell, Haswell, or Ivy Bridge CPU platforms.
- By default, the memory per vCPU that you can select for a custom machine type is determined by the machine series you choose. For N1 machine types, select between 1 GB and 6.5 GB per vCPU, inclusive. Higher amounts of memory are possible by enabling extended memory.
Examples of invalid machine types:
- 1 vCPU, 0.2 GB of total memory. Invalid because the total memory is less than the minimum 1 GB for an N1 VM.
- 3 vCPU, 1 GB of total memory. Invalid because the number of vCPU cores must be 1 or an even number up to 96.
Examples of valid machine types:
- 32 vCPUs, 29 GB of total memory. Valid because the total number of vCPUs is even and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is 1 GB, which satisfies the minimum requirement.
- 1 vCPU, 1 GB of total memory. Valid because it has one vCPU, which is the minimum value, and the total memory is a multiple of 256 MB. The amount of memory per vCPU is also within the acceptable range of 1 GB to 6.5 GB per vCPU.