Specify a minimum CPU platform for VM instances

This page explains how to create or update a virtual machine (VM) instance to use a minimum CPU platform instead of the default platform.

Google data centers offer different generations of CPU processors. Each CPU platform supports incremental features like Advanced Vector Extensions—for example, AVX2 and AVX-512. Also, some fundamental systems-related features like clock speed and memory access seek time can vary among CPU platforms.

Each machine series is associated with one or more CPU platforms. For example, N2 VMs can run on either the Ice Lake or Cascade Lake CPUs. If there are multiple CPU platforms available for a machine series, then you can select a minimum CPU platform when creating a VM using a machine type from that machine series. The availability of the machine family, series, region, and zones determine what you can choose for the minimum CPU platform.

Specifying a minimum CPU platform is useful if your workload requires the performance gains offered by the generation of a specific processor. However, specifying a minimum CPU platform might limit the zones where you can create your VMs.

Before you begin

  • Set up authentication.

    Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page:

    Console

    When you use the Google Cloud console to access Google Cloud services and APIs, you don't need to set up authentication.

    gcloud

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI, then initialize it by running the following command: 

      gcloud init
    2. Set a default region and zone.

    REST

    To use the REST API samples on this page in a local development environment, you use the credentials you provide to the gcloud CLI.

      Install the Google Cloud CLI, then initialize it by running the following command: 

      gcloud init

Required roles and permissions

To get the permissions that you need to change the minimum CPU platform, ask your administrator to grant you the following IAM roles on the project:

  • Compute Instance Admin (v1) (roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1)
  • To connect to a VM that can run as a service account: Service Account User (v1) (roles/iam.serviceAccountUser role)

For more information about granting roles, see Manage access.

You might also be able to get the required permissions through custom roles or other predefined roles.

When to select a minimum CPU platform

More than likely, you don't need to select a minimum CPU platform. Each Compute Engine zone has a default CPU platform for each machine series. Google occasionally changes a zone's default CPU when new servers are added. If you don't specify a minimum CPU platform for a VM, then the VM gets the default CPU platform associated with its machine type and zone.

Google recommends that you only select a minimum CPU platform if it offers significant performance gains for your workload, or if it provides capabilities such as AVX2 or AVX-512 that your code utilizes. Selecting a minimum CPU platform for your VM introduces constraints that affect your ability to start VMs in zones where some CPU platforms are in limited supply.

How selecting a minimum CPU platform works

Compute Engine always uses the minimum CPU platform where available. If Google changes a CPU platform in a zone, your VM can continue to run on a more recent CPU platform that's available in that zone if you stop and restart the VM.

After you select a minimum CPU platform for a VM, your VM uses this CPU platform unless you stop the VM and change the CPU platform. During a live migration, your VM retains the selected CPU platform.

Limitations

  • Each region and zone supports multiple CPU platforms, but a region or zone might not offer all CPU platforms.
  • You cannot specify a minimum CPU platform for VMs that use sole-tenant nodes.
  • You cannot select a minimum CPU platform for predefined or custom E2 VMs.
  • You cannot select a minimum CPU platform for the following shared-core, general-purpose VMs:
    • e2-micro
    • e2-small
    • e2-medium
    • f1-micro
    • g1-small

Availability of CPU platforms

The availability of CPU platforms varies across zones and is based on the hardware and machine series that is available in each zone. The following list shows the supported minimum CPU platforms and the valid syntax for each platform:

  • Ampere Altra Arm processors: "Ampere Altra"
  • 4th Generation: Intel Xeon (Sapphire Rapids) processors: "Intel Sapphire Rapids"
  • 3rd Generation: Intel Xeon (Ice Lake) processors: "Intel Ice Lake"
  • 2nd Generation: Intel Xeon (Cascade Lake) processors: "Intel Cascade Lake"
  • 1st Generation: Intel Xeon (Skylake) processors: "Intel Skylake"
  • Intel Xeon E5 v4 (Broadwell) processors: "Intel Broadwell"
  • Intel Xeon E5 v3 (Haswell) processors: "Intel Haswell"
  • Intel Xeon E5 v2 (Ivy Bridge) processors: "Intel Ivy Bridge"
  • Intel Xeon E5 (Sandy Bridge) processors: "Intel Sandy Bridge"
  • 4th Generation: AMD EPYC Genoa processors: "AMD Genoa"
  • 3rd Generation: AMD EPYC Milan processors: "AMD Milan"
  • 2nd Generation: AMD EPYC Rome processors: "AMD Rome"

View available CPU platforms by zone

Only certain regions and zones contain multiple CPU platforms for the same machine series and are available for minimum CPU platform selection. You can view a list of supported platforms for a specific zone by using the gcloud CLI or REST.

If you're using sole-tenant nodes, each node uses the CPU platform corresponding to the node type that you defined in the node template.

gcloud

  • To view the CPU platforms that are available in your zone, use the gcloud compute zones describe command:

    gcloud compute zones describe ZONE

    Replace ZONE with the name of the zone to check for available CPU platforms—for example, europe-west10-a.

    The following output from this command lists CPU platforms for the europe-west10-a zone:

    gcloud compute zones describe europe-west10-a
availableCpuPlatforms:
- Intel Broadwell
- Intel Cascade Lake
- Intel Ice Lake
- AMD Milan
- AMD Rome
- Intel Skylake

...

REST

  • Make a GET request to the zone that you're considering:

    GET https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/myproject/zones/ZONE

    Replace ZONE with the name of the zone to check for available CPU platforms.

    The following output from this command lists supported CPU platforms for a zone:

    {
  "kind": "compute#zone",
  "id": "2210",
  "creationTimestamp": "1969-12-31T09:30:55.189-07:00",
  "name": "europe-west10-a",
  "description": "europe-west10-a",
  "status": "UP",
  "region": "https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/myproject/regions/europe-west10-a",
  "selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/myproject/zones/europe-west10-a",
  "availableCpuPlatforms": [
   "Intel Broadwell",
   "Intel Cascade Lake",
   "Intel Ice Lake",
   "AMD Milan",
   "AMD Rome",
   "Intel Skylake"
  ],
  "supportsPzs": true
 }

Default changes to a CPU platform

Occasionally, Google changes a CPU platform or updates the default CPU platform. As a zone grows in capacity—Google proactively switches to a newer CPU platform as the platform becomes available. It updates the default CPU platform to the next newest one that's available in that zone.

When a default CPU platform for a zone changes, Google notifies affected customers with a detailed timeline and specific instructions to transition to the newer platform.

VMs never use a platform that's older than the minimum CPU platform that you specify. If Compute Engine transitions your VM to a more recent platform, the cost of the VM doesn't change.

Select a minimum CPU platform for a new VM

When you create a VM, you choose a machine series and machine type. The machine series might be offered on more than one CPU platform. In this case, you can specify the minimum CPU platform that you want the VM to use.

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Create an instance page.

    Go to Create an instance

  2. In the Machine configuration section, expand the Advanced Configurations section.

  3. In the CPU Platform list, select a platform for the VM's CPU.

  4. Continue with the rest of the VM creation process.

gcloud

  • To create a new VM that uses a minimum CPU platform, use the gcloud compute instances create command and provide the --min-cpu-platform flag:

    gcloud compute instances create INSTANCE \
    --zone=ZONE \
    --min-cpu-platform="PLATFORM"

    Replace the following:

    • INSTANCE: the name of the instance that you want to create
    • ZONE: the name of the zone where you want to create your instance—for example, europe-west1-b

    • PLATFORM: the friendly name of the minimum CPU platform that you want the instance to use—for example, Intel Sandy Bridge

      If you want to clear the minimum CPU platform specification, replace PLATFORM with AUTOMATIC.

      Use the available zones section to determine which platforms are available for each zone.

REST

  • Use the instances.insert method and include the minCpuPlatform property as part of the request body.

    For example, a request body might look like this:

    "name": "INSTANCE",
"machineType": "zones/ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
"minCpuPlatform": "PLATFORM",
"networkInterfaces": [{
  "accessConfigs": [{
    "type": "ONE_TO_ONE_NAT",
    "name": "External NAT"
   }],
  "network": "global/networks/default"
}],
"disks": [{
   "autoDelete": "true",
   "boot": "true",
   "type": "PERSISTENT",
   "initializeParams": {
      "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
   }
 }]

    Replace the following:

    • INSTANCE: the name of the new VM
    • ZONE: the name of the zone where you want to create your VM—for example, europe-west1-b
    • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type of the new VM

    • PLATFORM: the friendly name of the minimum CPU platform that you want the VM to use—for example, Intel Ivy Bridge

      To clear the minimum CPU platform specification, replace PLATFORM with AUTOMATIC.

    • IMAGE_PROJECT: the image project of the image family

    • IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the image to use to create the VM

Set a minimum CPU platform for an existing VM

You can set a minimum CPU platform for an existing VM. You must stop the VM, before you set the minimum CPU platform.

Console

  1. Go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. If prompted, select your project and click Continue.

  3. Select the VM that you want to change.

  4. Click Stop.

  5. To edit the VM, click Edit.

  6. In the Machine configuration section, click Advanced Configurations.

  7. From the CPU Platform drop-down menu, select an option.

  8. Save your changes.

  9. Select the VM that you changed.

  10. Click Start/Resume.

gcloud

  1. To stop a VM, use the gcloud compute instances stop command:

    gcloud compute instances stop INSTANCE

    Replace INSTANCE with the name of the VM that you want to specify a minimum CPU platform for.

  2. To specify a minimum CPU platform, use the gcloud compute instances update command, and provide the --min-cpu-platform flag:

    gcloud compute instances update INSTANCE \
    --min-cpu-platform="PLATFORM"

    Replace PLATFORM with the friendly name of the minimum CPU platform that you want the VM to use—for example, Intel Cascade Lake.

  3. To start the updated VM, use the gcloud compute instances start command:

    gcloud compute instances start INSTANCE

REST

  1. To stop a VM, construct a POST request using the instances.stop method:

    POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE/stop

    Replace the following:

    • PROJECT_ID: the ID of the project
    • ZONE: the zone where your VM is located
    • INSTANCE: the name of the VM that you want to specify a minimum CPU platform for

  2. To set the minimum CPU platform, construct a POST request to the setMinCpuPlatform method and set the minCpuPlatform property in the request body:

    POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE/setMinCpuPlatform
{
  "minCpuPlatform": PLATFORM
}

    Replace PLATFORM with the friendly name of the minimum CPU platform that you want the VM to use—for example, Intel Skylake.

  3. To restart the VM, construct a POST request using the instances.start method:

    POST https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE/start

Remove a minimum CPU platform setting

You can update a VM to use the default CPU platform instead of the minimum CPU platform. If the VM is running, you must stop it before you make changes.

Console

  1. Go to the VM instances page.

    Go to VM instances

  2. If prompted, select your project and click Continue.

  3. Select the VM that you want to change.

  4. Click Stop.

  5. To edit the VM, click Edit.

  6. In the Machine configuration section, click Advanced Configurations.

  7. Change the CPU Platform option to Automatic.

  8. Select the VM that you changed.

  9. Click Start/Resume.

gcloud

  1. To stop a VM, use the gcloud compute instances stop command:

    gcloud compute instances stop INSTANCE

    Replace INSTANCE with the name of the VM that you want to change.

  2. To reset the minimum CPU platform, use the gcloud compute instances update command and set the --min-cpu-platform flag to AUTOMATIC:

    gcloud compute instances update INSTANCE \
    --min-cpu-platform="AUTOMATIC"

  3. To start the updated VM, use the gcloud compute instances start command:

    gcloud compute instances start INSTANCE

REST

  1. To stop a VM, construct a POST request using the instances.stop method:

    POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE/stop

    Replace the following:

    • PROJECT_ID: the ID of the project
    • ZONE: the zone where your VM is located
    • INSTANCE: the name of the VM that you want to change

  2. To reset the minimum CPU platform, construct a POST request to the setMinCpuPlatform method. In the request body, set the minCpuPlatform property value to AUTOMATIC.

    POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/INSTANCE/setMinCpuPlatform
{
  "minCpuPlatform": AUTOMATIC
}

  3. To start the updated VM, use the gcloud compute instances start command:

    gcloud compute instances start INSTANCE

Specify a minimum CPU platform in instance templates

If you use managed instance groups, you can specify a minimum CPU platform for VMs within a managed instance group.

To specify a minimum CPU platform, create an instance template that includes the minCpuPlatform property.

Console

  1. Go to the Instance templates page.

    Go to Instance templates

  2. If prompted, select your project and click Continue.

  3. Click Create instance template.

  4. In the Machine configuration section, click Advanced Configurations.

  5. From the CPU Platform drop-down menu, select an option.

  6. Continue with the instance template creation process.

gcloud

  • When you create an instance template using the gcloud compute instance-templates create command, provide the --min-cpu-platform flag:

    gcloud compute instance-templates create TEMPLATE_NAME \
    --min-cpu-platform="PLATFORM"

    Replace the following:

    • TEMPLATE_NAME: the name of the instance template
    • PLATFORM: the friendly name of the minimum CPU platform that you want the instance to use—for example, Intel Skylake

REST

  • Add the minCpuPlatform as part of your request to create a new instance template using the instanceTemplates.insert method.

    For example, the following instance template contains the minimum required fields for creating a new template with the addition of the minCpuPlatform property:

    {
"name": "example-template",
"properties": {
  "machineType": "zones/us-central1-a/machineTypes/n2d-standard-2",
  "minCpuPlatform": "AMD Milan",
  "networkInterfaces": [
    {
      "network": "global/networks/default"
    }
  ],
  "disks":
  [
    {
      "type": "PERSISTENT",
      "boot": true,
      "mode": "READ_WRITE",
      "initializeParams":
      {
        "sourceImage": "projects/debian-cloud/global/images/family/debian-11"
      }
    }
  ]
  }
}

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