Storage-optimized machine family for Compute Engine

The storage-optimized machine family is suitable for workloads that are low in core usage and high in storage density. For example, the Z3 machine series is useful for scale-out analytics workloads, flash-optimized databases, and other database workloads.

Machine series Workloads
Z3
  • Workloads that are low in core usage and high in storage density
  • Horizontal, scale out databases
  • Log analytics
  • Data warehouse offerings
  • Other database workloads

Z3 machine series

Z3 VMs are powered by the fourth generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor (code-named Sapphire Rapids), DDR5 memory, and Titanium offload processors. Z3 machine types are optimized for the underlying NUMA architecture to deliver optimal, reliable, and consistent performance. Z3 offers two machine types: the 88 vCPU machine type is a single socket; the 176 vCPU machine type is an entire machine. These shapes offer the maximum isolation for performance consistency.

The Z3 machine series offers 36 TiB of Local SSD space. The Z3 machine series offers the latest compute, networking, and storage innovations in one platform with a particular focus on high density, high performing Local SSD.

Z3 offers the following features:

  • Leverages Titanium to offload networking
  • Delivers high performance block-storage with Google Cloud Hyperdisk
  • Offers the largest amount of Local SSD storage space of any machine series

Z3 VMs use Titanium to enable higher levels of networking performance, isolation and security. The Z3 machine series supports a default network bandwidth of up to 100 Gbps and up to 200 Gbps with per VM Tier_1 networking performance.

For details on pricing, see the VM pricing page. Disk usage and network usage is charged separately from machine type pricing. For more information, see Disk and image pricing and Network pricing.

Z3 Limitations

The Z3 machine series is available in two predefined machine types. This series offers 8 GB memory per vCPU. The following restrictions apply:

  • You can't use regional persistent disks with the Z3 series.
  • Z3 VMs are only available in select zones and regions.
  • You can't use GPUs with Z3 VMs.
  • Z3 doesn't support sole tenancy.
  • You can't suspend a Z3 VM.
  • You can't create Z3 custom VMs.
  • Live migration isn't supported with Z3 VMs. When there is a maintenance event, the Z3 VM stops instead of migrating to a new host. You must manually restart the Z3 VM when the maintenance event ends.
  • Z3 isn't supported on Windows images.

Z3 machine types

Machine types vCPUs* Memory (GB) Default egress bandwidth (Gbps)† Tier_1 egress bandwidth (Gbps)†
z3-highmem-88 88 704 Up to 62 Up to 100
z3-highmem-176 176 1,408 Up to 100 Up to 200

*A vCPU is implemented as a single hardware thread on the available CPU platform.
† Maximum egress bandwidth cannot exceed the number given. Actual egress bandwidth depends on the destination IP address and other factors. See Network bandwidth.

Supported disk types for Z3

Z3 VMs support only the NVMe disk interface and can use the following block storage types:

  • Hyperdisk Extreme (hyperdisk-extreme)
  • Hyperdisk Throughput (hyperdisk-throughput)
  • Balanced Persistent Disk (pd-balanced)
  • SSD (performance) Persistent Disk (pd-ssd)
  • Local SSD

Every machine type in the Z3 machine series comes with Local SSD automatically. The capacity and performance for Local SSD disks for Z3 are:

IOPS Throughput
(MBps)
Machine type # of attached
Local SSD disks		 Disk size (GiB) Total size (GiB) Read Write Read Write
z3-highmem-88 12 3,000 36,000 6,000,000 6,000,000 36,000 30,000
z3-highmem-176 12 3,000 36,000 6,000,000 6,000,000 36,000 30,000

Disk and capacity limits

For details about the capacity limits, see Hyperdisk capacity limits per VM and Persistent Disk maximum capacity.

Z3 storage limits are described in the following table:

Maximum number of disks
Machine types Per VM* Hyperdisk
per VM		 Hyperdisk Balanced Hyperdisk Throughput Hyperdisk Extreme Maximum capacity per VM
z3-highmem-88 128 64 0 64 8 512 TiB
z3-highmem-176 128 64 0 64 8 512 TiB

* The maximum size per Hyperdisk volume is 64 TB.

For performance limits, see the following:

Network support for Z3 VMs

Z3 VMs require gVNIC network interfaces. Z3 supports up to 100 Gbps network bandwidth for standard networking and up to 200 Gbps with per VM Tier_1 networking performance.

Before migrating to Z3 or creating Z3 VMs, make sure that the operating system image that you use is fully supported for Z3. Fully supported images include the updated gVNIC driver, even if the guest OS shows the gve driver version as 1.0.0. If your Z3 VM is using an operating system with limited support, which includes an older version of the gVNIC driver, the VM might not be able to achieve the maximum network bandwidth for Z3 VMs.

If you use a custom image with the Z3 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 Z3 VMs. Google recommends using the latest gVNIC driver version to benefit from additional features and bug fixes.

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