Cloud Quotas overview

Google Cloud uses quotas to help ensure fairness and reduce spikes in resource use and availability. A quota restricts how much of a Google Cloud resource your Google Cloud project can use. Quotas apply to a range of resource types, including hardware, software, and network components. For example, quotas can restrict the number of API calls to a service, the number of load balancers used concurrently by your project, or the number of projects that you can create. Quotas protect the community of Google Cloud users by preventing the overloading of services. Quotas also help you to manage your own Google Cloud resources.

The Cloud Quotas system does the following:

  • Monitors your consumption of Google Cloud products and services
  • Restricts your consumption of those resources
  • Provides a way to request changes to the quota value

In most cases, when you attempt to consume more of a resource than its quota allows, the system blocks access to the resource, and the task that you're trying to perform fails.

Quotas generally apply at the Google Cloud project level. Your use of a resource in one project doesn't affect your available quota in another project. Within a Google Cloud project, quotas are shared across all applications and IP addresses.

Many services also have system limits. System limits are fixed constraints, such as maximum file sizes or database schema limitations, which cannot be increased or decreased.

To learn about the quotas and system limits for a product, see the product's quotas and limits page—for example, Cloud Storage quotas and limits.

The following links provide additional information related to resource usage:

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Types of quotas

Google Cloud has three types of quotas:

  • Rate quotas: the quota restricts the rate at which you can consume a resource. Rate quotas specify a time period, and the amount of the resource that you are permitted to consume over that time period.
  • Allocation quotas: the quota restricts how much of a resource Google Cloud allocates to you. For example, Compute Engine applies an allocation quota to the number of VMs allocated for a Google Cloud project.
  • Concurrent quotas: the quota restricts the number of operations that run concurrently. Concurrent quotas usually apply to long-running operations. For example, some Compute Engine insert operations can run for as long as one hour and are limited by a concurrent quota.

Quotas and the Google Cloud hierarchy

Most quotas apply to one of the following levels of the Google Cloud hierarchy:

  • Project: the quota restricts your resource usage within a Google Cloud project. Using the resource in one project doesn't affect your available quota in another project.
  • Folder: the quota restricts your resource usage within a Google Cloud folder. Child folders and projects contribute to your quota usage. Folders and projects outside of your folder don't affect your available quota.
  • Organization: the quota restricts your resource usage within a Google Cloud organization. Child folders and projects contribute to your quota usage. Resource usage outside of your organization doesn't affect your available quota.

For example, the Compute Engine API has a project-level quota for the number of queries you can make per minute. If one project reaches the quota value in less than a minute, the project cannot make any more queries. Other projects can continue to make queries.

Some quotas apply at the user level. For example, the number of Google Cloud projects you can create is limited by a quota applied at the level of the user or service account.

To identify the Google Cloud hierarchy level of the quotas for your product, see the product's quotas and limits page—for example, Cloud Storage quotas and limits.

Regions and zones

Quotas are global, regional, or zonal,:

  • Global: the quota restricts resource usage across all regions and zones. Resource usage in one region or zone reduces quota availability for all regions and zones.
  • Regional: the quota restricts resource usage in a Google Cloud region. Resource use in any zone in the region contributes to regional quota use. Resource usage in one region doesn't affect available quota in another region.
  • Zonal: the quota restricts resource usage in a Google Cloud zone. Resource usage in one zone doesn't affect available zonal quota in another zone. If the resource is also subject to a regional quota, usage in one zone affects available quota in other zones by reducing the regional quota shared across zones, even though the zonal quota for other zones is unaffected.

Some resources have multiple location-based quotas. For example, a resource might have both a regional quota and a zonal quota. The zonal quota restricts the amount of use in each zone. The regional quota restricts the total use across all zones in a given region. To find out whether a quota is regional, zonal, or global, follow the instructions to view dimensions.

Regions and zones are examples of quota dimensions. For more information about working with dimensions, see Configure dimensions.

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