Create an AI-optimized instance with A4 or A3 Ultra
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This document describes the steps to create standalone virtual machine (VM) instances that use A4 or A3 Ultra accelerator-optimized machine types.

To learn about other ways to create VMs or clusters, see the Overview page.

Before you begin

Before creating VMs, if you haven't already done so, complete the following steps:

Choose a consumption option: the option that you pick determines how you want to get and use GPU resources.

To learn more, see Choose a consumption option.

Obtain capacity: to learn how to obtain capacity for your consumption option.

To learn more, see Obtain capacity.

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

In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.

Activate Cloud Shell

At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a Cloud Shell session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment with the Google Cloud CLI already installed and with values already set for your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.

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.

After installing the Google Cloud CLI, initialize it by running the following command:

gcloud init

If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

For more information, see Authenticate for using REST in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.

Required roles

To get the permissions that you need to create VMs, ask your administrator to grant you the Compute Instance Admin (v1) (roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1) IAM role on the project. For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

This predefined role contains the permissions required to create VMs. To see the exact permissions that are required, expand the Required permissions section:

Required permissions

The following permissions are required to create VMs:

compute.instances.create on the project
To use a custom image to create the VM: compute.images.useReadOnly on the image
To use a snapshot to create the VM: compute.snapshots.useReadOnly on the snapshot
To use an instance template to create the VM: compute.instanceTemplates.useReadOnly on the instance template
To assign a legacy network to the VM: compute.networks.use on the project
To specify a static IP address for the VM: compute.addresses.use on the project
To assign an external IP address to the VM when using a legacy network: compute.networks.useExternalIp on the project
To specify a subnet for your VM: compute.subnetworks.use on the project or on the chosen subnet
To assign an external IP address to the VM when using a VPC network: compute.subnetworks.useExternalIp on the project or on the chosen subnet
To set VM instance metadata for the VM: compute.instances.setMetadata on the project
To set tags for the VM: compute.instances.setTags on the VM
To set labels for the VM: compute.instances.setLabels on the VM
To set a service account for the VM to use: compute.instances.setServiceAccount on the VM
To create a new disk for the VM: compute.disks.create on the project
To attach an existing disk in read-only or read-write mode: compute.disks.use on the disk
To attach an existing disk in read-only mode: compute.disks.useReadOnly on the disk

You might also be able to get these permissions with custom roles or other predefined roles.

Overview

Creating an instance with A4 or A3 Ultra machine type includes the following steps:

Create VPC networks
Optional: Create a compact placement policy
Create an instance

Create VPC networks

Tip: If you are setting up a quick test, you can skip this step and specify a single NIC --network-interface=nic-type=GVNIC instead.

For A4 or A3 Ultra machine type, you must create three VPC networks for the following network interfaces:

2 VPC networks for the gVNIC network interfaces (NIC). These are used for host to host communication.
1 VPC network with the RDMA network profile is required for the CX7 NICs. This network needs to have 8 subnets, one subnet for each CX7 NIC, and is used for GPU to GPU communication.

For more information about NIC arrangement, see Review network bandwidth and NIC arrangement.

Set up the networks either manually by following the instruction guides or automatically by using the provided script.

Instruction guides

To create the networks, you can use the following instructions:

To create the VPC networks for the gVNICs, see Create and manage Virtual Private Cloud networks.
To create the VPC network with the RDMA network profile, see Create a Virtual Private Cloud network for RDMA NICs.

For these VPC networks, we recommend setting the maximum transmission unit (MTU) to a larger value. For A4 or A3 Ultra machine type, the recommended MTU is 8896 bytes. To review the recommended MTU settings for other GPU machine types, see MTU settings for GPU machine types.

Script

To create the networks, you can use the following script.

  #!/bin/bash

  # Create standard VPCs (network and subnets) for the gVNICs
  for N in $(seq 0 1); do
    gcloud compute networks create GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-$N \
      --subnet-mode=custom \
      --mtu=8896

    gcloud compute networks subnets create GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-$N \
      --network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-$N \
      --region=REGION \
      --range=10.$N.0.0/16

    gcloud compute firewall-rules create GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-internal-$N \
      --network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-$N \
      --action=ALLOW \
      --rules=tcp:0-65535,udp:0-65535,icmp \
      --source-ranges=10.0.0.0/8
  done

  # Create SSH firewall rules
  gcloud compute firewall-rules create GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-ssh \
    --network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-0 \
    --action=ALLOW \
    --rules=tcp:22 \
    --source-ranges=IP_RANGE

  # Assumes that an external IP is only created for vNIC 0
  gcloud compute firewall-rules create GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-allow-ping-net-0 \
    --network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-0 \
    --action=ALLOW \
    --rules=icmp \
    --source-ranges=IP_RANGE

  # List and make sure network profiles exist
  gcloud compute network-profiles list

  # Create network for CX-7
  gcloud compute networks create RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma \
    --network-profile=ZONE-vpc-roce \
    --subnet-mode custom \
    --mtu=8896

  # Create subnets.
  for N in $(seq 0 7); do
    gcloud compute networks subnets create RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-$N \
      --network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma \
      --region=REGION \
      --range=10.$((N+2)).0.0/16 # offset to avoid overlap with gVNICs
  done

Replace the following:

GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX: the custom name prefix to use for the standard VPC networks and subnets for the gVNICs.
RDMA_NAME_PREFIX: the custom name prefix to use for the VPC network and subnets with the RDMA network profile for the CX7 NICs.
ZONE: specify a zone in which the machine type that you want to use is available. For information about regions, see GPU availability by regions and zones.
REGION: the region where you want to create the subnets. This region must correspond to the zone specified. For example, if your zone is europe-west1-b, then your region is europe-west1.
IP_RANGE: the IP range to use for the SSH firewall rules.

Optional: Create a compact placement policy

You can specify VM placement by creating a compact placement policy. When you apply a compact placement policy to your VMs, Compute Engine makes best-effort attempts to create VMs that are as close to each other as possible. If your application is latency-sensitive and you want the VMs to be closer together (maximum compactness), then specify the maxDistance field (Preview) when creating a compact placement policy. A lower maxDistance value ensures closer VM placement, but it also increases the chance that some VMs won't be created.

To create a compact placement policy, select one of the following options:

gcloud

To create a compact placement policy, use the gcloud beta compute resource-policies create group-placement command:

gcloud beta compute resource-policies create group-placement POLICY_NAME \
    --collocation=collocated \
    --max-distance=MAX_DISTANCE \
    --region=REGION

Replace the following:

POLICY_NAME: the name of the compact placement policy.
MAX_DISTANCE: the maximum distance configuration for your VMs. The value must be 3 to place VMs in the adjacent blocks, or 2 to place VMs in the same block. For information about the maximum number of VMs supported for each maxDistance per machine series, see About compact placement policies in the Compute Engine documentation.
REGION: the region where you want to create the compact placement policy. Specify a region in which the machine type that you want to use is available. For information about regions, see GPU regions and zones.

REST

To create a compact placement policy, make a POST request to the beta resourcePolicies.insert method. In the request body, include the collocation field set to COLLOCATED, and the maxDistance field.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/beta/projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/resourcePolicies
  {
    "name": "POLICY_NAME",
    "groupPlacementPolicy": {
      "collocation": "COLLOCATED",
      "maxDistance": MAX_DISTANCE
    }
  }

Replace the following:

PROJECT_ID: your project ID
POLICY_NAME: the name of the compact placement policy.
MAX_DISTANCE: the maximum distance configuration for your VMs. The value must be 3 to place VMs in the adjacent blocks, or 2 to place VMs in the same block. For information about the maximum number of VMs supported for each maxDistance per machine series, see About compact placement policies in the Compute Engine documentation.
REGION: the region where you want to create the compact placement policy. Specify a region in which the machine type that you want to use is available. For information about regions, see GPU regions and zones.

Create an A3 Ultra or A4 VM

To create an A3 Ultra or A4 VM, use one of the following methods. If you choose to use a compact placement policy, you must use Google Cloud CLI or REST to create the VM.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Create an instance page.
Go to Create an instance
Specify a Name for your VM. See Resource naming convention.
Select the Region and Zone where you want to reserve capacity. See the list of available GPU regions and zones.
Click the GPUs tab, and then complete the following steps:
1. In the GPU type list, select your GPU type.
  - For A4 VMs, select NVIDIA B200 180GB
  - For A3 Ultra VMs, select NVIDIA H200 141GB
2. In the Number of GPUs list, select 8.
In the navigation menu, click OS and storage, and then complete the following steps:
1. Click Change. The Boot disk configuration pane opens.
2. On the Public images tab, select a recommended image. For a list of recommended images, see Operating systems.
3. To confirm your boot disk options, click Select.
To create a multi-NIC VM, complete the following steps. Otherwise, to create a single-NIC VM, skip these steps.
1. In the navigation menu, click Networking.
2. In the Network interfaces section, complete the following steps:
  1. Delete the default network interface. To delete the interface, click Delete.
  2. Click Add a network interface. Use this option to add the gVNIC and RDMA networks that you created in the previous section. When you add the networks, remember the following:
    - Specify your host networks in the Network and Subnetwork lists, and set the Network interface card list to gVNIC.
    - Specify your GPU networks in the Network and Sub-network lists, and set the Network interface card list to MRDMA for these networks.
In the navigation menu, click Advanced. Then, complete the following steps for the provisioning model that you want to use.
Reservation-bound
1. Click Choose a reservation. This action opens a pane with a list of available reservations within your selected zone. From the reservation list, complete the following steps:
  1. Select the reservation that you want to use for the VM. You can also select a specific block within the reservation.
  2. Click Choose.
Spot
1. In the Provisioning model section, select Spot from the VM provisioning model list.
2. Optional: To select the termination action that happens when Compute Engine preempts the VM, complete the following steps:
  1. Expand the VM provisioning model advanced settings section.
  2. In the On VM termination list, select one of the following options:
    To stop the VM during preemption, select Stop (default).
    To delete the VM during preemption, select Delete.
To create and start the VM, click Create.

gcloud

To create the VM, use the gcloud compute instances create command.

The parameters that you need to specify depend on the consumption option that you are using for this deployment. Select the tab that corresponds to your consumption option's provisioning model.

Reservation-bound

Before running the command, optionally add the flag for a compact placement policy.

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME  \
    --machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE \
    --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT \
    --zone=ZONE \
    --boot-disk-type=hyperdisk-balanced \
    --boot-disk-size=DISK_SIZE \
    --scopes=cloud-platform \
    --network-interface=nic-type=GVNIC,network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-0,subnet=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-0 \
    --network-interface=nic-type=GVNIC,network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-1,subnet=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-1,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-0,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-1,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-2,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-3,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-4,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-5,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-6,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-7,no-address \
    --reservation-affinity=specific \
    --reservation=RESERVATION \
    --provisioning-model=RESERVATION_BOUND \
    --instance-termination-action=DELETE \
    --maintenance-policy=TERMINATE

Complete the following steps:

Replace the following:

VM_NAME: the name of the VM.
MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the VM. Specify either an A4 or A3 Ultra machine type. For more information, see GPU machine types.
IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of supported operating systems, see Operating system details.
IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
ZONE: the zone in which the machine type that you want to use is available. If you want to specify a compact placement policy, then you must use a zone in the same region as the compact placement policy. For information about regions, see GPU regions and zones.
DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB.
GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the standard VPC networks and subnets that use gVNICs.
RDMA_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the VPC networks and subnets that use RDMA NICs.

RESERVATION: either the reservation name or a specific block within a reservation. To get the reservation name or the available blocks, see View reserved capacity. Choose one of the following:

Reservation value When to use

Reservation value	When to use
`projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME`	Use this value when one of the following is true: *You are* using a compact placement policy. Compute Engine applies the policy to the reservation and creates the VMs on a single block. You aren't using a compact placement policy, and it's acceptable to create the VMs on any of the reserved blocks.**
`projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME/reservationBlocks/RESERVATION_BLOCK_NAME`	Use this value when *you aren't* using a compact placement policy, and you want to create VMs on a specific reserved block.**


projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME

Use this value when one of the following is true:

You are using a compact placement policy. Compute Engine applies the policy to the reservation and creates the VMs on a single block.
You aren't using a compact placement policy, and it's acceptable to create the VMs on any of the reserved blocks.


projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME/reservationBlocks/RESERVATION_BLOCK_NAME

Use this value when you aren't using a compact placement policy, and you want to create VMs on a specific reserved block.

Tip: If the reservation is located in the current project, you can omit projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/ from the reservation value.

Optional: If you chose to use a compact placement policy, then add the following flag to the command:
```
  --resource-policies=POLICY_NAME
```
Replace the following:
- POLICY_NAME: the name of the compact placement policy.
Run the command.

Spot

Before running the command, optionally add the flag for a compact placement policy.

gcloud compute instances create VM_NAME  \
    --machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE \
    --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT \
    --zone=ZONE \
    --boot-disk-type=hyperdisk-balanced \
    --boot-disk-size=DISK_SIZE \
    --scopes=cloud-platform \
    --network-interface=nic-type=GVNIC,network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-0,subnet=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-0 \
    --network-interface=nic-type=GVNIC,network=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-1,subnet=GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-1,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-0,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-1,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-2,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-3,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-4,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-5,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-6,no-address \
    --network-interface=nic-type=MRDMA,network=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma,subnet=RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-7,no-address \
    --provisioning-model=SPOT \
    --instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTION

Complete the following steps:

Replace the following:
- VM_NAME: the name of the VM.
- MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the VM. Specify either an A4 or A3 Ultra machine type. For more information, see GPU machine types.
- IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of supported operating systems, see Operating system details.
- IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
- ZONE: the zone in which the machine type that you want to use is available. If you want to specify a compact placement policy, then you must use a zone in the same region as the compact placement policy. For information about regions, see GPU regions and zones.
- DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB.
- GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the standard VPC networks and subnets that use gVNICs.
- RDMA_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the VPC networks and subnets that use RDMA NICs.
- TERMINATION_ACTION: the action to take when Compute Engine preempts the instance, either STOP (default) or DELETE.
  Important: Make sure your application can handle preemption. For example, we recommend that you handle preemption by specifying a shutdown script during instance creation. Learn how to handle preemption with a shutdown script.
Optional: If you chose to use a compact placement policy, then add the following flag to the command:
```
  --resource-policies=POLICY_NAME
```
Replace the following:
- POLICY_NAME: the name of the compact placement policy.
Run the command.

REST

To create the VM, make a POST request to the instances.insert method.

The parameters that you need to specify depend on the consumption option that you are using for this deployment. Select the tab that corresponds to your consumption option's provisioning model.

Reservation-bound

Before submitting the request, optionally add the field for a compact placement policy to the request body.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
{
  "machineType":"projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
  "name":"VM_NAME",
  "disks":[
    {
      "boot":true,
      "initializeParams":{
        "diskSizeGb":"DISK_SIZE",
        "diskType":"hyperdisk-balanced",
        "sourceImage":"projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
      },
      "mode":"READ_WRITE",
      "type":"PERSISTENT"
    }
  ],
  "networkInterfaces": [
    {
      "accessConfigs": [
        {
          "name": "external-nat",
          "type": "ONE_TO_ONE_NAT"
        }
      ],
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-0",
      "nicType": "GVNIC",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-0"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-1",
      "nicType": "GVNIC",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-1"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-0"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-1"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-2"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-3"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-4"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-5"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-6"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-7"
    }
  ],
  "reservationAffinity":{
    "consumeReservationType":"SPECIFIC_RESERVATION",
    "key":"compute.googleapis.com/reservation-name",
    "values":[
      "RESERVATION"
    ]
  },
"scheduling":{
    "provisioningModel":"RESERVATION_BOUND",
    "instanceTerminationAction":"DELETE",
    "onHostMaintenance": "TERMINATE",
    "automaticRestart":true
  }
}

Complete the following steps:

Replace the following:

PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where you want to create the VM.
ZONE: the zone in which the machine type that you want to use is available. If you want to specify a compact placement policy, then you must use a zone in the same region as the compact placement policy. For information about regions, see GPU regions and zones.
MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the VM. Specify either an A4 or A3 Ultra machine type. For more information, see GPU machine types.
VM_NAME: the name of the VM.
DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB.
IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of supported operating systems, see Operating system details.
NETWORK_PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the network.
GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the standard VPC networks and subnets that use gVNICs.
REGION: the region of the subnetwork.
RDMA_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the VPC networks and subnets that use RDMA NICs.

RESERVATION: either the reservation name or a specific block within a reservation. To get the reservation name or the available blocks, see View reserved capacity. Choose one of the following:

Reservation value When to use

Reservation value	When to use
`projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME`	Use this value when one of the following is true: *You are* using a compact placement policy. Compute Engine applies the policy to the reservation and creates the VMs on a single block. You aren't using a compact placement policy, and it's acceptable to create the VMs on any of the reserved blocks.**
`projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME/reservationBlocks/RESERVATION_BLOCK_NAME`	Use this value when *you aren't* using a compact placement policy, and you want to create VMs on a specific reserved block.**


projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME

Use this value when one of the following is true:

You are using a compact placement policy. Compute Engine applies the policy to the reservation and creates the VMs on a single block.
You aren't using a compact placement policy, and it's acceptable to create the VMs on any of the reserved blocks.


projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME/reservationBlocks/RESERVATION_BLOCK_NAME

Use this value when you aren't using a compact placement policy, and you want to create VMs on a specific reserved block.

Tip: If the reservation is located in the current project, you can omit projects/RESERVATION_PROJECT_ID/reservations/ from the reservation value.

Optional: If you chose to use a compact placement policy, then add the following field to the request body:
```
  "resourcePolicies": [
    "projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/resourcePolicies/POLICY_NAME"
  ]
```
Replace the following:
- PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the compact placement policy.
- REGION: the region of the compact placement policy.
- POLICY_NAME: the name of the compact placement policy.
Submit the request.

Spot

Before submitting the request, optionally add the field for a compact placement policy to the request body.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances
{
  "machineType":"projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/machineTypes/MACHINE_TYPE",
  "name":"VM_NAME",
  "disks":[
    {
      "boot":true,
      "initializeParams":{
        "diskSizeGb":"DISK_SIZE",
        "diskType":"hyperdisk-balanced",
        "sourceImage":"projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
      },
      "mode":"READ_WRITE",
      "type":"PERSISTENT"
    }
  ],
  "networkInterfaces": [
    {
      "accessConfigs": [
        {
          "name": "external-nat",
          "type": "ONE_TO_ONE_NAT"
        }
      ],
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-0",
      "nicType": "GVNIC",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-0"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-net-1",
      "nicType": "GVNIC",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX-sub-1"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-0"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-1"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-2"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-3"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-4"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-5"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-6"
    },
    {
      "network": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/global/networks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma",
      "nicType": "MRDMA",
      "subnetwork": "projects/NETWORK_PROJECT_ID/region/REGION/subnetworks/RDMA_NAME_PREFIX-mrdma-sub-7"
    }
  ],
  "scheduling":
  {
    "provisioningModel": "SPOT",
    "instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION"
  }
}

Complete the following steps:

Replace the following:
- PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where you want to create the VM.
- ZONE: the zone in which the machine type that you want to use is available. If you want to specify a compact placement policy, then you must use a zone in the same region as the compact placement policy. For information about regions, see GPU regions and zones.
- MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the VM. Specify either an A4 or A3 Ultra machine type. For more information, see GPU machine types.
- VM_NAME: the name of the VM.
- DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB.
- IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
- IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of supported operating systems, see Operating system details.
- NETWORK_PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the network.
- GVNIC_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the standard VPC networks and subnets that use gVNICs.
- REGION: the region of the subnetwork.
- RDMA_NAME_PREFIX: the name prefix that you specified when creating the VPC networks and subnets that use RDMA NICs.
- TERMINATION_ACTION: the action to take when Compute Engine preempts the instance, either STOP (default) or DELETE.
  Important: Make sure your application can handle preemption. For example, we recommend that you handle preemption by specifying a shutdown script during instance creation. Learn how to handle preemption with a shutdown script.
Optional: If you chose to use a compact placement policy, then add the following field to the request body:
```
  "resourcePolicies": [
    "projects/PROJECT_ID/regions/REGION/resourcePolicies/POLICY_NAME"
  ]
```
Replace the following:
- PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the compact placement policy.
- REGION: the region of the compact placement policy.
- POLICY_NAME: the name of the compact placement policy.
Submit the request.

Create an AI-optimized instance with A4 or A3 UltraStay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Before you begin

Console

gcloud

REST

Required roles

Required permissions

Overview

Create VPC networks

Instruction guides

Script

Optional: Create a compact placement policy

gcloud

REST

Create an A3 Ultra or A4 VM

Console

Reservation-bound

Spot

gcloud

Reservation-bound

Spot

REST

Reservation-bound

Spot

What's next

Create an AI-optimized instance with A4 or A3 Ultra
Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.