Machine Types & Families

Choosing the right machine type is one of the most important decisions when working with Compute Engine. Google Cloud offers dozens of predefined machine types grouped into families, each optimised for different workload characteristics. Selecting the correct type ensures you get the performance you need without overspending.

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Machine Type Naming Convention

Compute Engine machine types follow a naming convention that encodes the family, series, and configuration:

n2-standard-8
|  |         |
|  |         +-- vCPU count (8 vCPUs)
|  +------------ Shape (standard = balanced CPU-to-memory ratio)
+--------------- Series (n2 = 2nd-generation general-purpose)

Common Shapes

Shape	CPU : Memory Ratio	Use Case
standard	1 vCPU : 4 GB	Balanced workloads
highmem	1 vCPU : 8 GB	Memory-intensive databases
highcpu	1 vCPU : 1 GB	CPU-intensive batch processing
megamem / ultramem	Very high memory	SAP HANA, large in-memory databases

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Machine Type Families

General-Purpose (E2, N2, N2D, N1, T2D, T2A, C3, C3D)