What Is It?
Compute Engine provides virtual machines with two server types: Dedicated Core servers with physical CPU cores and vCPU servers with cost-effective virtual CPUs. Both types offer customizable resources (CPU, RAM, storage, networking), support Linux and Windows operating systems, and feature Live Vertical Scaling to adjust resources without downtime. Servers run within Virtual Data Centers (VDCs) with availability zone support for high availability.
Quick Facts
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Server Types | Dedicated Core, vCPU servers, Cloud GPU VMs |
| CPU Options | AMD, Intel (Dedicated Core only) |
| Scaling | Live Vertical Scaling (LVS) for CPU and RAM |
| Availability | Multi-availability zone support |
| Storage | HDD, SSD (1 GB - 4 TB per volume) |
| Management | Data Center Designer (DCD), Cloud API, SDKs, Terraform |
Choosing Your Server Type
| Aspect | Dedicated Core | vCPU servers |
|---|---|---|
| Resources | Physical CPU cores (hyper-threaded) | Virtual CPUs (shared) |
| CPU Selection | AMD or Intel, switchable after provisioning | No CPU family selection |
| Performance | Guaranteed, consistent | Variable based on host utilization |
| Best For | Databases, real-time processing, performance-intensive workloads | General workloads, dev/test, SaaS, web apps |
| Price Point | Premium | Approximately 70% lower than Dedicated Core |
Choose Dedicated Core when: You need guaranteed CPU performance, consistent latency, or specific CPU architecture (AMD/Intel).
Choose vCPU when: Cost optimization is priority, workloads tolerate variable performance, or you need flexible scalability.
Dedicated Core Specifications
| Resource | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Cores | 1 core | 62 cores |
| RAM | 0.25 GB | 230 GB |
| PCI Connectors | 0 | 24 (NICs and storage combined) |
| CD-ROM Devices | 0 | 2 |
| Storage per Volume | 1 GB | 4 TB |
Note: Each physical core is hyper-threaded (2 logical CPUs) on AMD EPYC and Gen-5 Intel Xeon hosts (Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, Ice Lake); Gen-6 Intel Xeon Sierra Forest hosts present each physical core as a single logical core with no hyper-threading.
vCPU Server Specifications
| Resource | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| vCPUs | 1 vCPU | 60 vCPUs |
| RAM | 0.25 GB | 230 GB |
| PCI Connectors | 0 | 24 (NICs and storage combined) |
| CD-ROM Devices | 0 | 2 |
| Storage per Volume | 1 GB | 4 TB |
What You Can Do
Live Vertical Scaling
Add CPU, RAM, NICs, or storage while the VM is running. Linux supports full LVS for both CPU and RAM. Windows supports CPU scaling only (RAM changes require reboot). No downtime required for supported operations.
Flexible Resource Configuration
Choose CPU cores (or vCPUs), memory, and storage freely and independently. Compute Engine servers are not restricted to fixed template sizes (fixed-size templates are a Cubes feature). Adjust configurations after creation via LVS.
Multi-Availability Zone Deployment
Spread servers and storage across separate physical availability zones within a region for fault tolerance. If one zone experiences issues, services in other zones remain operational.
Secure Virtualization
VMs are isolated through secure virtualization technology.
Core Technology Switching
For Dedicated Core servers, switch between AMD and Intel CPU architectures after provisioning. Requires VM restart but provides flexibility for workload optimization or specific CPU feature requirements.
Storage Flexibility
Attach HDD or SSD volumes (1 GB to 4 TB per volume). Scale storage capacity up later without VM restart. Support for multiple storage devices per server (within 24 PCI connector limit).
Cloud GPU VMs
Deploy GPU-accelerated virtual machines powered by NVIDIA H200 GPUs for AI/ML training, inference, high-performance computing, and 3D rendering workloads. Cloud GPU VMs provide dedicated GPU resources with high-bandwidth GPU memory for demanding parallel compute tasks.
IPv6 Configuration
Enable IPv6 addressing for modern network requirements. Supports dual-stack configurations for compatibility with both IPv4 and IPv6 networks.
Best For
| Scenario | Server Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Production databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB) | Dedicated Core | Guaranteed CPU performance and consistent I/O |
| Real-time analytics, HPC workloads | Dedicated Core | Predictable latency and dedicated resources |
| Web applications, API servers | vCPU | Cost-effective with adequate performance for variable load |
| Development and testing environments | vCPU | Lower cost, flexible scaling for temporary workloads |
| SaaS platforms, microservices | vCPU | Balance of performance and cost for distributed architectures |
| Latency-sensitive applications | Dedicated Core | Consistent performance without noisy neighbor effects |
| AI/ML training and inference | Cloud GPU VMs | Dedicated NVIDIA H200 GPUs for parallel compute workloads |
| 3D rendering and HPC | Cloud GPU VMs | High-bandwidth GPU memory for graphics and scientific computing |
Consider Alternatives If
| If You Need... | Consider | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-configured, template-based VMs | Cubes | Quick deployment with suspend/resume capabilities |
| Containerized workload orchestration | Managed Kubernetes | Automated container management and scaling |
| Bare metal servers without hypervisor | Contact IONOS sales | Direct hardware access for specialized requirements |
Key Considerations
Billing & Costs
- Main billing: Per hour based on cores/vCPUs and RAM allocated
- Dedicated Core: Premium pricing for guaranteed physical cores
- vCPU: Approximately 70% lower cost than equivalent Dedicated Core
- When stopped: DCD de-allocate the VM's resources (CPU and RAM) and billing stops. You are only charged for the storage.
- Additional costs: Storage (HDD/SSD), data transfer, public IPs, snapshots
Limitations
- Dedicated Core: Maximum 62 physical cores, 230 GB RAM per instance
- vCPU: Maximum 60 vCPUs, 230 GB RAM per instance
- PCI devices: 24 maximum (total of NICs, storage, CD-ROM devices combined)
- Windows LVS: RAM scaling requires reboot (CPU scaling supported live)
- CPU switching: Dedicated Core servers must restart when changing AMD/Intel architecture
- vCPU CPU family: Cannot select or change CPU family after creation
- RAM limits: Larger sizes available via sales contact, not standard self-service
Management Options
- Data Center Designer (DCD): Drag-and-drop visual interface for VM creation, configuration, monitoring, power management
- Cloud API: Full programmatic access to server lifecycle and configuration
- Compute SDKs: Language-specific libraries (Python, Go, Java, etc.)
- Terraform provider: Infrastructure-as-code for reproducible deployments
- Configuration management: Integration with Ansible, Puppet, Chef for automated setup