Create AI-optimized N1 VMs with GPUs in bulk

General GPUs

This document explains how to create virtual machine (VM) instances in bulk that use the N1 machine series with attached GPUs. To learn more about these accelerator-optimized machine types, see N1+GPU series.

For more information about creating VMs in bulk, see About bulk creation of VMs in the Compute Engine documentation.

To learn about other ways to create VMs or clusters, see Deployment options overview.

Limitations

For the limitations that apply to N1 machine types with GPUs, see all of the following:

• GPU machine types
• GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family
• N1 machine series

Before you begin

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

1. Choose a consumption option: your choice of consumption option determines how you get and use GPU resources. To learn more, see Choose a consumption option.
2. Obtain capacity: the process to obtain capacity differs for each consumption option. To learn about the process to obtain capacity for your chosen consumption option, see Capacity overview.

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.

Install the Google Cloud CLI.

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 in bulk, 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 in bulk. To see the exact permissions that are required, expand the Required permissions section:

Required permissions

The following permissions are required to create VMs in bulk:

• 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 specify a subnet for your VM: compute.subnetworks.use on the project or on the chosen subnet
• 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 VPC network: compute.subnetworks.useExternalIp on the project or on the chosen subnet
• To assign a legacy network to the VM: compute.networks.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 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 instances in bulk with the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs machine type includes the following steps:

1. Create instances in bulk
2. Install GPU drivers

Create N1 VMs with GPUs in bulk

To create N1 VMs with GPUs in bulk, use one of the following methods.

The following commands also set the access scope for your instances. To simplify permissions management, Google recommends that you set the access scope on an instance to cloud-platform access and then use IAM roles to define what services the instance can access. For more information, see Scopes best practice.

gcloud

To create instances in bulk, use the gcloud compute instances bulk 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.

Reservation

N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances support the following types of reservations:

• On-demand reservations
• Standard future reservations

To consume these types of reservations, an instance must use the standard provisioning model. For example, use the following creation parameters.

Before you run the command, review all of the following steps to determine whether to include additional flags.

gcloud compute instances bulk create \
    --name-pattern=NAME_PATTERN \
    --count=COUNT \
     --machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE \
    --accelerator=type=ACCELERATOR_TYPE,count=ACCELERATOR_COUNT \
    --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT \
    --region=REGION \
    --boot-disk-type=DISK_TYPE \
    --boot-disk-size=DISK_SIZE \
    --scopes=cloud-platform \
    --provisioning-model=STANDARD \
    --maintenance-policy=TERMINATE \
    --reservation-affinity=RESERVATION_AFFINITY \
    --reservation=RESERVATION

Complete the following steps:

1. Replace the following:

   • NAME_PATTERN: the name pattern to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances. For example, using instance-# for the name pattern generates N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances with names such as instance-1 and instance-2, up to the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances specified by --count.
   • COUNT: the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances to create.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance. For more information, see GPU machine types in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_COUNT: the number of GPUs that you want to attach to your N1 VM. For a list of GPU limits based on the machine type of your VM, see information about N1 GPUs in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_TYPE: the accelerator type for N1 VMs that you want to use. For AI workloads, we recommend that you use T4 or V100 GPUs.
     Tip: If you plan to run graphics-intensive workloads on this VM, then we recommend that you use the nvidia-tesla-t4-vws accelerator type because it supports NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).

     When you create an instance that uses NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation, Compute Engine automatically adds a vWS license. For information about pricing for virtual workstations, see the GPU pricing page.

   • IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of all supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems.
   • IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
   • REGION: specify a region in which the machine type that you want to use is available. For information about regions, see GPU availability by regions and zones.
   • DISK_TYPE: the type of the boot disk. For more information about the supported disk types for your machine type, see GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB. For more information, see either Google Cloud Hyperdisk size limits or Persistent Disk size limits based on the type of disk.

   • RESERVATION_AFFINITY: which reservations the instance is allowed to consume, if possible. Specify one of the following:

     • any (Reservation capacity is optional): this is the default option. The instance tries to use capacity from an automatically consumed reservation, which only happens if matching reservation capacity is available. Otherwise, the instance uses on-demand capacity.

     Caution: When matching reservation capacity is unavailable, the instance uses the on-demand consumption option instead, which has different billing and capacity assurance. For more information, see Choose a consumption option.

     • specific (Reservation capacity is required): Require the instance to use capacity from a specifically targeted reservation. The instance isn't allowed to use on-demand capacity. If reservation capacity is unavailable, then the instance creation fails.

   • RESERVATION: the reservation to use. Specify one of the following based on the value you specified for RESERVATION_AFFINITY:

     • If you specified any, then replace RESERVATION with an empty string (""). Alternatively, you can remove the --reservation flag entirely.

     • If you specified specific, then replace RESERVATION with the following:

       projects/RESERVATION_OWNER_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME

       Replace the following:

       • RESERVATION_OWNER_PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where the reservation was created.
       Tip: If the reservation exists in the current project, then you can omit projects/RESERVATION_OWNER_PROJECT_ID/reservations/ from the RESERVATION value.
       • RESERVATION_NAME: the name of the reservation.

2. By default, the instance automatically restarts if it crashes or Compute Engine stops it for a programmed stop, such as a maintenance event. If you want to disable automatic restart, then add the following flag:

   --no-restart-on-failure

3. Optional: To attach Local SSD disks, then add the following --local-ssd flag for each Local SSD disk.

   Ensure that the number of Local SSD disks that you attach is allowed for your machine type; for details, see About Local SSD disks in the Compute Engine documentation.

   --local-ssd interface=INTERFACE_TYPE
   

   Replace the following:

   • INTERFACE_TYPE: the disk interface type that you want to use for the Local SSD disk. If your boot disk image has optimized NVMe drivers, then specify NVME. Specify SCSI for other images.

   After creating a VM with Local SSD disks, you must format and mount each device before you can use it.

4. Run the command.

On-demand

Before you run the command, review all of the following steps to determine whether to include additional flags.

gcloud compute instances bulk create \
    --name-pattern=NAME_PATTERN \
    --count=COUNT \
     --machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE \
    --accelerator=type=ACCELERATOR_TYPE,count=ACCELERATOR_COUNT \
    --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT \
    --region=REGION \
    --boot-disk-type=DISK_TYPE \
    --boot-disk-size=DISK_SIZE \
    --scopes=cloud-platform \
    --provisioning-model=STANDARD \
    --maintenance-policy=TERMINATE \
    --reservation-affinity=RESERVATION_AFFINITY

Complete the following steps:

1. Replace the following:

   • NAME_PATTERN: the name pattern to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances. For example, using instance-# for the name pattern generates N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances with names such as instance-1 and instance-2, up to the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances specified by --count.
   • COUNT: the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances to create.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance. For more information, see GPU machine types in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_COUNT: the number of GPUs that you want to attach to your N1 VM. For a list of GPU limits based on the machine type of your VM, see information about N1 GPUs in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_TYPE: the accelerator type for N1 VMs that you want to use. For AI workloads, we recommend that you use T4 or V100 GPUs.
     Tip: If you plan to run graphics-intensive workloads on this VM, then we recommend that you use the nvidia-tesla-t4-vws accelerator type because it supports NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).

     When you create an instance that uses NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation, Compute Engine automatically adds a vWS license. For information about pricing for virtual workstations, see the GPU pricing page.

   • IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of all supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems.
   • IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
   • REGION: specify a region in which the machine type that you want to use is available. For information about regions, see GPU availability by regions and zones.
   • DISK_TYPE: the type of the boot disk. For more information about the supported disk types for your machine type, see GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB. For more information, see either Google Cloud Hyperdisk size limits or Persistent Disk size limits based on the type of disk.

   • RESERVATION_AFFINITY: which reservations the instance is allowed to consume, if possible. Specify one of the following:

     • any (Reservation capacity is optional): this is the default option. The instance tries to use capacity from an automatically consumed reservation, which only happens if matching reservation capacity is available. Otherwise, the instance uses on-demand capacity.

     Note: If you want using reservation capacity to be required, then follow the Reservation steps instead.

     • none (On-demand capacity is required): Block the instance from using any reservation capacity.

2. By default, the instance automatically restarts if it crashes or Compute Engine stops it for a programmed stop, such as a maintenance event. If you want to disable automatic restart, then add the following flag:

   --no-restart-on-failure

3. Optional: To attach Local SSD disks, then add the following --local-ssd flag for each Local SSD disk.

   Ensure that the number of Local SSD disks that you attach is allowed for your machine type; for details, see About Local SSD disks in the Compute Engine documentation.

   --local-ssd interface=INTERFACE_TYPE
   

   Replace the following:

   • INTERFACE_TYPE: the disk interface type that you want to use for the Local SSD disk. If your boot disk image has optimized NVMe drivers, then specify NVME. Specify SCSI for other images.

   After creating a VM with Local SSD disks, you must format and mount each device before you can use it.

4. Run the command.

Spot

Before you run the command, review all of the following steps to determine whether to include additional flags.

gcloud compute instances bulk create \
    --name-pattern=NAME_PATTERN \
    --count=COUNT \
     --machine-type=MACHINE_TYPE \
    --accelerator=type=ACCELERATOR_TYPE,count=ACCELERATOR_COUNT \
    --image-family=IMAGE_FAMILY \
    --image-project=IMAGE_PROJECT \
    --region=REGION \
    --boot-disk-type=DISK_TYPE \
    --boot-disk-size=DISK_SIZE \
    --scopes=cloud-platform \
    --provisioning-model=SPOT \
    --instance-termination-action=TERMINATION_ACTION \
    --maintenance-policy=TERMINATE \
    --no-restart-on-failure

Complete the following steps:

1. Replace the following:

   • NAME_PATTERN: the name pattern to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances. For example, using instance-# for the name pattern generates N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances with names such as instance-1 and instance-2, up to the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances specified by --count.
   • COUNT: the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances to create.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance. For more information, see GPU machine types in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_COUNT: the number of GPUs that you want to attach to your N1 VM. For a list of GPU limits based on the machine type of your VM, see information about N1 GPUs in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_TYPE: the accelerator type for N1 VMs that you want to use. For AI workloads, we recommend that you use T4 or V100 GPUs.
     Tip: If you plan to run graphics-intensive workloads on this VM, then we recommend that you use the nvidia-tesla-t4-vws accelerator type because it supports NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).

     When you create an instance that uses NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation, Compute Engine automatically adds a vWS license. For information about pricing for virtual workstations, see the GPU pricing page.

   • IMAGE_FAMILY: the image family of the OS image that you want to use. For a list of all supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems.
   • IMAGE_PROJECT: the project ID of the OS image.
   • REGION: specify a region in which the machine type that you want to use is available. For information about regions, see GPU availability by regions and zones.
   • DISK_TYPE: the type of the boot disk. For more information about the supported disk types for your machine type, see GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB. For more information, see either Google Cloud Hyperdisk size limits or Persistent Disk size limits based on the type of disk.

   • 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, handle preemption by specifying a shutdown script during instance creation. Learn how to handle preemption with a shutdown script.

2. Optional: To attach Local SSD disks, then add the following --local-ssd flag for each Local SSD disk.

   Ensure that the number of Local SSD disks that you attach is allowed for your machine type; for details, see About Local SSD disks in the Compute Engine documentation.

   --local-ssd interface=INTERFACE_TYPE
   

   Replace the following:

   • INTERFACE_TYPE: the disk interface type that you want to use for the Local SSD disk. If your boot disk image has optimized NVMe drivers, then specify NVME. Specify SCSI for other images.

   After creating a VM with Local SSD disks, you must format and mount each device before you can use it.

3. Run the command.

REST

To create instances in bulk, make a POST request to the instances.bulkInsert 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.

Reservation

N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances support the following types of reservations:

• On-demand reservations
• Standard future reservations

To consume these types of reservations, an instance must use the standard provisioning model. For example, use the following creation parameters.

Before you submit the request, review all of the following steps to determine whether to include additional fields.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/bulkInsert
{
  "namePattern": "NAME_PATTERN",
  "count": "COUNT",
  "instanceProperties": {
    "machineType": "MACHINE_TYPE",
    "guestAccelerators":
    [
      {
        "acceleratorCount": ACCELERATOR_COUNT,
        "acceleratorType": "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/acceleratorTypes/ACCELERATOR_TYPE"
      }
    ],
    "disks": [
      {
        "boot": true,
        "initializeParams": {
          "diskSizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
          "diskType": "DISK_TYPE",
          "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
        },
        "mode": "READ_WRITE",
        "type": "PERSISTENT"
      }
    ],
    "serviceAccounts": [
      {
        "email": "default",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "scheduling": {
    "provisioningModel": "STANDARD",
    "onHostMaintenance": "TERMINATE",
    "automaticRestart": AUTOMATIC_RESTART
  },
  "reservationAffinity": {
    "consumeReservationType": "RESERVATION_AFFINITY",
    "key": "compute.googleapis.com/reservation-name",
    "values": [
      "RESERVATION"
    ]
  }
  }
}

Complete the following steps:

1. Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where you want to create the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance.
   • 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.
   • NAME_PATTERN: the name pattern to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances. For example, using instance-# for the name pattern generates N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances with names such as instance-1 and instance-2, up to the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances specified by --count.
   • COUNT: the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances to create.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance. For more information, see GPU machine types in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_COUNT: the number of GPUs that you want to attach to your N1 VM. For a list of GPU limits based on the machine type of your VM, see information about N1 GPUs in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_TYPE: the accelerator type for N1 VMs that you want to use. For AI workloads, we recommend that you use T4 or V100 GPUs.
     Tip: If you plan to run graphics-intensive workloads on this VM, then we recommend that you use the nvidia-tesla-t4-vws accelerator type because it supports NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).

     When you create an instance that uses NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation, Compute Engine automatically adds a vWS license. For information about pricing for virtual workstations, see the GPU pricing page.

   • DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB. For more information, see either Google Cloud Hyperdisk size limits or Persistent Disk size limits based on the type of disk.
   • DISK_TYPE: the type of the boot disk. For more information about the supported disk types for your machine type, see GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • 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 all supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems.

   • AUTOMATIC_RESTART: if your instance automatically restarts if it crashes or Compute Engine stops it for a programmed stop, such as a maintenance event. Specify either true to enable automatic restart (default) or false to disable automatic restart.

   • RESERVATION_AFFINITY: which reservations the instance is allowed to consume, if possible. Specify one of the following:

     • ANY_RESERVATION (Reservation capacity is optional): this is the default option. The instance tries to use capacity from an automatically consumed reservation, which only happens if matching reservation capacity is available. Otherwise, the instance uses on-demand capacity.

     Caution: When matching reservation capacity is unavailable, the instance uses the on-demand consumption option instead, which has different billing and capacity assurance. For more information, see Choose a consumption option.

     • SPECIFIC_RESERVATION (Reservation capacity is required): Require the instance to use capacity from a specifically targeted reservation. The instance isn't allowed to use on-demand capacity. If reservation capacity is unavailable, then the instance creation fails.

   • RESERVATION: the reservation to use. Specify one of the following based on the value you specified for RESERVATION_AFFINITY:

     • If you specified ANY_RESERVATION, then delete RESERVATION so that the value is an empty string (""). Alternatively, you can remove the key and values fields entirely.

     • If you specified SPECIFIC_RESERVATION, then replace RESERVATION with the following:

       projects/RESERVATION_OWNER_PROJECT_ID/reservations/RESERVATION_NAME

       Replace the following:

       • RESERVATION_OWNER_PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where the reservation was created.
       Tip: If the reservation exists in the current project, then you can omit projects/RESERVATION_OWNER_PROJECT_ID/reservations/ from the RESERVATION value.
       • RESERVATION_NAME: the name of the reservation.

2. Optional: To use Local SSD disks, add the following field to the disks[] field for each Local SSD disk. Separate each disks[] subfield (including the boot disk) with a comma.

   Ensure that the number of Local SSD disks that you attach is allowed for your machine type; for details, see About Local SSD disks in the Compute Engine documentation.

       {
          "type": "SCRATCH",
          "initializeParams": {
             "diskType": "zones/ZONE/diskTypes/local-ssd"
          },
          "autoDelete": true,
          "interface": "INTERFACE_TYPE"
       }
   

   Replace the following:

   • ZONE: your specified zone.
   • INTERFACE_TYPE: the disk interface type that you want to use for the Local SSD disk. If your boot disk image has optimized NVMe drivers, then specify NVME. Specify SCSI for other images.

   After creating a VM with Local SSD disks, you must format and mount each device before you can use it.

3. Submit the request.

On-demand

Before you submit the request, review all of the following steps to determine whether to include additional fields.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/bulkInsert
{
  "namePattern": "NAME_PATTERN",
  "count": "COUNT",
  "instanceProperties": {
    "machineType": "MACHINE_TYPE",
    "guestAccelerators":
    [
      {
        "acceleratorCount": ACCELERATOR_COUNT,
        "acceleratorType": "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/acceleratorTypes/ACCELERATOR_TYPE"
      }
    ],
    "disks": [
      {
        "boot": true,
        "initializeParams": {
          "diskSizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
          "diskType": "DISK_TYPE",
          "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
        },
        "mode": "READ_WRITE",
        "type": "PERSISTENT"
      }
    ],
    "serviceAccounts": [
      {
        "email": "default",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "scheduling": {
    "provisioningModel": "STANDARD",
    "onHostMaintenance": "TERMINATE",
    "automaticRestart": AUTOMATIC_RESTART
  },
  "reservationAffinity": {
    "consumeReservationType": "RESERVATION_AFFINITY"
  }
  }
}

Complete the following steps:

1. Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where you want to create the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance.
   • 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.
   • NAME_PATTERN: the name pattern to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances. For example, using instance-# for the name pattern generates N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances with names such as instance-1 and instance-2, up to the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances specified by --count.
   • COUNT: the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances to create.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance. For more information, see GPU machine types in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_COUNT: the number of GPUs that you want to attach to your N1 VM. For a list of GPU limits based on the machine type of your VM, see information about N1 GPUs in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_TYPE: the accelerator type for N1 VMs that you want to use. For AI workloads, we recommend that you use T4 or V100 GPUs.
     Tip: If you plan to run graphics-intensive workloads on this VM, then we recommend that you use the nvidia-tesla-t4-vws accelerator type because it supports NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).

     When you create an instance that uses NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation, Compute Engine automatically adds a vWS license. For information about pricing for virtual workstations, see the GPU pricing page.

   • DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB. For more information, see either Google Cloud Hyperdisk size limits or Persistent Disk size limits based on the type of disk.
   • DISK_TYPE: the type of the boot disk. For more information about the supported disk types for your machine type, see GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • 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 all supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems.

   • AUTOMATIC_RESTART: if your instance automatically restarts if it crashes or Compute Engine stops it for a programmed stop, such as a maintenance event. Specify either true to enable automatic restart (default) or false to disable automatic restart.

   • RESERVATION_AFFINITY: which reservations the instance is allowed to consume, if possible. Specify one of the following:

     • ANY_RESERVATION (Reservation capacity is optional): this is the default option. The instance tries to use capacity from an automatically consumed reservation, which only happens if matching reservation capacity is available. Otherwise, the instance uses on-demand capacity.

     Note: If you want using reservation capacity to be required, then follow the Reservation steps instead.

     • NO_RESERVATION (On-demand capacity is required): Block the instance from using any reservation capacity.

2. Optional: To use Local SSD disks, add the following field to the disks[] field for each Local SSD disk. Separate each disks[] subfield (including the boot disk) with a comma.

   Ensure that the number of Local SSD disks that you attach is allowed for your machine type; for details, see About Local SSD disks in the Compute Engine documentation.

       {
          "type": "SCRATCH",
          "initializeParams": {
             "diskType": "zones/ZONE/diskTypes/local-ssd"
          },
          "autoDelete": true,
          "interface": "INTERFACE_TYPE"
       }
   

   Replace the following:

   • ZONE: your specified zone.
   • INTERFACE_TYPE: the disk interface type that you want to use for the Local SSD disk. If your boot disk image has optimized NVMe drivers, then specify NVME. Specify SCSI for other images.

   After creating a VM with Local SSD disks, you must format and mount each device before you can use it.

3. Submit the request.

Spot

Before you submit the request, review all of the following steps to determine whether to include additional fields.

POST https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/instances/bulkInsert
{
  "namePattern": "NAME_PATTERN",
  "count": "COUNT",
  "instanceProperties": {
    "machineType": "MACHINE_TYPE",
    "guestAccelerators":
    [
      {
        "acceleratorCount": ACCELERATOR_COUNT,
        "acceleratorType": "projects/PROJECT_ID/zones/ZONE/acceleratorTypes/ACCELERATOR_TYPE"
      }
    ],
    "disks": [
      {
        "boot": true,
        "initializeParams": {
          "diskSizeGb": "DISK_SIZE",
          "diskType": "DISK_TYPE",
          "sourceImage": "projects/IMAGE_PROJECT/global/images/family/IMAGE_FAMILY"
        },
        "mode": "READ_WRITE",
        "type": "PERSISTENT"
      }
    ],
    "serviceAccounts": [
      {
        "email": "default",
        "scopes": [
          "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "scheduling":
    {
      "provisioningModel": "SPOT",
      "instanceTerminationAction": "TERMINATION_ACTION",
      "onHostMaintenance": "TERMINATE",
      "automaticRestart": false
    }
  }
}

Complete the following steps:

1. Replace the following:

   • PROJECT_ID: the project ID of the project where you want to create the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance.
   • 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.
   • NAME_PATTERN: the name pattern to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances. For example, using instance-# for the name pattern generates N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances with names such as instance-1 and instance-2, up to the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances specified by --count.
   • COUNT: the number of N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instances to create.
   • MACHINE_TYPE: the machine type to use for the N1 with T4 or V100 GPUs instance. For more information, see GPU machine types in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_COUNT: the number of GPUs that you want to attach to your N1 VM. For a list of GPU limits based on the machine type of your VM, see information about N1 GPUs in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • ACCELERATOR_TYPE: the accelerator type for N1 VMs that you want to use. For AI workloads, we recommend that you use T4 or V100 GPUs.
     Tip: If you plan to run graphics-intensive workloads on this VM, then we recommend that you use the nvidia-tesla-t4-vws accelerator type because it supports NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS).

     When you create an instance that uses NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation, Compute Engine automatically adds a vWS license. For information about pricing for virtual workstations, see the GPU pricing page.

   • DISK_SIZE: the size of the boot disk in GB. For more information, see either Google Cloud Hyperdisk size limits or Persistent Disk size limits based on the type of disk.
   • DISK_TYPE: the type of the boot disk. For more information about the supported disk types for your machine type, see GPU machines in accelerator-optimized machine family in the Compute Engine documentation.
   • 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 all supported operating systems, see Supported operating systems.

   • 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, handle preemption by specifying a shutdown script during instance creation. Learn how to handle preemption with a shutdown script.

2. Optional: To use Local SSD disks, add the following field to the disks[] field for each Local SSD disk. Separate each disks[] subfield (including the boot disk) with a comma.

   Ensure that the number of Local SSD disks that you attach is allowed for your machine type; for details, see About Local SSD disks in the Compute Engine documentation.

       {
          "type": "SCRATCH",
          "initializeParams": {
             "diskType": "zones/ZONE/diskTypes/local-ssd"
          },
          "autoDelete": true,
          "interface": "INTERFACE_TYPE"
       }
   

   Replace the following:

   • ZONE: your specified zone.
   • INTERFACE_TYPE: the disk interface type that you want to use for the Local SSD disk. If your boot disk image has optimized NVMe drivers, then specify NVME. Specify SCSI for other images.

   After creating a VM with Local SSD disks, you must format and mount each device before you can use it.

3. Submit the request.

For more information about the configuration options when creating VMs in bulk, see Create VMs in bulk in the Compute Engine documentation.

Install GPU drivers

After you create an instance, the instance can't use its GPUs unless the correct GPU drivers are already installed. The driver that you need to install depends on whether the instance enabled NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS). Use one of the following options:

• If you enabled vWS, then see Install drivers for NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstations (vWS) in the Compute Engine documentation.

• Otherwise, use the default GPU drivers as follows:

  • If you specified an OS image that includes GPU drivers, then no action is required.
  • If the OS image doesn't include GPU drivers, then see Install GPU drivers in the Compute Engine documentation.

What's next

• View the details of a VM
• Get a list of VMs
• Verify reservation consumption
• Troubleshoot reservation consumption)