This document describes virtual machine (VM) instances that use thereservation-bound provisioning model, including their benefits and creationrequirements.

When you create a VM, you must also specify the underlyingprovisioning model, which definesthe availability, pricing, and lifespan for your VMs. The reservation-boundprovisioning model lets you create A4X VMs, and A4, A3 Ultra, A3 Mega, or A3High (8 GPUs) VMs by using reserved capacity.

The reservation-bound provisioning model offers the following benefits:

• Cost control: you don't incur additional charges when you create VMs byusing your reserved capacity. You only incur charges for resources thataren't part of your reservation, such as disks or IP addresses.

• Lifecycle management: based on the termination action that you specifywhen creating VMs, Compute Engine stops or deletes the VM at theend of the reservation period.

Understand VMs that use the reservation-bound provisioning model

The following sections describe the requirements that you apply when you createVMs by using the reservation-bound provisioning model.

VM creation prerequisites

Before you create VMs by using the reservation-bound provisioning model, youmust reserve resources for creating VMs by using one of the following methods:

• To reserve up to 80 A4, A3 Ultra, A3 Mega, or A3 High (8 GPUs) VMs, and fora maximum of 90 days, usefuture reservation requests in calendar mode.

• To reserve more than 80 A4X, A4, or A3 Ultra VMs and for longer than 90days, usefuture reservation requests in AI Hypercomputer.

If Google Cloud approves your future reservation request, thenCompute Engine automatically creates (auto-creates) a reservation atthe start of your reservation period. You can then use the reservation to createVMs.

VM creation requirements

To create a VM by using the reservation-bound provisioning model, you mustspecify the following configurations:

• The VM and the reservation must have matching properties. You can onlyuse your reserved capacity to create VMs if the VM and auto-createdreservation propertiesexactly match. For more information, see therequirements for consuming reservations.

• The VM must specifically target the reservation for consumption. Whenyou create a VM, you must specify the name of the auto-created reservationto target for consumption, as well as set thereservationAffinity field toSPECIFIC_RESERVATION. For more information, seeConsume a specifically targeted reservation.

• The VM must use the reservation-bound provisioning model. When youcreate a VM, you must specify the reservation-bound provisioning model asfollows:

  • In the Google Cloud console, in theProvisioning model list, selectReservation-bound.

  • In the Google Cloud CLI, include the--provisioning-model=RESERVATION_BOUND flag in the command.

  • In the Compute Engine API, include the"provisioningModel": "RESERVATION_BOUND" field in the request body.

• The VM must be stopped or deleted at the reservation end time. When youcreate a VM, you must specify whether to stop or delete the VM at thereservation's end time by using theinstanceTerminationAction field. Formore information, seeLimit the run time of a new VM.

After you create the VM, the VM starts running and keeps running until you stopor delete it, or until the Compute Engine stops or deletes the VM at thereservation's end time.

Quota

When you create a VM by using the reservation-bound provisioning model, youdon't need quota for the reserved resources that you use to create the VM. Youonly need quota for the resources that aren't part of your reservation, such asdisks and IP addresses. For more information about the different types of quotain Compute Engine, seeAllocation quotas.

Pricing

When you create a VM by using the reservation-bound provisioning model, youincur charges as follows:

• Charges start when you create the VM. However, you don't incur additionalcharges for the reserved resources that you use to create your VM. You onlyincur charges for the resources that aren't part of the reservation, such asdisks or IP addresses. For more information, see thebilling for reservations.

• Charges stop when the reservation that you used to create the VM reachesits end time. At that time, Compute Engine deletes the reservation,and stops or deletes your VM based on the termination action that isspecified in the VM.

  Important: After Compute Engine stops a VM and changes its state toSTOPPING, you keep incurring charges for any resources that are attachedto the VM, such as disks or GPUs. To avoid unnecessary costs, detach anddelete any resources that you no longer need, or delete the VM altogether.For more information, see thepricing for a VM's uptime.

Limitations

VMs that you create by using the reservation-bound provisioning model can onlyuse the following machine series:

• A4X

• A4

• A3 Ultra

• A3 Mega

• A3 High with 8 GPUs

To use other accelerator-optimized machine series with the reservation-boundprovisioning model, contact youraccount team orthesales team.

What's next

• Create a VM that uses the reservation-bound model