The Compute service supports different types of virtual servers, and from time to time you may want to convert from one type to another.
This can be done in-place on existing virtual servers, using the “resize” function to choose not only a different size but a different type as well. The resize process is documented in Resizing an instance.
When converting an existing system between types, there are important limitations which must be taken into account.
Warning
The platform does not check if any of these limitations would affect your virtual server. It will (generally) allow you to change types even if your applications or OS would not function.
As noted on in the page on resizing virtual servers, changing between types requires the server to be shut down and restarted. The change cannot be done in a non-interrupting manner.
When converting between types, you must ensure that the OS installed in the virtual server is compatible with the new type. This includes any CPU architecture differences.
For example, converting between a x86-64 architecture and an ARM architecture will result in a machine that does not boot and will never execute the OS code installed.
The following table lists the CPU Architecture of our types.
Server Type |
CPU Architecture |
|---|---|
c1 |
Intel x86-64 |
c2-burst |
Intel x86-64 |
c2-gpu |
Intel x86-64 |
For each type of virtual server, we provide a different level of “cpu flags”, that is which instructions are available from the CPU. These determine if your code is able to be executed.
In general, most code compiled for a given CPU architecture should gracefully handle the presence or lack of specific instructions. This is because those instructions often fall into “acceleration” rather then core features.
For example, our “c1” compute does not support Intel’s AVX-512 SMID instructions, which are used for mass data processing in parallel. Our “c2-burst” does support AVX-512, so when converting from “c2-burst” to “c1”, your code must handle the lack of these instructions if it can use them.
THe following table lists the maximum CPU flags for each of our types.
Server Type |
Maximum CPU Level |
|---|---|
c1 |
Intel x86-64 “Sandy Bridge” |
c2-burst |
Intel x86-64 “Skylake” |
c2-gpu |
TBD |
Some types have additional hardware capabilities, which are not present on all types. Therefore, if your application depends on any of these features, you may not be able to change types.
The following table lists any additional hardware features which could affect your application.
Server Type |
Additional Hardware |
|---|---|
c1 |
None |
c2-burst |
Intel Quick Assist Technology (1) |
c2-gpu |
NVIDIA A100 vGPU |
Notes:
(1) This is not currently exposed to guests, but may be enabled at a later date.