General-purpose instance families (g series) offer a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4 and are suitable for various scenarios such as general-purpose Internet applications, databases, websites, Java application services, game servers, and search promotions.
Background information
Before you read further in this topic, you must be familiar with the following information:
Classification and naming of instance types. Familiarize yourself with the instance family categories, naming conventions of instance types, and differences between instance families. For more information, see Classification and naming of instance types.
Instance type metrics. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
Instructions for selecting instance types based on your business scenarios. For more information, see Instance type selection.
After you determine an instance type for your use case, you may need to learn about the following information:
Regions in which the instance type is available for purchase. Instance types that are available for purchase vary based on the region. You can go to the Instance Types Available for Each Region page to view the instance types available for purchase in each region.
Estimated instance costs. You can calculate the price of instances that uses different billing methods in the Price Calculator.
Instructions for purchasing an instance. You can go to the ECS instance buy page to place a purchase order for instances.
You may be concerned about the following information:
Retired instance families. If you cannot find an instance type in this topic, the instance type may be in a retired instance family. For information about retired instance families, see Retired instance families.
Supported instance type changes. Before you change the instance type of an instance, check whether the instance type can be changed and identify compatible instance types. For more information, see Instance types and families that support instance type changes.
x86 | Arm | Not recommended instance families (If the following instance families are sold out, we recommend that you use the instance families in the preceding columns.) | |
Intel processor-powered instance families | AMD processor-powered instance families | YiTian or other processor-powered instance families | |
YiTian 710 processor-powered instance families: Ampere® Altra® processor-powered instance families: |
g8a, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses the innovative Cloud Infrastructure Processing Unit (CIPU) architecture developed by Alibaba Cloud to provide consistent computing power, a more robust I/O engine, and chip-level security hardening.
Supported scenarios: general-purpose enterprise-level applications such as Java, in-memory database and relational database applications, big data applications such as Kafka and Elasticsearch, web applications, AI training and inference, and audio and video transcoding applications.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.7 GHz AMD EPYCTM Genoa 9T24 processors that deliver a turbo frequency of up to 3.7 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Is compatible with specific operating systems. For more information, see Operating system versions that support AMD Genoa processors used by eighth-generation AMD instance types.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) protocol. For more information, see NVMe protocol.
Supports Enterprise SSDs (ESSDs) and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Offers burstable disk IOPS and burstable disk bandwidth for low-specification instances and provides high storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Supports elastic RDMA interfaces (ERIs). For information about how to use ERIs, see Configure eRDMA on an enterprise-level instance.
Supports the Jumbo Frames feature. For more information, see Jumbo Frames.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides burstable network bandwidth for low-specification instances.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
Security: Supports the virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) feature. For more information, see Overview.
The g8a instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g8a.large, ecs.g8a.xlarge, ecs.g8a.2xlarge, ecs.g8a.4xlarge, ecs.g8a.8xlarge, ecs.g8a.12xlarge, ecs.g8a.16xlarge, ecs.g8a.24xlarge, and ecs.g8a.48xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g8ae, performance-enhanced general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses the innovative CIPU architecture developed by Alibaba Cloud to provide consistent computing power, a more robust I/O engine, and chip-level security hardening.
Supported scenarios: AI scenarios such as deep learning, training, and AI inference, high-performance scientific computing scenarios such as high-performance computing (HPC), large and medium-sized database systems, caches, search clusters, servers for massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, and other general-purpose enterprise-level applications that require high performance.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 3.4 GHz AMD EPYC™ Genoa processors that deliver a single-core turbo frequency of up to 3.75 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Is compatible with specific operating systems. For more information, see Operating system versions that support AMD Genoa processors used by eighth-generation AMD instance types.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) protocol. For more information, see NVMe protocol.
Supports ESSDs and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Offers burstable disk IOPS and burstable disk bandwidth for low-specification instances and provides high storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Supports elastic RDMA interfaces (ERIs). For information about how to use ERIs, see Configure eRDMA on an enterprise-level instance.
Supports the Jumbo Frames feature. For more information, see Jumbo Frames.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides burstable network bandwidth for low-specification instances.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
Security: Supports the virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) feature. For more information, see Overview.
The g8ae instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g8ae.large, ecs.g8ae.xlarge, ecs.g8ae.2xlarge, ecs.g8ae.4xlarge, ecs.g8ae.8xlarge, ecs.g8ae.16xlarge, and ecs.g8ae.32xlarge. The following table describes the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g8i, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses the innovative CIPU architecture developed by Alibaba Cloud to provide consistent computing power, a more robust I/O engine, and chip-level security hardening.
Supported scenarios: scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted, game servers, small and medium-sized database systems, caches, search clusters, search promotion applications, websites, application servers, data analytics and computing, and scenarios that require secure and trusted computing.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses Intel® Xeon® Emerald Rapids or Intel® Xeon® Sapphire Rapids processors that deliver a clock speed of at least 2.7 GHz and an all-core turbo frequency of 3.2 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
NoteWhen you purchase an instance of this instance family, the system randomly allocates one type of the preceding processors to the instance. You cannot select a processor type for the instance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Is compatible with specific operating systems. For more information, see Operating system versions that support AMD Genoa processors used by eighth-generation AMD instance types.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) protocol. For more information, see NVMe protocol.
Supports ESSDs and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Offers burstable disk IOPS and burstable disk bandwidth for low-specification instances and provides high storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Supports elastic RDMA interfaces (ERIs). For information about how to use ERIs, see Configure eRDMA on an enterprise-level instance.
Supports the Jumbo Frames feature. For more information, see Jumbo Frames.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
Security:
Supports the vTPM feature. For more information, see Overview.
Supports Intel Total Memory Encryption (TME) to encrypt memory.
The g8i instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g8i.large, ecs.g8i.xlarge, ecs.g8i.2xlarge, ecs.g8i.3xlarge, ecs.g8i.4xlarge, ecs.g8i.6xlarge, ecs.g8i.8xlarge, ecs.g8i.12xlarge, ecs.g8i.16xlarge, ecs.g8i.24xlarge, ecs.g8i.48xlarge, and ecs.ebmg8i.48xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g8y, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses in-house Arm-based YiTian 710 processors and the fourth-generation SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance. This instance family utilizes fast path acceleration on chips to improve storage performance, network performance, and computing stability by an order of magnitude.
Supported scenarios: containers, microservices, websites, application servers, video encoding and decoding, HPC, and CPU-based machine learning.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.75 GHz Yitian 710 processors to provide consistent computing performance.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) protocol. For more information, see NVMe protocol.
Supports ESSDs and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Provides high network and storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Supports elastic RDMA interfaces (ERIs). For information about how to use ERIs, see Configure eRDMA on an enterprise-level instance.
Supports the Jumbo Frames feature. For more information, see Jumbo Frames.
Provides burstable network bandwidth for low-specification instances.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The g8y instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g8y.small, ecs.g8y.large, ecs.g8y.xlarge, ecs.g8y.2xlarge, ecs.g8y.4xlarge, ecs.g8y.8xlarge, ecs.g8y.16xlarge, and ecs.g8y.32xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g7a, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses the third-generation SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance. This instance family utilizes fast path acceleration on chips to improve storage performance, network performance, and computing stability by an order of magnitude.
Supported scenarios: video encoding and decoding, scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted, websites, application servers, small and medium-sized database systems, caches, search clusters, game servers, scenarios where applications such as DevOps applications are developed and tested, and other general-purpose enterprise-level applications.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.55 GHz AMD EPYC™ MILAN processors that deliver a single-core turbo frequency of up to 3.5 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Is compatible with specific operating systems. For more information, see Operating system versions that support AMD Genoa processors used by eighth-generation AMD instance types.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Offers burstable disk IOPS and burstable disk bandwidth for low-specification instances and provides high storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides burstable network bandwidth for low-specification instances.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The g7a instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g7a.large, ecs.g7a.xlarge, ecs.g7a.2xlarge, ecs.g7a.4xlarge, ecs.g7a.8xlarge, ecs.g7a.16xlarge, ecs.g7a-nps1.16xlarge, and ecs.g7a.32xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g7, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses the third-generation SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance. This instance family utilizes fast path acceleration on chips to improve storage performance, network performance, and computing stability by an order of magnitude.
Supported scenarios: scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted such as live commenting on videos and telecom data forwarding, game servers, small and medium-sized database systems, caches, search clusters, enterprise-level applications of various types and sizes, websites, application servers, data analytics and computing, scenarios that require secure and trusted computing, and blockchain scenarios.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses third-generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable (Ice Lake) processors that deliver a base frequency of 2.7 GHz and an all-core turbo frequency of 3.5 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Offers burstable disk IOPS and burstable disk bandwidth for low-specification instances and provides high storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides burstable network bandwidth for low-specification instances.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
Security:
Supports the vTPM feature. For more information, see Overview.
Supports the Enclave feature and provides virtualization-based confidential computing environments. For more information, see Build a confidential computing environment by using Enclave.
The g7 instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g7.large, ecs.g7.xlarge, ecs.g7.2xlarge, ecs.g7.3xlarge, ecs.g7.4xlarge, ecs.g7.6xlarge, ecs.g7.8xlarge, ecs.g7.16xlarge, and ecs.g7.32xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g6r, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family uses the third-generation SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance. This instance family utilizes fast path acceleration on chips to improve storage performance, network performance, and computing stability by an order of magnitude.
Supported scenarios: containers, microservices, scenarios where applications such as DevOps applications are developed and tested, websites, application servers, game servers, and CPU-based machine learning and inference.
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.8 GHz Ampere® Altra® processors to provide consistent computing performance.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs, ESSD AutoPL disks, standard SSDs, and ultra disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Provides high storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides burstable network bandwidth for low-specification instances.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The g6r instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g6r.large, ecs.g6r.xlarge, ecs.g6r.2xlarge, ecs.g6r.4xlarge, ecs.g6r.8xlarge, and ecs.g6r.16xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g6a, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family offloads a large number of virtualization features to dedicated hardware by using the SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance and reduce virtualization overheads.
Supported scenarios:
Video encoding and decoding
Scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted
Websites and application servers
Small and medium-sized database systems, caches, and search clusters
Game servers
Scenarios where applications such as DevOps applications are developed and tested
Other general-purpose enterprise-level applications
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.6 GHz AMD EPYC™ ROME processors that deliver a turbo frequency of 3.3 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Is compatible with specific operating systems. For more information, see Operating system versions that support AMD Genoa processors used by eighth-generation AMD instance types.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs, ESSD AutoPL disks, standard SSDs, and ultra disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Provides high network and storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The g6a instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g6a.large, ecs.g6a.xlarge, ecs.g6a.2xlarge, ecs.g6a.4xlarge, ecs.g6a.8xlarge, ecs.g6a.16xlarge, and ecs.g6a.32xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g6e, performance-enhanced general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family offloads a large number of virtualization features to dedicated hardware by using the SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance and reduce virtualization overheads. This instance family utilizes fast path acceleration on chips to improve storage performance, network performance, and computing stability by an order of magnitude.
Supported scenarios:
Scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted, such as live commenting on videos and telecom data forwarding
Enterprise-level applications of various types and sizes
Websites and application servers
Game servers
Small and medium-sized database systems, caches, and search clusters
Data analytics and computing
Computing clusters and memory-intensive data processing
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.5 GHz Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8269CY (Cascade Lake) processors that deliver a turbo frequency of 3.2 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs and ESSD AutoPL disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Provides high network and storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
NoteNetwork performance varies based on the instance families. For higher concurrent connection and network packet forwarding capabilities, we recommend that you use the g7ne instance family.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The g6e instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g6e.large, ecs.g6e.xlarge, ecs.g6e.2xlarge, ecs.g6e.4xlarge, ecs.g6e.8xlarge, ecs.g6e.13xlarge, and ecs.g6e.26xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g6, general-purpose instance family
Introduction: This instance family offloads a large number of virtualization features to dedicated hardware by using the SHENLONG architecture to provide predictable and consistent ultra-high performance and reduce virtualization overheads.
Supported scenarios:
Scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted, such as live commenting on videos and telecom data forwarding
Enterprise-level applications of various types and sizes
Websites and application servers
Game servers
Small and medium-sized database systems, caches, and search clusters
Data analytics and computing
Computing clusters and memory-intensive data processing
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.5 GHz Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8269CY (Cascade Lake) processors that deliver a turbo frequency of 3.2 GHz to provide consistent computing performance.
Supports Hyper-Threading. By default, Hyper-Threading is enabled. For more information, see Specify and view CPU options.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs, ESSD AutoPL disks, standard SSDs, and ultra disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
NoteThe maximum performance of disks varies based on the instance families. A single instance of this instance family can deliver up to 200,000 IOPS.
Provides high network and storage I/O performance based on large computing capacity. For more information, see Storage I/O performance.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
NoteNetwork performance varies based on the instance families. For higher concurrent connection and network packet forwarding capabilities, we recommend that you use the g7ne instance family.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
Supported instance type changes: Supports changes to c6 or r6 instance types.
The g6 instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g6.large, ecs.g6.xlarge, ecs.g6.2xlarge, ecs.g6.3xlarge, ecs.g6.4xlarge, ecs.g6.6xlarge, ecs.g6.8xlarge, ecs.g6.13xlarge, and ecs.g6.26xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
g5, general-purpose instance family
Supported scenarios:
Scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted, such as live commenting on videos and telecom data forwarding
Enterprise-level applications of various types and sizes
Small and medium-sized database systems, caches, and search clusters
Data analytics and computing
Computing clusters and memory-intensive data processing
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.5 GHz Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8163 (Skylake) or 8269CY (Cascade Lake) processors to provide consistent computing performance.
NoteInstances of this instance family may be deployed on different server platforms. If your business requires all instances to be deployed on the same server platform, we recommend that you use the g6, g6e, or g7 instance family instead.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports ESSDs, ESSD AutoPL disks, standard SSDs, and ultra disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
NoteThe maximum performance of disks varies based on the instance families. A single instance of this instance family can deliver up to 200,000 IOPS.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
NoteNetwork performance varies based on the instance families. For higher concurrent connection and network packet forwarding capabilities, we recommend that you use the g7ne instance family.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The g5 instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.g5.large, ecs.g5.xlarge, ecs.g5.2xlarge, ecs.g5.3xlarge, ecs.g5.4xlarge, ecs.g5.6xlarge, ecs.g5.8xlarge, and ecs.g5.16xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.
sn2ne, network-enhanced general-purpose instance family
Supported scenarios:
Scenarios where large volumes of packets are received and transmitted, such as live commenting on videos and telecom data forwarding
Enterprise-level applications of various types and sizes
Small and medium-sized database systems, caches, and search clusters
Data analytics and computing
Computing clusters and memory-intensive data processing
Compute:
Offers a CPU-to-memory ratio of 1:4.
Uses 2.5 GHz Intel® Xeon® E5-2682 v4 (Broadwell), Platinum 8163 (Skylake), or 8269CY (Cascade Lake) processors to provide consistent computing performance.
NoteInstances of this instance family may be deployed on different server platforms. If your business requires all instances to be deployed on the same server platform, we recommend that you use the g6, g6e, or g7 instance family instead.
Storage:
Is an instance family in which all instances are I/O optimized.
Supports standard SSDs and ultra disks. For information about disks, see Overview of Block Storage.
Network:
Supports IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.
Provides ultra-high packet forwarding rates.
Provides high network performance based on large computing capacity.
The sn2ne instance family includes the following instance types: ecs.sn2ne.large, ecs.sn2ne.xlarge, ecs.sn2ne.2xlarge, ecs.sn2ne.3xlarge, ecs.sn2ne.4xlarge, ecs.sn2ne.6xlarge, ecs.sn2ne.8xlarge, and ecs.sn2ne.14xlarge. Click the following panel to see a table describing the specifications of each instance type in this instance family. For information about the metrics of instance types, see Instance type metrics.