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Instance types and families that support instance type changes

Updated at: 2025-03-17 11:22
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This topic describes the instance types and instance families that support instance type changes. Before you change the instance type of an Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance, check whether the instance type can be changed and identify compatible instance types.

Impacts of instance type changes

The impacts of changing the instance type of an ECS instance vary based on the network type of the instance.

  • Instance that resides in the classic network:

    • For retired instance types, when a non-I/O optimized instance is changed into an I/O optimized instance, the private IP addresses, disk device names, and software authorization codes of the instance are changed together with the instance. On a Linux instance, basic disks (cloud) are identified as xvd* such as xvda and xvdb, and ultra disks (cloud_efficiency) and standard SSDs (cloud_ssd) are identified as vd* such as vda and vdb.

    • For available instance types, the private IP addresses of instances are changed.

  • Instance that resides in a virtual private cloud (VPC):

    For retired instance types, when a non-I/O optimized instance is changed into an I/O optimized instance, the disk device names and software authorization codes of the instance are changed together with the instance. On a Linux instance, basic disks (cloud) are identified as xvd* such as xvda and xvdb, and ultra disks (cloud_efficiency) and standard SSDs (cloud_ssd) are identified as vd* such as vda and vdb.

Instance families that do not support instance type changes

The instance types in the following instance families do not support instance type changes:

  • Enterprise-level instance families based on the x86 architecture:

    • Persistent memory-optimized instance families: re6p and re6p-redis

    • Security-enhanced instance families: g7t, c7t, and r7t

    • Big data instance families: d3s, d3c, d2c, d2s, d1, and d1ne

    • Instance families with local SSDs: i1, i2, i2g, i2ne, i2gne, i3, i3g, i4, i4g, i4r, and i4p

  • Enterprise-level heterogeneous computing instance families:

    • GPU-accelerated compute-optimized instance family: gn5

    • vGPU-accelerated instance family: vgn5i

    • FPGA-accelerated compute-optimized instance families: f1 and f3

  • ECS Bare Metal Instance families:

    • ebmgn8v, ebmgn8is, ebmgn7e, ebmgn7i, ebmgn7, ebmgn6ia, ebmgn6e, ebmgn6v, and ebmgn6i

    • ebmg8i, ebmc8i, ebmg8y, ebmc8y, ebmr8y, ebmg6, ebmg5s, ebmg5, ebmc6me, ebmc6, ebmc5s, ebmc4, ebmre6p, ebmr6, eebmre6-6t, and ebmr5s

    • ebmhfg6, ebmhfg5, ebmhfc6, and ebmhfr6

  • High-performance computing instance families:

    • Super Computing Cluster (SCC) instance families:

      • sccgn6e and sccgn6

      • sccg5 and scch5

      • scchfg6, scchfc6, and scchfr6

Instance families that support instance type changes

All instance families support instance type changes except the instance families described in the Instance families that do not support instance type changes section of this topic. When you change the instance type of an ECS instance, take note of the limits on instance families, operating system versions, and cloud disk categories.

You can also call the DescribeResourcesModification operation to query the instance types to which you can change the instance type of an existing instance.

Instance family limits

Take note of the following limits on the compatibility between the new and original instance families.

Important

The instance families that are compatible with the instance family of an ECS instance in a zone vary based on various factors, such as the inventory of ECS resources in the zone. The instance types and families displayed in the Change Instance Type dialog box prevail. You can also go to the Instance Types Available for Each Region page to query the available instance types in the current region and zone.

Table 1. Entry-level instance families

Original instance family

Compatible instance family

t6

  • t6

  • g6, c6, r6, hfg6, hfc6, and hfr6

t5

  • t5 and t6

  • hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, and ic5

e

  • t6

  • g6, c6, r6, hfg6, hfc6, and hfr6

  • e

  • u1

n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

  • n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

  • sn1, sn2, se1, n1, n2, e3, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c6, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, re4, t5, and t6

Table 2. Enterprise-level instance families

Original instance family

Compatible instance family or instance type

g8i, c8i, and r8i

g8i, c8i, and r8i

g8a, c8a, and r8a

  • g8a, c8a, and r8a

  • g8ae, c8ae, and r8ae

g8ae, c8ae, and r8ae

  • g8a, c8a, and r8a

  • g8ae, c8ae, and r8ae

g8y, c8y, and r8y

g8y, c8y, and r8y

g7se, c7se, and r7se

g7se, c7se, and r7se

g7a, c7a, and r7a

  • g7a, c7a, and r7a

  • g7, c7, and r7

ebmg7a, ebmc7a, and ebmr7a

ebmg7a, ebmc7a, and ebmr7a

ebmhfc7, ebmhfg7, and ebmhfr7

ebmhfc7, ebmhfg7, and ebmhfr7

g7, c7, and r7

g7, c7, r7, g7nex, c7nex, hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

ebmg7, ebmc7, and ebmr7

ebmg7, ebmc7, and ebmr7

g7ne

  • g7ne

  • g7nex

  • c7nex

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

g7nex

  • g7nex

  • g7ne

  • c7nex

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

Important

The ecs.g7nex.32xlarge instance type can be changed only to the ecs.c7nex.32xlarge instance type.

c7nex

  • c7nex

  • g7ne

  • g7nex

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

Important

The ecs.c7nex.32xlarge instance type can be changed only to the ecs.g7nex.32xlarge instance type.

g6r and c6r

g6r and c6r

g6, c6, and r6

  • g6, c6, and r6

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • g6e, c6e, and r6e

  • re6, hfg6, hfc6, and hfr6

  • hfg7, hfc7, and hfr7

  • t6

g6a, c6a, and r6a

  • g6a, c6a, and r6a

  • g6, c6, and r6

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • g7a, c7a, and r7a

g6t and c6t

g6t and c6t

g6e, c6e, and r6e

  • g6e, c6e, and r6e

  • ebmg6e, ebmc6e, and ebmr6e

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

  • g7ne

ebmg6a, ebmc6a, and ebmr6a

ebmg6a, ebmc6a, and ebmr6a

ebmg6e, ebmc6e, and ebmr6e

ebmg6e, ebmc6e, and ebmr6e

g5, g5ne, r5, c5, and ic5

  • g5, g5ne, r5, c5, and ic5

  • g6e, c6e, and r6e

  • g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, and t6

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • hfc5, hfg5, and t5

u1

u1, g7, c7, and r7

sn1ne, sn2ne, and se1ne

  • sn1ne, sn2ne, and se1ne

  • hfc5, hfg5, g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, re4, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

  • g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, and t6

se1

  • se1

  • sn1, sn2, n1, n2, e3, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, re4, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

re6

  • re6

  • g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, and re4

re4e

re4e and re4

re4

  • re4

  • re6, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, e4, and ecs.se1.14xlarge

hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

  • hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • g7ne

  • g7nex

  • c7nex

hfc6, hfg6, and hfr6

  • hfc6, hfg6, and hfr6

  • hfc7, hfg7, and hfr7

  • g6, c6, r6, and re6

  • g7, c7, and r7

  • t6

hfc5 and hfg5

  • hfc5 and hfg5

  • g5, r5, c5, ic5, and t5

  • g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, and t6

gn8v

gn8v

sgn8ia

sgn8ia

gn8is

gn8is

sgn7i-vws

sgn7i-vws

vgn7i-vws

vgn7i-vws

vgn6i

vgn6i and vgn6i-vws

vgn6i-vws

vgn6i-vws

gn7e

gn7e

gn7s

gn7s

gn7i

gn7i

gn7

gn7

vgn6i

vgn6i

gn6i

gn6i

gn5i

gn5i

gn6e

gn6e

gn6v

gn6v

t1, s1, s2, s3, m1, m2, c1, and c2

sn1, sn2, n1, n2, e3, se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, re4, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

n1, n2, and e3

n1, n2, e3, sn1, sn2, se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, re4, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

sn1 and sn2

sn1, sn2, n1, n2, e3, se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, re4, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

c4, ce4, and cm4

hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, hfc5, hfg5, g5, r5, c5, ic5, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, re4, t5, n4, mn4, xn4, and e4

Operating system limits

Take note of the following limits on the compatibility between the new instance type and the operating system:

  • The operating system is incompatible with the processors of the new instance type

    Specific ECS instance types, such as the eighth-generation ECS instance types, have requirements for the supported operating systems. For more information, see the following topics:

    If the operating system of the ECS instance is incompatible with the new instance type, you cannot change the instance type of the instance to the new instance type.

    Solution:

    • If you do not have special requirements for the operating system or instance type of an ECS instance, you only need to select an image whose operating system is compatible with the instance type that you select.

    • To select an image that is incompatible with the instance type that you select on the ECS instance buy page, you can request to lift the operating system compatibility restriction and display the images that are incompatible with the instance type.

      • You can request to lift the operating system compatibility restriction for the following ECS instance families:

        • Intel: ecs.g8i, ecs.c8i, ecs.r8i, ecs.hfg8i, ecs.hfc8i, ecs.hfr8i, ecs.g8ise, ecs.c8ise, and ecs.r8ise

        • AMD: ecs.c8ae, ecs.g8ae, ecs.r8ae, ecs.c8a, ecs.g8a, ecs.r8a, and ecs.hpc8ae

      • You can perform the following steps to request to lift the operating system compatibility restriction for the instance type that you select:

        1. On the ECS instance buy page, click the Custom Images tab and click checks.

          image

        2. Select the option that is used to lift the operating system compatibility restriction and display the images that are incompatible with the selected instance type.

          image

          Important

          Once you select and apply above option, it will take effect across all the regions with no option to revoke.

        3. Click OK. Wait for a period of time and refresh the image list on the Custom Images tab.

  • The features of the operating system are incompatible with the features of the new instance type

    Common cause of incompatibility

    Solution

    Common cause of incompatibility

    Solution

    The Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) attributes of the image on the ECS instance are incompatible with the NVMe attributes of the new instance type.

    If the new instance type supports NVMe, the image on the ECS instance must support NVMe. Otherwise, you cannot change the instance type of the ECS instance to the new instance type.

    If a custom image is used on the ECS instance, make sure that the NVMe driver is installed on the image and the image is set to support the NVMe driver. For more information, see How do I install the NVMe driver for a custom image?

    Note

    • For more information about NVMe, see NVMe protocol.

    • You can call the DescribeInstanceTypes operation for instance types and the DescribeImages operation for images and check whether the instance types and images support NVMe based on the NvmeSupport parameter in the responses.

    The boot mode of the image on the ECS instance is incompatible with the boot mode of the new instance type.

    For example, if you want to change the instance type of an ECS instance to a security-enhanced instance type that supports only the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) boot mode, the image on the instance must be of the UEFI version. Otherwise, you cannot change the instance type of the ECS instance to the new instance type.

    If a custom image is used on the ECS instance, you can change the boot mode of the image to a boot mode that is compatible with the new instance type. For more information, see the Change the boot mode of a custom image section in the "Best practices for ECS instance boot modes" topic.

  • Windows operating systems have limits on the number of vCPUs and memory size of instances

    If your ECS instance runs a Windows operating system, the operating system has limits on the number of vCPUs and memory size. For information about the limits, see Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases.

    Solution: Select an instance type that is compatible with the operating system of the ECS instance.

  • Red Hat operating systems are compatible only with instance types that are certified by Red Hat

    If your ECS instance runs a Red Hat operating system, the Red Hat operating system is compatible only with instance types that are certified by Red Hat. For more information, see Instance families supported by Red Hat images

    Solution: Select an instance type that is certified by Red Hat.

  • The new instance type has limits on the drivers and kernels of the operating system

    Specific instance types, such as ECS Bare Metal Instance types and instance types with local SSDs, have limits on the drivers and kernels of the operating system. For more information, see the following topics:

    Solution: Select an instance type that is compatible with the operating system of the ECS instance.

Cloud disk category limits

Take note of the following limits on the compatibility between the new instance type and the cloud disk categories of the ECS instance:

Specific instance families support only specific cloud disk categories. For example, instance families such as g7 and c7 support only Enterprise SSDs (ESSDs) and ESSD AutoPL disks. If the ECS instance has cloud disks that are not supported by the new instance type, you cannot change the instance type of the instance to the new instance type.

Solution: Change the categories of the cloud disks that are attached to the ECS instance, and then change the instance type. For more information, see Change the category of a disk.

Previous: Overview of instance configuration changesNext: Change instance types
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  • Impacts of instance type changes
  • Instance families that do not support instance type changes
  • Instance families that support instance type changes
  • Instance family limits
  • Operating system limits
  • Cloud disk category limits
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