The foundation of cloud computing is the on-demand instance. Using on-demand instances, you can use compute capacity when you need, for as long as you need, and you pay only for the time you use. This configuration is ideal for workloads that operate continuously or must respond to requests immediately, such as video streaming or eCommerce database services. These kinds of workloads require continuous availability.
In contrast, workloads that run periodically or for short periods of time don’t require continuous availability. From batch jobs like video encoding or machine learning inference to scale tests and massively parallel simulations, you can run a diverse set of workloads on instances with lower availability guarantees. In fact, nearly any batch job or stateless application could benefit from instances that trade availability guarantees for a lower price point.
We’re excited to introduce preemptible instances, designed for running interruptible workloads at half the cost of on-demand instances.
What are preemptible instances?
Preemptible instances are the same as on-demand instances, with one exception: If compute capacity is needed elsewhere, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) can terminate preemptible instances after a short notice period. Preemptible instances run on unused on-demand capacity, enabling OCI to offer preemptible instances to you at a 50% discount compared to on-demand rates. OCI can terminate preemptible instances if requests for on-demand instances increases. Preemptible instances run on the same hardware, offer the same performance, and are managed using the same tools as on-demand instances.
Pricing for preemptible instances is simple: Always 50% off your on-demand instance rates. This discount stacks with other discounts you have, such as Universal Credit (UCM) negotiated rates. Some other cloud providers offer a similar product called spot instances, which change price when demand changes. This shift can make it difficult to forecast costs and can lead to billing surprises when spot instance prices unexpectedly approach on-demand prices. With OCI preemptible instances, you always know exactly how much each instance costs: You get 50% off the on-demand price you pay, all the time.
Combined with OCI’s already low instance prices, OCI preemptible instances are cheaper than spot instances by up to 38% (OCI E3 Flex compared to AWS m5a). Tracking spot prices can also be complicated because the prices vary by instance type and region. OCI makes your life easy: Preemptible instances are always 50% off the price you pay regardless of shape or region.
How do I get started with preemptible instances?
Preemptible instances use the same management experiences as on-demand instances, including the Console, CLI, REST API, and Terraform. In the Console, you can create a preemptible instance by selecting the preemptible capacity type in the Placement section. Preemptible instances also use the same quota and limits as on-demand instances.
OCI sends a termination notice through the Events service before terminating a preemptible instance. You can monitor these notices to act if OCI terminates an instance anywhere in your tenant, such as using a function to request a new preemptible instance. See the documentation about tracking instance terminations for more information.
Learn more about preemptible instances
Preemptible instances are available in all public regions on X7 and E3 shapes, with support for more shapes coming soon. For more information, see the product documentation about preemptible instances. You can try out preemptible instances and other Oracle Cloud Infrastructure services by signing up for a trial account with $300 in credits.