# Cloud Instance Types

A cloud instance type defines the amount of hardware resources (e.g. CPU cores & memory) a VM will have available. Some examples of available instance types on different cloud providers:

* [AWS EC2 instance types](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/)
* [GCP instance types](https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-types) (AKA machine types)
* [Tencent Cloud instance types](https://www.tencentcloud.com/document/product/213/11518)

Within our system you can use any instance type you want or need. You can even use specialized instance types if that suits your requirements. That said, under normal circumstances you would use regular compute instance types.

All instance types can be fetched from [`GET /cloud/instanceType`](/api/api_one.md#v3-cloud-instancetype).

## Recommended instance types (preventing noisy neighbors)

In theory you can choose any instance type you deem fit for running your game servers. However, we recommend using the largest instance types possible so that you effectively create a VM that uses all hardware resources of a host, with the result that you are the only one with a VM on that host. That way you will lower the risk of suffering the "noisy neighbour" effect whereby other VMs on a host consume a lot of resources, potentially causing unwanted network lag or processor spikes for your VM. Since game servers must perform well for an optimal gaming experience for your clients, predictable performance is desired and as such, "renting" an entire host reduces risk.

## Configure a secondary instance type

Much to contrary belief, cloud providers do not have an endless supply of VMs and hosts. A certain instance type can and will run out in random regions. For this reason it is highly recommended to configure a secondary instance type for each cloud data center location you select to use. This way you have an alternative in case your primary instance type is sold out.

## Instance type profiling

To determine which instance type best suits your needs, some profiling needs to be performed. If oyu are unsure how to proceed with this, feel free to contact us for help with profiling your game servers and determining the resources they need.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.i3d.net/game-hosting/cloud-usage/cloud-instance-types.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.