Description: Preemptible VMs are a type of virtual machine offered by Google Cloud Platform through Google Compute Engine. These instances are cheaper than standard virtual machines but have a distinctive feature: they can be interrupted or terminated by the provider at any time if it needs to reclaim resources. This means that, while they are ideal for workloads that can tolerate interruptions, such as batch processing tasks or development testing, they are not suitable for critical applications that require high availability. Preemptible VMs are designed to be used in situations where cost is an important factor and execution flexibility is acceptable. Despite their ephemeral nature, these instances offer performance comparable to regular virtual machines during the time they are active, making them an attractive option for developers and businesses looking to optimize their cloud spending.
History: Preemptible VMs were introduced by Google in 2015 as part of its Google Compute Engine offering. The idea behind these instances was to provide a low-cost option for workloads that did not require continuous availability. Since their launch, they have evolved in terms of availability and features, allowing users to take advantage of the unused capacity of cloud infrastructure.
Uses: Preemptible VMs are primarily used for tasks that can be interrupted without severe consequences, such as batch processing, data analysis, software testing, and development tasks. They are also useful for running applications that require temporary scalability, where multiple instances can be launched to perform specific tasks and then stopped once completed.
Examples: A practical example of using Preemptible VMs is in processing large volumes of data, where multiple instances can be launched to perform intensive calculations and then terminated once the work is completed. Another case is in development environments, where developers can use these instances for quick testing without incurring high costs.
