n1-highmem-2 as a GKE node
2 vCPU13 GiBx86_64Google Cloud us-central1N1 High Memory 2
Where the n1-highmem-2 goes
Default GKE setup: GKE ≤ 1.36.
CPU1.73 of 2 vCPU left for your pods
Memory10.31 GiB of 13 GiB left for your pods
your podsDaemonSets (200m, 300 MiB assumed)kubelet reservedeviction
110max pods per node
$86.36on demand / month · $0.1183/h
$49.20spot / month (varies)
n1-highmem-2 GKE max pods and allocatable memory — quick answers
- How many pods can a n1-highmem-2 run as a node with GKE ≤ 1.36? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 2455 MiB of memory and 70m CPU, leaving 10.60 GiB and 1.93 vCPU for pods.
- How many pods can a n1-highmem-2 run as a node with GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS)? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 2250 MiB of memory and 70m CPU, leaving 10.80 GiB and 1.93 vCPU for pods.
- How many 500m / 1 GiB pods fit? 3 per node after DaemonSets; 4 nodes for 10 replicas, about $345.44/month on demand.
What kubelet reserves on n1-highmem-2
| Setup | Max pods | kube-reserved CPU | Memory reserved + eviction | Allocatable CPU | Allocatable memory | Memory usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKE ≤ 1.36 tiered memory reservation | 110 | 70m | 2355 Mi + 100 Mi | 1.93 | 10.60 GiB | 81.6% |
| GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) 15 MiB × max pods + 500 MiB, CPU capped at 1 vCPU | 110 | 70m | 2150 Mi + 100 Mi | 1.93 | 10.80 GiB | 83.1% |
How these numbers are computed: reservation formulas. Check a live node with kubectl describe node → Allocatable.
How many pods fit on one n1-highmem-2
Assumes DaemonSets (CNI, kube-proxy, log and metrics agents) request 200m CPU, 300 Mi and 3 pods per node. Try your own numbers in the node calculator.
| Pod requests (CPU / memory) | GKE ≤ 1.36 | GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) | $ per pod / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100m / 128 Mi | 17 | 17 | $5.08 |
| 250m / 256 Mi | 6 | 6 | $14.39 |
| 250m / 512 Mi | 6 | 6 | $14.39 |
| 500m / 512 Mi | 3 | 3 | $28.79 |
| 500m / 1024 Mi | 3 | 3 | $28.79 |
| 1000m / 1024 Mi | 1 | 1 | $86.36 |
| 1000m / 2048 Mi | 1 | 1 | $86.36 |
| 2000m / 4096 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4000m / 8192 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
Similar GKE node types
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c4d-highmem-2 | 2 | 15 | 1.93 | 12.40 GiB | 110 | $88.85 | $7.16 |
| c4-highmem-2 | 2 | 15 | 1.93 | 12.40 GiB | 110 | $93.71 | $7.56 |
| c4n-highmem-2 | 2 | 15 | 1.93 | 12.40 GiB | 110 | $149.94 | $12.09 |
| e2-highmem-2 | 2 | 16 | 1.93 | 13.30 GiB | 110 | $65.99 | $4.96 |
| n4a-highmem-2 | 2 | 16 | 1.93 | 13.30 GiB | 110 | $73.79 | $5.55 |
| n4d-highmem-2 | 2 | 16 | 1.93 | 13.30 GiB | 110 | $81.16 | $6.10 |
| n2d-highmem-2 | 2 | 16 | 1.93 | 13.30 GiB | 110 | $83.21 | $6.25 |
| c4a-highmem-2 | 2 | 16 | 1.93 | 13.30 GiB | 110 | $86.05 | $6.47 |