n1-highmem-8 as a GKE node
8 vCPU52 GiBx86_64Google Cloud us-central1N1 High Memory 8
Where the n1-highmem-8 goes
Default GKE setup: GKE ≤ 1.36.
CPU7.71 of 8 vCPU left for your pods
Memory46.85 GiB of 52 GiB left for your pods
your podsDaemonSets (200m, 300 MiB assumed)kubelet reservedeviction
110max pods per node
$345.44on demand / month · $0.4732/h
$196.81spot / month (varies)
n1-highmem-8 GKE max pods and allocatable memory — quick answers
- How many pods can a n1-highmem-8 run as a node with GKE ≤ 1.36? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 4974 MiB of memory and 90m CPU, leaving 47.14 GiB and 7.91 vCPU for pods.
- How many pods can a n1-highmem-8 run as a node with GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS)? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 2250 MiB of memory and 90m CPU, leaving 49.80 GiB and 7.91 vCPU for pods.
- How many 500m / 1 GiB pods fit? 15 per node after DaemonSets; 1 nodes for 10 replicas, about $345.44/month on demand.
What kubelet reserves on n1-highmem-8
| Setup | Max pods | kube-reserved CPU | Memory reserved + eviction | Allocatable CPU | Allocatable memory | Memory usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKE ≤ 1.36 tiered memory reservation | 110 | 90m | 4874 Mi + 100 Mi | 7.91 | 47.14 GiB | 90.7% |
| GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) 15 MiB × max pods + 500 MiB, CPU capped at 1 vCPU | 110 | 90m | 2150 Mi + 100 Mi | 7.91 | 49.80 GiB | 95.8% |
How these numbers are computed: reservation formulas. Check a live node with kubectl describe node → Allocatable.
How many pods fit on one n1-highmem-8
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 | 77 | 77 | $4.49 |
| 250m / 256 Mi | 30 | 30 | $11.51 |
| 250m / 512 Mi | 30 | 30 | $11.51 |
| 500m / 512 Mi | 15 | 15 | $23.03 |
| 500m / 1024 Mi | 15 | 15 | $23.03 |
| 1000m / 1024 Mi | 7 | 7 | $49.35 |
| 1000m / 2048 Mi | 7 | 7 | $49.35 |
| 2000m / 4096 Mi | 3 | 3 | $115.15 |
| 4000m / 8192 Mi | 1 | 1 | $345.44 |
Similar GKE node types
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c4-highmem-8 | 8 | 62 | 7.91 | 56.54 GiB | 110 | $380.59 | $6.73 |
| c4-highmem-8-lssd | 8 | 62 | 7.91 | 56.54 GiB | 110 | $440.59 | $7.79 |
| c4n-highmem-8 | 8 | 62 | 7.91 | 56.54 GiB | 110 | $608.95 | $10.77 |
| c4n-highmem-8-lssd | 8 | 62 | 7.91 | 56.54 GiB | 110 | $638.95 | $11.30 |
| c4d-highmem-8 | 8 | 63 | 7.91 | 57.48 GiB | 110 | $363.60 | $6.33 |
| c4d-highmem-8-lssd | 8 | 63 | 7.91 | 57.48 GiB | 110 | $423.60 | $7.37 |
| e2-highmem-8 | 8 | 64 | 7.91 | 58.42 GiB | 110 | $263.97 | $4.52 |
| n4a-highmem-8 | 8 | 64 | 7.91 | 58.42 GiB | 110 | $295.15 | $5.05 |
Closest match on other clouds
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| nc8ast4v3 | 8 | 56 | 7.82 | 50.97 GiB | 250 | $548.96 | $10.77 |
| is4gen.2xlarge | 8 | 48 | 7.91 | 47.03 GiB | 58 | $841.40 | $17.89 |
| r4.2xlarge | 8 | 61 | 7.91 | 60.03 GiB | 58 | $388.36 | $6.47 |
| i3.2xlarge | 8 | 61 | 7.91 | 60.03 GiB | 58 | $455.52 | $7.59 |
| e8psv6 | 8 | 64 | 7.82 | 58.97 GiB | 250 | $269.37 | $4.57 |
| e8psv5 | 8 | 64 | 7.82 | 58.97 GiB | 250 | $294.19 | $4.99 |