n2-highcpu-8 as a GKE node
8 vCPU8 GiBx86_64Google Cloud us-central1N2 High CPU 8
Where the n2-highcpu-8 goes
Default GKE setup: GKE ≤ 1.36.
CPU7.71 of 8 vCPU left for your pods
Memory5.81 GiB of 8 GiB left for your pods
your podsDaemonSets (200m, 300 MiB assumed)kubelet reservedeviction
110max pods per node
$209.35on demand / month · $0.2868/h
$119.28spot / month (varies)
n2-highcpu-8 GKE max pods and allocatable memory — quick answers
- How many pods can a n2-highcpu-8 run as a node with GKE ≤ 1.36? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 1943 MiB of memory and 90m CPU, leaving 6.10 GiB and 7.91 vCPU for pods.
- How many pods can a n2-highcpu-8 run as a node with GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS)? Up to 110; kubelet keeps 1943 MiB of memory and 90m CPU, leaving 6.10 GiB and 7.91 vCPU for pods.
- How many 500m / 1 GiB pods fit? 5 per node after DaemonSets; 2 nodes for 10 replicas, about $418.70/month on demand.
What kubelet reserves on n2-highcpu-8
| Setup | Max pods | kube-reserved CPU | Memory reserved + eviction | Allocatable CPU | Allocatable memory | Memory usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GKE ≤ 1.36 tiered memory reservation | 110 | 90m | 1843 Mi + 100 Mi | 7.91 | 6.10 GiB | 76.3% |
| GKE 1.37+ (Container-Optimized OS) 15 MiB × max pods + 500 MiB, CPU capped at 1 vCPU | 110 | 90m | 1843 Mi + 100 Mi | 7.91 | 6.10 GiB | 76.3% |
How these numbers are computed: reservation formulas. Check a live node with kubectl describe node → Allocatable.
How many pods fit on one n2-highcpu-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 | 46 | 46 | $4.55 |
| 250m / 256 Mi | 23 | 23 | $9.10 |
| 250m / 512 Mi | 11 | 11 | $19.03 |
| 500m / 512 Mi | 11 | 11 | $19.03 |
| 500m / 1024 Mi | 5 | 5 | $41.87 |
| 1000m / 1024 Mi | 5 | 5 | $41.87 |
| 1000m / 2048 Mi | 2 | 2 | $104.68 |
| 2000m / 4096 Mi | 1 | 1 | $209.35 |
| 4000m / 8192 Mi | 0 | 0 | — |
Similar GKE node types
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| e2-highcpu-8 | 8 | 8 | 7.91 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $144.45 | $23.67 |
| n2d-highcpu-8 | 8 | 8 | 7.91 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $182.14 | $29.85 |
| n1-highcpu-8 | 8 | 7.2002 | 7.91 | 5.46 GiB | 110 | $206.88 | $37.87 |
| c4d-highcpu-8 | 8 | 15 | 7.91 | 12.40 GiB | 110 | $232.09 | $18.71 |
| n4a-highcpu-4 | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $94.84 | $15.54 |
| n4d-highcpu-4 | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $104.33 | $17.10 |
| c2d-highcpu-4 | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $109.44 | $17.93 |
| c3d-highcpu-4 | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 6.10 GiB | 110 | $109.44 | $17.93 |
Closest match on other clouds
| Type | vCPU | GiB | Alloc CPU | Alloc memory | Max pods | $/month | $ per alloc GiB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c4.2xlarge | 8 | 15 | 7.91 | 14.03 GiB | 58 | $290.54 | $20.71 |
| d4plsv6 | 4 | 8 | 3.86 | 5.90 GiB | 250 | $90.52 | $15.34 |
| c6g.xlarge | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 7.03 GiB | 58 | $99.28 | $14.12 |
| d4plsv5 | 4 | 8 | 3.86 | 5.90 GiB | 250 | $99.28 | $16.82 |
| c7g.xlarge | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 7.03 GiB | 58 | $105.85 | $15.06 |
| c6a.xlarge | 4 | 8 | 3.92 | 7.03 GiB | 58 | $111.69 | $15.89 |