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Manage TPU Spot VMs
Spot VMs make unused capacity available at highly-discounted rates.
Spot VMs can be preempted (shut down) at any time, but unlikepreemptible
TPUs, there is no limit on runtime duration. You can't
restart TPU Spot VMs, and you must recreate them after preemption. For
more information about Spot VMs in general, see theCompute Engine
documentation about Spot VMs.
Create TPU Spot VMs
You can create TPU Spot VMs using queued resources, which adds your
create request to a queue and lets you receive capacity once it becomes
available. Creating TPUs as queued resources is a best practice. For more
information, seeQueued resources user guide.
The following example shows how to create TPU Spot VMs using queued
resources:
gcloud
Add the--spotflag to thegcloud compute tpus queued-resourcescommand:
In theZonebox, select the zone where you want to create the TPU.
In theTPU typebox, select an accelerator type. The accelerator
type specifies the version and size of the Cloud TPU you want to
create. For more information about supported accelerator types for each
TPU version, seeTPU
versions.
In theTPU software versionbox, select a software version. When
creating a Cloud TPU VM, the TPU software version specifies the
version of the TPU runtime to install. For more information, seeTPU
software versions.
Click theEnable queueingtoggle.
In theQueued resource namefield, enter a name for your queued
resource request.
Expand theManagementsection.
Select theMake this a TPU Spot VMcheckbox.
ClickCreate.
You can also create TPU Spot VMs without using queued resources:
gcloud
Add the--spotflag to thegcloud compute tpus tpu-vmcommand:
In theZonebox, select the zone where you want to create the TPU.
In theTPU typebox, select an accelerator type. The accelerator
type specifies the version and size of the Cloud TPU you want to
create. For more information about supported accelerator types for each
TPU version, seeTPU
versions.
In theTPU software versionbox, select a software version. When
creating a Cloud TPU VM, the TPU software version specifies the
version of the TPU runtime to install. For more information, seeTPU
software versions.
Expand theManagementsection.
Select theMake this a TPU Spot VMcheckbox.
ClickCreate.
Check if a TPU VM is a Spot VM
gcloud
To confirm if your TPU VM is a Spot VM, use the describe command:
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Manage TPU Spot VMs\n===================\n\nSpot VMs make unused capacity available at highly-discounted rates.\nSpot VMs can be preempted (shut down) at any time, but unlike [preemptible\nTPUs](/tpu/docs/preemptible), there is no limit on runtime duration. You can't\nrestart TPU Spot VMs, and you must recreate them after preemption. For\nmore information about Spot VMs in general, see the [Compute Engine\ndocumentation about Spot VMs](/compute/docs/instances/spot).\n| **Note:** TPU Spot VMs only support the [TPU VM architecture](/tpu/docs/system-architecture-tpu-vm#tpu-vm-arch).\n\nCreate TPU Spot VMs\n-------------------\n\nYou can create TPU Spot VMs using queued resources, which adds your\ncreate request to a queue and lets you receive capacity once it becomes\navailable. Creating TPUs as queued resources is a best practice. For more\ninformation, see [Queued resources user guide](/tpu/docs/queued-resources).\n\nThe following example shows how to create TPU Spot VMs using queued\nresources: \n\n### gcloud\n\nAdd the `--spot` flag to the `gcloud compute tpus queued-resources` command: \n\n```bash\ngcloud compute tpus queued-resources create QUEUED_RESOURCE_ID \\\n --node-id=NODE_ID \\\n --zone=europe-west4-a \\\n --accelerator-type=v3-8 \\\n --runtime-version=tpu-vm-tf-2.17.1-pod-pjrt \\\n --spot\n```\n\n### curl\n\nAdd `spot: {}` to the request body: \n\n```bash\ncurl -X POST https://tpu.googleapis.com/v2alpha1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/europe-west4-a/queuedResources?queued_resource_id=QUEUED_RESOURCE_ID \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\n tpu: {\n node_spec: {\n parent: \"projects/\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePROJECT_ID\u003c/var\u003e/locations/\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eeurope-west4-a\u003c/var\u003e\",\n node_id: \"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eNODE_ID\u003c/var\u003e\",\n node: {\n accelerator_type: \"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ev3-8\u003c/var\u003e\",\n runtime_version: \"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003etpu-vm-tf-2.17.1-pod-pjrt\u003c/var\u003e\"\n }\n }\n },\n spot: {}\n }'\n```\n\n### Console\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **TPUs** page:\n\n [Go to TPUs](https://console.cloud.google.com/compute/tpus)\n2. Click **Create TPU**.\n\n3. In the **Name** field, enter a name for your TPU.\n\n4. In the **Zone** box, select the zone where you want to create the TPU.\n\n5. In the **TPU type** box, select an accelerator type. The accelerator\n type specifies the version and size of the Cloud TPU you want to\n create. For more information about supported accelerator types for each\n TPU version, see [TPU\n versions](/tpu/docs/system-architecture-tpu-vm#versions).\n\n6. In the **TPU software version** box, select a software version. When\n creating a Cloud TPU VM, the TPU software version specifies the\n version of the TPU runtime to install. For more information, see [TPU\n software versions](/tpu/docs/runtimes).\n\n7. Click the **Enable queueing** toggle.\n\n8. In the **Queued resource name** field, enter a name for your queued\n resource request.\n\n9. Expand the **Management** section.\n\n10. Select the **Make this a TPU Spot VM** checkbox.\n\n11. Click **Create**.\n\nYou can also create TPU Spot VMs without using queued resources: \n\n### gcloud\n\nAdd the `--spot` flag to the `gcloud compute tpus tpu-vm` command: \n\n```bash\ngcloud compute tpus tpu-vm create TPU_NAME \\\n --zone=europe-west4-a \\\n --accelerator-type=v3-8 \\\n --version=tpu-vm-tf-2.17.1-pod-pjrt \\\n --spot\n```\n\n### curl\n\nAdd `scheduling_config: {spot: true}` to the request body: \n\n```bash\ncurl -X POST https://tpu.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/europe-west4-a/nodes?node_id=TPU_NAME \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\n accelerator_type: \"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ev3-8\u003c/var\u003e\",\n runtime_version: \"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003etpu-vm-tf-2.17.1-pod-pjrt\u003c/var\u003e\",\n network_config: {enable_external_ips: true},\n scheduling_config: {spot: true}\n }'\n```\n\n### Console\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **TPUs** page:\n\n [Go to TPUs](https://console.cloud.google.com/compute/tpus)\n2. Click **Create TPU**.\n\n3. In the **Name** field, enter a name for your TPU.\n\n4. In the **Zone** box, select the zone where you want to create the TPU.\n\n5. In the **TPU type** box, select an accelerator type. The accelerator\n type specifies the version and size of the Cloud TPU you want to\n create. For more information about supported accelerator types for each\n TPU version, see [TPU\n versions](/tpu/docs/system-architecture-tpu-vm#versions).\n\n6. In the **TPU software version** box, select a software version. When\n creating a Cloud TPU VM, the TPU software version specifies the\n version of the TPU runtime to install. For more information, see [TPU\n software versions](/tpu/docs/runtimes).\n\n7. Expand the **Management** section.\n\n8. Select the **Make this a TPU Spot VM** checkbox.\n\n9. Click **Create**.\n\nCheck if a TPU VM is a Spot VM\n------------------------------\n\n### gcloud\n\nTo confirm if your TPU VM is a Spot VM, use the describe command: \n\n```bash\ngcloud compute tpus tpu-vm describe TPU_NAME --zone=europe-west4-a\n```\n\nIf the TPU VM is a Spot VM, then the output will include the\n`spot` field set to `true`, similar to the following: \n\n ...\n schedulingConfig:\n spot: true\n ...\n\n### Console\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **TPUs** page:\n\n [Go to TPUs](https://console.cloud.google.com/compute/tpus)\n2. Click the name of your Cloud TPU.\n\n If the TPU VM is a Spot VM, then the **Tier** will be\n **Spot VM**.\n\nPricing and quota\n-----------------\n\nPricing for TPU Spot VMs is significantly lower than for on-demand and\nreserved TPUs. For more information about pricing, see [Cloud TPU\npricing](/tpu/pricing).\n\nYou need preemptible quota to use TPU Spot VMs. For more information,\nsee [Quotas](/tpu/docs/quota)."]]
