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This page provides general operating system (OS) details and feature support for the OS images that are available on Compute Engine.
Some OS images are customized specifically to run on Compute Engine and have notable differences from the standard images that come directly from the operating system vendors. These differences are also covered for each OS.
For information about how support and maintenance is provided for these OS images on Compute Engine, based on support package, license type, and image lifecycle stage, see Support and maintenance policy for OS images.
CentOS Caution: CentOS operating systems have reached their end of development and support. For more information, see CentOS EOS guidance.CentOS Linux is a free operating system that is derived from Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Google Cloud builds and supports the CentOS images available for Compute Engine. There is no license fee for using CentOS with Compute Engine.
CentOS Stream is a distribution that is continuously delivered and tracks just ahead of RHEL development. CentOS Stream is positioned as a midstream development platform between Fedora Linux and RHEL.
Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the dnf-automatic
tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
dnf-automatic
tool does not upgrade VMs between major versions of the operating system.The CentOS Stream images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard CentOS Stream images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
0
.Network configuration
ServerAliveInterval
and ClientAliveInterval
are set to 7 minutes./etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules
is disabled./etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.Package system and repository configuration
dnf automatic
.update_cmd
property is set to security
.However, by default CentOS does not offer security tagged repositories.Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
.Time configuration
* If a multiple NIC VM is created using this OS image, the VM might lose network connectivity after rebooting. This happens if one of these NICs uses a non-VirtIO interface. For more information, see known issues.
Security features* This OS image doesn't support Secure Boot on ARM64.
† Intel TDX isn't supported on ARM64 for this OS image.
# Only available with certain machine series.
** This OS image has predictable network interface names disabled. Newer image families may have a different network interface naming scheme.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL CentOS Stream 9 Freehttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/centos-cloud/global/licenses/centos-stream-9
CentOS Stream 8 EOS EOS CentOS 8 EOS EOS CentOS 7 EOS EOS Container-Optimized OS (COS)
Container-Optimized OS from Google is an operating system image for your Compute Engine instances that is optimized for running Docker containers. Google Cloud builds and supports the Container-Optimized OS images available for Compute Engine. There is no license fee for using Container-Optimized OS with Compute Engine.
For more information about Container-Optimized OS, see the Container-Optimized OS overview or release notes.
Automatic updatesThis operating system can be configured to install security updates by using Automatic updates. On versions 117 and later, automatic updates are disabled by default. On versions 113 and earlier, automatic updates are enabled by default.
The automatic updates have the following behaviors:
Network configuration
1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.cos-cloud
cos-117-lts
cos-arm64-117-lts
All except G2 GA September 2026 COS 113 LTS cos-cloud
cos-113-lts
cos-arm64-113-lts
All except A4X, G2 GA April 2026 COS 109 LTS cos-cloud
cos-109-lts
cos-arm64-109-lts
All except A4X, G2, X4 GA September 2025 COS 105 LTS cos-cloud
cos-105-lts
cos-arm64-105-lts
All except A4X, A4, G2, X4, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA March 2025 COS 101 LTS N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS September 2024 Interfaces Security features User space features Networking features
# Only available with certain machine series.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
Note: Monitoring of GPU metrics is not available for GPUs running on VMs that use Container-Optimized OS.For G2 VMs, the current default driver for Container-Optimized OS, don't support L4 GPUs running on G2 machine types. You might be able to install a supported version, see G2 limitations.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL COS 117 LTS Freehttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/licenses/cos
COS 113 LTS Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/licenses/cos
COS 109 LTS Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/licenses/cos
COS 105 LTS Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/licenses/cos
COS 101 LTS Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/cos-cloud/global/licenses/cos
Debian
Debian is a free operating system offered by the Debian community. Google Cloud builds and supports the Debian images available for Compute Engine. There is no license fee for using Debian with Compute Engine.
Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the Debian UnattendedUpgrades
tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
UnattendedUpgrades
tool does not upgrade VMs between major versions of the operating system.UnattendedUpgrades
tool is configured to only automatically apply updates obtained from the Debian security repository.The Debian image build configuration is available in an open source GitHub repository.
Debian images are always built with the latest Debian packages which reflect the most recent Debian point release.
The Debian images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard Debian images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
0
.scsi_mod.use_blk_mq
is enabled.Network configuration
/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.Package system and repository configuration
Unattended-upgrades
package is installed and configured to download and install Debian security updates daily. This can be configured or disabled by changing the values in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
and /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/02periodic
.cloud-initramfs-growroot
package is removed and replaced with the Google supported gce-disk-expand
package.linux-image-cloud-amd64
kernel is installed instead of the generic Debian kernel.haveged
package is installed to provide entropy.Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
. There is also an MBR boot block to support BIOS.Time configuration
debian-cloud
debian-12
debian-12-arm64
All except A4X, X4, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA TBD Debian 11 debian-cloud
debian-11
N/A All except A4X, A4, X4, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal
* This OS image supports NVMe but does not include all optimizations for NVMe.
Security features User space features Networking features* You can update the gVNIC driver to the latest version to enable network egress bandwidths of 200 Gbps. For more information, see the Requirements and limitations section of "Configure per VM Tier_1 networking performance".
† Fully supported with VirtIO, but requires an updated driver to use with gVNIC. For more information, see Jumbo frames.
# Only available with certain machine series.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL Debian 12 Freehttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/debian-cloud/global/licenses/debian-12-bookworm
Debian 11 Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/debian-cloud/global/licenses/debian-11-bullseye
Debian 10 EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/debian-cloud/global/licenses/debian-10-buster
Fedora CoreOS
Fedora CoreOS is a distribution that provides features that are needed to run modern infrastructure stacks. Fedora CoreOS uses Linux containers to manage your services at a higher level of abstraction. Google Cloud provides Fedora CoreOS images built and supported by Fedora. There is no license fee for using Fedora CoreOS with Compute Engine.
Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the FedoraCoreOS automatic update tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
Network configuration
1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.fedora-coreos-cloud
fedora-coreos-stable
fedora-coreos-stable-arm64
All except A4, A3, A2, G2 GA Rolling Fedora CoreOS Testing fedora-coreos-cloud
fedora-coreos-testing
fedora-coreos-testing-arm64
All except A4, A3, A2, G2 GA Rolling Fedora CoreOS Next fedora-coreos-cloud
fedora-coreos-next
fedora-coreos-next-arm64
All except A4, A3, A2, G2 GA Rolling Interfaces Security features
*This OS image doesn't support Secure Boot on ARM64.
User space features Networking features GPU supportN1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL Fedora CoreOS Stable Freehttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/fedora-coreos-cloud/global/licenses/fedora-coreos-stable
Fedora CoreOS Testing Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/fedora-coreos-cloud/global/licenses/fedora-coreos-testing
Fedora CoreOS Next Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/fedora-coreos-cloud/global/licenses/fedora-coreos-next
Oracle Linux
Oracle Linux is a Linux operating system (OS) provided by Oracle with everything required to deploy, optimize, and manage applications on-premises, in the cloud, and at the edge.
Oracle builds and supports the Oracle Linux images available for Compute Engine. There is no license fee for using Oracle Linux with Compute Engine. Oracle is responsible for ensuring that Oracle Linux works with Google Cloud features and that security updates are maintained. For issues related to Oracle Linux, you must consult community resources or get enterprise-level support directly from Oracle.
For more information on Oracle Linux visit Oracle's document library for Oracle Linux.
Automatic updatesBy default, Oracle Linux images don't automatically install security updates. To configure automatic security updates, run the following commands:
sudo dnf install -y dnf-automatic sudo sed -i 's/upgrade_type =.*/upgrade_type = security/' /etc/dnf/automatic.conf sudo sed -i 's/apply_updates =.*/apply_updates = yes/' /etc/dnf/automatic.conf sudo systemctl enable dnf-automatic.timer sudo systemctl start dnf-automatic.timer
Automatic updates have the following behaviors:
dnf-automatic
doesn't upgrade VMs between major versions of the operating system.The Oracle Linux images that are provided by Compute Engine reflect the most recent point release. Currently you cannot pin a VM to a point release. These images have the following differences in configuration from standard Oracle Linux images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
0
.noop
.Network configuration
ServerAliveInterval
and ClientAliveInterval
are set to 7 minutes./etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules
is disabled./etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.Package system and repository configuration
dnf install -y google-cloud-cli --enablerepo google-cloud-sdk
Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
.Time configuration
oracle-linux-cloud
oracle-linux-9
N/A N2, N4, C3, C4, N2D, C2D, C3D and M3 GA Jun 2032 Oracle Linux 8 oracle-linux-cloud
oracle-linux-8
N/A N2, N4, C3, C4, N2D, C2D, C3D and M3 GA Jul 2029 Interfaces
Oracle Linux images use the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) by default. The interface support listed in the table applies to images that use the UEK. You can optionally configure Oracle Linux images to use the Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK), which is additionally installed on Oracle Linux images. If you use the RHCK, Oracle Linux images support the same interfaces as the corresponding Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) listed in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) section of this document.
Security features User space featuresgcloud CLI is not pre-installed in the images, however the Google Cloud SDK repository is setup. To install gcloud CLI you can run this command: dnf install -y google-cloud-cli --enablerepo google-cloud-sdk
Oracle Linux images use the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) by default. The networking features support listed in the table applies to images that use the UEK. You can optionally configure Oracle Linux images to use the Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK), which is additionally installed on Oracle Linux images. If you use the RHCK, Oracle Linux images support the same networking features as the corresponding Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) listed in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) section of this document.
# Only available with certain machine series.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
Oracle Linux images use the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) by default. The GPU support listed in the table applies to images that use the UEK. You can optionally configure Oracle Linux images to use the Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK), which is additionally installed on Oracle Linux images. If you use the RHCK, Oracle Linux images support the same GPUs as the corresponding Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) listed in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) section of this document.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL Oracle Linux 9 Freehttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/oracle-linux-cloud/global/licenses/oracle-linux-9
Oracle Linux 8 Free https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/oracle-linux-cloud/global/licenses/oracle-linux-8
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is an open-source Linux operating system that provides both server and desktop operating systems. Google Cloud builds and supports the RHEL OS images available for Compute Engine.
RHEL images are premium resources that incur additional fees to use. If you want to use an existing RHEL subscription, you can use the Red Hat Cloud Access feature.
The Red Hat Knowledgebase provides you with access to articles, solutions, product documentation, and community discussions. The Red Hat Knowledgebase is available as a single-sign-on (SSO) option through the Google Cloud console. See Access Red Hat Knowledgebase.
To view a list of frequently asked questions when running RHEL on Compute Engine, see Red Hat Enterprise Linux FAQ.
Note: For compliance with Red Hat licensing requirements, Google reports to Red Hat your billing entity name, region, country, SKU and total hours of usage. Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the RHEL yum-cron
(RHEL 7) or dnf automatic
(RHEL 8+) tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
The RHEL image build configuration is available in an open source GitHub repository.
RHEL images are always built with the latest RHEL packages, which reflect the most recent point release. Currently, you cannot pin a VM to a point release.
RHEL for SAP images are tagged to the specific point release they are built for as supported by Red Hat.
The RHEL images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard RHEL images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
0
.noop
.Network configuration
ServerAliveInterval
and ClientAliveInterval
are set to 7 minutes./etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules
is disabled./etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.Package and repository configuration
dnf -y -q update 'google-rhui-client*'
RHUI
client package, which contains the configuration needed to access RHEL content, is installed.subscription-manager
package is removed because it is not used for pay as you go images.dnf automatic
.update_cmd
property is set to security
.Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
.Time configuration
rhel-cloud
rhel-9
rhel-9-arm64
All except A4X, A4, X4 GA May 2032 RHEL 8 rhel-cloud
rhel-8
rhel-8-arm64
All except A4X, A4, X4 GA May 2029 RHEL 7 N/A N/A N/A All except C4-*-288 (Preview) EOS*
rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-9-4-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A GA April 2028 RHEL 9.2 for SAP rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-9-2-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA May 2027 RHEL 9.0 for SAP rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-9-0-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA May 2026 RHEL 8.10 for SAP rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-8-10-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A GA May 2029 RHEL 8.8 for SAP rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-8-8-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA May 2027 RHEL 8.6 for SAP rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-8-6-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA May 2026 RHEL 8.4 for SAP rhel-sap-cloud
rhel-8-4-sap-ha
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, X4, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3-metal GA May 2025 RHEL 8.2 for SAP N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS* April 2024 RHEL 7.9 for SAP N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS*
*EOS: End of support.
†ELS: To use this OS image, you must have a subscription or an Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-On. You can append the ELS Add-On to your RHEL 6 VMs as described in Append RHEL ELS licenses.
Interfaces*This OS image supports NVMe but does not include all optimizations for NVMe.
#If a multiple NIC VM is created using this OS image, the VM might lose network connectivity after rebooting. This happens if one of these NICs uses a non-VirtIO interface. See known issues.
Security features* This OS image doesn't support Secure Boot on ARM64.
† Intel TDX isn't supported on ARM64 for this OS image.
*You can update the gVNIC driver to the latest version to enable network egress bandwidths of 200 Gbps. For more information, see the Requirements and limitations section of "Configure per VM Tier_1 networking performance".
†Fully supported with VirtIO, but requires an updated driver to use with gVNIC. For more information, see Jumbo frames.
#Only available with certain machine series.
**This OS image has predictable network interface names disabled. Newer image families may have a different network interface naming scheme.
GPU supportN1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL RHEL 9https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-server
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-server
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-server
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-els
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-6-server
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-6-els
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-6-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-sap
†ELS: To use this OS image, you must have a subscription or an Extended Life Cycle Support (ELS) Add-On. You can append the ELS Add-On to your RHEL 6 VMs as described in Append RHEL ELS licenses.
Rocky LinuxRocky Linux is a free, open, community enterprise operating system designed to be 100% bug-for-bug compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Google Cloud builds and supports the Rocky Linux images available for Compute Engine. There is no license fee for using Rocky Linux with Compute Engine.
The following two versions of Rocky Linux operating systems are available on Compute Engine:
-optimized-gcp
and is pre-configured to use the latest version of the Google virtual network interface (gVNIC).By default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the dnf-automatic
tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
dnf-automatic
does not upgrade VMs between major versions of the operating system.The Rocky Linux images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard Rocky Linux images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
0
.Network configuration
ServerAliveInterval
and ClientAliveInterval
are set to 7 minutes./etc/udev/rules.d/75-persistent-net-generator.rules
is disabled./etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.Package system and repository configuration
dnf automatic
.update_cmd
property is set to security
. However, by default Rocky Linux does not offer security tagged repositories.Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
.Time configuration
rocky-linux-cloud
rocky-linux-9-optimized-gcp
rocky-linux-9-optimized-gcp-arm64
All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA May 2032 Rocky Linux 9 rocky-linux-cloud
rocky-linux-9
rocky-linux-9-arm64
All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA May 2032 Rocky Linux 9 Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 570 rocky-linux-accelerator-cloud
rocky-linux-9-optimized-gcp-nvidia-570
N/A A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA May 2032 Rocky Linux 9 Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 550 rocky-linux-accelerator-cloud
rocky-linux-9-optimized-gcp-nvidia-550
N/A A3 Ultra GA June 2025 Rocky Linux 8 optimized for Google Cloud rocky-linux-cloud
rocky-linux-8-optimized-gcp
rocky-linux-8-optimized-gcp-arm64
All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra, X4 GA May 2029 Rocky Linux 8 rocky-linux-cloud
rocky-linux-8
N/A All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra, T2A, C4A, X4 GA May 2029 Rocky Linux 8 Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 570 rocky-linux-accelerator-cloud
rocky-linux-8-optimized-gcp-nvidia-570
N/A A4, A3 Ultra GA May 2029 Rocky Linux 8 Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 550 rocky-linux-accelerator-cloud
rocky-linux-8-optimized-gcp-nvidia-550
N/A A3 Ultra GA June 2025 Interfaces Security features
* Intel TDX isn't supported on ARM64 for this OS image.
User space features Networking features# Only available with certain machine series.
** This OS image has predictable network interface names disabled. Newer image families may have a different network interface naming scheme.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
The Rocky Linux 8 and 9 Accelerated OS images are optimized for supporting your artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads. To learn more about how these images are optimized for these workloads, see Operating systems in the AI Hypercomputer documentation.
Important: If you use an "Accelerated" OS version that supports your GPU, you don't need to install GPU drivers.For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License SQL Server on LinuxMicrosoft SQL Server can be used on Linux-based VMs or images with an on-demand license. Google does not provide pre-configured images for SQL Server on Linux.
Microsoft SQL Server images are not supported for VMs created on the C4A machine series and the T2A machine series.
LicenseTo use on-demand / pay-as-you-go (PAYG) licenses for Microsoft SQL Server on a Linux VM or image, see Add a SQL Server license to an existing Linux server.
Version License type License Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Enterprise on Linux On-demandhttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2022-enterprise-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2022-standard-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Web on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2022-web-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Enterprise on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2019-enterprise-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2019-standard-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2019-web-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Enterprise on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-enterprise-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Standard on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-standard-on-linux
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Web on Linux On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/linux-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-web-on-linux
SQL Server on Windows
Microsoft SQL Server images are similar to the standard Windows Server operating system images, but they include Microsoft SQL Server preinstalled.
Microsoft SQL Server images are not supported for VMs created on the C4A machine series and the T2A machine series. Using a Microsoft SQL Server Windows image with a bare metal instance isn't supported.
Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to "Auto download and schedule the install" for Microsoft updates. To configure Windows Server automatic updates, see Configure Automatic Updates.
Image configurationTo use Microsoft SQL Server on a Windows VM with an on-demand / pay-as-you-go (PAYG) license, see Add a SQL Server license to an existing Windows server.
Version Image project Image family Lifecycle stage EOS and image deprecation date Microsoft SQL Server 2022windows-sql-cloud
sql-web-2022-win-2025
sql-web-2022-win-2022
sql-web-2022-win-2019
sql-std-2022-win-2025
sql-std-2022-win-2022
sql-std-2022-win-2019
sql-ent-2022-win-2025
sql-ent-2022-win-2022
sql-ent-2022-win-2019
GA Jan 11, 2033 Microsoft SQL Server 2019 windows-sql-cloud
sql-web-2019-win-2025
sql-web-2019-win-2022
sql-web-2019-win-2019
sql-std-2019-win-2025
sql-std-2019-win-2022
sql-std-2019-win-2019
sql-ent-2019-win-2025
sql-ent-2019-win-2022
sql-ent-2019-win-2019
GA Jan 8, 2030 Microsoft SQL Server 2017 windows-sql-cloud
sql-web-2017-win-2025
sql-web-2017-win-2022
sql-web-2017-win-2019
sql-web-2017-win-2016
sql-std-2017-win-2025
sql-std-2017-win-2022
sql-std-2017-win-2019
sql-std-2017-win-2016
sql-exp-2017-win-2019
sql-exp-2017-win-2016
sql-ent-2017-win-2025
sql-ent-2017-win-2022
sql-ent-2017-win-2019
sql-ent-2017-win-2016
GA Oct 12, 2027 Microsoft SQL Server 2016 windows-sql-cloud
sql-web-2016-win-2019
sql-web-2016-win-2016
sql-std-2016-win-2019
sql-std-2016-win-2016
sql-ent-2016-win-2019
sql-ent-2016-win-2016
GA Jul 14, 2026 Microsoft SQL Server 2014 EOS EOS EOS Jul 9, 2024 SQL Server edition support Editions Enterprise Standard Web Express Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Microsoft SQL Server 2014 EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows Server version support Version Windows 2016 Windows 2019 Windows 2022 Windows 2025 Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Web Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Standard Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Web Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Express Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Standard Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Web License Version License type License Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Enterprise On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2022-enterprise
Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2022-standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Web On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2022-web
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Enterprise On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2019-enterprise
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2019-standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2019-web
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Enterprise On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-enterprise
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Standard On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Web On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-web
Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Express On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2017-express
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Enterprise On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2016-enterprise
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Standard On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2016-standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Web On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2016-web
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Enterprise EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2014-enterprise
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Standard EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2014-standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Web EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2014-web
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2012-enterprise
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Standard EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2012-standard
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Web EOS https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-sql-cloud/global/licenses/sql-server-2012-web
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), a versatile server operating system for deploying highly available enterprise-class IT services in mixed IT environments with improved performance and reduced risk.
SUSE builds and supports the SUSE images available for Compute Engine. SUSE images are premium resources that incur additional fees to use.
To view a list of frequently asked questions when running SLES on Compute Engine, see SUSE Linux Enterprise Server FAQ.
Note: For compliance with SUSE licensing requirements, Google reports to SUSE your billing entity name, region, country, SKU, and total hours of usage. Automatic updatesThis operating system is not configured to install updates by default. For more information about configuring automatic updates for SLES, see SUSE documentation.
Image configurationSLES and SLES for SAP images are built and maintained by SUSE. SLES images are built with the latest SLES packages reflected in their release.
The SUSE images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard SUSE images:
Account configuration
Network configuration
net.ifnames=0
is set. Therefore, network interfaces use the traditional ethN naming, with the default interface always being eth0
.1460
. For more information about network and interface MTU, see the maximum transmission unit overview.Package system and repository configuration
Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
. There is also an MBR boot block to support BIOS.Time configuration
suse-cloud
sles-15
sles-15-arm64
All except A4X, A4 GA TBD SLES 15 SP5 suse-byos-cloud
N/A N/A All except A4X, A4 BYOS w/ LTSS Dec 2027 SLES 15 SP4 suse-byos-cloud
N/A N/A All except A4X, A4 BYOS w/ LTSS Dec 2026 SLES 15 SP3 suse-byos-cloud
N/A N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, X4, Z3-metal BYOS w/ LTSS Dec 2025 SLES 15 SP2 suse-byos-cloud
N/A N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal,C3-metal, X4, Z3-metal BYOS w/ LTSS Dec 2024 SLES 15 SP1 N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS Jan 2024 SLES 12 SP5 suse-cloud
sles-12
N/A All except T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, G2, X4, Z3-metal EOL Oct 2024 SLES 12 SP4 N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS June 2023 SLES 15 SP6 for SAP suse-sap-cloud
sles-15-sp6-sap
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A GA TBD SLES 15 SP5 for SAP suse-sap-cloud
sles-15-sp5-sap
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A GA Dec 2027 SLES 15 SP4 for SAP suse-sap-cloud
sles-15-sp4-sap
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A GA Dec 2026 SLES 15 SP3 for SAP suse-sap-cloud
sles-15-sp3-sap
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, X4, Z3-metal GA Dec 2025 SLES 15 SP2 for SAP suse-sap-cloud
sles-15-sp2-sap
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, X4, Z3-metal GA Dec 2024 SLES 15 SP1 for SAP N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS Jan 2024 SLES 12 SP5 for SAP suse-sap-cloud
sles-12-sp5-sap
N/A All except T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, A4X, A4, G2, X4, Z3-metal GA Oct 2027 SLES 12 SP4 for SAP N/A N/A N/A N/A EOS June 2023 Interfaces OS version SCSI NVMe Google Virtual NIC (gVNIC) IDPF Multiple network interfaces SLES 15 SP6 SLES 15 SP5 SLES 15 SP4 SLES 15 SP3 SLES 15 SP2 SLES 15 SP1 SLES 12 SP5 SLES 12 SP4 SLES 15 SP6 for SAP SLES 15 SP5 for SAP SLES 15 SP4 for SAP SLES 15 SP3 for SAP SLES 15 SP2 for SAP SLES 15 SP1 for SAP SLES 12 SP5 for SAP SLES 12 SP4 for SAP Security features
* This OS image doesn't support Secure Boot on ARM64.
† Intel TDX isn't supported on ARM64 for this OS image.
*This OS image doesn't support custom hostnames. For more information see Custom Hostnames.
Networking features OS version Tier_1 networking# 200 Gbps network bandwidth# Jumbo frames/MTU SLES 15 SP6 SLES 15 SP5 SLES 15 SP4 SLES 15 SP3 SLES 15 SP2 * † SLES 15 SP1 † SLES 12 SP5 SLES 12 SP4 † SLES 15 SP6 for SAP SLES 15 SP5 for SAP SLES 15 SP4 for SAP SLES 15 SP3 for SAP SLES 15 SP2 for SAP * † SLES 15 SP1 for SAP † SLES 12 SP5 for SAP SLES 12 SP4 for SAP †*You can update the gVNIC driver to the latest version to enable network egress bandwidths of 200 Gbps. For more information, see the Requirements and limitations section of "Configure per VM Tier_1 networking performance".
†Fully supported with VirtIO, but requires an updated driver to use with gVNIC. For more information, see Jumbo frames.
#Only available with certain machine series.
GPU supportN1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
Note: V100 GPUs aren't supported on SLES.For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
OS version A4X (GB200) A4 (B200) A3 (H200) A3 (H100) A2 (A100) G2 (L4) N1+GPU SLES 15 SP6 SLES 15 SP5 SLES 15 SP4 SLES 15 SP3 SLES 15 SP2 SLES 15 SP1 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS SLES 12 SP5 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS SLES 12 SP4 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS SLES 15 SP6 for SAP SLES 15 SP5 for SAP SLES 15 SP4 for SAP SLES 15 SP3 for SAP SLES 15 SP2 for SAP SLES 15 SP1 for SAP EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS SLES 12 SP5 for SAP SLES 12 SP4 for SAP EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS VM Manager*Patch compliance reporting: For all SUSE Enterprise Linux Server (SLES) operating systems, including SLES for SAP and openSuse, you can run patch jobs and create patch deployments. However, patch compliance reporting is not supported and these VMs are displayed in the No data
category on the Patch dashboard.
For operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
OS version Import disk Import virtual appliance Import machine image SLES 15 SP6 SLES 15 SP5 SLES 15 SP4 SLES 15 SP3 SLES 15 SP2 SLES 15 SP1 SLES 12 SP5 SLES 12 SP4 SLES 15 SP6 for SAP SLES 15 SP5 for SAP SLES 15 SP4 for SAP SLES 15 SP3 for SAP SLES 15 SP2 for SAP SLES 15 SP1 for SAP SLES 12 SP5 for SAP SLES 12 SP4 for SAP License OS version License type License URL SLES 15 SP6https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-12
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-12-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-12
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-12-byos
*BYOS with LTSS: Support for this operating system is only offered through the Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS) that is available when using BYOS licenses from SUSE.
Ubuntu LTSUbuntu is a free operating system developed and supported by Canonical.
Ubuntu Long Term Support (LTS) images receive bug fixes and security updates for five years after their release date. LTS images can run on your instances for several years without having to upgrade to a newer release.
Ubuntu Minimal images are supported the same as Ubuntu LTS images.
Regular (non LTS) Ubuntu images are supported for 9 months from their release date. To continue to use a regular Ubuntu image, you will have to upgrade to the next regular Ubuntu release or LTS release after the support cycle ends to receive fixes and updates. Compute Engine recommends using Ubuntu LTS images unless you require features or software packages that are not yet included in an LTS release. If your instances run Ubuntu releases that are no longer supported, upgrade to a supported Ubuntu release.
Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the Ubuntu AutomaticSecurityUpdates
tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
AutomaticSecurityUpdates
tool does not upgrade VMs between major versions of the operating system.AutomaticSecurityUpdates
tool is configured to only automatically apply updates obtained from the Ubuntu security repository.Ubuntu images are built and maintained by Canonical. Ubuntu images are always built with the latest Ubuntu packages which reflect the most recent Ubuntu point release.
The Ubuntu images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard Ubuntu images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
cloud-init
to do some boot time initialization. The cloud.cfg
file is configured for Compute Engine and enables only the cloud-init
modules that are used.0
.scsi_mod.use_blk_mq
is enabled.Network configuration
/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.Package system and repository configuration
cloud-init
.Unattended-upgrades
package is installed and configured to download and install Debian security updates daily. This can be configured or disabled by changing the values in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
and /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/02periodic
.linux-image-gcp
kernel is used instead of the generic Ubuntu kernel. The Google Cloud kernel reflects the latest rolling HWE kernel for Ubuntu LTS.Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
. There is also an MBR boot block to support BIOS.Time configuration
For information about non LTS Ubuntu releases, see the Ubuntu release wiki.
OS version Image project x86 image family Arm image family Machine series Lifecycle stage EOS and image deprecation date Ubuntu 24.04 LTSubuntu-os-cloud
ubuntu-2404-lts-amd64
ubuntu-2404-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA June 2029 (ESM April 2034) Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 570 ubuntu-os-accelerator-images
ubuntu-accelerator-2404-amd64-with-nvidia-570
ubuntu-accelerator-2404-arm64-with-nvidia-570
A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA June 2029 (ESM April 2034) Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 550 ubuntu-os-accelerator-images
ubuntu-accelerator-2404-amd64-with-nvidia-550
ubuntu-accelerator-2404-arm64-with-nvidia-550
A3 Ultra GA June 2025 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS ubuntu-os-cloud
ubuntu-2204-lts
ubuntu-2204-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA April 2027 (ESM April 2032) Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 570 ubuntu-os-accelerator-images
ubuntu-accelerator-2204-amd64-with-nvidia-570
ubuntu-accelerator-2204-arm64-with-nvidia-570
A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA April 2027 (ESM April 2032) Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Accelerated with NVIDIA driver version 550 ubuntu-os-accelerator-images
ubuntu-accelerator-2204-amd64-with-nvidia-550
ubuntu-accelerator-2204-arm64-with-nvidia-550
A3 Ultra GA June 2025 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ubuntu-os-cloud
ubuntu-2004-lts
ubuntu-2004-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4, A3 Ultra GA May 2025 (ESM May 2030) Ubuntu 18.04 LTS EOS EOS EOS EOS Ubuntu ESM* / Ubuntu Pro† May 2023 (ESM April 2028) Ubuntu 16.04 LTS EOS EOS EOS EOS Ubuntu ESM* / Ubuntu Pro† April 2021 (ESM April 2026) Ubuntu 14.04 LTS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS April 2024
* Ubuntu ESM: You can apply your existing ESM subscription to the Google provided OS image. The image that is provided by Google Cloud contains enhancements that might not be included if you bring your own OS image.
† Ubuntu Pro: To continue using Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 LTS images, upgrade from Ubuntu to Ubuntu Pro.
* Intel TDX isn't supported on ARM64 for this OS image.
User space features* This OS image doesn't support custom hostnames. For more information, see Custom Hostnames.
Networking features* You can update the gVNIC driver to the latest version to enable network egress bandwidths of 200 Gbps. For more information, see the Requirements and limitations section of "Configure per VM Tier_1 networking performance".
† Fully supported with VirtIO, but requires an updated driver to use with gVNIC. For more information, see Jumbo frames.
# Only available with certain machine series.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
The Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 LTS Accelerated OS images are optimized for supporting your artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads. To learn more about how these images are optimized for these workloads, see Operating systems in the AI Hypercomputer documentation.
Important: If you use an "Accelerated" OS version that supports your GPU, you don't need to install GPU drivers.For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License* Ubuntu ESM: You can apply your existing ESM subscription to the Google provided OS image. The image that is provided by Google Cloud contains enhancements that might not be included if you bring your own OS image.
† Ubuntu Pro: To continue using Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 LTS images, you must upgrade from Ubuntu to Ubuntu Pro.
Ubuntu Pro is a premium operating system developed and supported by Canonical.
Ubuntu Pro images running on Compute Engine receive bug fixes and security updates for 10 years after their release date, along with access to Ubuntu ESM. For Ubuntu 16.04, security updates and ESM are available for 8 years.
Ubuntu Pro images are premium resources that incur additional fees to use. For information about Ubuntu Pro license cost, see the Ubuntu Pro pricing page. An Ubuntu Pro image running on Compute Engine has an on-demand license and does not require an additional Ubuntu Pro subscription.
To view a list of frequently asked questions when running Ubuntu Pro on Compute Engine, see Ubuntu Pro FAQ.
Note: For compliance with Canonical licensing requirements, Google reports to Canonical your billing entity name, region, country, SKU, and total hours of usage. Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to install security updates by using the Ubuntu AutomaticSecurityUpdates
tool. The updates have the following behaviors:
AutomaticSecurityUpdates
tool does not upgrade VMs between major versions of the operating system.AutomaticSecurityUpdates
tool is configured to only automatically apply updates obtained from the Ubuntu security repository.Ubuntu Pro images are built and maintained by Canonical. Ubuntu Pro images are always built with the latest Ubuntu packages which reflect the most recent Ubuntu point release.
The Ubuntu Pro images that are provided by Compute Engine, have the following differences in configuration from standard Ubuntu images:
Account configuration
Bootloader configuration
cloud-init
to do some boot time initialization. The cloud.cfg
file is configured for Compute Engine and enables only the cloud-init
modules that are used.0
.scsi_mod.use_blk_mq
is enabled.Network configuration
/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules
is removed.Package system and repository configuration
cloud-init
.Unattended-upgrades
package is installed and configured to download and install Debian security updates daily. This can be configured or disabled by changing the values in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades
and /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/02periodic
.linux-image-gcp
kernel is used instead of the generic Ubuntu kernel. The Google Cloud kernel reflects the latest rolling HWE kernel for Ubuntu LTS.Storage configuration
GPT
, and there is an EFI
partition to support booting on UEFI
. There is also an MBR boot block to support BIOS.cloud-init
to do some boot time initialization. The cloud.cfg
file is configured for Compute Engine and enables only the cloud-init
modules that are used.Time configuration
For information about upgrading from Ubuntu LTS to Ubuntu Pro, see Upgrade from Ubuntu to Ubuntu Pro.
OS version Image project x86 image family Arm image family Machine series Lifecycle stage EOS and image deprecation date Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTSubuntu-os-pro-cloud
ubuntu-pro-2404-lts-amd64
ubuntu-pro-2404-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4 GA April 2034 Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS ubuntu-os-pro-cloud
ubuntu-pro-2204-lts
ubuntu-pro-2204-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4 GA April 2032 Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS ubuntu-os-pro-cloud
ubuntu-pro-2004-lts
ubuntu-pro-2004-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4 GA April 2030 Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS ubuntu-os-pro-cloud
ubuntu-pro-1804-lts
ubuntu-pro-1804-lts-arm64
All except A4X, A4, C4-metal, C4A, C3-metal, C4D-metal, X4, Z3-metal GA April 2028 Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS ubuntu-os-pro-cloud
ubuntu-pro-1604-lts
N/A All except A4X, A4, T2A, C4A, C3-metal, C4-metal, C4D-metal, X4, Z3-metal GA April 2026 Interfaces
*This OS image supports NVMe but doesn't support the hot-plugging of NVMe drives. Hot-plugging is the process of adding or removing a device while the system is running.
Security features* Intel TDX isn't supported on ARM64 for this OS image.
User space features* This OS image doesn't support custom hostnames. For more information, see Custom Hostnames.
Networking features* You can update the gVNIC driver to the latest version to enable network egress bandwidths of 200 Gbps. For more information, see the Requirements and limitations section of "Configure per VM Tier_1 networking performance".
† Fully supported with VirtIO, but requires an updated driver to use with gVNIC. For more information, see Jumbo frames.
# Only available with certain machine series.
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
License OS version License type License URL Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS On-demandhttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-2404-lts
Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-2204-lts
Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-2004-lts
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-1804-lts
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS On-demand https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-1604-lts
Windows client
Google doesn't provide Windows client images. You must bring your own Windows client images.
Windows client images can't be used with bare metal instances. Also, Windows client images aren't supported for C4A machine series and T2A machine series VMs.
Automatic updatesThe Windows client update settings determine how versions of Windows client use Windows Updates. To configure Windows automatic updates, see Configure Automatic Updates.
StorageGoogle doesn't test the VSS agent on any client images.
General information OS version Lifecycle stage* EOS date Windows 11 23h2 x64** GA Nov 2026 Windows 11 22h2 x64** GA Oct 2025 Windows 11 21h2 x64** EOS Oct 2024 Windows 10 22h2 x64 GA Oct 2025 Windows 10 22h2 x86 GA Oct 2025 Windows 10 21h2 x64 EOS June 2024 Windows 10 21h2 x86 EOS June 2024 Windows 8.1 x64 EOS Jan 2023 Windows 8.1 x86 EOS Jan 2023 Windows 7 x64 EOS† Jan 2020 Windows 7 x86 EOS† Jan 2020*Lifecycle stage: Google Cloud Support typically coincides with Extended Support End Date. For information about the end of support (EOS) date for each of the operating systems in the table below, see the Microsoft Lifecycle Policy.
†Windows 7 EOS: For information about Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 7, see Microsoft's Extended Security Updates Lifecycle FAQ.
**Windows 11: vTPM and Secure Boot must be enabled. Due to CPU requirements, N1 and M1 sole-tenant node types are not recommended.
Interfaces Security features OS version Shielded VM Confidential VM support Windows 11 23h2 x64 ** Windows 11 22h2 x64 ** Windows 11 21h2 x64 ** Windows 10 22h2 x64 Windows 10 22h2 x86 Windows 10 21h2 x64 Windows 10 21h2 x86 Windows 8.1 x64 Windows 8.1 x86 Windows 7 x64 Windows 7 x86**Windows 11: vTPM and Secure Boot must be enabled. Due to CPU requirements, N1 and M1 sole-tenant node types are not recommended.
User space features*Guest environment: For this OS, the guest environment can be manually installed. To install the guest environment, see Install the guest environment.
†gcloud CLI: For this OS, the gcloud CLI can be manually installed. To install the gcloud CLI, see Install the gcloud CLI.
‡Suspend and resume: For this OS, some power policy configurations are incompatible with suspend and resume. For more information, see troubleshooting VM suspension.
Networking features OS version Tier_1 networking# 200 Gbps network bandwidth# Jumbo frames/MTU Windows 11 23h2 x64 * * † Windows 11 22h2 x64 * * † Windows 11 21h2 x64 * * † Windows 10 22h2 x64 * * † Windows 10 22h2 x86 * † Windows 10 21h2 x64 * * † Windows 10 21h2 x86 * † Windows 8.1 x64 † Windows 8.1 x86 † Windows 7 x64 EOS EOS EOS Windows 7 x86 EOS EOS EOS GPU supportN1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
Note:a2-megagpu-16g
machine types are not supported on Windows. When using A100 GPUs with Windows operating systems, choose a different A2 machine type.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
OS version A4X (GB200) A4 (B200) A3 (H200) A3 (H100) A2 (A100) G2 (L4) N1+GPU Windows 11 23h2 x64 Windows 11 22h2 x64 Windows 11 21h2 x64 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows 10 22h2 x64 Windows 10 22h2 x86 Windows 10 21h2 x64 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows 10 21h2 x86 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows 8.1 x64 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows 8.1 x86 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows 7 x64 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows 7 x86 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS*For this Windows client version, NVIDIA V100 GPUs are not supported.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
OS version Import disk Import virtual appliance Windows 11 23h2 x64 Windows 11 22h2 x64 Windows 11 21h2 x64 Windows 10 22h2 x64 Windows 10 22h2 x86 Windows 10 21h2 x64 Windows 10 21h2 x86 Windows 8.1 x64 Windows 8.1 x86 Windows 7 x64 Windows 7 x86 License OS version License type License URL Windows 11 23h2 x64 BYOLhttps://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-11-x64-byol
Windows 11 22h2 x64 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-11-x64-byol
Windows 11 21h2 x64 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-11-x64-byol
Windows 10 22h2 x64 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-10-x64-byol
Windows 10 22h2 x86 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-10-x86-byol
Windows 10 21h2 x64 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-10-x64-byol
Windows 10 21h2 x86 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-10-x86-byol
Windows 8.1 x64 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-8-x64-byol
Windows 8.1 x86 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-8-x86-byol
Windows 7 x64 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-7-x64-byol
Windows 7 x86 BYOL https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-7-x86-byol
Windows Server
Windows Server images are premium resources that incur additional fees to use. Google Cloud builds and supports the Windows Server images available for Compute Engine.
Windows server images can't be used with bare metal instances.
Except for Windows Server 2012, 2008, and 2003, the Windows Server images in Compute Engine have an on-demand license and do not require a separate Windows license.
To bring your own Windows license (BYOL), you must either import an existing image, or you must build a custom image.
Automatic updatesBy default, this operating system is configured to "Auto download and schedule the install" for Microsoft updates. To configure Windows Server automatic updates, see Configure Automatic Updates.
Image configurationWindows Server images are built with the latest updates, but have the following differences in configuration from standard Windows Server images:
Account configuration
LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy
property is enabled to grant access to administrative file shares.Activation configuration
kms.windows.googlecloud.com
, and stop functioning if they don't authenticate within 30 days. Make sure to [allow access in your VPC network](/compute/docs/instances/windows/creating-managing-windows-instances#kms-server).Bootloader configuration
IgnoreAllFailures
.Network configuration
hosts
file, which is typically in the %WinDir%\System32\drivers\etc
directory.Package system and Windows Update
Power configuration
Storage configuration
EnableQueryAccessAlignment
property is enabled for the VioSCSI driver.Time configuration
RealTimeIsUniversal
registry key is set. The BIOS is a UTC clock, and is not set to the local time.windows-cloud
windows-2025
windows-2025-core
All except T2A, C4A, C4D-metal, C4-metal, C3-metal, Z3, A4X, A4, A3, X4 GA Oct 10, 2034 Windows Server 2022 windows-cloud
windows-2022
windows-2022-core
All except T2A, C4A, C4-metal, C4D-metal, C3-metal, Z3, A4, A3, X4 GA Oct 14, 2031 Windows Server 2019 windows-cloud
windows-2019
windows-2019-core
All except T2A, C4A, C4-metal, C4D-metal, C3-metal, Z3, A4, A3, X4 GA Jan 9, 2029 Windows Server 2016 windows-cloud
windows-2016
windows-2016-core
All except T2A, C4A, C4-metal, C4D-metal, C3-metal, Z3, A4, A3, G2, X4 GA Jan 12, 2027 Windows Server 2012 R2 N/A N/A Only C2, C2D, E2, M1, M2, N1, N2, N2D EOS Oct 10, 2023 Windows Server 2012 N/A N/A Only C2, C2D, E2, M1, M2, N1, N2, N2D EOS Oct 10, 2023 Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1 required) N/A N/A Only C2, C2D, E2, M1, M2, N1, N2, N2D EOS‡ Jan 14, 2020 Windows Server 2008 N/A N/A Only C2, C2D, E2, M1, M2, N1, N2, N2D EOS N/A Windows Server 2003 (R2 optional, SP2 required) N/A N/A Only C2, C2D, E2, M1, M2, N1, N2, N2D EOS N/A Interfaces Security features OS version Shielded VM Confidential VM support Windows Server 2025 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1 required) Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2003 (R2 optional, SP2 required) User space features Networking features OS version Tier_1 networking# 200 Gbps network bandwidth# Jumbo frames/MTU Windows Server 2025 * * † Windows Server 2022 * * † Windows Server 2019 * * † Windows Server 2016 * * † Windows Server 2012 R2 * * † Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1 required) EOS EOS EOS Windows Server 2008 EOS EOS EOS Windows Server 2003 (R2 optional, SP2 required) EOS EOS EOS GPU support
N1+GPU denotes support for NVIDIA T4, V100, P100, or P4 GPUs running on a general-purpose N1 machine family.
Note:a2-megagpu-16g
machine types are not supported on Windows. When using A100 GPUs with Windows operating systems, choose a different A2 machine type.
For more information about GPU requirements and recommended OSes, see choosing an OS for instances with attached GPUs.
OS version A4X (GB200) A4 (B200) A3 (H200) A3 (H100) A2 (A100) G2 (L4) N1+GPU Windows Server 2025 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2012 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1 required) EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows Server 2008 EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS Windows Server 2003 (R2 optional, SP2 required) EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS EOS*For this Windows client version, NVIDIA V100 GPUs are not supported.
VM Manager ImportFor operating system support information on migrating VMs using Migrate to Virtual Machines, see supported operating systems.
OS version Import disk Import virtual appliance Windows Server 2025 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 R2 Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1 required) Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2003 (R2 optional, SP2 required) * **Self-import is available.
License OS version License type License URL Windows Server 2025https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2025-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2025-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2022-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2022-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2019-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2019-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2016-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2016-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-r2-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-r2-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2008-r2-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2008-r2-byol
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2008-dc
https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2003
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-07-02 UTC.
[[["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 2025-07-02 UTC."],[[["Compute Engine offers a variety of operating system images, including CentOS, Container-Optimized OS (COS), Debian, Fedora CoreOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Rocky Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), Ubuntu, and Windows Server/Client, each with specific configurations and support levels."],["Automatic security updates are a standard feature across most OS images, although the method and scope vary, with some managing updates through `dnf-automatic`, `UnattendedUpgrades`, `yum-cron`, or other mechanisms, and also the major versions are not automatically upgraded."],["Many OS images are configured for improved performance and security, such as faster boot times, IPv6 enabled by default, disabled local user accounts with passwords, and enhanced SSH configurations."],["End-of-Support (EOS) dates are provided for various versions of each OS, highlighting when updates and support will cease, which is critical for planning upgrades or migrations."],["Most of the listed OSes, with the exception of RHEL, SLES, Windows Server/Client, and SQL Server have a free license, and a variety of OS specific features are available, such as support for various interfaces (SCSI, NVMe), networking configurations, GPU compatibility, VM management, and disk/virtual appliance/machine image import capabilities."]]],[]]
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