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Shared vCPUs vs. Dedicated vCPUs

In the NETWAYS Cloud, virtual CPUs (vCPUs) play a central role in assigning compute resources to virtual machines (VMs). There is a distinction between Shared vCPUs and Dedicated vCPUs. Both variants have specific advantages and disadvantages, depending on the use case and performance requirements.

Below are the differences between the two variants, followed by a more detailed classification.

Key Differences

Feature Shared vCPUs Dedicated vCPUs
Resource usage Shared with other VMs Exclusive to a single VM
Cost Cheaper More expensive
Performance stability Varies with load Constant
Typical use case Development, testing, web servers Databases, high‑performance workloads

The choice between Shared and Dedicated vCPUs depends heavily on the performance requirements of the particular application. Shared vCPUs are a cost‑efficient solution for less demanding workloads, while Dedicated vCPUs make sense for consistent performance and mission‑critical applications.

When selecting your infrastructure, pick the appropriate available Compute Flavors of the NETWAYS Cloud according to your needs.

Shared vCPUs

Shared vCPUs share physical CPU resources with other virtual machines. The hypervisor manages the distribution of compute time and ensures that all VMs on the host get access to the CPU.

Info

In the NETWAYS Cloud, shared vCPUs are used in the following Compute Flavor classes:

s1, s2, p1, g1, g2

Characteristics of Shared vCPUs

  • Resource sharing: Multiple VMs use the same physical CPU core.
  • Cost efficiency: Cheaper because resources are used flexibly.
  • Variable performance: Depends on the load of other VMs on the host.
  • Suitable for low loads: Ideal for development environments, test systems, or lightly compute‑intensive applications.

Use Cases

  • Development and test systems.
  • Web servers with low traffic.
  • Non‑time‑critical applications.

Dedicated vCPUs

Dedicated vCPUs are assigned exclusively to a virtual machine. This means that the allocated CPU core is not shared with other VMs, guaranteeing consistent performance.

Info

In the NETWAYS Cloud, dedicated vCPUs are used in the following Compute Flavor class:

d1

Characteristics of Dedicated vCPUs

  • Exclusive resource usage: No interference from other VMs.
  • Predictable performance: Ideal for time‑critical or compute‑intensive applications.
  • Higher cost: Because resources are reserved exclusively.
  • Lower resource density: Fewer VMs per host are possible.

Use Cases

  • Databases and business‑critical applications.
  • Compute‑intensive workloads such as machine learning or big data.
  • Applications with high latency sensitivity.