New VMs: more RAM, extra CPU, and a dollar menu

Summary

Fly.io introduces new virtual-machine configurations after developers shifted attention from CPU-intensive workloads such as image processing, machine learning predictions, and video transcoding toward databases, which need higher RAM-to-CPU ratios. Shared-cpu VMs offer up to 2GB of RAM, while dedicated-cpu VMs reach 64GB across configurations with one, two, four, or eight dedicated CPUs. Shared-cpu-1x pricing starts at $1.94 per month for 256MB and reaches $10.70 for 2GB; dedicated-cpu-1x with 2GB costs $31 per month. The pricing model combines dedicated hardware with shared CPU capacity, averaging 12 shared VMs per CPU and using cgroups priorities and relocation to manage contention. Persistent storage remains unavailable, so the post says ephemeral VMs are unsuitable for database applications and that Fly.io should offer storage.

Takeaways

1. 1

   Shared-cpu-1x VMs range from 256MB at $1.94 per month to 2GB at $10.70 per month, while dedicated-cpu configurations extend to 64GB.

2. 2

   Fly.io says oversubscribing RAM risks unexpected out-of-memory errors, while shared CPU capacity can handle bursty applications by mixing busy and idle VMs.

3. 3

   The VMs use ephemeral storage, and Fly.io does not sell persistent storage, making them unsuitable for database applications according to the post.