Explanation
Why the waste happens and who it affects.
This results in wasteful spend on compute time that could be eliminated by scheduling shutdowns during idle periods. Compute Engine provides native instance schedules (resource policies with start and stop times) that can be attached to VMs, and Cloud Scheduler with Cloud Run functions can handle more complex logic. Stopping VMs during off-hours preserves boot disks and instance metadata while halting compute billing.
Billing model
The pricing dimensions that drive this cost.
Compute Engine instances are billed per second (minimum of one minute) based on:
- Instance type and configuration
- Runtime duration
- Additional resources (e.g., persistent disks, external IPs) are billed separately
How to detect
4 checks to find it in your estate.
- Identify VMs in dev/test environments using labels, folders, or project naming conventions
- Analyze instance uptime using Cloud Monitoring or billing export data
- Detect instances with consistent 9-to-5 usage but continuous runtime
- Check whether startup/shutdown schedules are already in place
How to fix
4 ways to remove the waste.
- Attach Compute Engine instance schedules to non-production VMs to stop and start them automatically (schedules cannot stop VMs with Local SSD disks); use Cloud Scheduler and Cloud Run functions for more complex workflows
- Preserve instance configuration and state using persistent disks or custom images
- Align schedules to working hours and review regularly with workload owners
- Consider integrating automation with CI/CD tools or environment provisioning scripts
Documentation
Vendor references for pricing and configuration.