Which instance types support changes - Elastic Compute Service

Verify instance family compatibility, OS support, NVMe drivers, and disk types before changing an instance type.

Pre-change inspection checklist

Item	Description
Instance	Cross-platform change restriction: Cross-platform changes are not supported by default due to potential instruction-set and feature compatibility issues. This mainly applies to changes between Intel and AMD platforms.
	Restriction on upgrading legacy instances: When changing certain instance types of the 6th generation or earlier to 8th-generation or later instance types, the change may not be supported due to architecture changes, feature compatibility, instruction-set compatibility, and other issues. First refer to the Supported instance type changes section on this page to confirm whether the current instance type can be upgraded to a higher generation.
	Restriction on special instance families: Security-enhanced, big data, local SSD, persistent memory, and other special instance families do not support changes by default due to their specialized logic.
Image	Image compatibility restriction: Be sure to confirm in advance by referring to 2. Check OS compatibility in the Pre-change check operations section below. For mission-critical workloads, back up the system disk before the change. Note that if you initiate an instance type change based on an incompatible image, we strongly recommend that you first validate the change on a single node after backing up your data, to confirm that the impact on your business is acceptable. Alibaba Cloud cannot guarantee rollback capability for changes performed on incompatible operating systems.
Disk	Disk type restriction: If the current instance uses a disk of type Ultra Disk, Standard SSD, or ESSD Entry and the target instance type is a new 7th-generation or later type, you must first change the disk to a type supported by the target instance type. Confirm in advance by referring to 4. Check disk type compatibility in the Pre-change check operations section below. Note: For instance types using Basic Disk, submit a ticket for consultation before the change.
Disk	NVMe driver restriction: When the target upgrade is to an 8th-generation or later instance type, confirm in advance that the NVMe driver has been installed.

Pre-change check operations

1. Verify instance type changeability

Confirm that the current instance type supports changes and that the target instance type is valid.

Confirm that the current instance type is not in the instance types that do not support changes list.
In the supported instance type changes list, find the current instance family and confirm the target family is supported.

You can also call the DescribeResourcesModification API operation to query available target instance types.

2. Check OS compatibility

Some instance types, especially those based on different CPU architectures such as AMD, Intel, and Yitian, have specific OS requirements. If the current OS is incompatible with the target instance type, the change fails.

Use the following compatibility lists to verify OS support for the target instance type.

If they are incompatible but you still need to change the instance type, request that the restriction be lifted.

How to request that the restriction be lifted

Important

This change applies to all regions and cannot be canceled.

On the Custom Launch page, set Image Type to Custom Images and click checks.
Review the threat information, select the check box to request lifting the restriction, and click OK. The change takes effect in about one minute.

3. Check NVMe driver compatibility

8th-generation and later instances (such as g8i, c8i, r8i, u2i, g8a, c8a, r8a, and u2a) use the NVMe protocol for disk communication and require the NVMe driver. Check the NVMe driver in these scenarios:

Scenario 1: Changing from a 7th-generation or earlier to an 8th-generation or later instance type

The source instance must have the NVMe driver installed, or its image must support NVMe driver installation.
Scenario 2: The source instance is 8th-generation or later

The source instance must have the NVMe driver installed.

Determine the generation from the instance family name. See Instance type naming convention.

How to check and install the NVMe driver

In the ECS console, find the target instance. Choose > Configure NVMe Driver Status.
If the NVMe driver is installed, the status shows Installed.
If the driver is not installed, click Install. The system automatically changes the status to Installed.

Related API operations

Query NVMe support for an instance type: Call DescribeInstanceTypes. If NVMe is supported, NvmeSupport=required.
Query NVMe support for an image: Call DescribeImages. If NVMe is supported, NvmeSupport=supported.

4. Check disk type compatibility

Different instance types support different disk types. For example, the g7 family supports only ESSD-series disks. If the current instance has a disk unsupported by the target instance type, the change is blocked.

On the instance type change page, the system detects disk compatibility issues and prompts you to change the disk type. Review the prompts and note any cost changes.

Supported instance type changes

The following tables list supported source-to-target instance family changes.

Note

Call DescribeResourcesModification to query supported instance type changes for an existing instance.

Table 1. Entry-level x86 compute-optimized instance families

Source instance family	Supported target instance families
e	g7, c7, r7, g7ne, g7nex, c7nex, hfg7, hfc7, hfr7 g6, c6, r6, g6e, c6e, r6e, hfg6, hfc6, hfr6, re6 u1 e t6
t6	g7, c7, r7, hfg7, hfc7, hfr7, g7ne g6, c6, r6, hfg6, hfc6, hfr6, g6e, c6e, r6e, re6 t6
t5	g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, g6a, c6a, r6a, re6 g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5, t6
n4, mn4, xn4, e4	g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, g6a, c6a, r6a, re6 g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5, t6 n1, n2, e3, sn1, sn2 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4
t1, s1, s2, s3, m1, m2, c1, c2	g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5 n1, n2, e3, sn1, sn2 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4
n1, n2, e3	g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5 n1, n2, e3, sn1, sn2 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4

Table 2. Enterprise-level compute-optimized instance families

Source instance type (family)	Supported target instance families
g9a, c9a, r9a, g9ae, c9ae, r9ae, u2a	g9a, c9a, r9a, g9ae, c9ae, r9ae, u2a
g9i, c9i, r9i, hfg9i, hfc9i, hfr9i	g9i, c9i, r9i, hfg9i, hfc9i, hfr9i, u2i
g8i, c8i, r8i hfg8i, hfc8i, hfr8i	g9i, c9i, r9i, hfg9i, hfc9i, hfr9i, u2i g8i, c8i, r8i, hfg8i, hfc8i, hfr8i
g8a, c8a, r8a g8ae, c8ae, r8ae	g9a, c9a, r9a, g9ae, c9ae, r9ae, u2a g8a, c8a, r8a, g8ae, c8ae, r8ae
g8y, c8y, r8y	g8y, c8y, r8y
g7se, c7se, r7se	g8i, c8i, r8i g7se, c7se, r7se
g7a, c7a, r7a	g9a, c9a, r9a, g9ae, c9ae, r9ae, u2a g8a, c8a, r8a, g8ae, c8ae, r8ae g7a, c7a, r7a, g7, c7, r7 g6a, c6a, r6a
ebmg7a, ebmc7a, ebmr7a	ebmg7a, ebmc7a, ebmr7a
ebmhfc7, ebmhfg7, ebmhfr7	ebmhfc7, ebmhfg7, ebmhfr7
g7, c7, r7	g9i, c9i, r9i u2i g8i, c8i, r8i, hfg8i, hfc8i, hfr8i g7, c7, r7, g7ne, g7nex, c7nex, hfc7, hfg7, hfr7
ebmg7, ebmc7, ebmr7	ebmg7, ebmc7, ebmr7
g7ne hfc7, hfg7, hfr7 g6e, c6e, r6e	g9i, c9i, r9i, hfg9i, hfc9i, hfr9i g8i, c8i, r8i, hfg8i, hfc8i, hfr8i g7, c7, r7, g7ne, g7nex, c7nex, hfc7, hfg7, hfr7 g6e, c6e, r6e
g7nex, c7nex	g8i, c8i, r8i, hfg8i, hfc8i, hfr8i g7, c7, r7, g7ne, g7nex, c7nex, hfc7, hfg7, hfr7 Important ecs.g7nex.32xlarge can only be changed to ecs.c7nex.32xlarge.
g6r, c6r	g8y, c8y, r8y g6r, c6r
g6, c6, r6 hfg6, hfc6, hfr6	g9i, c9i, r9i, hfg9i, hfc9i, hfr9i g8i, c8i, r8i, hfg8i, hfc8i, hfr8i g7, c7, r7, hfg7, hfc7, hfr7, g7ne g6, c6, r6, hfg6, hfc6, hfr6, g6e, c6e, r6e, re6 t6
g6a, c6a, r6a	g9a, c9a, r9a, g9ae, c9ae, r9ae, u2a g8a, c8a, r8a, g8ae, c8ae, r8ae g7, c7, r7, g7a, c7a, r7a g6, c6, r6, g6a, c6a, r6a
g6t	g6t
c6t	c6t
ebmg6a, ebmc6a, ebmr6a	ebmg6a, ebmc6a, ebmr6a
g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5	g7, c7, r7 g6, c6, r6, g6a, c6a, r6a, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, re6 g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5, ebmg5s t5, t6
hfc5, hfg5	g7, c7, r7 g6, c6, r6, g6a, c6a, r6a, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, re6 u1 hfc5, hfg5, g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, t5 e t6
u2i	u2i
u1	g7, c7, r7, hfg7, hfc7, hfr7 u1, u2i, u2a
sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne	g6, c6, r6, g6a, c6a, r6a, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, re6 g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 e t5, t6 sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4
se1	g7, c7, r7 u1 g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5 n1, n2, e3, sn1, sn2 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4
re6	g6, c6, r6, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, re6, ebmre6-6t re4, re4e
re4e	g7, c7, r7 u1 re6, ebmre6-6t re4e, re4
re4	g7, c7, r7 u1 g6, c6, r6, g6a, c6a, r6a, hfg6, hfc6, hfr6, re6, ebmre6-6t e g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5, t6 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4
gn8v	gn8v
gn8v-tee	gn8v-tee
sgn8ia	sgn8ia
gn8is	gn8is
sgn7i-vws	sgn7i-vws
vgn7i-vws	vgn7i-vws
gn7e	gn7e
gn7s	gn7s
gn7i	gn7i
gn7	gn7
gn6i	gn6i
vgn6i	vgn6i, vgn6i-vws, sgn7i-vws
vgn6i-vws	vgn6i-vws
gn6e	gn6e
gn6v	gn6v
gn5i	gn5i
sn1, sn2, se1	g7, c7, r7 u1 g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5 n1, n2, e3, sn1, sn2 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4
c4, ce4, cm4	g6, c6, r6, g6a, c6a, r6a, hfc6, hfg6, hfr6, re6 e g5, g5ne, r5, c5, ic5, hfc5, hfg5 t5, t6 se1, sn1ne, sn2ne, se1ne, c4, ce4, cm4, re4, n4, mn4, xn4, e4

Instance types that do not support changes

Important

On the instance type change page in the ECS console, if the current instance type cannot be changed, the operation button is disabled and a prompt appears.

The following instance families do not support instance type changes:

Instance family type	Instance family
Enterprise-level x86 compute-optimized instance families	Persistent memory-optimized: re6p, re6p-redis Security-enhanced: g7t, c7t, r7t Big data: d3s, d3c, d2c, d2s, d1, d1ne Local SSD-equipped: i1, i2, i2g, i2ne, i2gne, i3, i3g, i4, i4g, i4r, i4p, i5g, i5ge, i5, i5e
Enterprise-level heterogeneous computing instance family	GPU-accelerated compute-optimized: gn5 vGPU-accelerated: vgn5i FPGA-accelerated compute-optimized: f1, f3
ECS Bare Metal Instance family	ebmgn8v, ebmgn8is, ebmgn7e, ebmgn7i, ebmgn7, ebmgn6ia, ebmgn6e, ebmgn6v, ebmgn6i ebmg8i, ebmc8i, ebmg8y, ebmc8y, ebmr8y, ebmg6, ebmg5s, ebmg5, ebmc6me, ebmc6, ebmc5s, ebmc4, ebmre6p, ebmre6-6t, ebmr6, ebmr5s ebmhfg6, ebmhfg5, ebmhfc6, ebmhfr6
High-performance computing (HPC) & Super Computing Cluster (SCC) instance families	Super Computing Cluster (SCC) sccgn6e, sccgn6 sccg5, scch5 scchfg6, scchfc6, scchfr6

FAQ

Common issues and solutions when changing an instance type:

Issue	Description	Solution
Specification not found	The target instance type does not exist.	Select another target instance type. See Instance families.
Instance type is retired	The target instance type is retired.	Select another target instance type. See Instance families.
No inventory in the region	The target instance type is out of stock in the current region. In regions with extremely tight inventory, changes to certain high-core-count instance types may also be initiated but ultimately fail.	Select another in-stock instance type, or change the instance type across zones (same family only). View purchasable regions for an instance type Call DescribeResourcesModification to query instance type inventory in a specific zone.
Only changes within the same instance family are supported	Some instance types only support changes within the same family.	Select a target instance type within the same family. For example, a gn7e instance can only change to another gn7e instance type.
The target instance family does not match the source instance family	The target instance type belongs to an incompatible family.	Select a compatible target instance type from Supported instance type changes.
The architecture of the target instance type does not match the source instance	The architecture (ARM or x86) of the target instance does not match the source.	Select a target instance type with the same architecture as the source.
The number of CPU cores or the memory size of the target instance type is not supported	The CPU core count or memory size of the target instance is unsupported by the source OS. For Windows limits, see Memory Limits for Windows and Windows Server Releases.	Select a target instance type with compatible CPU cores and memory size.
The boot mode of the target instance type does not match the current instance	For example, if the target is a security-enhanced instance type that supports only UEFI boot mode, the source instance must also support UEFI.	Select a target instance type with a compatible boot mode.
The target instance type does not support reverting to the current source instance type	Most instance type changes (especially cross-generation upgrades from legacy instances) are one-way. Reverting may encounter driver compatibility, CPU instruction-set compatibility, and network and storage feature compatibility issues, which require completely different handling than the original upgrade.	Consider performing an OS upgrade or SMC migration instead. Back up your business data first, validate on a small scale before the operation, and confirm in advance whether the change can be downgraded or rolled back.
The target instance type does not support the image version used by the current instance type	The OS installed on the system disk of the current instance type is not in the list of operating systems supported by the target instance type. This often occurs when upgrading legacy instances across generations.	We recommend that you upgrade the OS or perform an SMC migration first. To proceed with the change, back up your business data first, validate on a small scale before the operation, and confirm in advance whether the change can be downgraded or rolled back. If your business allows, evaluate whether an OS upgrade is feasible.
Subscription instances do not support changing the disk type during an upgrade (or do not support downgrading the instance type while upgrading the disk type)	When you use a subscription instance, if you need to upgrade the current instance to a more expensive target instance type and simultaneously change the disk type to satisfy change restrictions, you cannot select a disk type with a lower unit price.	To change the disk to a lower-priced disk type when upgrading the instance type, first change the disk type separately, and then initiate the instance type change. You can also submit a ticket for consultation before the operation.