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    Elastic Compute Service:Shared instance families

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    Elastic Compute Service:Shared instance families

    Last Updated:Apr 28, 2026

    Shared-resource instances use a non-dedicated CPU scheduling mode. Each virtual CPU (vCPU) is randomly assigned to an available CPU hyper-thread. The vCPUs of different instances compete for the same physical CPU resources. This competition can cause unstable computing performance during periods of high load. These instances are covered by a Service-level Agreement (SLA) for availability but not for performance. Unlike enterprise-level instances, shared-resource instances prioritize resource sharing. This means that while they cannot guarantee stable computing performance, they are more cost-effective.

    Note

    Shared-resource instances include shared instances, economy instances, and burstable instances. The shared-resource instances that are currently available for purchase include the following:

    e, economy instance family

    • Scenarios: Small and medium-sized websites, development and testing environments, and lightweight applications.

    • Compute:

      • Supports multiple processor-to-memory ratios, including 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4.

      • Processor: Intel® Xeon® Platinum scalable processor.

        Note

        e instances use a non-dedicated CPU scheduling mode where each vCPU is randomly assigned to an available CPU hyper-thread. Compared to enterprise-level instances, e instances prioritize resource sharing and are more cost-effective.

    • Storage:

      • I/O optimized instance.

      • Can be attached only with ESSD Entry disks (recommended), enterprise SSDs (ESSDs), and ESSD AutoPL disks.

        Note

        Due to the limitations of economy instance types, ESSDs at performance level (PL) 1, PL2, and PL3 cannot deliver their maximum performance. We recommend that you use ESSD Entry disks or PL0 ESSDs.

    • Network:

      • These instances support IPv4 and IPv6. For information about IPv6 communication, see IPv6 communication.

      • Can be deployed only in virtual private clouds (VPCs).

      • The network performance of an instance is proportional to its compute specifications. Larger instance types provide higher network performance.

    The following table lists the available instance types and their performance metrics:

    Instance type

    vCPU

    Memory (GiB)

    Baseline/Burst network bandwidth (Gbit/s)

    Multi-Queue

    ENIs

    Private IPv4 addresses per ENI

    IPv6 addresses per ENI

    Disk baseline/burst IOPS

    Disk baseline/burst bandwidth (Gbit/s)

    ecs.e-c4m1.large

    2

    0.5

    0.2/Up to 2

    1

    2

    2

    1

    8,000/N/A

    0.4/N/A

    ecs.e-c2m1.large

    2

    1

    0.2/Up to 2

    1

    2

    2

    1

    8,000/N/A

    0.4/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m1.large

    2

    2.0

    0.2/Up to 2

    1

    2

    2

    1

    8,000/N/A

    0.4/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m2.large

    2

    4.0

    0.2/Up to 2

    1

    2

    2

    1

    8,000/N/A

    0.4/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m4.large

    2

    8.0

    0.4/Up to 2

    1

    2

    2

    1

    16,000/N/A

    0.8/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m2.xlarge

    4

    8.0

    0.4/Up to 3

    1

    2

    6

    1

    16,000/N/A

    0.8/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m4.xlarge

    4

    16.0

    0.8/Up to 4

    1

    2

    6

    1

    16,000/N/A

    0.8/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m2.2xlarge

    8

    16.0

    0.8/Up to 6

    2

    2

    6

    1

    16,000/N/A

    0.8/N/A

    ecs.e-c1m4.2xlarge

    8

    32.0

    1.2/Up to 6

    2

    2

    6

    1

    16,000/N/A

    0.8/N/A

    Note

    • The ecs.e-c4m1.large, ecs.e-c2m1.large, ecs.e-c1m1.large, ecs.e-c1m2.large, and ecs.e-c1m4.large instance types have the following limits:

      • You cannot add secondary elastic network interfaces (ENIs) when you create an instance. You can add them after the instance is created.

      • To attach or detach a secondary ENI, the instance must be in the Stopped state.

    • The ecs.e-c4m1.large and ecs.e-c2m1.large instance types are available only in the following regions: China (Hong Kong), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Indonesia (Jakarta), Philippines (Manila), Thailand (Bangkok), Japan (Tokyo), South Korea (Seoul), UK (London), Germany (Frankfurt), US (Virginia), and US (Silicon Valley).

    xn4, n4, mn4, and e4, previous-generation shared instance families

    The xn4, n4, mn4, and e4 families provide the following features:

    • Multiple processor-to-memory ratios.

    • Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel® Xeon® processor.

    • Uses DDR4 memory.

    • I/O optimized instances.

    • Supports only IPv4.

    Family

    Features

    vCPU-to-memory ratio

    Scenarios

    xn4

    Shared basic instance

    1:1

    • Frontend server for the web application

    • Light-load applications and microservices

    • Development, testing, and stress testing applications

    n4

    Shared compute-optimized instance

    1:2

    • Websites and web applications

    • Development environments, build servers, code repositories, microservices, and test and staging environments

    • Lightweight enterprise applications

    mn4

    Shared general-purpose instance

    1:4

    • Websites and web applications

    • Lightweight databases and caches

    • General applications and lightweight enterprise services

    e4

    Shared Memory Instances

    1:8

    • Applications that require large amounts of memory

    • Lightweight databases and caches

    Shared General Purpose xn4 includes the instance types and performance metrics listed in the following table:

    Instance type

    vCPU

    Memory (GiB)

    Baseline network bandwidth (Gbit/s)

    Packet forwarding rate (PPS) (10,000)

    Multi-queue

    ENIs

    Private IPv4 addresses per ENI

    ecs.xn4.small

    1

    1.0

    0.5

    5

    1

    2

    2

    Note

    • You cannot add secondary ENIs when you create an instance of this family. You can add them after the instance is created. To attach or detach a secondary ENI, an ecs.xn4.small instance must be in the Stopped state.

    • For more information about these specifications, see the "Instance type specifications" section in Overview of instance families. Packet forwarding rates vary significantly based on business scenarios. We recommend that you perform business stress tests on instances to choose appropriate instance types.

    Shared compute-optimized n4 includes the instance types and performance metrics that are listed in the following table.

    Instance type

    vCPU

    Memory (GiB)

    Baseline network bandwidth (Gbit/s)

    Packet forwarding rate (PPS) (10,000)

    Multi-queue

    ENIs

    Private IPv4 addresses per ENI

    ecs.n4.small

    1

    2.0

    0.5

    5

    1

    2

    2

    ecs.n4.large

    2

    4.0

    0.5

    10

    1

    2

    2

    ecs.n4.xlarge

    4

    8.0

    0.8

    15

    1

    2

    6

    ecs.n4.2xlarge

    8

    16.0

    1.2

    30

    1

    2

    6

    ecs.n4.4xlarge

    16

    32.0

    2.5

    40

    1

    2

    6

    ecs.n4.8xlarge

    32

    64.0

    5.0

    50

    2

    2

    6

    Note

    • You cannot add secondary ENIs when you create an instance of this family. You can add them after the instance is created. To attach or detach a secondary ENI, some instance types must be in the Stopped state. These instance types include ecs.n4.small and ecs.n4.large.

    • For more information about these specifications, see the "Instance type specifications" section in Overview of instance families. Packet forwarding rates vary significantly based on business scenarios. We recommend that you perform business stress tests on instances to choose appropriate instance types.

    Shared general-purpose mn4 includes the instance types and performance metrics listed in the following table.

    Instance type

    vCPU

    Memory (GiB)

    Baseline network bandwidth (Gbit/s)

    Packet forwarding rate (PPS) (10,000)

    Multi-queue

    ENIs

    Private IPv4 addresses per ENI

    ecs.mn4.small

    1

    4.0

    0.5

    5

    1

    2

    2

    ecs.mn4.large

    2

    8.0

    0.5

    10

    1

    2

    2

    ecs.mn4.xlarge

    4

    16.0

    0.8

    15

    1

    2

    6

    ecs.mn4.2xlarge

    8

    32.0

    1.2

    30

    1

    2

    6

    ecs.mn4.4xlarge

    16

    64.0

    2.5

    40

    1

    8

    6

    ecs.mn4.8xlarge

    32

    128.0

    5

    50

    2

    8

    6

    Note

    • You cannot add secondary ENIs when you create an instance of this family. You can add them after the instance is created. To attach or detach a secondary ENI, some instance types must be in the Stopped state. These instance types include ecs.mn4.small and ecs.mn4.large.

    • For more information about these specifications, see the "Instance type specifications" section in Overview of instance families. Packet forwarding rates vary significantly based on business scenarios. We recommend that you perform business stress tests on instances to choose appropriate instance types.

    Shared memory-optimized e4 includes the instance types and performance metrics listed in the following table:

    Instance type

    vCPU

    Memory (GiB)

    Baseline network bandwidth (Gbit/s)

    Packet forwarding rate (PPS) (10,000)

    Multi-Queue

    ENIs

    Private IPv4 addresses per ENI

    ecs.e4.small

    1

    8.0

    0.5

    5

    1

    2

    2

    ecs.e4.large

    2

    16.0

    0.5

    10

    1

    2

    2

    ecs.e4.xlarge

    4

    32.0

    0.8

    15

    1

    2

    6

    ecs.e4.2xlarge

    8

    64.0

    1.2

    30

    1

    3

    6

    ecs.e4.4xlarge

    16

    128.0

    2.5

    40

    1

    8

    6

    Note

    • You cannot add secondary ENIs when you create an instance of this family. You can add them after the instance is created. To attach or detach a secondary ENI, some instance types must be in the Stopped state. These instance types include ecs.e4.small and ecs.e4.large.

    • For more information about these specifications, see the "Instance type specifications" section in Overview of instance families. Packet forwarding rates vary significantly based on business scenarios. We recommend that you perform business stress tests on instances to choose appropriate instance types.