Google Compute Engine launches Preemptible VMs

Google Compute Engine today is announcing the general availability of Preemptible virtual machines (VMs), a type of cloud infrastructure from the Google Compute Engine public cloud. These new VMs cost less than the Google cloud’s other available VMs, but they can be suddenly shut down by Google if, and when, the company needs the extra computing power. Google first introduced Preemptible VMs in May. The chief executive of one startup, Descartes Labs, called them “a game changer” when Google first announced them.

Now Google’s service-level agreement backs up these new cloud resources. That makes it yet another service on the Google Cloud Platform that’s ready for startups and larger companies to feel comfortable using regularly.