Larger instance types & storage size in Pipes

Managing Pipes workspaces just got more flexible. We've added new instance sizing options, customizable storage, and enterprise workspace controls to help you optimize performance and costs while maintaining governance over your deployments.

New medium instance type for demanding workloads

We've introduced the db1.medium instance type to bridge the gap between our small and shared instances. This addition came from customer feedback - organizations running complex queries and large datasets needed more consistent performance than shared instances could provide.

The medium instance provides:

• 4 CPUs (vs 2 for small)
• 16GB RAM (vs 8GB for small)
• Persistent storage with consistent performance
• Better handling of memory-intensive queries and large result sets

This new tier is particularly valuable for workspaces that regularly hit memory limits or experience high CPU utilization during peak usage periods. We've already seen significant improvements in query performance and stability for customers who've upgraded.

Customizable storage sizing

Previously, storage was fixed based on your instance type. Now you have full control over how much storage your workspace uses, allowing you to right-size your deployment for your specific data needs.

When creating or configuring a workspace, you can now:

• Select any storage size that fits your data requirements
• Choose storage independently from your compute instance type
• Optimize costs by not over-provisioning storage

This flexibility is especially useful for organizations with varying data retention needs across different teams or use cases.

Change instance types on demand

Need more power for a big analysis project? Want to scale back during quieter periods? You can now change your instance type without recreating your workspace.

Here's what you can do:

• Upgrade or downgrade between persistent instance types (small ↔ medium)
• Increase storage size as your data grows
• Keep all your data during the transition

Note that you cannot switch between persistent and shared instances, as they use fundamentally different storage architectures. Also, while you can increase storage size, you cannot decrease it due to how the underlying storage system works.

See it in action

Getting started

These new capabilities are available now in all Pipes workspaces. Whether you're looking to scale up for demanding analytics workloads or optimize your storage costs, these improvements give you the flexibility to tailor Pipes to your organization's specific needs.

Ready to optimize your Pipes deployment? Sign in to your workspace to explore the new instance types and storage options, or sign up for an always free Developer account to get started. And let us know how these improvements work for your use case!