---
name: vpc-managing-placement-groups
title: Managing placement groups
description: With placement groups for IBM Cloud® Virtual Private Cloud, you can create policies for managing high availability workloads. You can specify a choice of placement policies for a group of provisioned instances. You can use these policies to influence the physical placement of select VPC virtual servers to meet certain workload demands.
last-updated: 2026-06-26
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Managing placement groups
{: #managing-placement-group}

With placement groups for IBM Cloud® Virtual Private Cloud, you can create policies for managing high availability workloads. You can specify a choice of placement policies for a group of provisioned instances. You can use these policies to influence the physical placement of select VPC virtual servers to meet certain workload demands.
{: shortdesc}

After the placement group is created, you can assign a selected virtual server instance or a group of virtual server instances to the placement group. When you provision these instances, the instance is then placed on a compute host in the designated zone for the instance based on the placement group strategy. You can use the same placement group for instances across multiple VPCs.

Placement groups can be managed with the UI, CLI, API, or Terraform. You can create extra placement groups, delete resources, and display the details of the placement groups, which are helpful when you assign placement groups to instances. Additionally, all existing placement groups can be listed and renamed if needed.

## Managing the placement group in the console
{: #managing-placement-groups-UI}
{: ui}

You can manage a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the IBM Cloud console.

To complete management tasks on your placement groups, complete the following steps.
1. In the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/login){: external}, go to **Navigation Menu icon ![Navigation Menu icon](../icons/icon_hamburger.svg) **> Infrastructure** ![VPC icon](../../icons/vpc.svg) **> Compute > Placement Groups**.
2. On the Placement groups for VPC page, click the Actions icon ![More Actions icon](../icons/action-menu-icon.svg) for the placement that you want to manage. You can select from the following actions:

| Action | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| Create | Create a placement group |
| Delete | If you no longer need the placement group, you can delete it to permanently remove it from your account. Before you can delete the placement group, you must first delete any virtual server instances that are assigned to the placement group.|
| Rename | Update the placement group name with a new name. |
{: caption="Actions available for placement groups" caption-side="bottom"}

The VPC must exist before you create a placement group. If the VPC is not created first, you receive an error when you create the placement group and the placement group is not created.
{: important}

## Creating the placement group in the console
{: #creating-placement-group-UI}
{: ui}

You can create a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the IBM Cloud console. A placement group must be created first before an instance can use it. After a placement group is created, an instance can be attached to it during provisioning.

Use the following steps to create a placement group:
1. In the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/login){: external}, go to **Navigation Menu icon ![Navigation Menu icon](../icons/icon_hamburger.svg) **> Infrastructure** ![VPC icon](../../icons/vpc.svg) **> Compute > Placement Groups**.
2. Click **Create** and enter the information in Table 1 on the New placement for VPC page.

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Placement group name  | A unique resource name within the region is required for your placement group. If you don't specify a name, a name is generated and assigned to your placement group. |
| Resource group | Select the resource group that contains the account resources and users that you want to be able to access the placement group. For more information about resource groups, see [Managing resource groups](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/account?topic=account-rgs&format=markdown). |
| Region | The region of the placement group. |
| User tags | Keywords that are used for profile management. |
| Placement strategy | Host spread - All provisioned instances are placed on separate hosts that might be in the same rack.  \n \n Power spread - All provisioned instances are placed on different racks with separate power and network supplies. Each rack also contains dual power supplies from different sources.|
{: caption="Fields required to create a placement group" caption-side="bottom"}

## Creating a placement group from the CLI
{: #creating-placement-group-CLI}
{: cli}

A placement group must be created first before an instance can use it. After a placement group is created, an instance can be attached to it during provisioning.

### Before you begin
{: #before-you-create-placement-group-cli}
{: cli}

1. Make sure that you download, install, and initialize the following CLI plug-ins. For more information, see [CLI prerequisites](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-set-up-environment&format=markdown#cli-prerequisites-setup).
    * IBM Cloud CLI
    * The vpc-infrastructure plug-in
2. Create an [IBM Cloud VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-creating-vpc-resources-with-cli-and-api&interface=cli&format=markdown).

### Gathering information to create a placement group in the CLI
{: #gather-info-placement-group-cli}
{: cli}

Ready to create a placement group? Before you can run the `ibmcloud is placement-group-create` command, you need to know the following information.

Gather the following required information:

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Placement group details | Options |
| **Strategy** | The placement group strategy. Either `host_spread` or `power_spread`|
| **Name** | The placement group name |
| **Resource group ID** | The ID of the resource group |
| **Resource group name** | The name of the resource group |
{: caption="Information required to create a placement group using the CLI" caption-side="bottom"}



## Creating the placement group from the CLI
{: #creating-placement-group-cli-a}
{: cli}

You can create a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the command-line interface (CLI).

To create a placement group by using the CLI, use the **ibmcloud is placement-group-create** command. Specify the placement group strategy for the placement group, the name of the placement group, and the resource group ID or name.

The following example creates a placement group with a host spread strategy, named `MyPlacementGroup`, with resource group ID `RESOURCE_GROUP_ID`.

```sh
ibmcloud is placement-group-create --strategy host_spread --name MyPlacementGroup --resource-group-id RESOURCE_GROUP_ID
```
{: codeblock}

## Creating a placement group with the API
{: #creating-placement-group-API}
{: api}

You can create a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the API.

A placement group must be created first before an instance can use it. After a placement group is created, an instance can be attached to it during provisioning.

The following example creates a placement group that uses the host spread placement group strategy.

```sh
curl -X POST "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/placement_groups?version=2021-04-20&generation=2" -H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token" -d '{
      "name": "my-placement-group"
      "strategy": "host_spread"
    }'
```
{: codeblock}

For more information about the `host_spread` and `power_spread` strategy variables, see [Create a placement group](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/apis/vpc/latest#create-placement-group) in the Virtual Private Cloud API documentation.

## Creating the placement group with Terraform
{: #creating-placement-group-terraform}
{: terraform}

You can create a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using Terraform.

A placement group must be created first before an instance can use it. After a placement group is created, an instance can be attached to it during provisioning.

### Before you begin
{: #before-you-create-placement-group-terraform}
{: terraform}

Make sure that you set up [Terraform for VPC](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/IBM-Cloud/ibm/latest).

The following example creates a placement group with a host spread strategy that is named `my-placement-group`, and a resource group that is named `data.ibm_resource_group.default.id`.

```json
resource "ibm_is_placement_group" "is_placement_group" {
  strategy = "host_spread"
  name = "my-placement-group"
  resource_group = data.ibm_resource_group.default.id
}
```
{: codeblock}

For more information about the `host_spread` and `power_spread` strategy variables, see [Create a placement group](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/apis/vpc/latest#create-placement-group) in the Virtual Private Cloud API documentation.


## Changing the placement group name in the console
{: #changing-placement-group-name-UI}
{: ui}

You can update the name of a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the IBM Cloud console.

To rename a placement group:
1. In the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/login){: external}, go to **Navigation Menu icon ![Navigation Menu icon](../icons/icon_hamburger.svg) **> Infrastructure** ![VPC icon](../../icons/vpc.svg) **> Compute > Placement Groups**.
2. Select the placement group and click **Rename**.
3. Change the placement group name.

## Changing the placement group name from the CLI
{: #changing-placement-group-name-cli}
{: cli}

You can update the name of a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the command-line interface (CLI).

To update the placement group name by using the CLI, use the **ibmcloud is placement-group-update** command. Specify the placement group ID or name and the new name of the placement group.

The following example updates the placement group with the ID `72251a2e-d6c5-42b4-97b0-b5f8e8d1f479` to the name of `new-name`.

```sh
ibmcloud is placement-group-update 72251a2e-d6c5-42b4-97b0-b5f8e8d1f479 --name NEW_NAME
```
{: pre}

## Changing the placement group name with the API
{: #changing-placement-group-name-API}
{: api}

You can update the name of a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the API. The following example updates the placement group name with the new name `my-updated=placement-group`.

```sh
curl -X PATCH "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/placement_groups/$id?version=2021-05-04&generation=2" -H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token" -d '{
      "name": "my-updated-placement-group",
    }'
```
{: pre}

## Changing the placement group name with Terraform
{: #changing-placement-group-name-terraform}
{: terraform}

You can update the name of a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using Terraform.

The following example updates the placement group with the ID `is_placement_group` to the name of `my-placement-group-modified`.

```json
resource "ibm_is_placement_group" "is_placement_group" {
  strategy = "host_spread"
  name = "my-placement-group-modified"
  resource_group = data.ibm_resource_group.default.id
}
```
{: codeblock}

## Deleting a placement group with the UI
{: #deleting-placement-group-UI}
{: ui}

You can delete a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the IBM Cloud console. A placement group can't be deleted if instances are attached to it. All instances must be removed first. For more information about deleting a virtual private cloud instance and its associated resources, see [Deleting a VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-deleting&format=markdown).

Use the following steps to delete a placement group:
1. In the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/login){: external}, go to **Navigation Menu icon ![Navigation Menu icon](../icons/icon_hamburger.svg) **> Infrastructure** ![VPC icon](../../icons/vpc.svg) **> Compute > Placement Groups**.
2. Select the placement group and click **Delete**.
3. A confirmation message is displayed. Click **Delete**.

## Deleting a placement group with the CLI
{: #deleting-placement-group-cli}
{: cli}

You can delete a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the command-line interface (CLI). A placement group can't be deleted if instances are attached to it. All instances must be removed first. For more information about deleting a virtual private cloud instance and its associated resources, see [Deleting a VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-deleting&format=markdown).

To delete placement group by using the CLI, use the **ibmcloud is placement-group-delete** command. Specify the placement group ID or name.

The following example deletes a placement group with the ID or name `PLACEMENT_GROUP`.

```sh
ibmcloud is placement-group-delete PLACEMENT_GROUP --output JSON
```
{: pre}

## Deleting a placement group with the API
{: #deleting-placement-group-API}
{: api}

A placement group can't be deleted if instances are attached to it. All instances must be removed first. For more information about deleting a virtual private cloud instance and its associated resources, see [Deleting a VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-deleting&format=markdown).

The following example deletes the placement group.

```sh
curl -X DELETE "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/placement_groups/$id?version=2021-04-20&generation=2" -H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token"
```
{: pre}

## Deleting a placement group with Terraform
{: #deleting-placement-group-terraform}
{: terraform}

You can delete a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using Terraform. A placement group can't be deleted if instances are attached to it. All instances must be removed first. For more information about deleting a virtual private cloud instance and its associated resources, see [Deleting a VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-deleting&format=markdown).

The following example deletes a placement group named `PLACEMENT_GROUP`.

```sh
terraform destroy -target=ibm_is_placement_group.is_placement_group
```
{: pre}

## Listing all placement groups with the UI
{: #listing-placement-group-UI}
{: ui}

You can generate a list of placement groups for a region.

To display a list of all existing placement groups:
1. In the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/login){: external}, go to **Navigation Menu icon ![Navigation Menu icon](../icons/icon_hamburger.svg) **> Infrastructure** ![VPC icon](../../icons/vpc.svg) **> Compute > Placement Groups**.
1. All existing placement groups are displayed.

## Listing all placement groups with the CLI
{: #listing-placement-group-cli}
{: cli}

You can generate a list of placement groups for a region. You can list all the existing placement groups in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the command-line interface (CLI).

To list all the existing placement groups by using the CLI, use the **ibmcloud is placement-groups** command.

The following example lists all the existing placement groups.

```sh
ibmcloud is placement-groups --output JSON
```
{: pre}

## Listing all placement groups with the API
{: #listing-placement-group-API}
{: api}

You can generate a list of placement groups for a region. The following example generates a list of all placement groups.

 ```sh
 curl -X GET "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/placement_groups?version=2021-04-20&generation=2" -H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token"
 ```
{: pre}

## Listing all placement groups with Terraform
{: #listing-placement-group-terraform}
{: terraform}

You can generate a list of placement groups for a region. You can list all the existing placement groups in your IBM Cloud VPC by using Terraform.

The following example lists all the existing placement groups.

```json
data "ibm_is_placement_groups" "is_placement_groups" {
}
```
{: pre}

## Viewing placement group details with the UI
{: #view-placement-group-details-UI}
{: ui}

You can view details about a placement group, such as the placement group name, assigned resource group, placement group ID, location, date that the placement group was created, and the specified placement group strategy.

To view details about a placement group, complete the following steps.

1. In the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/login){: external}, go to **Navigation Menu icon ![Navigation Menu icon](../icons/icon_hamburger.svg) **> Infrastructure** ![VPC icon](../../icons/vpc.svg) **> Compute > Placement Groups**.
1. Click the name of the placement group about which you want to view details.

## Viewing placement group details with the CLI
{: #view-placement-group-details-cli}
{: cli}

You can view details about a placement group, such as the placement group name, assigned resource group, placement group ID, location, date that the placement group was created, and the specified placement group strategy.

You can retrieve the details of a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using the command-line interface (CLI).

To retrieve the details of a placement group by using the CLI, use the **ibmcloud is placement-group** command. Specify the placement group ID or name.

The following example retrieves the details for a placement group with the ID or name `PLACEMENT_GROUP`.

```sh
ibmcloud is placement-group PLACEMENT_GROUP --output JSON
```
{: pre}

## Viewing placement group details with the API
{: #view-placement-group-details-API}
{: api}

You can view details about a placement group, such as the placement group name, assigned resource group, placement group ID, location, date that the placement group was created, and the specified placement group strategy.


The following example retrieves a single placement group that is specified by the identifier in the URL.

```sh
curl -X GET "$vpc_api_endpoint/v1/placement_groups/$id?version=2021-04-20&generation=2" -H "Authorization: Bearer $iam_token"
```
{: pre}

## Viewing placement group details with Terraform
{: #view-placement-group-details-terraform}
{: terraform}

You can view details about a placement group, such as the placement group name, assigned resource group, placement group ID, location, date that the placement group was created, and the specified placement group strategy.

You can retrieve the details of a placement group in your IBM Cloud VPC by using Terraform.

The following example retrieves details for a single placement group with an ID of `ibm_is_placement_group.is_placement_group.name`.

```json
data "ibm_is_placement_group" "d_is_placement_group" {
  name = ibm_is_placement_group.is_placement_group.name
}
```
{: pre}

## Using placement groups with a reservation
{: #placement-groups-with-reservation}

Keep the following information in mind when you use a placement group with a reservation. For more information about reservations, see [About Reservations for VPC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-about-reserved-virtual-servers-vpc&format=markdown).

Support for an instance with both a placement group and reservation target isn't supported yet.
{: important}

Placement groups and reservations are mutually exclusive. Meaning, that an instance that is a member of a placement group can't be created or updated to also target a reservation. Such a POST or PATCH API request results in an error.