Google Compute Engine Load Balancer limits

Question

I'm thinking of using Google Compute Engine to run a LOT of instances in a target pool behind a network load balancer. Each of those instances will end up real-time processing many large data streams, so at full scale and peak times there might be multiple Terabytes per second go through.

Question:

Is there a quota or limit to the data you can push through those load balancers? Is there a limit of instances you can have in a target pool? (the documentation does not seem to specify this)

It seems like load balancers have a dedicated IP (means it's a single machine?)

Answer 1

There's no limit on the amount of data that you can push through a LB. As for instances, there are default limits on CPUs, persistent or SSD disks, and you can see those quotas in the Developers Console at 'Compute' > 'Compute Engine'> 'Quotas', however you can always request increase quota at this link. You can have as many instances that you need in a target pool. Take a look to the Compute Engine Autoscaler that will help you to spin up machines as your service needs. The single IP provided for your LB is in charge of distributing incoming traffic across your multiple instances.