{"id":4816,"date":"2026-08-29T18:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T09:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/server-tech\/oci-always-free-ubuntu-2\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T18:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T09:36:59","slug":"oci-always-free-ubuntu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/en\/server-tech\/linux-server-network\/oci-always-free-ubuntu\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting an Ubuntu Machine Using OCI Always Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

This time, I tried getting an Ubuntu machine using the Always Free tier of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Free cloud services are very appealing, but since there were a few things to watch out for during setup, I wanted to share the details!<\/p>\n

\n

What is Always Free?<\/h2>\n

OCI’s Always Free is a service that allows you to use specific resources free of charge. The details of what is available for free are described in detail in the official documentation below:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd17 Click here for details on Always Free<\/a><\/p>\n

The free tier includes compute instances (virtual machines) such as the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro\n
      \n
    • Up to 1 OCPU, 1 GB RAM instance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • VM.Standard.A1.Flex\n
        \n
      • Customizable up to 4 OCPUs, 24 GB RAM (free up to 1 OCPU, 6 GB RAM within the Always Free tier)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n

        Notes on the Tokyo Region<\/h2>\n

        This time, I created the instance by selecting the Tokyo region.<\/p>\n

          \n
        • VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro is available without any issues.<\/li>\n
        • VM.Standard.A1.Flex may sometimes fail to create due to a lack of resources (I wasn’t able to create one either).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          If you try in other regions, you might be able to use VM.Standard.A1.Flex, but please be careful when choosing a region.<\/p>\n

          \n

          OS Options<\/h2>\n

          When creating an instance, you can select from operating systems such as:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Oracle Linux<\/li>\n
          • Ubuntu<\/li>\n
          • RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux)<\/li>\n
          • Custom images<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            This time I chose Ubuntu, which I’m familiar with, but being able to choose the OS according to your use case is a major advantage.<\/p>\n

            \n

            Notes on Volume Size and Pricing<\/h2>\n

            In the Always Free tier, up to 200 GB of block storage is free. However, there are some points to keep in mind when creating an instance:<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. The default boot volume size assigned is 50 GB.\n
                \n
              • Even at this size, it is within the free tier, but the creation screen may display “Estimated Cost: 297.50 JPY\/month”.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
              • Don’t be alarmed by the displayed cost.\n
                  \n
                • In reality, volumes eligible for Always Free are not billed. The estimated cost can be misleading, but rest assured that it is included in the free tier.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                  \n

                  Conclusion<\/h2>\n

                  This time, I tried creating an Ubuntu machine using OCI’s Always Free tier. Here are the key takeaways:<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • There are two types of free virtual machines available\u2014VM.Standard.E2.1.Micro and VM.Standard.A1.Flex\u2014which you can choose according to your needs.<\/li>\n
                  • In the Tokyo region, VM.Standard.A1.Flex might not be available, so considering other regions is a good idea.<\/li>\n
                  • The default 50 GB boot volume size is fine; don’t be misled by the estimated cost display, and just make sure it falls under Always Free eligibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    Cloud machines available for free are extremely convenient as an alternative to running servers at home! I hope this is helpful for anyone thinking about trying out OCI.<\/p>\n

                    Thank you for reading to the end! If you have any questions or thoughts, please let me know in the comments \u2728<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    This time, I tried getting an Ubuntu machine using the Always Free tier of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/?p=90","footnotes":""},"categories":[1170],"tags":[9,105,20,21,352,10,341,331,278],"class_list":["post-4816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-linux-server-network","tag-diy","tag-linux","tag-oci","tag-oracle-cloud-infrastructure","tag-ubuntu","tag-server","tag-341","tag-331","tag-278","en-US"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4816"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4819,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4816\/revisions\/4819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}