> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alkera.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Machines > The compute your workspaces run on: shared Standard compute, or dedicated CPU and GPU machines for your organization. Every [workspace](/workspaces/overview) runs on a **machine**. The agent's commands, your notebook kernels, and the workspace's live folder all run there. Which machine a workspace runs on is a setting of the workspace. You can change it at any time, and the workspace's files come with it. ## Standard and org machines | | Standard | Org machines | | - | - | - | | What it is | Alkera's shared compute. Each workspace runs in its own isolated sandbox. | Dedicated CPU or GPU machines your organization buys. | | Setup | None. Workspaces run here by default. | An admin buys one from **Machines**. | | Cost | Included. | Compute billed per hour while running. Storage billed per GB, running or stopped. Both draw on your organization's credits. | | Good for | Most chats and notebooks. | Large data, long jobs, and training models on a GPU. | Whether you can buy machines, and how many, depends on your [plan](/organization/billing). If your plan does not include them, the **Machines** page says so. ## Buy a machine Organization admins and team admins can open **Machines** from the **Organization** section of the sidebar. Click **Buy machine**, then pick an offering. Each one lists its CPU or GPU, memory, hourly rate, storage price, and whether it is in stock. Set: * **Name**. * **Storage (GB)** for its disk. * **Use**: **Assigned** to specific people, or **Org pool** to serve anyone's chats. Org pool requires the Enterprise plan. * **Owned by**: the team that owns it. * **Who can use it**: teams or members, or **Add everyone**. See [Share machines with care](#share-machines-with-care). * **Stop when idle**: **Never**, or after 15, 30, or 60 minutes, or 4 hours. * **Monthly cap**: the most it may spend in a month. Leave it empty for no cap. The dialog shows the hourly rate and the storage price drawn from your credits. Click **Buy and start**. Organization admins can also choose a **Default for new workspaces**. ## Storage An org machine has two disks: * **Storage**, the size you choose with **Storage (GB)**. This is the machine's persistent disk. It holds the folders of the chats that are awake, their Python environments, and package caches. It survives a stop. * A **system disk** for the operating system and temporary scratch. It is reset every time the machine stops. The storage disk is a working area, not where your files live. Your files live in [Files](/workspaces/files). While a chat is awake, its folder is copied onto the machine. When the chat [sleeps](/workspaces/overview#sleep-and-wake), Alkera saves the folder back to Files and clears it from the machine. See [Where workspace files live](/workspaces/files#where-workspace-files-live). ### How much storage you need Only awake workspaces take up space on the storage disk. Size the disk for the busiest moment: the most storage that the workspaces awake **at the same time** will use together, including their files, Python environments, and caches. For example, if three people usually work at once in workspaces that use about 20 GB each, choose at least 60 GB, plus headroom for large intermediate files. Workspaces that are asleep take no space, so the total size of every workspace on the machine does not matter. | | Survives a chat going to sleep | Survives a machine stop | Survives deleting the machine | | - | - | - | - | | Files in workspace folders | Yes, saved to Files | Yes, saved to Files | Yes, saved to Files | | Notebook environment package lists | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Packages installed from the shell, caches | No | No | No | | Anything in memory, running processes | No | No | No | | Everything else on the storage disk | Yes | Yes | No | ### Storage pricing Storage is billed per GB per month, by the minute, whether the machine is **running or stopped**. Only deleting the machine stops storage charges. The machine's storage does not count toward your plan's [file storage](/workspaces/files#storage). Files count toward your plan once they are saved to Files. ### Grow the disk Choose **Grow disk** to make the storage disk larger. Disks only grow. To get a smaller disk, buy a new machine and [move your workspaces](#move-a-workspace-to-another-machine) to it. Some machines restart to grow their disk, and running chats finish first. A machine shows **Almost out of disk** when its storage is 95% full. Grow the disk, or free up space, before chats start failing to write. ### On Standard On **Standard**, each workspace gets a share of a shared machine's disk while it is awake. Nothing is kept on the machine between sleeps except what is saved to Files, so a woken chat starts with a fresh environment. Standard storage is not billed separately. ## Share machines with care **Workspaces on a machine you buy are not isolated from each other.** Unlike **Standard**, where each workspace runs in its own sandbox, an org machine gives workspaces direct access to its hardware. Anyone whose workspace runs on the machine, and the agent working for them, can read files and processes from other workspaces on it. Only let people use a machine if you would be comfortable with them seeing each other's work on it. Use separate machines for teams or data that must stay apart. ## Start and stop An org machine runs only when it needs to. * **Starting is automatic.** Sending a message, or opening a chat or workspace that runs on a stopped machine, starts it. This takes a minute or two, and the chat shows that the machine is starting. Your message is sent as soon as it is ready. * **Stop when idle** stops the machine once nothing on it has worked for the time you chose. Chats on it go to sleep first, so their files are saved. * **Stop** stops it by hand. Running chats get up to two minutes to finish. A chat interrupted by a stop says so, and continues when you send a message. A machine also stops when it reaches its **Monthly cap**, or when your organization runs out of credit. Its storage is still billed while it is stopped. If your organization stays out of credit for 14 days, the machine is deleted. Alkera sends notices before that happens. ## Manage a machine Each machine has **Start**, **Stop**, **Rename**, **Settings**, **Who can use it**, **Grow disk**, and **Delete**. Its page shows usage this month, the workspaces on it, and a timeline of what happened. | State | Meaning | | - | - | | **Starting** | Booting. | | **Running** | Ready. Compute and storage are billing. | | **Almost out of disk** | Its storage is 95% full. Grow its disk or free up space. | | **Not responding** | Alkera cannot reach it. | | **Stopping** / **Stopped** | Not running. Only storage is billing. | | **Waiting for hardware** | The provider has no capacity right now. | | **Couldn't start** | Starting failed. | **Deleting a machine destroys its storage disk.** Files in your workspaces are kept, because they are saved to [Files](/workspaces/files). Anything else on the disk is lost. ## Move a workspace to another machine You need **Full access** to the workspace. On the workspace, click its machine chip and choose **Change workspace machine**. Choose **Standard** or a machine you can use. Check **Stop running chats now** to move without waiting for the agent to finish. Click **Move workspace**. Running chats stop and continue on the new machine. Files move with the workspace. Installed packages, running processes, and anything outside the workspace folder do not. ## Related Sleep, wake, and what happens when a machine is deleted. How machine time draws on your credits. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.