---
title: "Mixed Node Families in GCVE - Finally Supported!"
date: "2025-12-05T00:00:00Z"
tags: ["ve1", "ve2", "Cluster"]
categories: ["Google Cloud", "Architecture"]
---


Today, December 5, 2025, Google announced support for **Private Clouds with mixed node families**. This is a feature I've requested multiple times, and it's finally here.

## The Restriction

While you can now have `ve1-standard` and `ve2-standard` nodes in the *same* Private Cloud, there is a catch: **each Cluster must contain nodes of the same type**.

* **Cluster A:** 3x ve1 nodes (Dev/Test)
* **Cluster B:** 4x ve2 nodes (Production DBs)
* **Private Cloud:** Manages both.

## Why is this cool?

Previously, you effectively needed separate Private Clouds (and thus separate vCenters/NSX Managers) if you wanted different hardware tiers. Now, you can manage your "legacy" ve1 hardware and your shiny new ve2 hardware under a single vCenter pane of glass.

![Mixed Node Family Architecture Diagram][1]

## Summary

This simplifies management massively. You can perform lifecycle management (upgrading from ve1 to ve2) by adding a new cluster and vMotioning workloads over, all within the same SDDC.

[1]: /images/uploads/2025/12/mixed-node-families-diagram.webp

[100]: https://docs.cloud.google.com/vmware-engine/docs/release-notes 'Mixed Node Families Announcement'