**What are VM instances?**\
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In Google Cloud Platform (GCP), **VM instances** are virtual machines hosted on Google's infrastructure. These instances are part of Google Compute Engine, allowing you to run workloads on customizable virtual servers. You can choose the machine type, operating system, disk type, and network settings for your VM instance. GCP provides features like autoscaling, load balancing, and integration with other GCP services, making VM instances highly flexible and suitable for a wide range of applications, from simple web servers to complex, resource-intensive workloads.