Okuzeka
Cloud Computing & DevOps vocabulary · Servers and Virtual Machines

Spin up

Meaning in cloud computing & devops, with examples

/ˌspɪn ˈʌp/phrasal verbCore term

In cloud computing & devops, spin up means: To quickly create and start a new server, container or environment, usually with a command or a few clicks.

In Turkish: ayağa kaldırmak, hızla oluşturmak, başlatmak

How it is used

Informal but used everywhere in the industry: 'spin up an instance', 'spin up a test environment'. The past form is 'spun up'. The opposite is 'spin down' or 'tear down'.

Example sentences

  1. Can you spin up a copy of staging so I can test the migration?

  2. The CI job spins up a database container, runs the tests and then removes it.

Common collocations

  • spin up an instance
  • spin up a cluster
  • spin up a test environment
  • spin up containers
  • tear downTo delete a server, environment or set of resources completely when it is no longer needed, usually with a command or script.
  • provisionTo create and set up computing resources, such as servers, databases or networks, so they are ready to use.
  • instanceOne running copy of a virtual server or service in the cloud. You choose its size, such as how many CPUs and how much memory it has, and pay while it runs.
  • virtual machineA complete computer, with its own operating system, that runs as software on a physical machine. One physical server can host many virtual machines at once.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Servers and Virtual Machines

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: