Node Pool - CI/CD Glossary Definition
A node pool is a group of machines in a cluster that share the same configuration: instance type, OS, labels, and scaling settings. A cluster can have several node pools (for example a general pool and a GPU pool).
Why pools exist
Different workloads need different hardware. Separating them into pools lets you schedule CPU-heavy CI jobs onto compute-optimized nodes and keep small system services on cheaper nodes, each scaling independently.
For CI fleets
A dedicated node pool for runners lets you size and autoscale build capacity separately from application workloads, and target it with labels or taints so only CI jobs land there.
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