OCI launch failures: Out of host capacity, LimitExceeded and QuotaExceeded

#Three different errors

#Out of host capacity

Options, fastest first:

1. Try a different fault domain, or let OCI choose (leave it blank).
2. Try another availability domain in multi-AD regions.
3. Try another shape in the same family: E5 instead of E4, or A1/A2 Arm if the workload supports it. Flexible shapes with fewer OCPUs place more easily.
4. For predictable needs, create a capacity reservation in advance:

   oci compute capacity-reservation create --compartment-id $C --availability-domain "Uocm:AP-MUMBAI-1-AD-1" \
     --display-name prod-reserved \
     --instance-reservation-configs '[{"instanceShape":"VM.Standard.E5.Flex","instanceShapeConfig":{"ocpus":4,"memoryInGBs":64},"reservedCount":4}]'
   

Capacity shortages are usually temporary. Retry with a back-off in automation, not in a tight loop.

#LimitExceeded: check the service limits

# Is there room left?
oci limits resource-availability get --compartment-id $TENANCY --service-name compute \
  --limit-name standard-e5-core-count --availability-domain "Uocm:AP-MUMBAI-1-AD-1"

# Find the right limit name
oci limits definition list --compartment-id $TENANCY --service-name compute \
  --query 'data[?contains(name, `e5`)].{name:name, desc:description}' --output table

Request an increase in the console: Governance → Limits, Quotas and Usage → Request a service limit increase. Include the region, the limit name and how much you need.

Note

Limits are per region and often per AD. A limit raised in Mumbai doesn't help in Hyderabad.

#QuotaExceeded: compartment quotas

oci limits quota list --compartment-id $TENANCY --query 'data[].{name:name, statements:statements}'

Quota statements look like:

set compute-core quota standard-e5-core-count to 64 in compartment Apps
zero compute-core quotas in compartment Sandbox

Your tenancy administrators own these. Ask them to raise the quota for the compartment, or launch in a compartment with headroom.

#Other launch errors worth knowing

Tip

Before big rollouts or DR tests, check limits and capacity in the target region. Many DR plans fail on limits, not on technology.