# Resource Groups & Allocations

> Source: https://parallelworks.com/docs/resource-groups

# Resource Groups & Allocations

If your organization uses the **flexible allocation system**, every cloud resource you create belongs to a **resource group**, and each resource group bills an **allocation**. This section explains how resource groups and allocations work from a user's point of view: how to choose a resource's resource group, how to share and move resources, and how to read an allocation's budget.

:::info Which system does my organization use?

Organization admins choose between the legacy group allocation system and the flexible allocation system. If your create forms show a **Resource Group** field, your organization is on the flexible system. If they show a **Billing Group** field instead, it is on the legacy system and this section does not apply. See [Flexible Allocation System](/docs/organization-admin/billing/flexible-allocation-system) for the admin view.

:::

## How billing fits together

```
Resource (cluster, bucket, instance, …)
   └── belongs to a Resource Group (owned by a user, shareable)
          └── which bills one Allocation (a budget set by an admin)
```

- An **allocation** is a budget, usually in U.S. dollars, that an organization admin creates and shares with groups. It has a **Total**, and tracks **Used** (confirmed cloud invoices and rated usage) and **Estimated** (Used plus real-time estimates for resources that are still running).
- A **resource group** is a named container that you own. It bills exactly one allocation, which pays for every resource in the group. You can change that allocation at any time; the resource group keeps an allocation history so each cost is still charged to the allocation that was active when it was incurred. You can share a resource group with other groups so their members can add their own resources to it.
- A **resource** is a cloud resource: a cluster, instance, storage (buckets, disks, NFS, Lustre), public IP address, network interface, ML workspace, or AI provider deployed in your cloud account. Each resource belongs to exactly one resource group.

:::note Only cloud resources use resource groups

Right now, only cloud resources can be put into resource groups. Other usage bills an allocation directly: Kubernetes namespaces through the allocation set on the namespace, AI requests (Chat, `pw code`, and AI keys) through the allocation chosen for the request, and external usage through usage events. See [How usage reaches an allocation](/docs/organization-admin/billing/allocations#how-usage-reaches-an-allocation).

:::

Groups (the user groups your organization admin manages) still control who can see and use allocations and resource groups, but a group on its own no longer decides which allocation pays for a resource.

## What you need before creating resources

1. Access to at least one allocation. Ask an organization admin to share an allocation with a group you belong to at the **Use** level.
2. A resource group that bills that allocation. You can [create one](/docs/resource-groups/using-resource-groups#creating-a-resource-group) ahead of time, or directly from the **Resource Group** field on any create form.

Resource groups for cloud resources must bill an allocation rated in U.S. dollars. Allocations in a custom consumption unit (for example, "premium requests") are shown but cannot be selected.

## In this section

- [Using Resource Groups](/docs/resource-groups/using-resource-groups) — create resource groups, pick one on a resource, move and remove resources, share, change the allocation, and delete.
- [Viewing Allocations](/docs/resource-groups/viewing-allocations) — read an allocation's budget, see which resource groups it funds, and view usage in Reports.
- [Troubleshooting](/docs/resource-groups/troubleshooting) — what common billing messages mean and how to fix them.