---
title: "Setting the Default Optimization Profile"
slug: "setting-the-default-optimization-profile"
updated: 2025-06-23T15:39:05Z
published: 2025-06-23T15:39:05Z
canonical: "resources.realtheory.io/setting-the-default-optimization-profile"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://resources.realtheory.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setting the Default Optimization Profile

The default optimization profile is used to define the optimization strategy for all clusters that do not have an optimization profile directly (manually) assigned or automatically assigned through optimization policies. By selecting a default profile that reflects the most appropriate optimization strategy for the highest number of clusters in your environment, you minimize the configuration needed to achieve your optimization strategy.

See [Optimization Profiles Explained](/v1/docs/optimization-profiles-explained) for more information about profiles.

## Prerequisite

To manage rate cards, you must have one of the following roles assigned to your user account:

- *sys_admin*
- *optimization_admin*

### Procedure

1. Determine the profile strategy that is appropriate for the largest number of your clusters:

| Profile | Description | Example Use Case |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Performance Optimized | Recommends configurations that not only satisfy compute demands but also include additional overhead to absorb unexpected surges. | A high-traffic API service that must respond quickly, even under variable load. |
| Balanced | Recommends configurations that satisfy compute demands while strategically moderating resource allocation between performance and cost. | Workloads that experience regular demand with moderate peaks, such as a batch processing workload |
| Cost Optimized | Recommends configurations that satisfy compute demands while minimizing over-provisioning. | A dev or staging environment where resource efficiency matters more than performance. |
2. As a user with either the *sys_admin* or *optimization_admin* role, navigate to **Settings** > **Optimization** > **Optimization Profiles**.
3. Determine if an optimization profile that matches the optimization strategy for the largest number of your clusters already exists:
  - If an existing profile is the most appropriate, click **Set As Default** for that profile.

**Note:** You can review the profile configuration details by clicking **Edit Profile**; be sure you click **Cancel** to close the profile without accidentally changing it.
  - If no existing profile matches the optimization strategy for the largest number of your clusters, [create the profile](/v1/docs/creating-an-optimization-profile).
4. After you have created the profile that is appropriate for the largest number of your clusters, click **Set As Default**.

**See Also** [Optimization Profiles Explained](/v1/docs/optimization-profiles-explained) [Creating an Optimization Profile](/v1/docs/creating-an-optimization-profile) [Creating an Optimization Policy](/v1/docs/creating-an-optimization-policy)