Definitions
Cloud and marketplace terms, defined
Every infrastructure and marketplace term this site uses, defined plainly before it is used anywhere else - with the section that matters: how each one is listed, metered and settled on an open market.
Open source & hybrid cloud
Open source & hybrid cloud
Platforms you run yourself, private cloud, hybrid patterns, and the open control plane that manages them.
- Open source & hybrid cloud What is an Open Source Cloud Management Platform? What an open source cloud management platform does, how it differs from the clouds it manages, and where an open control plane like Waldur fits.
- Open source & hybrid cloud What is an Open Source Cloud Platform? The software you run to operate a cloud yourself: what an open source cloud platform includes, how it differs from managed cloud, and how providers connect it to a marketplace.
- Open source & hybrid cloud What is Private Cloud Software? Private cloud software runs a cloud inside infrastructure you control. What the category includes, what operating it takes, and how renting private capacity compares.
- Open source & hybrid cloud What is an Open Source Hybrid Cloud? An open source hybrid cloud links privately run infrastructure with rented capacity. How the pattern works, what it solves, and how adapters keep both sides manageable.
- Open source & hybrid cloud What is OpenStack? OpenStack is open source software for running cloud infrastructure: compute, storage and networking APIs. What it provides, how it relates to KVM, and how it connects outward.
Service models
Service models
IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and serverless - what you operate versus what the provider runs.
- Service models What is IaaS? What is IaaS? Rented compute, storage and networking you configure yourself: the service model, its boundary, and how instances are listed.
- Service models What is PaaS? What is PaaS? A cloud model where the provider runs the platform and you deliver code: what it covers, where the line sits, how it is listed.
- Service models What is SaaS? What is SaaS? Software run by a provider and used over a network instead of installed: what it replaces, what you keep control of, how plans are sold.
- Service models What is serverless computing? What is serverless computing? Code run in short-lived executions by a cloud provider and billed while it runs: how it works, its limits, its listings.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
Virtual machines, containers, storage and bare metal - the building blocks under every listing.
- Infrastructure What is bare metal? Bare metal is a whole physical server for one tenant. When to choose it over virtual machines, what you take on, and how it is listed.
- Infrastructure What is cloud computing? What is cloud computing? IT resources delivered over a network and consumed as needed: what the model rests on, what it hides, how capacity is traded.
- Infrastructure What is a virtual machine? What is a virtual machine? A software emulation of a computer on shared hardware: how virtualisation works and how instances reach the market.
- Infrastructure What is containerization? What is containerization? Packaging an application with its dependencies into an image that runs the same everywhere: built once, run anywhere.
- Infrastructure What is cloud storage? What is cloud storage? Data held on remote systems and reached over a network: the shapes it comes in, durability, and how capacity is metered.
AI & GPU compute
AI & GPU compute
Inference, training and GPU-as-a-service - the workloads driving the compute market.
- AI & GPU compute What is AI inference? AI inference explained: what the term means, which hardware and constraints matter, and how inference capacity is listed, metered and settled.
- AI & GPU compute What is GPU as a Service? GPU as a Service rents accelerator capacity instead of buying servers. What the model covers, what a listing must state, and how usage settles.
- AI & GPU compute What is AI training? What is AI training? Fitting a model to data on accelerators: what a run needs, how it differs from inference, and where the capacity comes from.
HPC
HPC
Batch schedulers and cluster computing - supercomputing bought by the job.
- HPC What is SLURM? SLURM is the cluster scheduler behind most HPC sites. What it controls, why it became the standard, and how its jobs reach the market.
- HPC What is HPC (high-performance computing)? What is HPC? High-performance computing joins many processors to finish large jobs faster: what clusters need, and how compute is bought per job.
Marketplace & protocol
Marketplace & protocol
Compute marketplaces, usage-based billing and the decentralised cloud category VirtEngine sits in.
- Marketplace & protocol What is a compute marketplace? A compute marketplace matches demand for capacity with providers who have it. How orders, escrow and signed usage become settled payment.
- Marketplace & protocol What is a decentralized cloud? A decentralized cloud runs workloads across independent providers under one protocol. What the category means, what it costs, how settlement works.
- Marketplace & protocol What is usage-based billing? Usage-based billing charges for consumption rather than a subscription. What makes up the bill, who runs the meter, and how settlement works.
Go deeper
From definition to detail
Definitions answer what. For how - the order-to-settlement lifecycle, identity, economics and the module reference - start with how the marketplace works, browse the Learn library, or read the protocol architecture. For lookup vocabulary specific to listings and orders, the marketplace glossary covers the objects themselves.