info_tfgrid/collections/tfgrid4/boxes/cloudblock.md

# CloudBlock Concepts

<h2>Table of Contents</h2>

- [CloudBlock Concepts](#cloudblock-concepts)
  - [CloudBlock (CB)](#cloudblock-cb)
  - [Cloud Hour (CH)](#cloud-hour-ch)
  - [CloudBlock Properties](#cloudblock-properties)


!!wiki.include page:'box_intro.md'

## CloudBlock (CB)

A cloudblock is a unit of compute, fast storage and memory.
There are unlimited different configurations of cloudblock.

A configuration of a machine defines the cloudblock which can be made.

cloudblock can be aggregated to make a bigger cloudblock.

The default cloudblock has 

- 4GB memory
- 2 virtual cores of CPU
- minimal 50 GB of fast storage (can be more, as to be defined by provider)
- minimal availability of 1 mbit/s bandwidth at all times

Terms

- The virtual cores are max oversubscribed 4x
- Min passmark per cloudblock is 500 passmark (CPU benchmark)
- At least 50 GB storage available, more is better

**Example a node with 64 GB or mem and 2 TB of SSD and 24 virtual cores.**

- 15 Storage Blocks each: 
  - 4 GB of memory (60 GB total)
  - 120 GB of SSD capacity
  - 6.4 logical CPU core (oversubscription of 4, which means user can max use 4x CPU capacity if system allows)
- when a user choses the full machine, then he/she will have reserved all Storage Blocks capacity which means the machine is now dedicated reserved for the user, the hoster specifies the discount for this typically 50%. On a dedicated machine the user has full access to the GPU.
- min 2GB always needs to be left as buffer for memory and 10% of SSD capacity

How does it work:

- When a developer wants to deploy a virtual machine, he/she needs to define the required capacity and will be able to make a choice based on these CloudBlocks, each CloudBlock has different base specs (mem, ssd, gpu, cpu) and reputation, the developer can now make a selection of how many of these Storage Blocks need to be given to the virtual machine. This defines the monthly price which will have to be paid as well as capacity available to the VM.

## Cloud Hour (CH)

A cloudhour is like a kwatth unit for electricty: it represents a CloudBlock being used for 1h and billed as such.

INCA Hosts (our cloud providers) can price the CloudHour themselves in a chosen currency.

## CloudBlock Properties

The service provider (hoster) defines the following properties per cloud box

- Cost of 1 CloudHour (use the box for 1h)
- Discounts if used for longer periods & if renter has large amount of TFT in wallet
- Min available storage in GB (min 50)
- Max available storage in GB
- Min passmark, max passmark
- Max bandwidth
- Min bandwidth (min 1 mbit/sec)
- Cost per GB bandwidth
- Cost for additional storage HDD or SSD per GB/month
  - Max additional storage
- Max aggregation size (how many of the cloudblock can be combined)
- Link to support site if any (find info about hoster and service capabilities)
- If linked to Hosting Pool (company giving support on the machines)
- Pub ip address possible or not (is option)
- Link to monitoring page (if any)
- Location & type of location

Each cloudblock has unique ID and can be looked at through a portal (or found).