The cPouta service allows customers to run virtual machines connected to the Internet. It provides an easy to use web interface and a programmable API for managing virtual machines, networks and storage. cPouta is the main production IaaS cloud at CSC.

The virtual machines can run on different sets of compute node hardware based on their intended use case. Currently there's nodes available for High Performance Computing (HPC) type loads as well as generic loads such as web servers or servers for software development. The nodes are connected with 40 Gb/s or 10 Gb/s Ethernet depending on type.

Virtual machines can be given external IP addresses and accessed directly from the Internet. This provides an easy way to access virtual machines from anywhere on the Internet, but customers must also take care to secure their machines. The virtual machines do not have access to any other part of the CSC infrastructure, other than what is already visible to the Internet. Application data and software must be uploaded either via the Internet or copied from CSC's existing shared storage or applications.

This service is targeted for high performance computing (HPC), so the scheduling of virtual machines does not overcommit resources. This allows customers to run virtual machines with exclusive access to up to 16 cores. The same principal applies to RAM and other resources available to the virtual machines. This should provide more predictable performance characteristics compared to general purpose IaaS platforms where several virtual machines all running at full load and competing for resources will cause contention.