---
title: Features
---

import { PrivateClusterFeaturesNav, PrivateClusterBestPractices } from './PrivateClusterFeaturesCards'

# Features

<PrivateClusterFeaturesNav />

## 1. Node Lifecycle States

Every node in a Private Cluster transitions through the following states:

| State | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| **Free** | Available for allocation to a project |
| **Allocated** | Assigned to a project but not yet running a workload |
| **Occupied** | Actively running a workload (Node, Inference Endpoint, Training Cluster, or Vector Database) |

:::warning **Occupied nodes cannot be deallocated.** The running workload must be stopped or deleted first before the node can be freed.
:::

Understanding these states helps you manage cluster capacity without disrupting running services.


## 2. Node Monitoring

The **Node Monitoring** view provides real-time visibility into the health and performance of every node in your cluster.

### Available Metrics

| Metric | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **GPU Usage** | Current GPU utilization as a percentage |
| **Memory** | Memory consumption and availability |
| **Uptime** | Node uptime percentage indicating reliability |
| **Power** | Current power consumption in watts |

### How to Access

1. Open your Private Cluster.
2. Navigate to the **Cluster Nodes** tab.
3. Select a node to view its detailed metrics.

### Benefits

- **Proactive Management** – Identify underutilized or overloaded nodes before issues arise
- **Cost Optimization** – Make informed allocation decisions based on real usage data
- **Performance Tracking** – Ensure service reliability through uptime monitoring

## 3. Access Control

Private Cluster access is governed by IAM roles, ensuring only authorized users can manage cluster capacity and node allocation.

### Role-Based Access Matrix

| Role | View Cluster | Create / Update Cluster | Allocate Nodes | Deallocate Nodes | Scope |
|------|-------------|------------------------|----------------|------------------|-------|
| **Admin / Owner** | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Cluster (CRN) |
| **Project Manager** | Yes | No | No | No | Assigned projects |
| **Project Lead** | Yes | No | No | No | Assigned project only |
| **Member** | Yes (Read-only) | No | No | No  | As per IAM policy |

### Common Access Scenarios

- **I am a Project Manager and want to free GPUs from a project** → Not allowed
- **I am a Project Lead and want to resize the cluster** → Not allowed
- **I am a Member and want to view cluster usage** → Allowed
- **I am an Admin and want to allocate nodes to a project** → Allowed

## 4. Node Allocation

Node allocation controls how GPU resources are distributed across your projects.

### Allocation Flow

```
Cluster Created
      │
      ▼
  Nodes: Free ──► Allocate to Project ──► Nodes: Allocated
                                               │
                                               ▼
                                     Launch Workload ──► Nodes: Occupied
```

### Key Rules

- **Free nodes** can be allocated to any project by users with the appropriate permissions.
- **Allocated nodes** can be deallocated as long as no workload is running on them.
- **Occupied nodes** cannot be deallocated — stop or delete the workload first.
- Allocation and deallocation can be done from both the **Project Allocation** and **Cluster Nodes** views.

## 5. Multi-Project Sharing

A single Private Cluster can serve multiple projects simultaneously. Each project gets its own slice of the cluster without sharing workload environments.

### Example

A 10-node cluster shared across three projects:

| Project | Nodes Allocated | Workloads Running |
|---------|----------------|-------------------|
| Project A (model training) | 4 | 4 Training Clusters |
| Project B (inference) | 3 | 3 Inference Endpoints |
| Free pool | 3 | — |

:::info Billing remains fixed regardless of how nodes are distributed. GPUs can be reallocated at any time without redeploying infrastructure.
:::

<PrivateClusterBestPractices />


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