SciCloud

Compute
Virtual Research Environment
last modified

February 19, 2026

What is it?

IT for Research (ITvO) offers SciCloud, a service where server capacity can be purchased to support research applications. SciCloud virtual servers are easy to implement, easy to scale up and down and have competitive pricing based on agreed purchase. The virtual server can be placed in an external network, so services running on it can be made internet accessible. It can also run on an internal network for extra security and access to some VU services.

SciCloud is based on the open source middleware OpenNebula (ONE) and offers a service that allows users to quickly start with a virtual server based on available templates, or to upload one of their own virtual images. This concept is known as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

What can it be used for?

In principle you can run any software you want on a SciCloud server. Linux OS is preferred, but a Windows server is also a possibility.

Typical use cases are:

  • Running web applications and services that need to be publicly accessible 24/7, for example a website showcasing your research, a wiki, chatbot, etc.

  • Hosting a licensed server application for your research group, such as software for analysis, software needed to run lab equipment or elab journal software.

  • The Virtual Server can also be connected to SciStor for environments that need fast access to large amounts of data.

Note that the SciCloud environment has no GPU, so it is not suitable for running graphical environments and machine learning.