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Complete Guide to Renting GPUs

Step-by-step guide from setup to connection - perfect for beginners

Overview

This guide will walk you through the complete process of renting a GPU on CapaCloud, from setup to connection. Even if you're a complete beginner, follow these steps and you'll be running GPU workloads in no time!

What you get: Full root access to a GPU machine where you can install any libraries, run any workload, and have complete control over the environment.

Prerequisites - Before You Rent

Before you can rent a GPU, you need to complete these three essential steps:

Step 1: Connect Your Wallet

You need a Solana wallet to use CapaCloud. If you don't have one, you can create one using:

  • Phantom - Popular browser extension wallet
  • Solflare - Another great option
  • Backpack - Modern wallet with great UX

Once installed, click "Connect Wallet" in the top right corner of the CapaCloud website.

Step 2: Add Balance to Your Account

CapaCloud uses a prepaid balance system. You need to add USDT to your account before renting.

  1. Go to Escrow page
  2. Click "Add Funds" or "Top Up"
  3. Follow the instructions to transfer USDT
  4. Wait for the transaction to confirm

Minimum Balance: For your first rental, you need either 10 USDT or enough balance for 1 hour of the machine's rate, whichever is higher. For example, if a machine costs 0.5 USDT/hour, you need at least 10 USDT. If a machine costs 15 USDT/hour, you need at least 15 USDT.

Step 3: Add Your SSH Public Key

This is required! You must add at least one SSH public key to your account before you can rent a machine.

3a. Generate SSH Key (If You Don't Have One)

If you don't have an SSH key pair, generate one on your local machine:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

Press Enter to accept default location. Optionally set a passphrase for extra security.

Or for RSA (if your system doesn't support Ed25519):

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

3b. Get Your Public Key

Copy your public key to clipboard:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Or if you used RSA: cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

3c. Add Key to Your Account

  1. Go to Account Settings
  2. Scroll to the "SSH Keys" section
  3. Click "Add SSH Key" button
  4. Enter a name (e.g., "My Laptop" or "Work Computer")
  5. Paste your public key (the one you copied above)
  6. Click "Add Key"

Tip: You can add multiple SSH keys if you want to access machines from different devices. Each key should have a descriptive name.

Ready to Rent Checklist

  • ✓ Wallet connected
  • ✓ Account balance ≥ 10 USDT or 1 hour rate (whichever is higher)
  • ✓ At least one SSH key added to account

How to Rent a GPU - Step by Step

Step 1: Browse Available GPUs

  1. Go to Browse GPUs
  2. You'll see a list of all available GPU machines
  3. Each card shows:
    • GPU Type: e.g., RTX 4090, A100, RTX A4000
    • Memory: GPU memory in GB
    • CPU Cores: Number of CPU cores
    • Disk Size: Available storage
    • Rate/Hour: Cost in USDT per hour
    • Status: Available, Rented, or Offline
  4. Use filters to find machines by GPU type or sort by price

Step 2: View Machine Details

  1. Click "Detail Info" on a machine card (or "Rent GPU" - both lead to details)
  2. You'll see a detailed page with:
    • Complete specifications (GPU, CPU, RAM, Disk)
    • Current performance metrics (if available)
    • Provider information
    • Pricing details
    • Your current balance
  3. Review the machine to ensure it meets your needs
  4. Check that you have sufficient balance (shown on the page)

Step 3: Select SSH Keys

  1. Click the "Rent This GPU" button
  2. If you haven't selected SSH keys yet, a selection dialog will appear
  3. Select at least one SSH key from your account (check the boxes)
  4. You can select multiple keys if you want to access from different devices
  5. Click "Continue" to proceed

Note: The keys you select will be automatically registered to the machine. You can change them later from the rental details page.

Step 4: Confirm Rental

  1. The system will verify:
    • Your wallet is connected
    • You have sufficient balance (10 USDT or 1 hour rate, whichever is higher)
    • At least one SSH key is selected
    • The machine is available
  2. If everything checks out, the rental is created
  3. You'll be redirected to the rental details page
  4. A success notification will appear

What Happens Next?

  • The worker automatically registers your SSH keys to the machine (takes up to 1 minute)
  • Your rental starts immediately
  • Billing begins (hourly deductions from your balance)
  • You can connect via SSH once keys are registered

Connecting to Your Rented GPU

Step 1: Wait for Key Registration

After renting, the worker needs to register your SSH keys. This usually takes less than 1 minute. You can check the rental details page - once your keys are registered, you'll see the connection information.

Step 2: Get Connection Details

  1. Go to your rental details page (you'll be redirected there after renting)
  2. Find the "Connect to Machine" section
  3. You'll see:
    • Host: IP address or hostname
    • Port: SSH port (usually 2222)
    • Username: Usually "root"
    • Connection Command: A template command with ~/.ssh/your_key

Step 3: Connect via SSH

  1. Copy the connection command from the rental details page
  2. Replace ~/.ssh/your_key with your actual private key path:
    • If you used Ed25519: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    • If you used RSA: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
    • Or whatever path you used when generating your key
  3. Open your terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Terminal)
  4. Paste and run the modified command
  5. If your key has a passphrase, enter it when prompted
  6. You should now be connected!

Example connection command:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 root@192.168.1.100 -p 2222

Step 4: Verify GPU Access

Once connected, verify that you have GPU access:

nvidia-smi

This should display your GPU information, utilization, memory usage, and temperature. If you see this output, you're all set!

What You Can Do

  • ✓ Install any libraries and dependencies (pip, apt, conda, etc.)
  • ✓ Run GPU-accelerated workloads (PyTorch, TensorFlow, CUDA, etc.)
  • ✓ Train machine learning models
  • ✓ Run inference jobs
  • ✓ Access GPU via CUDA, cuDNN, and other GPU libraries
  • ✓ Run any Linux commands and scripts
  • ✓ Transfer files using SCP or SFTP

Need help connecting? See our detailed SSH Connection Guide for more information, including troubleshooting steps and platform-specific instructions.

Managing Your Rental

Viewing Your Rentals

Go to My Rentals to see all your active and completed rentals. Each rental shows:

  • GPU type and provider
  • Status (Active, Paused, Completed)
  • Start time and duration
  • Current cost
  • Quick access to rental details

Rental Details Page

Click on any rental to see detailed information:

  • Connection Information: SSH host, port, username, and connection command
  • Real-time GPU Metrics: Utilization, temperature, power usage, memory
  • SSH Key Management: View and change which SSH keys are registered
  • Payment Details: Hourly rate, hours used, total cost
  • Rental Actions: Pause, resume, or end rental

Changing SSH Keys

You can change which SSH keys are registered to an active rental:

  1. Go to the rental details page
  2. Scroll to "SSH Keys for This Rental" section
  3. Click "Change Keys"
  4. Select the keys you want to use
  5. Click "Update Keys"

Changes are applied immediately (within 1 minute). You can use the new keys right away.

Rental Actions

Pause Rental

Temporarily stop billing while keeping the machine state. Your data and running processes remain intact. Billing resumes when you unpause.

Resume Rental

Continue a paused rental. Billing resumes immediately.

End Rental

Stop the rental permanently. Final cost is calculated and deducted from your balance. The machine becomes available for others to rent.

Understanding Billing

CapaCloud uses a prepaid, hourly billing system:

  • Prepaid Balance: You add USDT to your account before renting
  • Hourly Deductions: Your balance is deducted every hour while the rental is active
  • Paused Rentals: No charges while paused
  • Minimum Balance: For your first rental, you need 10 USDT or 1 hour rate (whichever is higher)
  • Automatic Payments: Providers receive payments automatically from your balance

Example: If a machine costs 0.5 USDT/hour and you rent it for 5 hours, you'll be charged 2.5 USDT total (0.5 × 5).

Common Issues & Solutions

"You must add at least one SSH key"

Solution: Go to Account Settings and add an SSH public key. See Step 3 in the Prerequisites section above for detailed instructions.

"Insufficient balance"

Solution: You need at least 10 USDT or 1 hour rate (whichever is higher). Go to Escrow to add more USDT to your account.

"Permission denied (publickey)" when connecting

Possible causes:

  • Your SSH keys haven't been registered yet (wait up to 1 minute)
  • You're using the wrong private key (use the one matching your public key in account settings)
  • Key permissions are wrong (run: chmod 600 ~/.ssh/your_key)

Solution: Check the rental details page to see which keys are registered. Try changing keys if needed. See SSH Connection Guide for more help.

"Connection refused"

Solution: The machine might be offline or the IP address might be incorrect. Check the rental status on the details page. If the issue persists, contact support.

Important Notes

  • You cannot rent your own machines - The system prevents you from renting machines you own
  • Data is ephemeral - Save important files! Data on the machine is not permanent and may be lost when the rental ends
  • Billing is automatic - Your balance is deducted hourly. Make sure you have enough balance
  • SSH keys are required - You must add SSH keys before renting. No exceptions!
  • Minimum balance - You need 10 USDT or 1 hour rate (whichever is higher) for your first rental
  • Key registration takes time - Wait up to 1 minute after renting for your SSH keys to be registered

Quick Reference

Before Renting

  • ✓ Connect wallet
  • ✓ Add balance (≥10 USDT or 1 hour rate)
  • ✓ Add SSH key(s)

After Renting

  • ✓ Wait for key registration (~1 min)
  • ✓ Get connection details
  • ✓ Connect via SSH
  • ✓ Verify GPU: nvidia-smi

Need More Help?

SSH Connection Guide

Detailed instructions for connecting via SSH, troubleshooting connection issues, and managing SSH keys.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for renting, connecting, and using rented GPUs.