Workflow orchestration / Expanse Cluster Intelligence alternative

An Expanse.sh alternative for the agent execution layer

Expanse currently predicts resource needs and explains failures for jobs on infrastructure a team already runs. It integrates alongside SLURM and Kubernetes rather than renting each user a general-purpose sandbox. Decide whether the requirement is cluster intelligence or a durable place for an agent to execute commands.

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Reviewed 2026-10-19 · Published by the Sandbox0 team

When Expanse Cluster Intelligence fits

Expanse fits platform teams seeking runtime, memory, CPU and GPU predictions, failure diagnosis and waste visibility for existing HPC or AI clusters. Its deployment and scheduler integrations are central to that product.

When to consider Sandbox0

Consider Sandbox0 when the requirement is managed Linux execution with a complete durable writable RootFS, supported files while compute is paused, and online growth. A cluster optimization service can remain alongside a separate agent runtime.

Capabilities

Expanse Cluster Intelligence and Sandbox0: what persists?

Feature comparison with documentation and verification status
Environment and runtime lifetimeExpanse Cluster IntelligenceNot established in this reviewSandbox0ttl and hard_ttl default to 0 (disabled). Configure idle pause and deletion policies for the same persistent sandbox identity; an idle running sandbox still accrues compute charges.Read documentation →
Persistent filesExpanse Cluster IntelligenceThe intelligence layer operates on customer infrastructure; durable disks depend on that backend.View evidence ↗Sandbox0The writable RootFS survives successful checkpoints, including software, system configuration, dependencies, and user data.Read documentation →
Whole RootFSExpanse Cluster IntelligenceCluster telemetry and predictions do not specify a complete per-user writable RootFS retention contract.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Persistence extends beyond /workspace to paths such as /usr/local, /etc, and /home. Runtime tmpfs and virtual filesystems are excluded.Read documentation →
Release compute, keep stateExpanse Cluster IntelligenceJob evidence and recommendations are not a sandbox pause/resume operation.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Pause compute between tasks; resume on available capacity. Default resume starts fresh processes from the saved filesystem.Read documentation →
Memory and process stateExpanse Cluster IntelligenceFailure diagnosis does not establish RAM or GPU execution-state checkpointing.View evidence ↗Sandbox0Experimental memory checkpoints can preserve compatible process state. Use memory: true on both pause and resume on a compatible deployment. A filesystem checkpoint alone does not preserve running processes.Read documentation →

Online RootFS growth

On growth-enabled images, Sandbox0 automatically expands the writable RootFS as free space runs low, within a configured sparse logical ceiling up to 64 TiB. Agent processes keep running. Growth is enabled in the qualified Cloud region; confirm activation for other regions. Existing images and snapshots retain their captured storage geometry. The ceiling is logical capacity, not preallocated host disk.

Expanse can recommend resource requests on existing infrastructure; changing a predicted memory or GPU allocation is different from expanding the actual persistent RootFS of a running agent. Storage growth remains a backend concern.

Files while compute is paused

Sandbox0's Files API reads persistent files without resuming compute. Filesystem-only pauses also permit edits; retained-memory pauses are read-only and reject mutations with 409. SSH, SFTP, file watching, and runtime-only mounts require running compute.

See paused file operations →

Existing infrastructure remains the execution backend

Expanse collects workload evidence on the customer’s cluster, predicts requirements before submission, and learns from that environment. Its current homepage explicitly places it alongside the scheduler. The underlying cluster still supplies hardware, operating systems, job execution and storage.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Resource predictions are not filesystem or memory checkpoints

Recommended GPU allocation, runtime and failure risk can help choose a job shape. They do not establish a per-user persistent RootFS, a saved-process restore API, or compute-free filesystem operations. Those lifecycle guarantees belong to whichever execution platform and storage the customer configures.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Evaluate the software quote and cluster bill separately

Current public pages invite a discovery conversation and do not publish a numeric software rate card. Request deployment, support and pricing terms for the actual cluster. Existing GPU capacity and storage costs remain separate from an Expanse software agreement.

Source 1 ↗Source 2 ↗

Pricing

Compare billing models, then price your workload

CPU allocation, memory, billing minimums, disk, plan fees, and supported workload differ. These meters are not equal-performance machine quotes. Confirm region, resource units, and included allowances before estimating a total.

Expanse Cluster Intelligence

Pricing reviewed 2026-10-19

Expanse software
Request current deployment and commercial terms
Request the effective software and support quote.
Rate source ↗
Underlying CPU/GPU cluster
Separate existing infrastructure cost
No GPU-hour rental rate should be inferred from resource predictions.
Rate source ↗

The current product is cluster intelligence, not a universal GPU VM tariff. Homepage comparison figures are labeled illustrative and are not a guaranteed performance improvement, a benchmark of Sandbox0, or an equivalent machine price.

Check current Expanse Cluster Intelligence pricing ↗

Sandbox0

$0.015/GiB-hour compute (billed by the second at approximately $0.000004167/GiB-second), plus $0.02/GiB-month of retained incremental RootFS and memory checkpoint data. Shared base images and platform recovery retention are excluded; paused sandboxes accrue storage charges only.

Compute / GiB-hour
$0.015
Retained data / GiB-month
$0.02
Paused compute
$0.00

A 4 GiB agent, 100 running hours

$6.00 compute

4 GiB × 100 hours, billed by the second. Keeping 20 GiB of billable incremental data for a full billing month adds $0.40. CPU is derived from memory by the platform; choose a tier that fits your workload.

Understand storage billing →

Before migrating from Expanse Cluster Intelligence

  1. Identify whether the need is cluster prediction, failure diagnosis or interactive agent execution, and record scheduler and telemetry integrations.
  2. Keep required Expanse cluster integrations while moving only compatible Linux agent execution; export files from the actual storage backend.
  3. Validate system-package retention, online RootFS growth, supported paused files, and end-to-end orchestration of existing cluster jobs.

Common questions

Is Sandbox0 a drop-in Expanse Cluster Intelligence replacement?

Evaluate API compatibility and product scope. These products serve different core workflows, so a change may require a different architecture.

Does keeping files also keep a running agent?

Filesystem state and volatile process state are separate. Sandbox0 requires explicit compatible memory checkpoints to preserve running processes; its default filesystem resume starts fresh processes.

Sources and review scope

The Boat team's Battleships directory is the discovery source. References below describe the product and plan discussed on this page. Check current availability, regional terms and billing units before migrating. Where the cited material does not establish a capability or price, the comparison identifies that uncertainty.

Battleships research record ↗expanse.sh/ ↗docs.expanse.sh/ ↗expanse.sh/product ↗Sandbox0 RootFS capacity →

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