ETHOS is one of the many detection engines that AMP uses to continuously protect you from malware. It is only available in the public cloud, as it requires a large amount of data and processing power to operate.
ETHOS uses machine learning to analyze the behavior and characteristics of files and determine their maliciousness. It can detect both known and unknown threats, as well as polymorphic and metamorphic malware that can change their appearance or code. ETHOS is part of the AMP cloud's dynamic analysis capabilities, which also include SPERO and Threat Grid12.
The private cloud instance of AMP does not have ETHOS, as it is meant to be an on-premises, self-contained solution that satisfies stringent privacy requirements. The private cloud instance also does not have SPERO or Threat Grid, unless they are deployed separately as additional appliances. The private cloud instance relies on the TETRA detection engine, which is a signature-based engine that can identify known malware. TETRA is updated regularly with new signatures from the AMP cloud, but it cannot detect unknown or zero-day threats as effectively as ETHOS34.
Therefore, the capability that is exclusive to the AMP public cloud instance as compared to the private cloud instance is the ETHOS detection engine. References: 1: Cisco Advanced Malware Protection Private Cloud Appliance Data Sheet 2: What is AMP Private Cloud 3: Deploy Cisco AMP Private Cloud on Cisco HyperFlex Systems 4: AMP Private Cloud vs Public Cloud Dashboard different