Choose a Deployment Model

Use this section to select a deployment model that matches your infrastructure, operational maturity, and scaling requirements.

Deployment Models at a Glance

Akeyless Gateway supports self-managed runtime options, cloud-managed Kubernetes platforms, and cloud-managed serverless platforms.

• Self-managed runtime options are fastest to start with and work well for local environments, virtual machines, cloud compute instances (for example, Amazon EC2 and Google Compute Engine), and self-managed Kubernetes.
• Cloud-managed Kubernetes platforms are best when you need high availability, policy-driven operations, and managed control-plane capabilities.
• Cloud-managed serverless platforms are best when your priority is minimizing infrastructure operations and scaling elastically with traffic.

Deployment Options

Advantages and Disadvantages by Model

Self-Managed Runtime Options

Advantages:

• Fastest path to deployment and testing.
• Low operational complexity.
• Good fit for development, labs, and small production environments.

Disadvantages:

• Limited native high availability.
• Manual operational workflows compared to managed platforms.
• Less suitable for large, multi-team platforms.

Self-Managed Kubernetes with Helm

Advantages:

• Strong scalability and high availability capabilities.
• Better fit for GitOps and policy-based operations.
• Integrates with existing cluster-level security and observability patterns.

Disadvantages:

• Higher operational complexity than managed Kubernetes platforms.
• Requires Kubernetes and Helm expertise.
• Initial setup is longer than container-only deployment.

Cloud-Managed Kubernetes Platforms

Advantages:

• Aligns with cloud-native identity and service integrations.
• Simplifies platform alignment for cloud-specific operational teams.
• Supports multi-cluster and enterprise patterns.

Disadvantages:

• Tighter coupling to a specific cloud platform.
• Additional cloud-service configuration overhead.
• Portability can require extra planning.

Cloud-Managed Serverless Platforms

Advantages:

• Minimal infrastructure management.
• Elastic scaling for variable workloads.
• Can reduce idle infrastructure cost.

Disadvantages:

• Service limitations compared to full Gateway deployments.
• Platform-specific architecture and dependencies.
• Operational behavior differs from long-running cluster/container deployments.

After Deployment

• Configure runtime settings in Configure Gateway.
• Plan observability and incident response in Operate Gateway.
• Validate required egress paths in Gateway Network Connectivity.