> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xloud.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# XDeploy Platform

> Complete deployment and lifecycle management for your Xloud cloud infrastructure

XDeploy is the deployment and management platform that transforms bare servers into a fully operational cloud infrastructure. It provides a guided wizard-style interface for every stage. This covers server preparation, hardware validation, production deployment, and ongoing lifecycle management.

<Note>
  **Prerequisites** — Before starting any deployment workflow, ensure you have:

  * Physical or virtual servers running [XOS](/products/xos)
  * Root or sudo access on all target nodes
  * Network connectivity between all cluster nodes
  * A valid XDeploy activation key from [license.xloud.tech](https://license.xloud.tech)
</Note>

***

## Full Deployment Walkthrough

<div className="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-6 items-center">
  <div>
    End-to-end XDEPLOY walkthrough — activation, hosts, XSDS storage, cluster configuration, load balancer, monitoring, advanced features, cluster licensing, and the Operations workflow that brings the cluster live.

    Watch this before you begin — the 20-minute tour covers every module and decision point you will hit during a production deployment.
  </div>

  <iframe className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d3LdoBMgjSg" title="How to Deploy Xloud with XDEPLOY — Full Walkthrough" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen />
</div>

***

## Deployment Workflow

Follow this sequence for a successful deployment. Each stage builds on the previous one.

<Steps titleSize="h3">
  <Step title="Activate XDeploy" icon="fingerprint">
    Enter your activation key to unlock the platform. Without activation, all tools remain locked.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bootstrap" icon="check">
    Validate hardware, install dependencies (Python, Ansible, CLI clients).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Hosts" icon="server">
    Build cluster inventory, establish SSH, assign node roles.
  </Step>

  <Step title="XSDS Bootstrap" icon="database">
    Deploy the distributed storage cluster. **Skip this step if not using XSDS as your storage backend.**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configuration" icon="settings">
    Set networking, storage, monitoring, and feature toggles.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Images" icon="package">
    Pull or extract container images for all services.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Deploy" icon="play">
    Run the deployment playbook (30-90 minutes).
  </Step>

  <Step title="License" icon="key">
    Activate the deployed cluster with your license file.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Management" icon="users">
    Create users, projects, quotas, and credentials.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  For production deployments, always run **Prechecks** before **Deploy** in the Operations tool. Prechecks validate ports, services, and configurations before committing to a full deployment.
</Tip>

***

## Pre-Deployment Checklist

Complete every step below before initiating your first deployment.

<Steps titleSize="h3">
  <Step title="Install XOS on All Nodes" icon="monitor">
    All target servers must be running **XOS**. XOS includes all required kernel modules, drivers, and base packages pre-configured for cloud deployment.

    <Info>XOS is available as an ISO from your Xloud representative or the [license portal](https://license.xloud.tech). See the [XOS product page](/products/xos) for details.</Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify Hardware Requirements" icon="cpu">
    Confirm every target server meets or exceeds these minimums:

    | Resource           | Minimum | Production                 |
    | ------------------ | ------- | -------------------------- |
    | CPU Cores          | 4       | 16+                        |
    | RAM                | 8 GB    | 32-64 GB                   |
    | Root Filesystem    | 100 GB  | 200+ GB                    |
    | Network Interfaces | 2       | 4+ (bonded for redundancy) |

    <Info>Each cloud service container consumes 200-500 MB of RAM. A production control plane with all services enabled requires 32 GB minimum.</Info>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Plan Your Network" icon="network">
    Separate traffic types onto dedicated VLANs and subnets for security and performance:

    | Network                    | Purpose                                        | VLAN Required          |
    | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
    | API / Management           | API endpoints, SSH, Ansible, internal services | Yes                    |
    | VM Traffic (Tenant)        | Instance-to-instance communication             | Yes                    |
    | Provider / External        | Floating IPs, VM internet access               | Yes                    |
    | Load Balancer (Octavia)    | Amphora management traffic                     | Yes (if LBaaS enabled) |
    | Storage Client (XSDS)      | Client-to-Ceph I/O                             | Recommended            |
    | Storage Replication (XSDS) | Ceph OSD-to-OSD replication                    | Recommended            |
    | Additional Provider VLANs  | Customer-specific external networks            | As needed              |

    <Warning>Never mix management and provider traffic on a single NIC. If tenant instance traffic saturates the interface, the control plane becomes unreachable.</Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Prepare DNS and SSL" icon="globe">
    For production deployments with HTTPS API endpoints:

    * Configure DNS records pointing to your Internal and External VIP addresses
    * Obtain TLS/SSL certificates for your domain (wildcard or per-service)
    * XDeploy supports both internal and external API TLS independently

    <Tip>Domain and SSL configuration is optional for lab/testing environments. You can use raw IP addresses without TLS for initial deployments.</Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Gather Credentials" icon="key">
    Collect the following before starting:

    * **SSH credentials** from the deployment node to all target servers (password or key-based)
    * **XDeploy activation key** (`.xlic`) from [license.xloud.tech](https://license.xloud.tech)
    * **Cluster license key** (`.xlic`) from [license.xloud.tech](https://license.xloud.tech)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Architecture and Node Roles" icon="layout">
    Select the deployment architecture that matches your requirements:

    <CardGroup cols={3}>
      <Card title="All-in-One (AIO)" icon="square" color="#197560">
        Single server runs all roles. For labs, demos, and development. Minimum 1 node.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Hyper-Converged (HCI)" icon="layers" color="#197560">
        Each node runs compute + storage together. Reduces hardware count. Minimum 3 nodes for HA.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Distributed" icon="grid" color="#197560">
        Dedicated nodes per role — separate controller, compute, and storage. Maximum performance and isolation. Minimum 5+ nodes.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>

    <Tip>For production environments, Xloud recommends HCI with a minimum of 3 nodes or Distributed with 5+ nodes for full high availability.</Tip>
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Deploying on servers that do not meet minimum requirements leads to failures 30-45 minutes into deployment. Always run [Bootstrap](/deployment/bootstrap) hardware checks first.
</Warning>

***

## Platform Tools

XDeploy provides 11 specialized tools, each handling a distinct stage of the deployment and management lifecycle.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Bootstrap" icon="circle-check" href="/deployment/bootstrap" color="#197560">
    Server readiness validation and dependency installation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Hosts" icon="server" href="/deployment/hosts" color="#197560">
    Cluster inventory management and SSH connectivity setup
  </Card>

  <Card title="Configuration" icon="settings" href="/deployment/configuration" color="#197560">
    Cloud settings via guided forms — networking, storage, features
  </Card>

  <Card title="Advanced Config" icon="file-text" href="/deployment/advanced-config" color="#197560">
    Per-service configuration file editor with version tracking
  </Card>

  <Card title="Images" icon="package" href="/deployment/images" color="#197560">
    Container image management, registry, and extraction
  </Card>

  <Card title="Operations" icon="play" href="/deployment/operations" color="#197560">
    Deploy, upgrade, reconfigure, and destroy cloud services
  </Card>

  <Card title="Management" icon="users" href="/deployment/management" color="#197560">
    Users, projects, quotas, and credential management
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cloud Fleet" icon="globe" href="/deployment/cloud-fleet" color="#197560">
    Interactive infrastructure topology map
  </Card>

  <Card title="XSDS Storage" icon="database" href="/deployment/xsds" color="#197560">
    Distributed storage deployment and tier management
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cluster License" icon="key" href="/deployment/cluster-license" color="#197560">
    Cluster licensing and activation
  </Card>

  <Card title="XDeploy Key" icon="fingerprint" href="/deployment/xdeploy-key" color="#197560">
    XDeploy tool activation and license management
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="XDeploy Key" icon="fingerprint" href="/deployment/xdeploy-key" color="#197560">
    Start here — activate XDeploy before using any other tools
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bootstrap" icon="circle-check" href="/deployment/bootstrap" color="#197560">
    Validate server hardware and install all required dependencies
  </Card>
</CardGroup>