Pega offers two models for deploying Pega applications on a cloud system:

• Pega Cloud Services: Pega manages your cloud service, which is optimized for running Pega applications in a cloud environment. A Pega Cloud Services subscription is the fastest time to value. For more information about Pega Cloud Services, see Pega Cloud.
• Client-managed cloud: Pega clients manage the orchestration, automation, and operation of their cloud environments on any of the validated infrastructure providers, including the security, and software maintenance.

Standardized container deployment

Pega supports a standardized deployment solution using Kubernetes across client-managed environments. This solution offers the following advantages:

• A well-known cloud deployment standard that is easy to adapt and automate.
• An extensible deployment of client-focused configurations, such as security modules.

Prior to Pega Platform 8.2, Pega supported deployments on virtual machines in client-managed cloud environments. For an overview and details instructions, see Cloud Choice deployments prior to Pega Platform 8.2.

What is client-managed cloud?

To support your ability to use the Pega client-managed Pega Infinity™ deployment solution, Pega provides customized tools and Docker images to deploy Pega Infinity in your preferred cloud environment. Pega clients complete the orchestration, automation, and operation of their cloud environments by customizing a simple set of parameters. Pega simplifies the solution by providing Pega-specific docker images to manage Pega-required services and provides clients support to use standardized, open-source containers to manage their deployment logging and monitoring, and, when needed, Cassandra servers.

The client-managed Pega deployment solution allows you to manage the performance and monitoring and provides guidance to allow you to set the scaling of your Kubernetes pods to match needs of your business application and dynamic customer requests.

Responsibilities and support model

Pega clients are responsible for the orchestration, automation, and operation of their cloud environments on any of the validated infrastructure providers. Pega clients (or partners) manage: performance, monitoring, scaling, security, and maintenance such as applying Pega software upgrades and patches.

Pega supplies Docker images and the underlying Kubernetes configuration files that clients use to install and deploy Pega Platform software. Pega coordinates the testing of updates to the underlying infrastructure model and works with clients to provide ensure their deployments run securely in their Kubernetes environment of choice.

For service dependencies that rely on third party tools, Pega provides sample configurations and information about supported versions. Pega does not maintain third party tools and does not actively update dependency versions. Clients are responsible for updating the dependencies used in their own environments.