> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nvcf/llms.txt.
> For full documentation content, see https://docs.nvidia.com/nvcf/llms-full.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.nvidia.com/nvcf/_mcp/server.
# Deployment
Self-hosted NVCF installation includes the core components required for NVCF inference. Additional optional components such as caching and low latency streaming support are also available. Vanity Gateway routing is available only in stack packages that include the Vanity Gateway addon.
For a fresh install, start with the [Quickstart](/nvcf/dev/quickstart). The quickstart uses `nvcf-cli self-hosted up` to install the control plane, register a GPU cluster, install NVCA, and run basic health checks.
For a full list of required artifacts, see [self-hosted-artifact-manifest](/nvcf/dev/manifest).
Want to try NVCF locally first? See [Local Development](/nvcf/dev/local-development) to create a k3d cluster, then use the [Quickstart](/nvcf/dev/quickstart) local k3d flow.
## Choose an installation path
| Path | Use when | Starting point |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One-click CLI installation | You want the fastest fresh install and cluster registration path. | [Quickstart](/nvcf/dev/quickstart) |
| Helmfile installation | You need manual release control, partial recovery, upgrades, or detailed Helmfile operations. | [Helmfile Installation](/nvcf/dev/helmfile-installation) |
| Standalone chart installation | You need GitOps integration or chart-by-chart ownership. | [Standalone Deployment](/nvcf/dev/standalone-deployment-overview) |
The control plane and GPU cluster can be the same Kubernetes cluster or separate clusters. The one-click CLI flow supports both layouts.
For remote one-click installs, prepare the Gateway API ingress path and CLI
endpoint configuration before running `nvcf-cli self-hosted up`. See
[Quickstart](/nvcf/dev/quickstart) and [Gateway Routing](/nvcf/dev/gateway-routing).
## Overview
Installation steps are as follows:
1. Mirror NVCF artifacts to your registry. Follow the [image mirroring instructions](/nvcf/dev/image-mirroring) to pull artifacts from NGC and push them to your registry.
2. Create or select Kubernetes cluster targets. You need a cluster for the control plane and a GPU cluster for function workloads. These can be the same cluster or separate clusters.
3. Install the self-hosted control plane. Use the [Quickstart](/nvcf/dev/quickstart) for a one-click fresh install, [Helmfile Installation](/nvcf/dev/helmfile-installation) for manual Helmfile operations, or [Standalone Deployment](/nvcf/dev/standalone-deployment-overview) for chart-by-chart installation.
4. Register a GPU cluster and install the NVIDIA Cluster Agent. The quickstart performs this step. For manual installation paths, see [Self-Managed Clusters](/nvcf/dev/self-managed-clusters).
5. Install Low Latency Streaming if needed for streaming workloads. See [LLS Installation](/nvcf/dev/lls-installation).
6. Install optional enhancements, such as caches, low latency streaming, or Vanity Gateway routing when your stack package includes that addon. See [Optional Enhancements](/nvcf/dev/optional-enhancements).
## Kubernetes Cluster Requirements
### Cluster Version
- Any official supported Kubernetes version
- Support for dynamic persistent volume provisioning
### Required Operators and Components
**NVIDIA GPU Operator**
Required for GPU workload scheduling. The GPU Operator automates the management of all NVIDIA software components needed to provision GPUs in Kubernetes, including:
- NVIDIA device drivers
- Kubernetes device plugin for GPU discovery
- GPU feature discovery for node labeling
- Container runtime integration (containerd, CRI-O, or Docker)
- Monitoring and telemetry tools
See [NVIDIA GPU Operator documentation](https://docs.nvidia.com/datacenter/cloud-native/gpu-operator/latest/) for installation instructions.
**Fake GPU Operator for Development/Testing:**
For environments without actual GPU hardware, install the fake GPU operator to simulate
GPU resources. See [fake-gpu-operator](/nvcf/dev/fake-gpu-operator) for full instructions.
**Network Policies**
Your cluster must support Kubernetes Network Policies if network isolation is required.
**Persistent Storage**
A StorageClass must be configured for persistent volumes. Common options:
- Amazon EKS: `gp3` (default)
- Local development: `local-path`
- Other platforms: Any CSI-compatible storage class
Some cloud providers have minimum PVC size requirements. For example, AWS EBS gp3 volumes have a 1Gi minimum.
### Cluster Sizing and Storage
See [infrastructure-sizing](/nvcf/dev/infrastructure-sizing) for node pool specifications, storage
recommendations, and three recommended sizing tiers (Development, Minimal HA,
and Production).
