Choose a Deployment Option
AISIX AI Gateway runs the same gateway in every deployment option, and you always run that gateway in your own environment. What differs between the options is where the control plane — the management layer for resources, policies, credentials, and usage — runs, or whether you run one at all.
This page compares the three options so you can pick one and move to its first step.
In every option, the gateway — the data plane — runs in your environment and calls AI providers directly. Live AI traffic never leaves your infrastructure and never routes through the control plane or through API7. The control plane only manages configuration and collects operational signals.
Deployment Options at a Glance
| Option | Control plane | Gateway (data plane) | Resource management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-Source AISIX Gateway | None | You run it | Declarative resources.yaml file |
| AISIX Hybrid Cloud | Operated by API7 | You run it | dashboard or AISIX Cloud Admin API |
| AISIX On-Premises | You run it | You run it | dashboard or AISIX Cloud Admin API |
AISIX Hybrid Cloud and AISIX On-Premises both use the AISIX managed control plane, with the same dashboard, AISIX Cloud Admin API, resource model, and gateway workflow. The main difference is where the control plane runs, who operates it, and where its data is stored; specific commercial capabilities can vary by offering and release. The open-source gateway has no control plane; you configure it entirely from a declarative file.
Open-Source AISIX Gateway
The Apache 2.0 AISIX gateway on its own, with no control plane. You declare providers, models, caller API keys, and policies in a resources.yaml file that the gateway loads at startup and reloads on SIGHUP.
- Choose this if you want the open-source gateway, you will build or integrate your own management and automation, and you do not need managed organizations, usage reporting, or budgets.
- You operate the gateway process, its resources file, and upgrades.
- Start with the Open-Source AISIX Gateway Quickstart to declare a
resources.yamlfile, start the gateway, and send a first request.
AISIX Hybrid Cloud
The AISIX managed control plane is operated by API7 as a service, while you deploy the gateway in your own environment and connect it to the control plane, which projects environment resources to it. This split — a hosted control plane with a self-run gateway — is the hybrid model. You manage resources through the dashboard or the AISIX Cloud Admin API.
- Choose this if you want managed resource management, usage reporting, budgets, and governance without operating the control plane yourself, and you are comfortable with the control plane running as an API7-operated service while your AI traffic stays in your environment.
- You operate the gateway; API7 operates the control plane.
- Start with the AISIX Hybrid Cloud overview to see the managed operating model and arrange access.
AISIX On-Premises
The AISIX managed control plane and the gateways both run in your own infrastructure, including fully air-gapped environments. You manage resources through the same dashboard or AISIX Cloud Admin API as AISIX Hybrid Cloud.
- Choose this if data residency, network isolation, compliance, or air-gap requirements mean the control plane must also run in your environment.
- You operate the complete private deployment — both the control plane and the gateways.
- Start with the AISIX On-Premises Quickstart to bring up the control plane, create an environment, connect a gateway, and send a first request.
Compare Capabilities in Detail
For the full deployment topology and a capability-by-capability comparison of the three options, see Deployment Options.
Move between Options
The gateway runtime and the proxy API are the same across every option. When you change how the gateway is managed, applications keep the same AISIX endpoint conventions and model aliases.
The management path does change. The open-source gateway loads dynamic resources from a resources.yaml file, while a managed gateway receives resources projected from the control plane. Plan to recreate gateway resources when moving to or from a managed control plane rather than treating it as an in-place switch of the startup configuration.