AISIX Products and Deployment Options
AISIX is available as the open-source AISIX gateway or AISIX Cloud. The open-source gateway runs standalone without a control plane. AISIX Cloud adds a control plane for managing AISIX gateways and is available with an API7-hosted or customer-hosted control plane.
In every case, you run the AISIX gateway in your own environment. This page compares the standalone gateway with the two AISIX Cloud control-plane deployment options so you can choose an operating model.
Compare Your Options
| Product | AISIX Cloud deployment option | Control plane | Gateway location | Resource management |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-source AISIX gateway | Not applicable | None | Customer infrastructure | Declarative resources.yaml file |
| AISIX Cloud | Hybrid Cloud | API7-hosted | Customer infrastructure | Dashboard or AISIX Cloud Admin API |
| AISIX Cloud | On-Premises | Customer-hosted | Customer infrastructure | Dashboard or AISIX Cloud Admin API |
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 AISIX Cloud features such as 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 Cloud
Hybrid Cloud and On-Premises are the two AISIX Cloud control-plane deployment options. They use the same dashboard, AISIX Cloud Admin API, resource model, and gateway workflow. The difference is who hosts the control plane and where its data is stored; specific commercial capabilities can vary by deployment option and release.
Hybrid Cloud
API7 hosts the AISIX Cloud control plane, while you deploy the gateway in your own environment and connect it to the control plane, which projects environment resources to it. You manage resources through the dashboard or the AISIX Cloud Admin API.
- Choose this if you want centralized 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 Cloud overview to understand the commercial offering and arrange Hybrid Cloud access.
On-Premises
You host the AISIX Cloud control plane in your own infrastructure, including fully air-gapped environments. You manage resources through the same dashboard or AISIX Cloud Admin API as 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 On-Premises AISIX Cloud Quickstart to bring up the control plane, create an environment, connect a gateway, and send a first request.
For the full deployment topology and a capability-by-capability comparison of the three operating models, see Open-Source and AISIX Cloud Operating Models.
Plan a Migration
The gateway runtime and the proxy API are the same across every choice. 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 gateway connected to AISIX Cloud receives resources projected from the control plane. Plan to recreate gateway resources when moving to or from an AISIX Cloud control plane rather than treating it as an in-place switch of the startup configuration.