Choose your Chef 360 Platform deployment path

Before you start setting up Chef 360 Platform, decide where it will run and who will manage the infrastructure. This choice determines the requirements, deployment steps, and operational responsibilities for your environment.

Use this page to choose the right path for your organization: a hosted SaaS service operated by Progress, a self-managed deployment with an embedded Kubernetes cluster managed by Chef, or a self-managed deployment on a Kubernetes cluster that your organization operates. After choosing a path, follow the linked steps to get access, deploy the platform, and prepare it to manage your nodes.

Choose how to use Chef 360 Platform

Choose the option that matches how your organization wants to operate Chef 360 Platform:

Choose SaaS: Progress hosts and operates the platform. You don’t install or manage Kubernetes or Chef 360 Platform Server infrastructure.
Choose an embedded cluster: a self-managed deployment where Chef provisions and manages the embedded Kubernetes environment as part of the Chef 360 Platform Server deployment.
Choose BYOK (Bring Your Own Kubernetes): a self-managed deployment on a Kubernetes cluster that your organization already operates and controls.

For a detailed technical comparison, see the deployment model overview.

Considerations

Use the following factors to compare the three options before you decide:

Consideration	SaaS	Embedded Cluster	BYOK
Infrastructure ownership	Progress owns and operates all infrastructure.	Your organization hosts the servers; Chef provisions and manages the embedded Kubernetes environment on them.	Your organization owns, provisions, and operates the Kubernetes cluster and all supporting infrastructure.
Operational effort	Lowest. No Kubernetes or platform server administration.	Lower than BYOK. You manage the host servers; Chef manages the Kubernetes layer.	Highest. Your team manages Kubernetes networking, storage, security, and lifecycle alongside the platform.
Cost	Included in your SaaS subscription; no separate infrastructure cost.	Infrastructure costs for the hosts you provide, plus the subscription.	Infrastructure and Kubernetes operational costs, plus the subscription.
Compliance and control	Lowest direct control; relies on Progress’s hosted environment and compliance posture.	More control than SaaS; your organization controls the host environment while Chef manages the cluster layer.	Highest control; your organization enforces its own compliance, network, and security policies end to end.
Support model	Progress supports the hosted platform and its infrastructure.	Progress supports the platform; your team supports the host infrastructure.	Progress supports the platform; your team supports the Kubernetes cluster and its infrastructure.

Use these checks to confirm your selected option matches your situation:

Choose SaaS if your priority is using the platform without operating its underlying infrastructure.
Choose an embedded cluster if you need a self-managed deployment but want Chef to manage the Kubernetes environment.
Choose BYOK if your organization owns the Kubernetes platform and needs control over its lifecycle and configuration.

Choose SaaS

Chef 360 SaaS is the hosted deployment model for Chef 360 Platform. Progress operates the platform infrastructure, so your organization doesn’t install, patch, or scale Kubernetes, Chef 360 Platform Server, or the supporting data services.

Who operates the infrastructure

Progress owns and operates every layer of the infrastructure: the Kubernetes environment, Chef 360 Platform Server, and the supporting data services. Your organization interacts only with the platform itself, through its UI and APIs.

When to choose SaaS

Choose SaaS when your priority is using Chef 360 Platform’s capabilities rather than operating the infrastructure behind them. SaaS is a good fit when:

Your team wants the fastest path to a working platform, without provisioning servers or a Kubernetes cluster first.
You want Progress to handle platform upgrades, patching, and infrastructure scaling for you.
Your organization doesn’t require hosting the platform within its own network or data center.
You want predictable operational overhead, since there’s no Kubernetes or platform server administration to staff for.

If your organization must host the platform in its own infrastructure — for example, due to network isolation, data residency, or infrastructure ownership requirements — choose a self-managed option instead: an embedded cluster or BYOK.

Before you begin

Confirm your organization has, or can obtain, a Chef 360 SaaS subscription or evaluation entitlement. See Need access to this capability? on this page.
Review the SaaS requirements for your workstation, network, and nodes before you sign up.

Next step

Request access and sign up for Chef 360 SaaS, then sign in to the platform.

Check whether this applies

Confirm SaaS is the right fit before you sign up:

You don’t need to host the platform within your own network or data center.
Your organization is comfortable with Progress operating the underlying infrastructure and supporting it.
You don’t require direct control over the Kubernetes layer or the platform server’s host infrastructure.

If any of these don’t match your situation, review choose an embedded cluster or choose BYOK instead.

Choose an embedded cluster

An embedded cluster deployment is a self-managed option where your organization hosts Chef 360 Platform Server on its own infrastructure, while Chef provisions and manages the embedded Kubernetes environment that the platform runs on.

Who operates the infrastructure

Your organization provides and operates the host servers. Chef 360 Platform Server installs and manages its own embedded Kubernetes cluster on those hosts, so your team doesn’t need prior Kubernetes administration experience to run the platform.

When to choose an embedded cluster

Choose an embedded cluster when Chef 360 Platform Server must run in your infrastructure, but you don’t want to operate Kubernetes yourself. An embedded cluster is a good fit when:

Your organization requires the platform to run within its own network, data center, or cloud account, rather than a Progress-hosted environment.
Your team doesn’t have dedicated Kubernetes administrators, or you want to avoid the ongoing effort of managing a cluster.
You want Chef to handle Kubernetes-layer provisioning, upgrades, and lifecycle management, while your team manages the host servers.
You need more direct control over the platform’s infrastructure and compliance posture than SaaS provides, without taking on full Kubernetes operational responsibility.

If your organization already operates its own Kubernetes clusters, or requires direct control over cluster networking, storage, security, and lifecycle management, choose BYOK instead. If you don’t need to host the platform yourself at all, choose SaaS.

Before you begin

Confirm your organization has, or can obtain, a Chef 360 Platform self-managed subscription or evaluation entitlement. See Need access to this capability? on this page.
Review the system requirements and capacity planning guidance for the hosts you’ll provide.

Next step

Deploy Chef 360 Platform with an embedded cluster, then sign in to the platform.

Check whether this applies

Confirm an embedded cluster is the right fit before you deploy:

Your organization must host the platform in its own infrastructure.
Your team doesn’t want to provision, upgrade, or operate the Kubernetes layer directly.
You can provide and maintain the host servers that Chef 360 Platform Server and its embedded cluster run on.

If any of these don’t match your situation, review choose SaaS or choose BYOK instead.

Choose BYOK (Bring Your Own Kubernetes)

Bring Your Own Kubernetes (BYOK) is a self-managed deployment model where your organization installs Chef 360 Platform Server on a Kubernetes cluster that it already operates and controls.

Who operates the infrastructure

Your organization owns, provisions, and operates the Kubernetes cluster, including its networking, storage, security, and lifecycle management. Chef 360 Platform Server runs as a workload on that cluster.

When to choose BYOK

Choose BYOK when your organization already operates Kubernetes, or requires direct control over cluster networking, storage, security, and lifecycle management. BYOK is a good fit when:

Your organization already runs Kubernetes clusters and has the expertise to operate one for Chef 360 Platform Server.
You need to enforce your own networking, storage, security, or compliance policies at the cluster level, beyond what an embedded cluster allows.
Your organization standardizes on a specific Kubernetes distribution, version, or configuration that must host all of its workloads, including Chef 360 Platform Server.
You want full control over cluster upgrades, scaling, and lifecycle decisions, independent of the platform’s release cadence.

If your team doesn’t want to take on Kubernetes administration, choose an embedded cluster instead, so Chef manages the Kubernetes layer for you. If you don’t need to host the platform yourself at all, choose SaaS.

Before you begin

Confirm your organization has, or can obtain, a Chef 360 Platform self-managed subscription or evaluation entitlement. See Need access to this capability? on this page.
Review the Kubernetes requirements and capacity planning guidance for your cluster.

Next step

Install Chef 360 Platform Server on your Kubernetes cluster, then sign in to the platform.

Check whether this applies

Confirm BYOK is the right fit before you deploy:

Your organization already operates, or is prepared to operate, a production-grade Kubernetes cluster.
You need direct control over cluster networking, storage, security, or lifecycle management.
Your team can take on the ongoing operational responsibility for the Kubernetes layer, in addition to the platform itself.

If any of these don’t match your situation, review choose SaaS or choose an embedded cluster instead.

Next steps

After you choose how to use Chef 360 Platform, follow the path for your environment. When you can sign in to the platform, continue with the shared workstation and node setup steps.

Review the system requirements and confirm that your subscription, platform, network, storage, and nodes meet the applicable requirements.
Complete the first step for your chosen option:
- For SaaS, request access and sign in.
- For an embedded cluster, deploy Chef 360 Platform with an embedded cluster, then sign in to the platform.
- For BYOK, install Chef 360 Platform Server on your Kubernetes cluster, then sign in to the platform.
Set up your workstation by installing the Chef 360 Platform CLIs and registering your computer. Use the platform UI to download the CLIs, get the tenant root certificate, and register your workstation.
Prepare your infrastructure by enrolling or bootstrapping nodes. Choose single-node enrollment, cookbook-based enrollment, or self-enrollment based on how you want to connect the nodes.
Run a Courier job to verify that the platform can manage an enrolled node, then review the job’s execution details and results.

Need access to this capability?

Chef 360 Platform access depends on your product subscription, evaluation entitlement, or license. Review the Chef 360 Platform product page to learn more and connect with the marketing or account team about SaaS access, self-managed deployment options, and licensing.