> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.e6data.com/query-engine/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.e6data.com/query-engine/get-started/deployment-models.md).

# Deployment Models

The two e6data deployment models - Serverless (e6data runs the compute) and In Your VPC (compute runs in your Kubernetes cluster) - and how to choose.

e6data offers two deployment models. In both, the **Control Plane** (workspace management, access control, monitoring, releases) is hosted by e6data, and **your data always stays in your cloud account** - only the **Compute Plane** differs.

|                                               | Serverless                      | In Your VPC                                        |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Compute Plane (clusters, planners, executors) | Runs in e6data's cloud          | Runs in **your** Kubernetes cluster (EKS, AKS)     |
| Catalog metadata, query history               | e6data                          | Your cluster + your cloud storage                  |
| Your data                                     | Your cloud account, never moved | Your cloud account, never moved                    |
| Query traffic                                 | To e6data's managed compute     | Stays entirely within your network                 |
| You manage                                    | Nothing - fully managed         | The Kubernetes cluster, IAM, and storage lifecycle |

## Serverless

e6data runs the Compute Plane in its own cloud environment - you don't manage Kubernetes, node pools, or upgrades. e6data accesses your storage through cloud-native identity federation (no long-lived credentials): an AWS IAM role with a trust policy, or an Azure User-Assigned Managed Identity with federated credentials. You grant read-only access and can revoke it at any time.

**Choose Serverless when** you want the fastest start, don't need to host compute yourself, and want e6data to handle scaling and upgrades. **Less ideal when** compliance mandates compute inside your VPC, you have strict data-locality needs, or you're air-gapped.

Set up: [AWS Serverless](/query-engine/guides/deployment/aws-serverless.md) · [Azure Serverless](/query-engine/guides/deployment/azure-serverless.md).

## In Your VPC

The Compute Plane runs inside your own Kubernetes cluster, so query traffic never leaves your private network. The Compute Plane authenticates to your storage with the cloud's standard workload identity (EKS Pod Identity/IRSA, or Azure Workload Identity) - no long-lived credentials are stored. The cluster needs **outbound** access on port 443 to e6data's Control Plane, event sink, monitoring, and container registry (plus public Helm/cert-manager registries during setup); no inbound ports are required.

Operational duties are shared: you own the Kubernetes cluster, cloud IAM, and storage lifecycle; e6data owns component releases, patches, and the workspace lifecycle.

**Choose In Your VPC when** security or compliance requires compute inside your VPC, you're in a regulated industry, or your data sources have no public routing. **Less ideal when** you want the fastest start or don't have a platform team to run the cluster.

Set up: [AWS In-VPC / CloudPrem](/query-engine/guides/deployment/aws-in-vpc.md) · [Azure In-VPC / CloudPrem](/query-engine/guides/deployment/azure-in-vpc.md).

## See also

* [About e6data](/query-engine/get-started/readme/about-e6data.md)
* [Quickstart](/query-engine/get-started/quickstart.md) - pick a path and run your first query.
* [Deployment guides](/query-engine/guides/deployment/aws-serverless.md) - full per-cloud setup.


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