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nxtDeploy is the deployment and management platform that transforms bare servers into a fully operational cloud infrastructure. It provides a guided wizard-style interface for every stage. This covers server preparation, hardware validation, production deployment, and ongoing lifecycle management.
Prerequisites — Before starting any deployment workflow, ensure you have:
  • Physical or virtual servers running NxtSightOS
  • Root or sudo access on all target nodes
  • Network connectivity between all cluster nodes
  • A valid nxtDeploy activation key from license.NxtSight.tech

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Deployment Workflow

Follow this sequence for a successful deployment. Each stage builds on the previous one.

Activate nxtDeploy

Enter your activation key to unlock the platform. Without activation, all tools remain locked.

Bootstrap

Validate hardware, install dependencies (Python, Ansible, CLI clients).

Hosts

Build cluster inventory, establish SSH, assign node roles.

nxtStore Bootstrap

Deploy the distributed storage cluster. Skip this step if not using nxtStore as your storage backend.

Configuration

Set networking, storage, monitoring, and feature toggles.

Images

Pull or extract container images for all services.

Deploy

Run the deployment playbook (30-90 minutes).

License

Activate the deployed cluster with your license file.

Management

Create users, projects, quotas, and credentials.
For production deployments, always run Prechecks before Deploy in the Operations tool. Prechecks validate ports, services, and configurations before committing to a full deployment.

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Pre-Deployment Checklist

Complete every step below before initiating your first deployment.

Install NxtSightOS on All Nodes

All target servers must be running NxtSightOS. NxtSightOS includes all required kernel modules, drivers, and base packages pre-configured for cloud deployment.
NxtSightOS is available as an ISO from your NxtSight representative or the license portal. See the NxtSightOS product page for details.

Verify Hardware Requirements

Confirm every target server meets or exceeds these minimums:
Each cloud service container consumes 200-500 MB of RAM. A production control plane with all services enabled requires 32 GB minimum.

Plan Your Network

Separate traffic types onto dedicated VLANs and subnets for security and performance:
Never mix management and provider traffic on a single NIC. If tenant instance traffic saturates the interface, the control plane becomes unreachable.

Prepare DNS and SSL

For production deployments with HTTPS API endpoints:
  • Configure DNS records pointing to your Internal and External VIP addresses
  • Obtain TLS/SSL certificates for your domain (wildcard or per-service)
  • nxtDeploy supports both internal and external API TLS independently
Domain and SSL configuration is optional for lab/testing environments. You can use raw IP addresses without TLS for initial deployments.

Gather Credentials

Collect the following before starting:

Choose Architecture and Node Roles

Select the deployment architecture that matches your requirements:

All-in-One (AIO)

Single server runs all roles. For labs, demos, and development. Minimum 1 node.

Hyper-Converged (HCI)

Each node runs compute + storage together. Reduces hardware count. Minimum 3 nodes for HA.

Distributed

Dedicated nodes per role — separate controller, compute, and storage. Maximum performance and isolation. Minimum 5+ nodes.
For production environments, NxtSight recommends HCI with a minimum of 3 nodes or Distributed with 5+ nodes for full high availability.
Deploying on servers that do not meet minimum requirements leads to failures 30-45 minutes into deployment. Always run Bootstrap hardware checks first.

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Platform Tools

nxtDeploy provides 11 specialized tools, each handling a distinct stage of the deployment and management lifecycle.

Bootstrap

Server readiness validation and dependency installation

Hosts

Cluster inventory management and SSH connectivity setup

Configuration

Cloud settings via guided forms — networking, storage, features

Advanced Config

Per-service configuration file editor with version tracking

Images

Container image management, registry, and extraction

Operations

Deploy, upgrade, reconfigure, and destroy cloud services

Management

Users, projects, quotas, and credential management

Cloud Fleet

Interactive infrastructure topology map

nxtStore Storage

Distributed storage deployment and tier management

Cluster License

Cluster licensing and activation

nxtDeploy Key

nxtDeploy tool activation and license management

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Next Steps

nxtDeploy Key

Start here — activate nxtDeploy before using any other tools

Bootstrap

Validate server hardware and install all required dependencies