Deployment Guides
Deployment Guides
The Bridge runs from a single container image in three shapes. Pick the one that matches where you run software and how much scale and availability you need.
Not sure which to pick? If you’re trying the Bridge for the first time, start with Single-Server. Move to AWS or Kubernetes when you’re ready for production.
Choose Your Deployment
One container, one host. Best for trials, labs, and small teams.
A scalable, highly available cluster deployed with CloudFormation.
The same cluster on any Kubernetes platform (EKS, on-prem, and more).
How They Compare
| Single-Server | AWS (ECS) | Kubernetes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Trials, labs, small teams | Production on AWS | Production on Kubernetes |
| Containers | One (does everything) | Many (orchestrator + proxies + session workers) | Many (same roles, as pods) |
| Scales automatically | No | Yes | Yes |
| Survives a container failure | No | Yes | Yes |
| Database | PostgreSQL you provide | Amazon RDS (created for you) | PostgreSQL pod or managed service |
| Effort to set up | Lowest | Medium (one CloudFormation command) | Medium (one manifest, plus a cluster) |
What Every Deployment Needs
No matter which mode you choose, you’ll need:
- A PostgreSQL database. The Bridge stores all of its state here. It’s mandatory in every mode. The AWS guide creates one for you; the other guides show you how to point at one.
- A configuration file. A single YAML file that turns on the protocols you want and sets options. A fully documented reference file is available to download: bridge.reference.yaml. See Configuration.
- A few secrets. Most importantly an encryption key the Bridge uses to protect stored credentials. Each guide shows you how to generate and supply it.
- A license (recommended). The Bridge runs in limited mode without one. See Licensing.
Keep the encryption key (BRIDGE_ENCRYPTION_KEY_B64) safe and don’t change it
after go-live. It protects the credentials stored in your database; changing it
makes existing checkouts unreadable.
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