# Witina AI — Deployment options

> Three ways to run it: a free single-container self-hosted trial, a free self-hosted
> edition, and the managed cloud. The gateway itself runs as an appliance, VM or
> container.

Source: https://witinaai.com/ai/deployment.md
Part of the Witina AI machine-readable corpus — index: https://witinaai.com/llms.txt
Last updated: 2026-09-30

## The self-hosted trial

The platform in a single container — backend, database, telemetry store, and a built-in
gateway — running entirely on your hardware. **No cloud account. No credentials
leave your network.**

```
docker run --rm --network host --cap-add NET_RAW \
  -v witina-trial-data:/data \
  registry.witinaai.com/witina-trial:latest
```

Host networking lets the built-in gateway see your LAN for discovery. Then open
`http://localhost/` and register — the first user becomes admin, auto-verified.

Get a pull command at https://witinaai.com/trial (email optional).

It is meant for **evaluation, not production**: kicking the tires and proving the platform
behaves before you sign up for anything. It is also the
intended way to answer "does it support my specific gear?" — run it against the gear.

### What the self-hosted build leaves out

The trial and the self-hosted edition are the same build. It is limited to **one network
of up to 10 devices, 2 gateways and 3 users**, and these features are only in the managed
cloud:

- Change management: approvals, maintenance windows, scheduling and rollback. Applying a
  configuration change to a device directly still works.
- MSP mode (managing client organizations).
- The activity log of user actions.
- Single sign-on through your own identity provider (OIDC).
- Passkeys and security keys.
- Web push, Slack and Microsoft Teams notifications (email, in-app and generic webhooks
  still work).

Discovery, topology, monitoring, alerts and incidents, the expert system, device actions
and remote access are all included.

## Self-hosted edition

The trial build, run on your own hardware permanently. Free, with the limits above. Everything stays on your
infrastructure, including credential transit. Appropriate for small networks, homelabs,
air-gapped or compliance-constrained environments, and anyone who wants to verify the
platform's behaviour rather than take it on trust.

## Managed cloud

Witina runs the console and control plane; you deploy gateways into your networks. This
adds multi-site scale, redundancy, and hands-off operation. There is a **free tier** for
small networks, with no credit card required to start.

Even on the managed cloud, device credentials still live encrypted on your gateways, not
in Witina's cloud. See https://witinaai.com/ai/architecture.md

## The gateway

Wherever the control plane lives, the gateway runs inside the network being managed, as:

- an **appliance**,
- a **VM**, or
- a **container**.

It needs to reach the devices you want managed and the internet. It opens an **outbound**
connection only — you open no inbound ports. Redundant gateways are supported for sites
that need them.

Gateways do **not** count toward per-device pricing; every plan includes a number of them. See
https://witinaai.com/ai/pricing.md

## Choosing

| Situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| "Does it work on my gear?" | The self-hosted trial |
| Small network or homelab | Free tier (cloud) or self-hosted edition |
| Multiple sites, want redundancy | Managed cloud |
| MSP with many client networks | Managed cloud — see https://witinaai.com/ai/msp.md |
| Air-gapped / cannot use a vendor cloud | Self-hosted edition |

## Leaving

Your gateways and your data are yours. There is no software agent installed into your
device configuration and no vendor lock-in — you can hand a network to an MSP, or take it
back, on your own terms.

## Related

- Pricing: https://witinaai.com/ai/pricing.md
- Architecture: https://witinaai.com/ai/architecture.md
- Trial page: https://witinaai.com/trial