# 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: 2026-10-20

## 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).
- The technician VPN.

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,
and air-gapped or compliance-constrained environments.

## 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?" | Free tier (cloud): discovery is free |
| 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/