> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://arize-ax.mintlify.site/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installation on IBM Cloud

> Step-by-step path to deploy Arize AX on IBM Kubernetes Service (IKS).

## Overview

Use this path when you install Arize AX on **IBM Kubernetes Service (IKS)** with **IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS)** for Gazette and ArizeDB data. The primary guide assumes a standard Kubernetes cluster on IBM Cloud VPC Gen2.

**Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud (ROKS)** is also supported on the same COS and VPC building blocks. These pages cover the standard IKS path; contact Arize AI for the ROKS-specific runbook.

Throughout this section, **distribution archive** means the **Arize AX release tarball** you download with your JWT (Helm chart, `arize.sh`, Terraform, examples, and offline HTML docs).

**Read the ordered steps below once** so you know the sequence (download → cluster → install → ingress → validate). Complete [Prerequisites](/docs/ax/selfhosting/getting-started/prerequisites), including [deployment types](/docs/ax/selfhosting/getting-started/deployment-types) for your network model, before you start. Then open each linked page below; you can return here anytime as the hub.

For the full Helm reference, use **Advanced → Helm** in the HTML documentation under **`docs/`** inside your extracted distribution archive.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Download the distribution">
    Obtain the distribution archive with your JWT, extract it, and review the Helm chart, scripts, and example manifests included in the bundle.

    <CardGroup cols={1}>
      <Card title="Download and extract" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/getting-started/download-and-unpack-the-distribution" icon="download">
        JWT, `get_latest.sh`, folder layout, and what to open next.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="IKS cluster and IBM Cloud resources">
    Prepare an existing IKS cluster, IBM COS buckets, HMAC credentials and storage classes.

    <CardGroup cols={1}>
      <Card title="Existing IKS cluster" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/installation/ibm/cluster-existing-iks" icon="server">
        Worker sizing, COS buckets, HMAC keys, storage classes, and namespaces.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install Arize AX">
    Configure `values.yaml` for IBM Cloud (`cloud: "ceph"`, COS HMAC, in-cluster or external Postgres) and install the operator chart.

    <CardGroup cols={2}>
      <Card title="Quick start" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/installation/ibm/install-arize-quickstart" icon="zap">
        **Use when:** you want a complete example `values.yaml` and a single Helm command to get running fast.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Detailed walkthrough" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/installation/ibm/install-arize-detailed" icon="book">
        **Use when:** you need every field explained, base64 secrets, optional mirroring, and `./arize.sh` versus Helm called out step by step.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create ingress">
    Expose the UI and APIs with an IBM Cloud load balancer or Ingress, or use NGINX, Istio, Kong, or another controller with the bundled example manifests.

    <CardGroup cols={2}>
      <Card title="IBM Cloud load balancer" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/installation/ibm/ingress-ibm-cloud" icon="cloud">
        LoadBalancer services, Ingress, `appBaseUrl` / `expBaseUrl`, and DNS.
      </Card>

      <Card title="NGINX, Istio, Kong, …" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/installation/ingress/other-controllers" icon="plug">
        Example paths under `examples/endpoints` and `ingressMode` guidance.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Validate the deployment">
    Confirm pods are healthy, ingress and DNS resolve, and the UI is reachable before sending data.

    <CardGroup cols={1}>
      <Card title="Validation checklist" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/installation/validate-deployment" icon="check-circle">
        `kubectl` health checks, ingress inspection, login, and SDK testing.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use Arize AX">
    Open the public Arize AX documentation for product guides and configure your application with the on-prem SDK documentation.

    <CardGroup cols={3}>
      <Card title="Arize AX documentation" href="https://docs.arize.com" icon="book-open">
        Product documentation, quickstarts, and observability guides on docs.arize.com.
      </Card>

      <Card title="SDK usage (self-hosted)" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/guides/sdk-usage" icon="code">
        Python SDK versions and endpoint configuration for self-hosted deployments.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Integrations" href="/docs/ax/selfhosting/guides/integrations" icon="plug">
        Framework and provider integrations for tracing and monitoring.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
  </Step>
</Steps>