Choosing a Deployment
GridNMS runs the same way everywhere — the only question is who hosts the web app and how you run your collectors. This page helps you choose.
The quick answer
Section titled “The quick answer”- Want the fastest start with nothing to maintain? → GridNMS Cloud
- Need your data to stay entirely on your own network? → Self-hosted
- Small on-prem site? → run the collector desktop app on a Mac or Windows machine
GridNMS Cloud (SaaS)
Section titled “GridNMS Cloud (SaaS)”We host and run the GridNMS web app. You sign up, then deploy one lightweight collector near your network so GridNMS can see your devices and receive your logs.
Choose this if you want:
- To be up and running in minutes with no servers to install or patch.
- Automatic updates and backups handled for you.
- To scale across many sites by adding collectors, not infrastructure.
Self-Hosted
Section titled “Self-Hosted”You run the entire GridNMS platform on your own infrastructure with Docker. Your inventory, events, metrics, and logs all stay on your network. The instance still makes a single outbound connection to GridNMS for licensing and updates (or none at all in an air-gapped deployment).
Choose this if you want:
- Full control and data residency on your own network.
- To run in a restricted or air-gapped environment.
- To integrate with your own backup, identity, and infrastructure tooling.
Collector desktop app
Section titled “Collector desktop app”The GridNMS Collector desktop app runs a collector natively on a Mac or Windows machine — point-and-click, no terminal. Handy for small on-prem sites, and it preserves the true source IP of syslog and SNMP traps. It connects to either GridNMS Cloud or your self-hosted instance. See Installing a Collector.
Where collectors fit (all deployments)
Section titled “Where collectors fit (all deployments)”No matter which option you pick, collectors are how GridNMS sees your network. You run at least one. Add more for additional sites or network segments — each collector watches the networks you assign to it.
| Your setup | What you run |
|---|---|
| Cloud, one site | 1 collector |
| Cloud, several sites | 1 collector per site |
| Self-hosted, one site | The stack (includes a collector) |
| Self-hosted, several sites | The stack + 1 extra collector per remote site |
Learn more in What Is a Collector?
Can I switch later?
Section titled “Can I switch later?”Yes. The product and your workflow are identical across deployments, so moving between cloud and self-hosted is mostly a matter of where the app runs and where you point your collectors. Contact support@gridnms.io if you’re planning a migration.