Online Installation

This guide covers the standard Zylon installation for environments with full internet access. The system will automatically download all required dependencies, container images, and AI models. Prerequisites Checklist:

Clean Linux machine (Ubuntu 22/24) meeting hardware requirements
Root and SSH access to the machine
A domain name for Zylon (e.g., zylon.company.com)
Ability to reboot the machine when needed
Machine has curl installed

Full, unrestricted internet access on the target machine
Firewall allows outbound connections to Docker registries and package repositories
Either:
- Port 80 and 443 open for Let’s Encrypt automatic SSL certificate generation, OR
- Valid SSL certificate ready for manual configuration

Installing Zylon

Install Zylon CLI

Estimated time: 2 minThe Zylon CLI will speed up the time it takes to get everything ready, it will take care of installing drivers, updating Zylon and configuring the system. To install it, SSH into the machine where you want to install Zylon and run:

# ssh <user>@<host-ip>
sudo curl -sL get.zylon.ai | sh

Verify the installation:

sudo zylon-cli version

Root access is required for CLI operations as it manages system-level dependencies and configurations.

Verify Zylon minimum requirements

Ensure your machine meets the hardware requirements for Zylon.To validate automatically if your installation meets the minimum requirements, run:

sudo zylon-cli preflight --network --fresh-system -v

Address any issues reported before proceeding with the installation. You will not be able to continue until all preflight checks pass.

Are you having issues with network connectivity? Consider moving to a Semi-Airgap Installation or Airgap Installation.

Zylon requires all checks to pass before providing installation support.

Configure Zylon

Estimated time: 10minZylon is configured using a YAML file located at /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml.Generate Initial ConfigurationUse the CLI to generate an initial configuration file:

sudo zylon-cli config init

This opens an interactive prompt to guide you through configuration options.

If for any reason you got stuck during the interactive prompt, you can skip it by adding the -y flag to auto-generate a default configuration:

sudo zylon-cli config init -y

You will need to manually edit /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml afterward to set your desired configuration based on the manual configuration section.

Auto Configuration
Manual Configuration

If you executed sudo zylon-cli config init, all configuration is set. Review /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml to confirm settings. You can know more information about which settings are required in Manual Configuration section.

If you need to re-run the configuration wizard, execute:

sudo zylon-cli config init

You can

Edit /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml to adjust settings as needed.Define your OS distributionSet node.distro to match your Ubuntu version:

node:
  distro: "ubuntu22"  # for Ubuntu 22.04
  # distro: "ubuntu24"  # for Ubuntu 24.04

Define your CPU architectureSet node.arch to match your hardware:

node:
  arch: "amd64"  # for Intel/AMD processors

Set your hardware drivers (if applicable)Set node.drivers to generic (this is the only supported option):

node:
  drivers: "generic"

Configure cluster typeSet cluster.type to k0s (this is the only supported option for single instance installations):

cluster:
  type: "k0s"

Select your release channelSet channel to stable (recommended for production and normal use) or unstable (available under request for testing):

channel: "stable"

Add your license informationSet license.email to the email address assigned to your license (provided during registration).Set license.id to the license ID shared with you by the Zylon team via email:

license:
  email: "champion@company.com"
  id: "2oq..."

Choose your AI presetSet ai.preset based on your available GPU memory. See AI Presets for details.

ai:
  preset: "baseline-48g"

Set your company identifierSet companyIdentifier to any identifier for anonymous metrics tracking (e.g., acme-corp). If you have multiple installations, use different identifiers (e.g., company and company-test):

companyIdentifier: "your-company"

Disable telemetry & crash reportingTo disable telemetry and crash reporting, add the following section:

observability:
    crashReporting: false
    usageMetrics: false

Configure network ingressSet ingress.host to the domain you’ve prepared for Zylon. This should be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) that points to your server’s IP address.Examples:

zylon.company.com
ai.acme-corp.com
zylon-prod.yourcompany.io

ingress:
  host: "zylon.your-company.com"
  enabled: true
  tlsEnabled: true

Configure SSL certificate generationIf your server is accessible from the internet, Let’s Encrypt will automatically generate and renew SSL certificates. Keep the default certManagerAnnotations:

ingress:
  certManagerAnnotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: "letsencrypt-prod"

If you’re in a private network or need to use a custom certificate, see Disable Let’s Encrypt below.

View Current Configuration

sudo cat /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml

You can edit the configuration file directly using your preferred text editor (e.g., nano, vim):

# Choose one of the following commands:
sudo nano /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml
sudo vim /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml

For detailed information about all available configuration options, see the Configuration Guide.

Download AI Models

Estimated time: 10min to 1h, depending on network speed and models.Before installing Zylon, you must download the AI models. The models are determined by your AI preset configuration.Check available models and compare with your AI preset:

sudo zylon-cli models list

More preset details in the AI Presets documentation.Download the models based on your configuration:

sudo zylon-cli models download

This will download and install the AI models that you have specified in the Wizard.If for some reason you need to download specific models, you can do so with:

sudo zylon-cli models list
sudo zylon-cli models download model-a model-b model-c

For example, for baseline-96g preset:

sudo zylon-cli models download txn545/qwen3.5-35b-a3b-nvfp4 mixedbread-ai/mxbai-embed-large-v1

Install Zylon

Estimated time: 15min to 1hour, depending on system performance and network speed.Run the installation command with your desired version:

sudo zylon-cli list-versions
# Choose your desired version from the list
sudo zylon-cli install <version>

Replace <version> with your target version (e.g., 1.50.0).What Gets InstalledThe installation process handles:

System dependencies (gcc, git, etc.)
Kubernetes distribution (k0s)
NVIDIA drivers and CUDA (if applicable)
Container runtime and tools (kubectl, helm)
Zylon container images
SSL certificate generation (if using Let’s Encrypt)

Note that AI models are not included in this step—they were installed in the previous step.

Monitor InstallationWatch the installation progress:

# Watch Zylon pods
watch sudo k0s kubectl get pods -n zylon

# Watch GPU validation (if applicable)
watch sudo k0s kubectl get pods -n nvidia

Wait until all pods show 1/1 ready status.

Reboot after installation to ensure GPU drivers load properly.

Kernel upgrades can break NVIDIA drivers!Test drivers with: nvidia-smiTroubleshooting: NVIDIA Drivers Guide

If services remain in ContainerCrashLoopBackOff for over 1 hour, contact support with logs.

Create Organization

Estimated time: 5 minAfter Zylon is installed and running, create your organization and root administrator account.Prepare InformationYou’ll need:

Organization name: Your company or team name (can be changed later)
Email regex: Pattern to auto-allow users to join
- For name@company.com emails, use: .*@company\.com
- For SSO (Microsoft Entra, Google), you can use: .*

Run Seed Command

sudo zylon-cli seed \
  --org-name "My Organization" \
  --email-regex ".*@yourcompany\.com"

The command will wait if Zylon is not fully ready.

Running the seed command will WIPE ALL DATA. Only run this once during the initial Zylon setup.

Login CredentialsAfter seeding, retrieve the one-time login password for the admin account:

sudo zylon-cli admin-password

Then log in with:

Username: admin@zylon.ai
Password: [the one-time password printed above]

The root admin email is always admin@zylon.ai and cannot be changed.

After first login, you can create additional administrators and configure SSO authentication.

Configure SSL (Optional)

Estimated time: 10 min

Skip this step if using Let’s Encrypt automatic certificates (default for public-facing instances).

For VPN or private cloud deployments, you need to manually install SSL certificates.Remove Automatic Certificate GenerationEdit /etc/zylon/zylon-conf.yaml and remove these lines:

certManagerAnnotations:
  cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: "letsencrypt-prod"

Prepare Certificate FilesKubernetes requires the certificate split into two files:

tls.crt - The certificate file
tls.key - The private key file

Convert from PFX (if applicable):If you have a .pfx file, convert it:

openssl pkcs12 -in <your-certificate.pfx> -clcerts -nokeys -out tls.crt
openssl pkcs12 -in <your-certificate.pfx> -nocerts -out tls.key

Import Certificate into Kubernetes

# Remove any existing certificate
sudo k0s kubectl delete secret tls zylon-tls --ignore-not-found -n zylon

# Import your certificate
sudo k0s kubectl create secret tls zylon-tls \
  --key tls.key \
  --cert tls.crt \
  -n zylon

# Verify creation
sudo k0s kubectl describe secret zylon-tls -n zylon

Apply ChangesReload the Zylon configuration:

sudo zylon-cli sync

VerifyAccess your Zylon instance at https://zylon.your-company.com and confirm:

The connection uses HTTPS
The browser shows a valid certificate
No certificate warnings appear

Certificate renewal must be done manually by repeating this process with updated certificate files.

Updating Zylon

Updates follow the same process as installation:

sudo zylon-cli list-versions
# Choose your desired version from the list
sudo zylon-cli install <new-version>

Alternatively, you can upgrade directly to the latest version using the upgrade command:

sudo zylon-cli upgrade

Migrating to Online

If you have an existing Zylon installation (semi-airgap or airgap) and want to migrate it to a fully online environment, follow this guide. This process preserves your data, and configuration, while transitioning to online operation.

Migration differs from fresh installation:

Your existing configuration and data will be preserved
Organization and users already exist

To migrate an existing Zylon installation (Semi-Airgap, or Airgap) to an Online installation, follow these steps:

Ensure connectivity: Verify that the target machine has full internet access.
Update configuration: Run sudo zylon-cli config init to update the configuration for online operation.
Refresh configuration: Execute sudo zylon-cli sync to apply the new configuration settings.
Verify operation: Confirm that all services are functioning correctly with internet access.

Next Steps

After completing the installation, consider the following next steps to optimize your Zylon deployment:

Configure AI Presets to optimize for your hardware
Configure Backups for data protection
Review User Manual to get started

Getting Started

Installation

Maintenance & Operations

Backoffice

Configuration

Troubleshooting

Security

Auditability & AI Governance

Online Installation

Installing Zylon

Updating Zylon

Migrating to Online

Next Steps

​Installing Zylon

​Updating Zylon

​Migrating to Online

​Next Steps

Installing Zylon

Updating Zylon

Migrating to Online

Next Steps