# Getting Started

This section walks you from first download to a running Alluxio cluster with verified data access. Each installation guide is self-contained and covers cluster setup, storage mounting, and initial verification.

## What You'll Deploy

An Alluxio cluster consists of three types of components:

| Component       | Role                                                                             | Count                          |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| **Worker**      | Caches data on local NVMe/SSD; serves reads directly to clients                  | 1+                             |
| **Coordinator** | Background jobs: cache loading, mount table management, worker health monitoring | 1                              |
| **etcd**        | Cluster membership and mount table storage                                       | 3 (production), 1 (evaluation) |

Your applications connect to the cluster after installation via **FUSE** (local filesystem mount), **S3 API** (HTTP, S3-compatible), or **Python FSSpec**. Each access method is set up separately once the cluster is running — the installation guides cover the initial cluster only.

## Resource Requirements at a Glance

| Component                | Evaluation (minimum) | PoC (recommended) |
| ------------------------ | -------------------- | ----------------- |
| Worker: CPU / RAM        | 4 cores / 12 GB      | 8 cores / 24 GB   |
| Worker: Cache disk       | 100 GB NVMe/SSD      | 100 GB+ NVMe/SSD  |
| Coordinator: CPU / RAM   | 4 cores / 12 GB      | 8 cores / 16 GB   |
| K8s node (if applicable) | 8 cores / 32 GB      | 16 cores / 64 GB  |

For detailed hardware, software, and networking requirements, see [Prerequisites](https://documentation.alluxio.io/ee-ai-en/start/prerequisites).

## What You'll Need Before Starting

* **Download link** from Alluxio — includes Docker image `.tar` files and a license string.
* **Private Docker registry** *(Kubernetes only)* — images must be pushed to a registry accessible from your cluster nodes before deploying. Not required for Docker / bare-metal, where images are loaded with `docker load` on each host.
* **Storage backend ready** — an S3 bucket (with credentials), GCS, HDFS, or other supported UFS. See [Underlying Storage](https://documentation.alluxio.io/ee-ai-en/ufs) for the full list.

## Choose Your Installation Guide

|                 | [Kubernetes (Operator)](https://documentation.alluxio.io/ee-ai-en/start/installing-on-kubernetes) | [Docker / Bare-Metal](https://documentation.alluxio.io/ee-ai-en/start/installing-on-docker) |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **When to use** | You have an existing Kubernetes cluster                                                           | Linux hosts, EC2 instances, or Slurm — no Kubernetes                                        |

Both paths produce the same cluster. The choice depends entirely on your infrastructure.

Cloud-specific guides build on top of the Kubernetes path:

* [OCI OKE](https://documentation.alluxio.io/ee-ai-en/start/installing-on-kubernetes/oci-oke) — Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Kubernetes Engine, including VCN setup, OCIR image push, and `oci-bv` worker page store.


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