> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://experience-digital-transform.gitbook.io/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5.md).

# Chapter 5: Building and Operating the Platform

Applications from different business domains often share a platform, even though they change at different times and have different operating requirements. One may need additional capacity while another remains unchanged. A third may be retired while surrounding services continue running. We therefore need to decide which applications can share an operating environment and which need a boundary of their own.

In this chapter, we use separate Kubernetes clusters where we want to operate those environments independently. This makes changes more local and helps limit how far a failure or security incident can spread. We weigh that independence against the infrastructure and operating effort of maintaining several clusters. Access permissions, network rules and shared services remain part of the isolation design.

Chapter 4 established the cluster lifecycle through Cluster API. We now bring that machinery together with access, platform services and application delivery. We follow the installation from its first machines to three managed environments, then use those environments to publish services, release an application and add capacity.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Companion material:** [HTML](https://git.vanillacore.net/giga/content/raw/branch/main/chapter-5/release/building-and-operating-the-platform-accessible.html) · [PDF](https://git.vanillacore.net/giga/content/raw/branch/main/chapter-5/release/building-and-operating-the-platform.pdf) · [DOCX](https://git.vanillacore.net/giga/content/raw/branch/main/chapter-5/release/building-and-operating-the-platform.docx) · [Lab and walkthroughs](https://git.vanillacore.net/giga/content/src/branch/main/chapter-5/lab/README.md) · [Video scopes](https://git.vanillacore.net/giga/content/src/branch/main/chapter-5/VIDEO_SCOPES.md) · [Source](https://git.vanillacore.net/giga/content/src/branch/main/chapter-5/chapter-5.md)
{% endhint %}

## In this chapter

* [A Spoke as a working environment](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/a-spoke-as-a-working-environment.md)
* [Management and the two Spoke roles](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/management-and-the-two-spoke-roles.md)
* [1. Prepare the installation](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/1-prepare-the-installation.md)
* [2. Establish Management](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/2-establish-management.md)
* [3. Create the LoadBalancer Spoke](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/3-create-the-loadbalancer-spoke.md)
* [4. Create the workload Spokes](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/4-create-the-workload-spokes.md)
* [5. Connect a service to its destination](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/5-connect-a-service-to-its-destination.md)
* [6. Release an application and retain its data](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/6-release-an-application-and-retain-its-data.md)
* [7. Add capacity and maintain the Spoke](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/7-add-capacity-and-maintain-the-spoke.md)
* [8. Retire an environment](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/8-retire-an-environment.md)
* [Agent-assisted operation](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/agent-assisted-operation.md)
* [Continue to Chapter 6](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/continue-to-chapter-6.md)
* [Further reading](/experience-digital-transformation/cloud-for-dpi/chapter-5/further-reading.md)


---

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