---
id: index
title: Vantage documentation
sidebar_label: Overview
slug: /
---

# Vantage documentation

Vantage is a self-hosted, multi-tenant infrastructure control plane. It manages
SSH keys, runs scripted workflows, watches services, stores secrets, opens
browser consoles and applies OS updates across a fleet of servers.

A central server drives a lightweight agent installed on each managed machine.
The agent connects **outbound only**, so managed servers need no inbound
firewall holes.

## Where to start

| If you want to | Read |
| --- | --- |
| Understand what the pieces are | [What is Vantage](./getting-started/what-is-vantage.md) |
| Run it on your own hardware | [Self-hosted install](./getting-started/self-hosted-install.md) |
| Enrol your first machine | [Add your first server](./getting-started/first-server.md) |
| Manage your account, licence or billing | [Vantage HQ](./hq/accounts-and-signup.md) |
| Look something up | [Reference](./reference/environment-variables.md) |

## The two products

**Vantage** is the control plane — the thing you sign in to in order to manage
servers. It runs either on your own infrastructure or as a cloud instance we
run for you.

**Vantage HQ** is the portal at `vantage-hq.hostxtra.co.uk` where you manage the
account behind those instances: who is on your team, which instances exist, what
licence each one holds and how it is billed. HQ never manages your servers, and
a Vantage instance never depends on HQ being reachable in order to run.