Skip to main content
Version: 0.2.12

Deployment Overview

Agent Kernel is a multi-cloud AI agent runtime that supports multiple deployment modes across AWS and Azure for different use cases.

Deployment Modes

Quick Comparison

ModeBest ForScalabilityCold StartCostFault Tolerance
Local/CLIDevelopment, testingN/AInstantFreeManual restart
REST APIWeb apps, APIsManual scalingInstantServer costsManual
AWS LambdaVariable load (AWS)Auto-scaling1-3sPay per useHigh - Auto-retry, multi-AZ
AWS ECSConsistent load (AWS)Auto-scalingInstantRunning containersVery High - Multi-AZ, auto-recovery
Azure FunctionsVariable load (Azure)Auto-scaling1-3sPay per useHigh - Auto-retry, multi-region
Azure Container AppsConsistent load (Azure)Auto-scalingInstantRunning containersVery High - Multi-zone, auto-recovery
MCP ServerAI integrationsManualInstantServer costsManual
A2A ServerAgent networksManualInstantServer costsManual

Local Development

Uses agentkernel.CLI module.

python my_agent.py
  • Interactive CLI
  • Instant feedback
  • No deployment needed

Learn more →

REST API Server

Uses agentkernel.RESAPI module.

python my_agent.py
  • HTTP endpoints
  • Easy integration
  • Self-hosted

Learn more →

AWS Serverless

Uses Agent Kernel terraform modules

# Configure the modules and run
terraform init && terraform apply
  • Lambda functions
  • API Gateway
  • Auto-scaling
  • Pay per request

Learn more →

AWS Containerized

Uses Agent Kernel terraform modules

# Configure the modules and run
terraform init && terraform apply
  • ECS Fargate
  • Application Load Balancer
  • Consistent performance
  • Lower latency

Learn more →

Azure Serverless

Uses Agent Kernel terraform modules

# Configure the modules and run
terraform init && terraform apply
  • Azure Functions
  • API Management
  • Auto-scaling
  • Pay per request

Learn more →

Azure Containerized

Uses Agent Kernel terraform modules

# Configure the modules and run
terraform init && terraform apply
  • Azure Container Apps
  • Azure Front Door / App Gateway
  • Consistent performance
  • Lower latency

Learn more →

Choosing a Deployment Mode

Development

Local/CLI: Fast iteration, no setup

Small Web App

REST API: Simple, self-hosted

Variable Traffic on AWS

AWS Lambda: Auto-scales, pay per use

High Traffic on AWS

AWS ECS: Consistent performance

Variable Traffic on Azure

Azure Functions: Auto-scales, pay per use

High Traffic on Azure

Azure Container Apps: Consistent performance, KEDA-based scaling

AI Integration

MCP/A2A: Protocol-based integration

Multi-Cloud Strategy

Agent Kernel's multi-cloud support enables you to:

  • Deploy the same agent code to AWS or Azure without modification
  • Avoid vendor lock-in - switch clouds or run on multiple clouds
  • Optimize costs - choose the best pricing model for each workload
  • Geographic redundancy - distribute across cloud providers
  • Leverage cloud-specific services - use the best of both platforms

Fault Tolerance Considerations

Agent Kernel provides different levels of fault tolerance depending on your deployment mode:

Production-Grade Fault Tolerance

AWS ECS/Fargate offers the highest level of fault tolerance on AWS:

  • Multi-AZ task distribution for zone-level failures
  • Automatic task replacement on failures
  • Health check-based routing
  • Configurable auto-scaling
  • Rolling deployments with zero downtime
  • Application Load Balancer with health monitoring

Learn more about AWS ECS fault tolerance →

Azure Container Apps offers the highest level of fault tolerance on Azure:

  • Multi-zone replica distribution for zone-level failures
  • Automatic replica replacement on failures
  • Health check-based routing
  • KEDA-based auto-scaling
  • Rolling deployments with zero downtime
  • Built-in ingress with health monitoring

Learn more about Azure Container Apps fault tolerance →

AWS Lambda provides built-in fault tolerance:

  • Serverless architecture with automatic scaling
  • Multi-AZ execution by default
  • Automatic retry on failures
  • No infrastructure management
  • Inherently resilient to hardware failures

Learn more about AWS serverless fault tolerance →

Azure Functions provides built-in fault tolerance:

  • Serverless architecture with automatic scaling
  • Multi-region execution capabilities
  • Automatic retry on failures
  • No infrastructure management
  • Inherently resilient to hardware failures

Learn more about Azure serverless fault tolerance →

State Persistence

All production deployment modes support resilient state management:

AWS Options:

  • DynamoDB: Multi-AZ replication, automatic backups, 99.999% SLA
  • Redis: Cluster mode with automatic failover, replication

Azure Options:

  • Cosmos DB: Multi-region replication, automatic backups, 99.999% SLA
  • Azure Cache for Redis: Cluster mode with automatic failover, replication

Learn more about fault tolerance →

Next Steps