Forward Enterprise Deployment Models
Forward Networks offers multiple deployment models for Forward Enterprise.
Some of them are fully managed by Forward Networks, while others are self-hosted and operated directly by customers.
Deployment Models Managed by Forward Networks
Forward SaaS: enables you to model both public cloud environments and on-premises infrastructure from a fully managed platform operated by Forward Networks.
To collect data from your on-premises network, you must download and install a Forward Collector. The Collector securely gathers configuration and state information using read-only access and transmits it to the SaaS platform for modeling and analysis.
Self-hosted Deployments
The following environments are supported for deploying the on-premises version of Forward Enterprise and managing it independently within your own infrastructure:
- VMware Hypervisor
- Amazon AWS
- Microsoft Azure (Commercial and GovCloud)
- KVM Hypervisor
These deployment options allow you to install, operate, and maintain Forward Enterprise directly in your data center or private cloud environment, giving you full control over configuration, upgrades, security, and lifecycle management.
Self-Hosted deployments include a bundled Forward Collector by default, and also support the installation of one or more remote Collectors. Administrators can configure networks to use only the bundled Collector, only remote Collectors, or a combination of both.
Deployments Comparison
The table below highlights the main differences between all the supported deployments models:
| Model | Managed By | Collector Install | Cloud Modelling | On-prem Modelling | Forward AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward SaaS | Forward | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VMware Hypervisor | Customer | Optional | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
| KVM Hypervisor | Customer | Optional | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
| Amazon AWS | Customer | Optional | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
| Microsoft Azure | Customer | Optional | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
| Google GCP | Customer | Optional | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
| IBM Cloud | Customer | Optional | Yes | Yes | Coming Soon |
Next
If your Forward deployment is not ready yet but you’re eager to start exploring Forward Enterprise, reach out to your Forward representative to request access to Forward TestDrive, and follow the instructions at Forward TestDrive.
If you plan to deploy Forward in your on-premises infrastructure, refer to the Self Hosted Deployments section to review the requirements, such as system resources and connectivity, as well as detailed installation and upgrade instructions.
Once the Forward deployment is ready, Forward Org Admins can use the Guided Network Setup to fully onboard the platform. This includes installing a Collector, adding device credentials, discovering your network, collecting data from your entire infrastructure, and building the digital twin of your network!