---
title: "VoC AWS Cluster Deployment with Polaris"
slug: "voc-aws-cluster-deployment-with-polaris"
description: "Learn to deploy VAST on AWS with our comprehensive guide covering Polaris UI setup, AWS authentication, permissions, and cluster management."
updated: 2026-10-28T02:14:35Z
published: 2026-10-28T02:14:35Z
canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/voc-aws-cluster-deployment-with-polaris"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# VoC AWS Cluster Deployment with Polaris

## Introduction

This document provides instructions for successfully deploying **VAST on Cloud** **(VoC)** on **Amazon Web Services** **(AWS)**.

The document covers the following areas:

- Polaris UI deployment configuration
- `vastcloud` execution tool
- AWS authentication
- AWS permissions validation
- VoC deployment creation
- Preflight readiness validation
- Cluster access after deployment

## Before You Begin

Before starting the VoC deployment, you need to receive an invitation email to the Polaris portal.

This invitation is sent by a VAST administrator or a colleague already registered in the Polaris portal.

The Polaris invitation looks similar to the following example:

```plaintext
You have been invited to join VAST Polaris.
Click the registration link to complete your account setup.
```

Once you click the registration link, you will be redirected to a password creation page.

Complete the password creation process.

After completing registration, you are ready to continue with the VoC deployment process.

## 1. Create a New Deployment in Polaris

> [!TIP]
> ✅ Tip
> 
> Please note that this step only creates the deployment template. It does not start the actual deployment, which must be initiated manually afterward.

Log in to the Polaris portal:

```plaintext
https://admin.aws.polaris.vastdata.com/
```

After logging in, click the **Deployments** cloud icon on the left side of the screen.

![Polaris login screen](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-054317.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

![Polaris deployment entitlement](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-054420.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

Then click:

```plaintext
Create Deployment Configuration
```

Review and complete the following fields.

![Polaris deployment configuration](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-054620.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

| Element | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| Entitlements | Make sure you are using the correct entitlement and that the expected capacity and resources are visible. |
| Deployment Name | Enter a unique name for this deployment. |
| AWS Account ID | Enter the AWS account ID that will be used for the deployment. |
| Instance Type | Choose the required ENodes instance type. |
| Region | Select the AWS region where the deployment will take place. |
| Availability Zone | Select the AWS Availability Zone inside the selected region. |
| Key/Value Tags | Enter key/value tags that will be added to the AWS resources. |
| Deployment Type | Choose either a single-node deployment or a full cluster array deployment. |

Example:

```plaintext
Deployment name: vast-on-cloud-poc
AWS Account ID: 123456789012
Region: us-east-1
Availability Zone: us-east-1a
Deployment type: Full array
Cluster size: 8 nodes
Estimated capacity: 260 TB
```

Once all details are in place, click:

```plaintext
Create Deployment Configuration
```

A new window will appear with download links for the `vastcloud` tool and deployment hints.

Select your operating system, copy the download URL, then close the window using the **Close** button.

![Polaris deploy screen](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-055756.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

Run **“vastcloud cluster list”** to see the current status:

```plaintext
 ~/.vast  vastcloud cluster list                                                                                                                                                                             ok  09:04:41 
╭───────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────╮
│                               │             name             │            state             │          ip address          │        management url        │         monitor url          │           provider           │
├───────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤
│                               │ vast-on-cloud-poc            │ pending                      │                              │                              │                              │ aws                          │
╰───────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────╯
```

## 2. Prepare Your Laptop or Workstation

**Install vastcloud and Required Tools**

Open your local terminal and paste the `curl` command copied from the previous step.

Example:

```plaintext
curl https://storage.googleapis.com/polaris-vastcloud/install_vastcloud.sh | bash
```

The installer will install the `vastcloud` utility and required dependencies.

Example output:

```plaintext
[INFO] Detecting system...
[INFO] Detected: darwin/arm64
[INFO] Checking for cloud CLI tools...
[WARN] The following cloud CLI tools are not installed:
  - awscli
  - hashicorp/tap/terraform

Would you like to install the missing tools using Homebrew? (y/N): y
```

Press:

```plaintext
y
```

During the installation, you may be asked to enter your local sudo password in order to write the `vastcloud` binary into:

```plaintext
/usr/local/bin
```

Expected successful installation output:

```plaintext
[INFO] Downloading vastcloud...
######################################################################## 100.0%
[WARN] Cannot write to /usr/local/bin, trying with sudo...
Password:
[INFO] Installed to: /usr/local/bin/vastcloud
[INFO] Installation successful!
[INFO] Run 'vastcloud --help' to get started
```

Validate the installation:

```plaintext
vastcloud --help
```

## 3. Authenticate to AWS

The following commands must be executed to authenticate your local workstation with AWS.

AWS credentials may expire depending on the authentication method used, especially when using AWS SSO. In many environments, AWS SSO credentials need to be refreshed periodically.

### Option 1: AWS SSO Login

If your environment uses AWS SSO, run:

```plaintext
aws sso login --profile <AWS_PROFILE_NAME>
```

Example:

```plaintext
aws sso login --profile AWS-Polaris-Test
```

```plaintext
 ~   aws sso login --profile AWS-Polaris-Test                                                                                                                                ok  AWS-Polaris-Test us-east-1 aws  08:47:13 
Attempting to open your default browser.
If the browser does not open or you wish to use a different device to authorize this request, open the following URL:

https://d-936770c4af.awsapps.com/start/#/device

Then enter the code:

SHDF-ZWJX
```

A browser window will open and ask you to complete the AWS SSO authentication process.

![AWS authorization request](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-054850.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

![Allow AWS access to data](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-054923.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

After successful authentication, validate your AWS identity:

```plaintext
aws sts get-caller-identity --profile <AWS_PROFILE_NAME>
```

Example:

```plaintext
aws sts get-caller-identity --profile AWS-Polaris-Test
```

Expected output:

```plaintext
{
    "UserId": "AROAXXXXXXXXXXXXX:username",
    "Account": "123456789012",
    "Arn": "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/AWSReservedSSO_xxx/username"
}
```

### Option 2: AWS Access Key Authentication

If your environment uses static AWS credentials, configure them with:

```plaintext
aws configure --profile <AWS_PROFILE_NAME>
```

Example:

```plaintext
aws configure --profile vast-on-cloud
```

You will be prompted to enter:

```plaintext
AWS Access Key ID
AWS Secret Access Key
Default region name
Default output format
```

Validate the configured identity:

```plaintext
aws sts get-caller-identity --profile vast-on-cloud
```

## 4. Create Local `vastcloud` Configuration

Run the following command:

```plaintext
vastcloud config init
```

Select **AWS** as the cloud provider.

![Select your cloud provider](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-055153.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

![Select your cloud provider AWS-Polaris](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-064136.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

Example output:

```plaintext
Configuration Wizard

Authenticating with AWS...
Authentication successful!

Using API endpoint: Production (https://api.aws.polaris.vastdata.com)

Configuration saved successfully!
  Config file: /Users/vast.user/.vast/config.yaml
  Account: production-aws-110450271409
  Context: production-aws-110450271409-ctx (set as current)
  API Endpoint: https://api.aws.polaris.vastdata.com

You can now use 'vastcloud login' to authenticate with the Polaris API.
```

## 5. Authenticate `vastcloud` with Polaris

Run:

```plaintext
vastcloud login
```

Example output:

```plaintext
Authenticating with AWS...
Cloud provider authentication successful!

Opening browser for authentication...
Waiting for authentication...
```

A browser window will open and ask for your Polaris username.

![Enter VAST on Cloud username or email](https://cdn.us.document360.io/89b91113-5dc6-49db-86ec-57b16dc8ce56/Images/Documentation/image-20260527-073750.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-08T09%3A16%3A43Z&se=2026-11-08T10%3A16%3A43Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=f6asnJk3RxybAPZIEWdHzRo7tZQAKL%2BhV0YcCzRC8Ck%3D)

Enter the username used for the Polaris portal and click:

```plaintext
Continue
```

Then enter your password and click:

```plaintext
Sign In
```

After successful authentication, return to the terminal and verify that the login completed successfully.

Expected output:

```plaintext
✓ Logged in as user@vastdata.com
  Token valid until: 2026-05-07 18:56:08
```

## 6. Validate AWS Permissions

Before starting the deployment, validate that your AWS account has the required permissions.

Run:

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster check-permissions --provider aws
```

Example output:

```plaintext
 Permission check: AWS
 Identity: arn:aws:sts::110450271409:assumed-role/AWSReservedSSO_AWS-Polaris-Test_aaf44d356dcb8d5b/eyal.rif@vastdata.com
 Region:   us-east-1

╭────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│                                                 Operation                                                  │                                                   Status                                                   │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ config/login                                                                                               │ OK                                                                                                         │
│ cluster list                                                                                               │ OK                                                                                                         │
│ cluster create                                                                                             │ OK                                                                                                         │
│ cluster delete                                                                                             │ OK                                                                                                         │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯

  Optional permissions not granted for "cluster create":
    - ec2:CreateSecurityGroup (only needed if vastcloud auto-creates this resource)

  You can:    config/login, cluster list, cluster create, cluster delete
```

If any permissions are missing, review the required AWS IAM permissions before continuing.

## 7. Recommended Validation Before Deployment

### Review AWS Permission Requirements

Run:

```plaintext
vastcloud docs aws-permissions
```

Use this command to review the AWS IAM permissions required for VoC deployment.

### **Run the Preflight Checker**

[VoC AWS Preflight Checker Walkthrough](/develop/docs/voc-aws-preflight-checker-walkthrough)

It is strongly recommended to run the `vastcloud` preflight checker before deploying the cluster.

The preflight checker validates that the AWS environment is ready for deployment.

The validation may include:

- AWS authentication
- AWS account access
- IAM permissions
- VPC configuration
- Subnet configuration
- Security group configuration
- Route table access
- Internet or private endpoint connectivity
- EC2 quota validation
- Storage and networking prerequisites
- Required AWS service access

## 8. Create the VoC Deployment

> [!TIP]
> ✅ Tip
> 
> This step uses the template created in [Step 1](/develop/docs/voc-aws-cluster-deployment-with-polaris#1-create-a-new-deployment-in-polaris) to deploy a VoC cluster on AWS.

Run the following command to start the deployment:

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster create --select <DEPLOYMENT_NAME>
```

Example:

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster create --select vast-on-cloud-poc
```

Follow the interactive menu instructions.

```plaintext
 ~/.vast  vastcloud cluster create --select vast-on-cloud-poc                                                                                                                                                ok  09:07:37 
Discovering subscription...
Using subscription: a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-1234567890te
Discovering resource group...
Using resource group: default
Auto-selected cluster: vast-on-cloud-poc
Generating PIN...
PIN generated successfully!
Using Polaris credentials from pin 

  Initializing cluster from Polaris credentials: >  vast-on-cloud-poc

  You are about to create a cluster with the following configuration:
                                                                      
  Type                Production VAST Cluster                         
  Cluster name        vast-on-cloud-poc                               
  Instances           3 x i7ie.48xlarge (192 vCPUs, 1536 GiB memory)  
  Storage             3 x 120.0 TiB = 360.0 TiB                       
  Region              us-east-1                                       
  Availability zone   us-east-1a                                      
                                                                      

┃ Proceed with the following configuration? (y/n):                                                                                                                                                                         
┃                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
┃                   Yes!     No.        
```

You may be prompted to select or confirm the following AWS resources:

```plaintext
AWS Account
Region
Availability Zone
VPC
Subnet
Security Group
Key pair
IP address range
```

> [!NOTE]
> ℹ️ Info
> 
> Since we already ran the preflight and confirmed all requirements are met, you can safely skip the preflight during install.

## 9. Monitor the Deployment

Once the deployment starts, the terminal will show progress information.

After the deployment passes the initial stage, the terminal should display details such as:

```plaintext
Cluster IP address
Management URL
Monitor URL
```

Example:

```plaintext
Cluster deployment started successfully.

Cluster IP address: 10.120.85.151
Management URL: https://10.120.85.29
Monitor URL: http://10.120.85.151:5551
```

Use the monitor URL to follow the deployment progress until the VAST cluster is ready.

Example:

```plaintext
http://10.120.85.151:5551
```

## 10. Validate Cluster Status

You can always run the following command to view existing clusters and their status:

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster list
```

Example output:

```plaintext
╭──────────────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┬──────────╮
│ name                 │ state         │ ip address    │ management url        │ monitor url               │ provider │
├──────────────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────┼───────────────────────┼───────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ vast-on-cloud-poc    │ running       │ 10.120.85.151 │ https://10.120.85.29  │ http://10.120.85.151:5551 │ AWS      │
╰──────────────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────────────┴───────────────────────────┴──────────╯
```

## 11. Access the VAST Cluster

Once the deployment is complete, access the VAST cluster using the management URL.

Example:

```plaintext
https://10.120.85.29
```

Log in to the VAST Web UI as you would with any other VAST cluster.

## 12. Useful vastcloud Commands

**View Available Commands**

```plaintext
vastcloud --help
```

**Log in to Polaris**

```plaintext
vastcloud login
```

**Initialize Configuration**

```plaintext
vastcloud config init
```

**Check AWS Permissions**

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster check-permissions --provider aws
```

**Create Cluster**

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster create --select <DEPLOYMENT_NAME>
```

**List Clusters**

```plaintext
vastcloud cluster list
```

**Review AWS Permissions Documentation**

```plaintext
vastcloud docs aws-permissions
```

## 13. Notes and Best Practices

> [!TIP]
> ✅ Tip
> 
> - Make sure your AWS credentials are valid before running `vastcloud`.
> - If using AWS SSO, refresh the session with `aws sso login` when credentials expire.
> - Validate AWS permissions before starting deployment.
> - Run the preflight checker before deploying the cluster.
> - Confirm that the selected VPC, subnets, and security groups match the intended deployment design.
> - Make sure the selected AWS region and Availability Zone match the Polaris deployment configuration.
> - Review the `vastcloud` command reference for more advanced usage.
> - **Replace all example values with the correct customer-specific values before executing commands.**