Self-hosting AI in your own VPC: one container, env-configured, probe-ready
AI Server ships as one container configured by environment variables, with the probes and JSON logs an orchestrator expects. The image is the artifact; the volume is the state.
One containerized AI Server runs on a cloud VM or any Docker host, configured entirely by environment variables, with orchestrator-grade health probes and JSON logs [1]. Deploys are immutable and repeatable: the image is the artifact and a mounted volume carries the state. Every knob is an environment variable, so nothing is baked into the image, and /livez and /readyz mean a load balancer or orchestrator manages it correctly rather than guessing [2].
The image is the artifact, the volume is the state
The container image build is reproducible from the repository, and per-deployment state lives on a volume rather than inside the image [2]. That separation is what makes a rebuild safe: you replace the image without touching the model store, keys, or licence state. Structured JSON logs (AISUITE_LOG_JSON=1) drop straight into a log collector.
Probe-ready for orchestrators
/livez reports the process is alive; /readyz reports it is ready to take traffic and flips to 503 while draining [2]. Wire the liveness probe to /livez, the readiness probe to /readyz, and set a termination grace period at or above the drain and shutdown budgets, and rolling updates become zero-downtime without extra tooling.
Licensed and keyed before it serves
Because the container binds a non-loopback address, that is network serving, and the daemon fail-closes without both a Pro entitlement and at least one API key on the volume [3]. A licence artifact is a per-install file written by a licensed install, not something to hand-author; a Free install is meant to be loopback-only by design.
The building block of a farm
A gateway farm is N of these containers behind one gateway, so the same env-configured image scales from a single VPC endpoint to a load-balanced fleet [1]. The container that serves your mobile and browser heads today is the worker you replicate tomorrow.
References
- Software Tailor. "AI Server — product page." softwaretailor.com/ai-server.htm. Accessed 2026-07-22.
- Software Tailor. "AI Server documentation — Operations." softwaretailor.com/docs/ai-server/operations.htm. Accessed 2026-07-22.
- Microsoft. "AI Server on the Microsoft Store." apps.microsoft.com/detail/9P42956WBWCL. Accessed 2026-07-22.
Related articles
Host it in your own VPC.
One env-configured container, probe-ready and 12-factor. Get it on Windows from the Microsoft Store, or read the feature tour first.