docs/content/v2.25/yugabyte-platform/prepare/server-nodes-software/software-cloud-provider.md
When deploying universes using a public cloud provider configuration (AWS, GCP, or Azure), YugabyteDB Anywhere (YBA) creates cloud VMs for database nodes directly.
You have two options for provisioning the operating system for database nodes:
Using a YBA-managed Linux version requires connectivity from the database nodes to the public Internet. If you lack such connectivity, you will need to use a custom Linux version.
For YBA-managed Linux version, YBA manages the creation and provisioning of database nodes, including installing the disk image, configuring the Linux OS, and installing the additional software.
You can proceed directly to installing YBA, creating your cloud provider configuration, and creating universes.
If you choose to provide your own custom Linux version and your VMs have connectivity to the public Internet, you must provide to YBA a Linux OS disk image with the following pre-installed:
yugabyte user, updating the file descriptor settings via ulimits, and so on.Take the time now to prepare the Linux disk image.
| Save for later | To configure |
|---|---|
| SSH-enabled, root-privileged user name | Cloud provider configuration |
| SSH-enabled, root-privileged Private Key Content PEM file | Cloud provider configuration |
| Disk image IDs | Cloud provider configuration |
If you choose to provide your own custom Linux version and your VMs don't have connectivity to the public Internet, you must provide to YBA a Linux OS disk image with the following pre-installed:
yugabyte user, updating the file descriptor settings via ulimits, and so on.Take the time now to prepare the Linux disk image.
| Save for later | To configure |
|---|---|
| SSH-enabled, root-privileged user name | Cloud provider configuration |
| SSH-enabled, root-privileged Private Key Content PEM file | Cloud provider configuration |
| Disk image IDs | Cloud provider configuration |