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

> Landing page for CVM creation and management on Phala Cloud. Links to deployment methods, scaling, and lifecycle operations.

# CVM Overview

## Choose Your Deployment Method

Phala Cloud offers multiple ways to create and deploy a Confidential Virtual Machine (CVM). Learn about [Confidential Virtual Machine technology](https://phala.com/confidential-vm) and its enterprise applications.

### Option 1: Phala Cloud dashboard

The dashboard walks you through CVM creation with a visual interface. Use it if you are new to Phala Cloud, prefer graphical tooling, or want to deploy without touching the command line.

[**Create with Docker Compose →**](/phala-cloud/cvm/create-with-docker-compose)

### Option 2: `phala` CLI

The CLI is the right tool for automated deployments, CI/CD pipelines, and scriptable infrastructure. Use it if you are comfortable in a terminal and want reproducible deployments.

[**Follow the CLI Guide →**](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-cli/start-from-cloud-cli)

## CVM Management Features

After deployment, manage your CVMs from the dashboard or the API.

### Monitoring

* **CVM status** — track the health and status of your CVMs
* **Resource usage** — monitor CPU, memory, and storage consumption
* **Logs** — view application logs and system messages

### Upgrades

* **Environment variables** — update your application's encrypted secrets
* **Docker images** — upgrade your application's Docker image
* **Resource allocation** — adjust CPU, memory, and storage

### Scaling

* **Horizontal scaling** — run multiple replicas of the same CVM for availability and regional distribution. See [Scale with Multiple Replicas](/phala-cloud/cvm/multi-replica-scaling) for concepts and [Replicating CVMs](/phala-cloud/cvm/replicating-cvms) for concrete steps.
* **Vertical scaling** — [resize a single CVM's CPU, memory, or disk](/phala-cloud/update/resize-resource) to handle more load per instance.

### Security

* **Data protection** — end-to-end encryption of sensitive data at rest
* **Access control** — restrict who can reach your CVMs and their logs

## CVM Management API

Phala Cloud provides an [API](/phala-cloud/phala-cloud-api/overview) for managing CVMs programmatically.

## Next Steps

After creating your CVM, you probably want to:

* [Set secure environment variables](/phala-cloud/cvm/set-secure-environment-variables)
* [Expose an HTTP service](/phala-cloud/networking/expose-http-service)
* [Set up monitoring](/phala-cloud/monitoring/public-logs)
* [Replicate the CVM for scale or availability](/phala-cloud/cvm/replicating-cvms)