// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * scalability_and_performance/ztp_far_edge/ztp-deploying-far-edge-clusters-at-scale.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT
[id="about-ztp_{context}"]
= Using {ztp} to provision clusters at the network far edge

[role="_abstract"]
{rh-rhacm-first} manages clusters in a hub-and-spoke architecture, where a single hub cluster manages many spoke clusters. Hub clusters running {rh-rhacm} provision and deploy the managed clusters by using {ztp-first} and the assisted service that is deployed when you install {rh-rhacm}.

The assisted service handles provisioning of {product-title} on single node clusters, three-node clusters, or standard clusters running on bare metal.

A high-level overview of using {ztp} to provision and maintain bare-metal hosts with {product-title} is as follows:

* A hub cluster running {rh-rhacm} manages an {product-registry} that mirrors the {product-title} release images. {rh-rhacm} uses the {product-registry} to provision the managed clusters.

* You manage the bare-metal hosts in a YAML format inventory file, versioned in a Git repository.

* You make the hosts ready for provisioning as managed clusters, and use {rh-rhacm} and the assisted service to install the bare-metal hosts on site.

Installing and deploying the clusters is a two-stage process, involving an initial installation phase, and a subsequent configuration and deployment phase. The following diagram illustrates this workflow:

image::474_OpenShift_OpenShift_RAN_RDS_arch_updates_1023.png[Using GitOps and {ztp} to install and deploy managed clusters]
