--- title: Architecture --- This section focuses on the [Rancher server and its components](../reference-guides/rancher-manager-architecture/rancher-server-and-components.md) and how [Rancher communicates with downstream Kubernetes clusters](../reference-guides/rancher-manager-architecture/communicating-with-downstream-user-clusters.md). For information on the different ways that Rancher can be installed, refer to the [overview of installation options.](installation-and-upgrade.md#overview-of-installation-options) For a list of main features of the Rancher API server, refer to the [overview section.](../getting-started/overview.md#features-of-the-rancher-api-server) For guidance about setting up the underlying infrastructure for the Rancher server, refer to the [architecture recommendations.](../reference-guides/rancher-manager-architecture/architecture-recommendations.md) :::note This section assumes a basic familiarity with Docker and Kubernetes. For a brief explanation of how Kubernetes components work together, refer to the [concepts](../reference-guides/kubernetes-concepts.md) page. :::