--- title: Best Practices for the Rancher Server --- This guide contains our recommendations for running the Rancher server, and is intended to be used in situations in which Rancher manages downstream Kubernetes clusters. ### Recommended Architecture and Infrastructure Refer to this [guide](../reference-guides/best-practices/rancher-server/tips-for-running-rancher.md) for our general advice for setting up the Rancher server on a high-availability Kubernetes cluster. ### Deployment Strategies This [guide](../reference-guides/best-practices/rancher-server/rancher-deployment-strategy.md) is designed to help you choose whether a regional deployment strategy or a hub-and-spoke deployment strategy is better for a Rancher server that manages downstream Kubernetes clusters. ### Installing Rancher in a vSphere Environment This [guide](../reference-guides/best-practices/rancher-server/on-premises-rancher-in-vsphere.md) outlines a reference architecture for installing Rancher in a vSphere environment, in addition to standard vSphere best practices as documented by VMware.