> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex-xsoar-8-on-prem/8.14/learn-about-cortex-xsoar/cortex-xsoar-architecture.md).

# Cortex XSOAR architecture

The following diagram describes the high-level architecture for Cortex XSOAR:

Cortex XSOAR installation is implemented by your IT team or Cortex XSOAR administrators. Cortex XSOAR uses the following:

![](/files/z2ZMBsPXoYitqrwKe0eB)

* Relational store using MySQL
* Cache and synchronization using Redis
* Data warehousing using Elasticsearch

Cortex XSOAR is provided as a Kubernetes cluster, a set of nodes (VMs) that run containerized applications that package Cortex XSOAR, its dependencies, and some necessary services. You can decide how many nodes/VMs to include in the cluster when running the Administrative tool. You can decide between a standalone environment (one node) or a multi-node cluster (three nodes).

Playbooks are executed on dedicated, isolated workers, and workloads do not share compute resources.


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