- Substrate = The control plane that manages Enterprise instances
- Bootstrap = Initial set up required to create an instance of Enterprise
- Cell = An instance of Enterprise
Overview

Enterprise Architecture
- Bootstrap (initial set up of infrastructure)
- Registration
- Updates and ongoing operations
Bootstrap Stage
The initial infrastructure required is created using a CloudFormation template executed by the customer. The customer must create a new & dedicated AWS account (as per Getting Started) and and then execute the CloudFormation template within it. Please see Getting Started for detailed instructions.Registration stage
Once the CloudFormation template successfully executes, the instance will register itself with the Gitpod Control Plane. Registration happens via an outgoing connection only that uses AWS PrivateLink - the Control Plane has no ingoing connection to the instance. See Networking and Data Flows.
Updates and Ongoing Operations
Application Updates The initial application update is handled just like any other, with the only difference being that no application is installed yet. I.e. all of Gitpod’s components are installed from scratch after the instance has registered itself.
Changes are deployed and new features are enabled independently, using feature flags. Gitpod plans to deploy changes perpetually, but enable new functionality in a way that aligns with release communication.
Maintenance mode: Upon updates of certain application components, the instance may enter maintenance mode - in this mode, workspaces are temporarily blocked from starting and stopping and it is not possible to take a workspace snapshot. Running workspaces are not affected and this should only last a few minutes. During maintenance mode, users see the following error:

- Values for required AWS service quotas
- Cloud Formation stack status, changeset status, and drift detection results
- Parameters for the Instance Cloud Formation template
Infrastructure updates
Occasionally, infrastructure updates are required to keep a customer’s instance up to date. In such cases, an updated CloudFormation template will be provided, which can be run against the existing stack created by the initial CloudFormation template. Infrastructure updates are mandatory. Infrastructure updates need to applied within two weeks, as otherwise the instance will no longer receive updates and fall out of the support SLA.