Building GitLab with GitLab: How GitLab.com inspired Dedicated

This post details the technical decisions and implementation strategies for GitLab Dedicated, a single-tenant SaaS offering. It contrasts Dedicated with GitLab.com's multi-tenant architecture, highlighting differences in automation, database choices (AWS managed services vs. self-managed Postgres/Redis), and monitoring (customer-specific vs. shared). It elaborates on the automated deployment process for Dedicated using the GitLab Environment Toolkit (GET), Terraform, and AWS IAM for granular access control, orchestrated by the new Switchboard portal. It also discusses the architectural choice of leveraging AWS managed services for databases and the implications of single-tenancy on monitoring and issue escalation. High availability for all components is a default for smaller Dedicated instances. Unique features like BYOK and PrivateLink networking are also described.