pgEdge · jason-lynch · Mar 25, 2026
diff --git a/docs/installation/index.md b/docs/installation/index.md
@@ -6,4 +6,6 @@ In the documentation, you'll find instructions for deploying Control Plane in tw
 
 * The [Quickstart guide](quickstart.md) deploys a three node distributed Postgres database on your local host, creating a perfect environment for experimenting with Control Plane.
 
-* Visit [Installing the Control Plane](installation.md) for detailed instructions for deploying a Control Plane server to your custom hosts.
+* Visit [Installing the Control Plane](installation.md) for detailed instructions for deploying a Control Plane server to your custom hosts.
+
+* [Installing via System Packages](systemd.md) covers installing the Control Plane via system packages, without Docker. This is a **preview feature** and is not recommended for production use. Currently only supports installation through RPMs.
diff --git a/docs/installation/installation.md b/docs/installation/installation.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 This guide contains instructions for deploying the Control Plane on a set of Linux hosts, such as virtual machines or bare metal servers. 
 
-Control Plan excels at managing Postgres in a highly-available configuration.  To review a list of best practices for Control Plane deployment in a high-availability environment, visit [here](../using-ha/index.md).
+Control Plane excels at managing Postgres in a highly-available configuration.  To review a list of best practices for Control Plane deployment in a high-availability environment, visit [here](../using-ha/index.md).
 
 
 ## Initializing Docker Swarm

diff --git a/docs/installation/systemd.md b/docs/installation/systemd.md
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+# Installing the pgEdge Control Plane via System Packages
+
+!!! warning "Preview Feature"
+
+    System package-based installation is a preview feature. Not all Control Plane
+    features are supported, and some aspects of this
+    installation method are subject to change. We do not recommend it for
+    production environments yet. We'd love your feedback - please share your
+    experience in our [GitHub issues](https://github.com/pgedge/control-plane/issues)
+    or join our [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/pgedge/login).
+
+This guide covers installing the pgEdge Control Plane on RPM-based Linux hosts
+(e.g. RHEL, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux) using the RPM package attached to each
+[GitHub release](https://github.com/pgedge/control-plane/releases). Support for
+Debian-based hosts is coming in a future release.
+
+Unlike the Docker Swarm installation method, the system package installation
+runs the Control Plane directly on the host. The Control Plane will use systemd
+to manage Postgres instances rather than Docker containers.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+The Control Plane depends on the pgEdge Enterprise Postgres Packages. It does
+not yet install Postgres or its supporting packages automatically. You must
+install them on each host before starting the Control Plane.
+
+Run the following on each host as root:
+
+```sh
+# Install prerequisites for the pgEdge Enterprise Postgres packages
+dnf install -y epel-release dnf
+dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb
+
+# Install the pgEdge Enterprise Postgres repository
+dnf install -y https://dnf.pgedge.com/reporpm/pgedge-release-latest.noarch.rpm
+
+# Install the required packages for your Postgres version. We currently support
+# versions 16, 17, and 18. Set postgres_major_version to your desired version.
+POSTGRES_MAJOR_VERSION='<16|17|18>'
+dnf install -y \
+      pgedge-postgresql${POSTGRES_MAJOR_VERSION} \
+      pgedge-spock50_${POSTGRES_MAJOR_VERSION} \
+      pgedge-postgresql${POSTGRES_MAJOR_VERSION}-contrib \
+      pgedge-pgbackrest \
+      pgedge-python3-psycopg2
+
+# Install Patroni
+dnf install -y python3-pip
+pip install 'patroni[etcd,jsonlogger]==4.1.0'
+```
+
+## Installing the RPM
+
+Download the RPM for your architecture from the
+[GitHub releases page](https://github.com/pgedge/control-plane/releases). RPMs
+are available for both `amd64` and `arm64`.
+
+Install the RPM with:
+
+```sh
+rpm -i pgedge-control-plane-<version>.<arch>.rpm
+```
+
+The RPM installs:
+
+- `/usr/sbin/pgedge-control-plane` - the Control Plane binary
+- `/usr/lib/systemd/system/pgedge-control-plane.service` - the systemd service unit
+- `/etc/pgedge-control-plane/config.json` - the default configuration file
+
+## Configuration
+
+The default configuration file is located at
+`/etc/pgedge-control-plane/config.json`:
+
+```json
+{
+  "orchestrator": "systemd",
+  "data_dir": "/var/lib/pgedge-control-plane"
+}
+```
+
+The `orchestrator` field must be set to `"systemd"` for this installation
+method. The `data_dir` is where the Control Plane stores its state, including
+the embedded Etcd data.
+
+The host ID defaults to the machine's short hostname. To set an explicit host
+ID, add a `host_id` field to the config file:
+
+```json
+{
+  "orchestrator": "systemd",
+  "data_dir": "/var/lib/pgedge-control-plane",
+  "host_id": "my-host-1"
+}
+```
+
+## Starting the Control Plane
+
+Start and enable the Control Plane service:
+
+```sh
+systemctl enable --now pgedge-control-plane.service
+```
+
+To check the service status:
+
+```sh
+systemctl status pgedge-control-plane.service
+```
+
+To tail the logs:
+
+```sh
+journalctl -u pgedge-control-plane.service --follow
+```
+
+## Initializing the Control Plane
+
+Once the service is running on all hosts, initialize and join them the same way
+as a Docker Swarm installation.
+
+Initialize the cluster on the first host:
+
+```sh
+curl http://localhost:3000/v1/cluster/init
+```
+
+The response contains a join token and server URL:
+
+```json
+{
+  "token": "PGEDGE-0c470f2eac35bb25135654a8dd9c812fc4aca4be8c8e34483c0e279ab79a7d30-907336deda459ebc79079babf08036fc",
+  "server_url": "http://198.19.249.2:3000"
+}
+```
+
+Join each additional host to the cluster by submitting a `POST` request to that
+host's `/v1/cluster/join` endpoint with the token and server URL from the
+previous step:
+
+```sh
+curl -i -X POST http://<host_ip>:3000/v1/cluster/join \
+    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+    --data '{
+        "token": "PGEDGE-0c470f2eac35bb25135654a8dd9c812fc4aca4be8c8e34483c0e279ab79a7d30-907336deda459ebc79079babf08036fc",
+        "server_url": "http://198.19.249.2:3000"
+    }'
+```
+
+Repeat for each host. Once all hosts have joined, you can interact with the API
+from any host in the cluster.
+
+## Updating the Control Plane
+
+To update to a newer version, download the new RPM from the
+[GitHub releases page](https://github.com/pgedge/control-plane/releases) and
+run:
+
+```sh
+systemctl stop pgedge-control-plane.service
+rpm -U pgedge-control-plane-<new-version>.<arch>.rpm
+systemctl start pgedge-control-plane.service
+```
+
+!!! note
+
+    The RPM upgrade (`rpm -U`) preserves your existing configuration file at
+    `/etc/pgedge-control-plane/config.json` because it is marked as a
+    non-replaceable config file.
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ nav:
       - Configuration Options: installation/configuration.md
       - Upgrading a Control Plane Installation: installation/upgrading.md
       - Configuring mTLS: installation/mtls.md
+      - Installing the pgEdge Control Plane via System Packages: installation/systemd.md
   - Managing a High-Availability Environment:
       - Best Practices for Deploying a High-Availability Cluster: using-ha/index.md
       - Connecting to a High-Availability Cluster: using-ha/ha-connections.md