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# Private Nodes

Canonical URL: https://apicontext.com/features/private-nodes
Source: static

Description: Deploy lightweight APIContext nodes behind your firewall to test internal APIs, private services, and employee\-facing workflows without exposing sensitive systems to the public internet\.

## Summary
Monitor APIs and apps inside your network\. Deploy lightweight APIContext nodes behind your firewall to test internal APIs, private services, and employee\-facing workflows without exposing sensitive systems to the public internet\.

## Stats
- <5m to deploy the first node
- 0 inbound firewall rules required
- VPC cloud, hybrid, or on\-prem
- OTEL traces from inside the boundary

## Page sections

### Run outside\-in checks from inside your own infrastructure\.
Category: Inside the boundary
Private nodes execute the same synthetic journeys as cloud POPs, but originate from your network so internal APIs, staging environments, and restricted applications can be tested safely\.

### Drop a lightweight runner into any private environment\.
Category: Container\-native deployment
Run agents as Docker containers, scheduled jobs, or service workloads in your VPC, data center, Kubernetes cluster, or secure network segment\.

- Docker\-first deployment
- Kubernetes and VM friendly
- Outbound connection to APIContext
- No public exposure of internal endpoints

### Test business\-critical APIs customers and employees depend on\.
Category: Behind\-firewall monitoring
Validate private applications, partner integrations, internal APIs, and remote employee workflows from the places where they actually run\.

- Internal API availability
- Employee workflow checks
- Partner and branch\-office perspectives
- Private DNS and network path validation

### Keep sensitive calls and credentials under your control\.
Category: Data control
Agents run inside your infrastructure using your enterprise credentials, secrets, and network policies\. APIContext receives telemetry, not unrestricted access to your private services\.

- Use your identity and secret stores
- Control who calls which services
- Keep request paths inside your boundary
- Send clean OTEL signal to your observability stack

### Private\-node telemetry flows into the same tools your teams already use
Outbound\-only: Agents connect out to APIContext, so private services do not need inbound public access\. Credential control: Use your own enterprise auth, vault, and network policy for private checks\. Hybrid coverage: Combine public cloud POPs with private locations for a complete customer\-to\-origin picture\. Internal synthetics: Run the same API, browser, and workflow checks against internal\-only systems\. Topology\-aware: Separate cloud, edge, origin, and private\-network failures in a single journey\. OTEL\-native: Forward traces, logs, metrics, and events from private runs to your existing tools\.

## Key facts
- Docker deploy
- Outbound\-only
- Private APIs
- Internal workflows
- Enterprise credentials
- <5m to deploy the first node
- 0 inbound firewall rules required
- VPC cloud, hybrid, or on\-prem
- OTEL traces from inside the boundary
- Outbound\-only: Agents connect out to APIContext, so private services do not need inbound public access\.
- Credential control: Use your own enterprise auth, vault, and network policy for private checks\.
- Hybrid coverage: Combine public cloud POPs with private locations for a complete customer\-to\-origin picture\.
- Internal synthetics: Run the same API, browser, and workflow checks against internal\-only systems\.

## Primary entities
- APIContext
- Features
- API monitoring
- OpenTelemetry
- Docker deploy
- Outbound\-only
- Private APIs
- Internal workflows
- Enterprise credentials

## Audience
- API teams
- SRE teams
- platform teams

## Primary links
- [Start monitoring behind the firewall\.](/contact)