---
name: infrastructure-hub-planning-iaas
title: Planning your infrastructure
description: You want to plan your infrastructure before you provision it to make sure that you size it correctly for your workload. IBM Cloud has several tools and sites to help you with designing and sizing your infrastructure.
last-updated: 2025-09-04
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/infrastructure-hub?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Planning your infrastructure
{: #planning-2}

You want to plan your infrastructure before you provision it to make sure that you size it correctly for your workload. IBM Cloud has several tools and sites to help you with designing and sizing your infrastructure.

## Infrastructure architecture
{: #planning-3}

Start with [IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service)](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/iaas){: external} to get a more in-depth overview of the infrastructure-as-a-service platform and architecture.

## IBM Cloud Stencils
{: #planning-5}

Create a diagram of your IBM Cloud architecture by using popular diagramming tools, [IBM Cloud Stencils](https://github.com/IBM-Cloud/architecture-icons){: external}, and [ibmdiagrams](https://github.com/ibm/ibmdiagrams){: external}.

## IBM Cloud cost estimator
{: #planning-6}

Use the [IBM Cloud cost estimator](https://www.ibm.com/products/cloud/cloud-calculator){: external} to find the lowest cost estimate for the configuration that suits you best. Use this cloud price calculator to configure IBM Cloud products and to generate reliable cost estimates.

## IBM Cloud services and compliance
{: #planning-7}

As with any architecture, consider the IBM Cloud resources that you might add to your solution as you size your infrastructure. For more information, see [What are IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS?](https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/iaas-paas-saas){: external} and search for a specific service. You also need to think about any regulations that you must consider when you build your architecture. For example, is your workload considered sensitive or is it regulated? For more information, see [Compliance](https://www.ibm.com/products/cloud/compliance){: external}.

## IBM Cloud IP ranges
{: #planning-ip-ranges}

See [IBM Cloud IP ranges](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/infrastructure-hub?topic=infrastructure-hub-ibm-cloud-ip-ranges&format=markdown).

## Next steps
{: #nextsteps2}

To continue, see [Building your infrastructure](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/infrastructure-hub?topic=infrastructure-hub-compute&format=markdown) with compute services.