Gitlab Runners on Buildservers

Buildservers
4 days ago
1 min read

Selfhosted gitlab runner on bare metal in the EU

What is GitLab Runner?

GitLab Runner is a lightweight, open-source application that works with GitLab CI/CD to run automated jobs in your development pipeline — from compiling code and running tests to building Docker containers and deploying to production.

It acts as the execution agent that picks up instructions from your GitLab CI configuration (.gitlab-ci.yml) and performs them on a machine you control — whether that's in the cloud, in a container, or on a dedicated bare-metal server in our Buildserver offerings.

Key Benefits of GitLab Runner

Control & Flexibility

Self-hosted runners give you full control over the environment, dependencies, performance, and security of your CI/CD pipeline. You decide the compute, memory, and storage used.

Fast Execution

Running builds on dedicated hardware avoids shared queue delays and delivers consistently faster pipelines — ideal for high-volume teams and performance-critical jobs.

Data Privacy

Since jobs run on your infrastructure, no source code or secrets leave your private environment — especially important for compliance or enterprise policies.

Cost Efficiency

GitLab.com shared runners come with usage limits and restrictions. Self-hosted GitLab Runners avoid these and can scale on your terms with predictable costs.

How GitLab Runner Works

Gitlab runner for CI/CD pipelines in the EU using dedicated servers and build servers

Workflow Overview:

1. Developer pushes code to GitLab

2. GitLab triggers a CI pipeline

3. GitLab Runner pulls job definitions

4. Jobs are executed on the runner host

5. Results are sent back to GitLab

Runner Types

Runner Type	Description	Best For
Shared Runners	Provided by GitLab.com and shared across projects	Small teams or temporary workloads
Group/Project Runners	Scoped to specific groups or projects	Mid-size teams
Self-Hosted Runners	Installed on your own infrastructure	Large teams, regulated industries

Why Use Self-Hosted GitLab Runners?

Benefit	Description
Full Performance	No throttling or shared queues
Build Customization	Tailor environments with specific tools, compilers, or OS versions
Secure Job Execution	Jobs and credentials stay in your network
Docker-in-Docker Support	Run complex workflows requiring nested containers
Enterprise Compliance	Aligns with internal security and audit standards