> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Switch to ULTIMATE Tier
> This guide explains how to activate a 30-day GitLab Ultimate trial and explore its exclusive features.
Unlock the full power of GitLab with the Ultimate subscription. In this guide, we’ll walk through activating a 30-day Ultimate trial and exploring key Ultimate-only features:
* Environment Dashboard
* Operations Dashboard
* Security Dashboard
* Protected Environments
Each section includes step-by-step instructions, screenshots, and best practices.
## Activate Your 30-Day Ultimate Trial
By default, the Environment, Operations, and Security dashboards are exclusive to Premium and Ultimate tiers. To test them on a Free account, start a 30-day Ultimate trial:
Starting a trial does **not** commit you to a paid plan—your account reverts to Free when the trial ends.
1. Go to **Help → Documentation** in the top menu.
2. Click **Start an Ultimate trial** and fill in your details: name, company, employee count, country, and phone.
3. Choose the group for the trial, for example, `demos-group`.
4. Submit the form.
Once the trial is active, a confirmation dialog displays your start and end dates.
## Navigate the Demos Group Dashboard
After activation, head back to **Groups → demos-group** to see the new dashboards and features.
## Ultimate-Tier Dashboards at a Glance
| Dashboard | Purpose | Location |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Environment Dashboard | Cross-project deployment status overview | Group → Environments |
| Operations Dashboard | Pipeline health, alerts, and metrics | Group → Operations → Dashboard |
| Security Dashboard | Vulnerability tracking and compliance status | Security & Compliance → Dashboard |
| Protected Environments | Deployment approval and access control | Project → Settings → CI/CD → Protected Environments |
***
## Environment Dashboard
The Environment Dashboard aggregates deployments across all your projects:
1. In the group view, click **Manage Environments**.
2. Select projects (e.g., `solar-system`, `solar-system-auto-devops`).
3. Click **Add**.
You’ll see the latest production, staging, and development deployments in one place.
## Operations Dashboard
Monitor operational health, pipeline status, and incident alerts for each project:
1. Navigate to **Operations → Dashboard** in your group.
2. Click **Add projects** and choose the ones you want to track.
## Security Dashboard
Track vulnerabilities and compliance status across projects:
1. Go to **Security & Compliance → Dashboard**.
2. Add your projects (e.g., `solar-system`, `solar-system-auto-devops`).
3. Run a pipeline with security scanning enabled.
After the pipeline completes, this view updates with any findings from the last 30 days.
## Protected Environments in CI/CD
Give only specific users or approvers the right to deploy to sensitive environments:
1. Open your project (e.g., **solar-system-auto-devops**).
2. Go to **Settings → CI/CD** and expand **Protected Environments**.
Protecting an environment is irreversible without removing rules—be cautious when specifying approvers.
Refer to the official documentation for full details:
[Protected Environments Documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/protected_environments/)
If **Protected Environments** doesn’t appear, refresh the page. Then click **Protect** to set a rule:
* Select environment (e.g., `production`).
* Define who can deploy.
* Assign approvers and disable “Allow the person who triggered the pipeline to approve the deployment” for stricter controls.
After saving, you’ll see your deployment and approval rules listed:
## Next Steps
Trigger another Auto DevOps pipeline to explore additional Ultimate-tier features and integrations. Stay tuned for guides on advanced security scanning, compliance reports, and performance insights.
***
## Links and References
* [GitLab Documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/)
* [Protected Environments Docs](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/protected_environments/)
* [Security & Compliance Docs](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/application_security/)
* [Operations Dashboard Docs](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/operations/dashboard/)