Layer, also referred to as a Node group, is a set of similar containers in a single environment. There is a set of predefined layers within CirrusGrid topology wizard for certified containers, such as:
- load balancer (LB)
- compute (CP)
- database (DB)
- data storage (DS)
- cache
- VPS
- build node
- extra (custom layer; multiple ones can be added for Docker-based environments)

The layers are designed to perform different actions with the same type of containers at once. For example, the nodes can be simultaneously restarted or redeployed, as well as horizontally scaled:
- manually via dashboard
- automatically based on the load triggers
Also, it is possible to check the common logs and stats, or make the required configurations via file manager for all containers in a layer.
In addition, the containers of one layer are distributed across different hosts using anti-affinity rules, ensuring even more reliability and high-availability for hosted applications.