docs(cloud): add provider configuration planning guide for INIT_CONFIG

Co-authored-by: pontusringblom <[email protected]>

Author: Copilot

content/en/cloud/self-hosted/planning/_index.md

@@ -1,5 +1,32 @@
 ---
-title: Planning Layer5 Cloud Deployment
+title: Planning
+
+## Provider Configuration Planning
+
+When planning your self-hosted Layer5 Cloud deployment, consider how you will initialize and configure your provider instance. The `INIT_CONFIG` environment variable enables you to automate provider configuration during deployment.
+
+### Configuration Strategy
+
+Before deploying, plan your configuration approach:
+
+1. **Provider Identity**: Define your provider name and identification
+2. **Initial Settings**: Determine which settings need to be configured at startup
+3. **Configuration Management**: Decide how configuration will be managed (environment variables, secrets, config files)
+4. **Update Strategy**: Plan for configuration updates and changes over time
+
+### Using INIT_CONFIG for Automated Setup
+
+The `INIT_CONFIG` environment variable allows you to pre-configure your provider during deployment, eliminating manual setup steps. This is particularly valuable for:
+
+- **Reproducible Deployments**: Ensure consistent configuration across environments
+- **CI/CD Integration**: Automate deployments with predefined configurations
+- **Infrastructure as Code**: Manage provider configuration alongside your infrastructure
+
+For detailed usage and examples, see the [Deployment Guide](/cloud/self-hosted/deployment/#init_config).
+
+{{< alert type="warning" title="Important" >}}
+Plan your INIT_CONFIG carefully as it is only processed during initial startup. Changes require redeployment or manual configuration updates.
+{{< /alert >}} Layer5 Cloud Deployment
 description: "Understand deployment prerequisites and prepare your environment for a secure and scalable Layer5 Cloud deployment."
 categories: [Self-Hosted]
 #tags: [helm]