In accordance with an embodiment, described herein are systems and methods for simulating a cloud environment on a physical platform. In an embodiment, a physical assembly is provided within a cloud environment and a physical plug-in configured to provide a virtual assembly builder-like environment on a physical platform. The physical assembly is an installable software suite including software configured to support provisioning of applications for providing services. The physical plug-in is configured to enable installation of the physical assembly on the physical platform. The physical plug-in is also configured to enable support for administering the services of the cloud platform component via the software installed from the physical assembly.