Directors: Management

The Directors web interface provides comprehensive management capabilities for Director deployment, configuration, and monitoring through an intuitive graphical dashboard.

Accessing Directors Dashboard

Navigate to the Directors management interface:

• Go to Home > Fleet Management > Directors

-or-

• Click the hamburger menu on the top left
• Select Fleet Management > Directors

Directors Overview

The Directors dashboard provides centralized visibility and control over all Director instances across your infrastructure. Directors orchestrate data collection, processing, and routing, with support for distributed processing through Agent pre-processing capabilities.

Directors Table

The main table displays all configured Directors with the following columns:

• Name - Unique identifier assigned during Director creation
• Mode - Management type (Managed or Self-Managed)
• Installation Type - Architecture (Standalone or Cluster)
• Status - Operational state (Enabled or Disabled)
• Connection Status - Real-time connectivity (Connected or Not Connected)
• Actions Menu (⋮) - Per-Director operations

Configuration Change Indicator

For Self-Managed Directors, a warning icon appears next to the Mode when configuration has changed:

• Warning Icon - Orange/yellow alert indicator
• Tooltip - "Configuration has changed and the current one has to be deployed"
• Action Required - Download updated configuration file and deploy to Director

Table Controls

Search and Filter:

• Search directors - Filter by Director name in search field
• Status Dropdown - Filter by operational status:
  • All - Show all Directors regardless of status
  • Enabled - Show only active Directors
  • Disabled - Show only inactive Directors
• Refresh Button - Reload table data with current filters

Primary Actions:

• Create director - Launch Director creation wizard (requires DIRECTOR_CREATE permission)

Director Actions Menu

Each Director row provides an Actions menu (⋮) with context-specific operations:

View Details:

• See details - Navigate to Director detail view

Status Management:

• Enable Director - Activate disabled Director
• Disable Director - Deactivate enabled Director

Configuration:

• Download Config - Download vmetric.vmf configuration file (Self-Managed only)

Deletion:

• Delete Director - Remove Director from platform

Create Director Wizard

The Director creation process guides you through a 3-step wizard with validation and connection verification.

Step 1: Director Setup

Director Configuration:

1. Director Name

   • Enter unique identifier for the Director
   • Minimum length: 3 characters
   • Maximum length: 64 characters
   • Used for identification across the platform

2. Installation Type Selection

   Choose Director architecture using radio tiles:

   Standalone:

   • Single Director instance
   • Simplified management
   • Suitable for most deployments
   • Quick setup process

   Cluster: (Coming Soon)

   • Multiple Director instances
   • High availability
   • Load balancing capabilities
   • Enterprise-grade reliability
   • Currently displays "Coming Soon" badge

3. Mode Selection

   Select management approach for the Director:

   Managed:

   • VirtualMetric manages Director infrastructure
   • Automated updates and maintenance
   • Proactive monitoring and support
   • Reduced operational overhead

   Self-Managed:

   • User controls Director deployment
   • Manual update management
   • Custom security configurations
   • Full infrastructure control
   • Standard deployment option

Step 2: Connect Director

Installation Command Display:

The final step provides platform-specific installation scripts and connection verification:

Installation Scripts:

• PowerShell Script - For Windows deployments
• Bash Script - For Linux/macOS deployments
• Copy Button - One-click copy to clipboard
• API Key - Auto-generated secure authentication key included in scripts

Connection Verification:

After running the installation script, verify Director connectivity:

Connection Status Indicator:

• Connecting - Director attempting initial connection
• Success - Director successfully connected to platform
• Failed - Connection attempt unsuccessful

Progress Display:

• Real-time connection status updates
• Visual indicators for each connection state
• Error messages for failed connections

Completion Options:

Connected Successfully:

• Complete Setup - Finalize and navigate to Director detail view
• Automatic redirect to Director detail page

Not Yet Connected:

• Connect Later - Save Director configuration without connection verification
• Complete Setup - Disabled until successful connection
• Return later to verify connection and complete setup

Wizard Navigation

Progress Indicator:

• Visual step progress at top of wizard
• Click steps to navigate (forward only after validation)
• Current step highlighted
• Completed steps marked with checkmark
• Invalid steps marked with error indicator

Navigation Buttons:

• Cancel/Connect Later - Exit wizard (label changes on final step)
• Create Director - Advance to next step with validation
• Complete Setup - Finalize Director creation (final step)

Director Detail View

Clicking a Director from the overview table opens the detailed management interface with three tabbed panels.

Director Details Tab

Director Information:

View and edit Director configuration through editable tiles:

General Information:

• Director Name - Editable unique identifier
• Mode - Management type (Managed or Self-Managed)
• Installation Type - Architecture (Standalone or Cluster)
• Status - Current operational state
• Connection Status - Real-time connectivity indicator

Edit Functionality:

• Edit icon on tiles for inline editing
• Save changes with validation
• Cancel to discard modifications
• Real-time validation feedback

Connection Details Tab

Installation Command Panel:

Access installation and reinstallation resources:

Installation Scripts:

• Platform-specific installation commands
• PowerShell script for Windows
• Bash script for Linux/macOS
• Copy button for easy clipboard access

API Key Management:

• Display current API key
• Regenerate API key when needed
• Update scripts with new key automatically

Reinstallation Process:

• Access reinstallation commands
• Use when Director needs redeployment
• Maintains configuration and settings
• Preserves Director identity and connections

Activity Logs Tab

Director Activity History:

Track Director operations and lifecycle events through comprehensive activity logging:

Activity Table Columns:

• Timestamp - Date and time of activity
• Action - Operation performed
• Status - Result of action (Success, Failed, Pending)
• Details - Additional context for activity

Activity Types:

• Director created
• Director enabled/disabled
• Configuration changes
• Connection events
• Update operations
• Status changes

Table Features:

• Search activities by action or details
• Sort by timestamp, action, or status
• Pagination for large activity logs
• Export activity history

Director Operations

Enable/Disable Director

Enable Director:

Activate a disabled Director to resume operations:

1. Navigate to Director detail view
2. Click Actions menu
3. Select Enable Director
4. Confirmation notification displays success
5. Director status updates to "Enabled"
6. Connection status becomes active

Disable Director:

Deactivate an enabled Director to pause operations:

1. Navigate to Director detail view
2. Click Actions menu
3. Select Disable Director
4. Confirmation notification displays success
5. Director status updates to "Disabled"
6. Stops processing data but preserves configuration

Download Configuration

For Self-Managed Directors:

Download the current Director configuration file for deployment:

1. Navigate to Director detail view
2. Click Actions menu
3. Select Download Config
4. System downloads vmetric.vmf file to browser's Downloads directory
5. Deploy file to <vm_root>/Director/config/ directory on Director server

Configuration Update Workflow:

When configuration changes occur:

• Warning icon appears next to "Self-managed" mode indicator
• Tooltip indicates deployment needed
• Download updated config file
• Replace existing config on Director server
• Restart Director service to apply changes

Delete Director

Delete Director Process:

Remove a Director from the platform with dependency checking:

1. Navigate to Director detail view (or use Actions menu from overview)
2. Click Actions menu
3. Select Delete Director
4. Deletion modal appears with confirmation

Standard Deletion:

• Confirm Director name matches
• Click Delete to proceed
• Success notification confirms deletion
• Redirect to Directors overview

Deletion with Dependencies:

If Director has active dependencies, error modal displays:

Error Modal Contents:

• "Cannot delete Director" message
• Devices - List of devices using this Director
• Agents - List of agents connected to this Director
• Action Required - Remove or reassign dependencies before deletion

Dependency Resolution:

1. Note listed devices and agents
2. Reassign devices to different Director or delete
3. Reassign agents to different Director or delete
4. Retry Director deletion after dependencies removed

Agent Pre-Processing Management

Directors can configure Agents to perform pipeline-based pre-processing of logs before transmission. This distributed processing model reduces Director workload and enables edge-based data transformation.

Pre-Processing Architecture

Processing Flow with Agent Pre-Processing:

1. Agent Collection - Agent collects logs locally at endpoint
2. Agent Processing - Agent executes configured pipeline transformations
3. Agent Transmission - Agent sends pre-processed data to Director
4. Director Routing - Director forwards data to targets (optional additional processing)

Processing Flow without Agent Pre-Processing:

1. Agent Collection - Agent collects logs locally at endpoint
2. Agent Transmission - Agent sends raw data to Director
3. Director Processing - Director executes pipeline transformations
4. Director Routing - Director forwards processed data to targets

Configuring Agent Pre-Processing

Agent pre-processing is configured through device settings in the Director interface:

Configuration Location:

• Navigate to Home > Fleet Management > Devices
• Select the Agent device to configure
• Assign pipeline to device configuration
• Pipeline executes on Agent before data transmission

Pipeline Assignment:

• Same pipeline syntax as Director pipelines
• All processor types available for Agent execution
• Configuration managed centrally through Director
• Changes synchronized automatically to Agents

Pre-Processing Use Cases

High-Volume Log Filtering:

• Filter non-essential logs at collection point
• Reduce network bandwidth consumption
• Distribute processing load across Agents
• Improve Director scalability

Edge-Based Compliance:

• Mask sensitive data (PII, credentials) at source
• Apply regulatory transformations before transmission
• Ensure compliance before data leaves endpoint
• Support data sovereignty requirements

Distributed Processing:

• Process data locally in remote offices
• Minimize central Director processing load
• Support intermittent connectivity scenarios
• Optimize infrastructure costs

Configuration Best Practices

Pipeline Design:

• Use Agent pre-processing for filtering and basic transformations
• Reserve complex processing (enrichment, external lookups) for Director
• Balance processing load between Agents and Directors
• Monitor Agent resource utilization

Performance Optimization:

• Assign lightweight pipelines to resource-constrained Agents
• Use Director processing for computationally intensive operations
• Test pipeline performance on Agent hardware before deployment
• Monitor Agent CPU and memory usage

Operational Management:

• Configure pipelines centrally through Director interface
• Use hot configuration reload to update Agent pipelines
• Monitor Agent processing metrics through Director dashboard
• Maintain pipeline version consistency across Agents

Notifications

The Directors interface provides automatic notifications for all operations:

Success Notifications

Auto-dismissing success messages (10-second timeout):

• Director Created (Connected) - New Director successfully created and connected
• Director Created (Not Connected) - New Director created but connection pending
• Director Enabled - Director successfully activated
• Director Disabled - Director successfully deactivated
• Director Deleted - Director successfully removed from platform

Error Notifications

Persistent error notifications requiring user action:

• Enable Failed - Director could not be enabled
• Disable Failed - Director could not be disabled
• Delete Failed - Director deletion unsuccessful
• Configuration Download Error - Config file download failed with timestamp

Notification Actions

Auto-Close:

• Success notifications auto-dismiss after 10 seconds
• Hover to pause auto-close timer
• Click X to manually dismiss

Manual Dismiss:

• Error notifications require manual dismissal
• Review error details before dismissing
• Take corrective action based on error message

Director Management Best Practices

Configuration Management

Self-Managed Directors:

• Monitor configuration change indicators regularly
• Download and deploy config updates promptly
• Test configuration changes in non-production first
• Maintain configuration version history
• Review Agent pre-processing configurations when updating Director pipelines

Managed Directors:

• VirtualMetric handles configuration updates automatically
• Monitor activity logs for automated changes
• Review notifications for update confirmations

Status Monitoring

Connection Status:

• Regularly verify "Connected" status in overview table
• Investigate "Not Connected" status immediately
• Check Activity Logs for connection event history
• Review Director logs for connectivity issues

Operational Status:

• Keep Directors "Enabled" for active data processing
• Use "Disabled" status for maintenance windows
• Document reason for status changes in external systems
• Monitor activity logs for unexpected status changes

Lifecycle Management

Creation:

• Use descriptive, meaningful Director names
• Select appropriate Mode for operational requirements
• Verify connection before completing setup
• Document Director purpose and deployment details

Maintenance:

• Review Activity Logs periodically
• Keep Directors updated with latest configurations
• Monitor connection status for reliability
• Test configuration changes before deployment

Deletion:

• Verify no active dependencies before deletion
• Document reason for Director removal
• Archive Activity Logs for compliance
• Reassign workloads to remaining Directors