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Create a Director

A Director is the engine that processes your data flows. It receives data from your sources (Devices), processes it through pipelines, and sends it to your destinations (Targets). It is the central orchestrator of your data pipeline.

Directors are installed in your own infrastructure (cloud or on-premises) and can operate in two modes:

  • Managed: Fully controlled through the DataStream portal (configurations, updates, monitoring)
  • Self-managed: You download configurations and manage updates independently
  • From the Home dashboard, use the sidebar to navigate to Fleet Management > Directors
  • Click the Create new director button to open the creation wizard

The wizard has four steps: Director Setup, Access Management, Connect Director, and Update Management.

Director Setup​

This step defines your Director's identity and mode.

  1. Name: Enter a descriptive name (e.g., "My First Director")

  2. Choose director mode

    note

    You can choose either of the options. In this guide, we will select Managed

  3. Click Next step to continue

Access Management​

This step configures access tokens and IP restrictions for the Director.

For initial setup, leave the default settings (access tokens disabled, no access restrictions) and click Create director.

This creates the Director record in DataStream and advances to the connection step.

Connect Director​

This step provides the installation script for deploying the Director software on your server.

note

The Director is installed on a dedicated server in your infrastructure (cloud VM or on-premises), not on your local workstation. Ensure the server has internet access before proceeding.

  1. Choose your platform: Select PowerShell (Windows) or Bash (Linux/macOS)

  2. Copy the installation command: The code snippet contains the installation script with your API key embedded. Click the copy button to copy the entire command.

  3. Run the script on your server:

    • Connect to your target server (cloud VM or on-premises)
    • Open a terminal with administrator privileges
    • Paste and run the installation command
    • Wait for the installation to complete
info

Ensure port 443 is open for outbound connections from your Director host. This allows the Director to communicate with the DataStream cloud portal.

  1. Verify the connection: Click Verify connection in the DataStream interface and wait for the Connection Successful message

    If connection fails, check network connectivity and firewall settings.

Alternatively, click Connect later to skip verification and connect your Director at a later time.

  1. Click Next step to continue

Update Management​

This step configures how your Director receives updates.

For initial setup, leave the default settings (organization-level update policy) and click Complete setup.

You are returned to the Directors list.

Verify Your Director​

You should now see your Director in the Directors table with:

  • Status: Enabled
  • Connection Status: Connected

Troubleshooting​

Connection Issues

  • Verify port 443 is open for outbound traffic
  • Check that your server can reach the DataStream cloud endpoints
  • Ensure the installation script ran without errors
  • Try the Re-install Director option from the Director detail page

Installation Problems

  • Confirm you're running the terminal as administrator
  • Verify internet connectivity during installation
  • Review any error messages in the terminal output

What's Next?​

Your Director is now ready to manage data flows. Next, we add your first data source by creating a Device.

Next: Add Your First Device to start collecting data.