> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.unstructured.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Before you begin

Deploying a dedicated instance requires coordination across multiple teams.
Identifying the right people before onboarding starts will help avoid delays
in your deployment.

## Who to involve

### Dedicated instance administrator

This person will be the primary administrator of your Unstructured account.
They handle initial account setup, user management, and day-to-day platform
configuration.

You will need to provide their name and email address to Unstructured at the
start of onboarding.

***

### Cloud infrastructure engineer

This person performs the technical configuration required to establish private
connectivity between your environment and your dedicated instance. They need
hands-on access to your cloud account and the ability to make network and DNS
changes.

**AWS — they may need to be able to:**

* Create and manage VPC Endpoints and security groups
* Create and configure Route 53 Private Hosted Zones and DNS records

**Azure — they may need to be able to:**

* Create and manage Private Endpoints
* Create and manage Private DNS Zones

**Common titles:** Cloud Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Network Engineer,
SRE, AWS or Azure Administrator

***

### IAM or security engineer

If you plan to connect the platform to your data sources — for example, S3
buckets or Azure Blob Storage — someone will need to configure the roles and
policies that grant the platform the necessary access.

**AWS — they may need to be able to:**

* Create and manage IAM roles and policies
* Update S3 bucket policies if cross-account access is required

**Azure — they may need to be able to:**

* Assign RBAC roles to Unstructured's service principal on the relevant resources

**Common titles:** IAM Engineer, Cloud Security Engineer, AWS Administrator,
Security Engineer

***

### Security and compliance reviewer

Certain changes required to securely connect your environment to your dedicated instance may require security review or change management approval. Loop this person in early so approvals do not block progress.

See [What may require security review](#what-may-require-security-review) below.

**Common titles:** Information Security Engineer, Security Architect, Compliance
Officer, CISO or delegate

***

## What to prepare before onboarding

Before onboarding begins, Unstructured will ask you to provide the following
information to provision your dedicated instance.

| Information Required  | Description                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Name of administrator | Primary administrator of the account (others can be added later)                                                                                                                                       |
| Admin email address   | Email address of the primary administrator                                                                                                                                                             |
| Cloud provider        | AWS or Azure                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| Cloud region          | See [supported cloud providers and regions](/business/dedicated-instances/overview#supported-cloud-providers-and-regions)                                                                              |
| Private connectivity  | Whether you require private connectivity (PrivateLink on AWS, Private Link on Azure). This determines your dedicated instance URL format and what network configuration is required during onboarding. |
| Desired URL           | With private connectivity: `<companyname>.privatelink.unstructuredapp.io` — Without private connectivity: `<companyname>.unstructuredapp.io`                                                           |
| VLM provider          | Anthropic, Bedrock, OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, etc.                                                                                                                                                         |
| VLM models            | For example, Claude Sonnet 4.5, GPT-4o, or Gemini 2.0 Flash                                                                                                                                            |
| Embedding models      | For example, Titan or Granite. Ensure that you select the correct dimensions.                                                                                                                          |
| Desired connectors    | The data sources and destinations you plan to connect to the platform. This helps Unstructured plan connectivity requirements according to your prioritized use cases.                                 |

<Note>
  Dedicated instance deployments require you to supply your own AI provider credentials — Unstructured does not provide shared API keys. You can use any supported provider. Your choice determines which models are available, and which providers support private endpoint access if you need to keep model traffic off the public internet. For details, see [AI providers](/business/ai-providers).
</Note>

***

## What may require security review

The following items commonly require review or change management approval in
enterprise organizations. Identify sign-off owners before onboarding starts.

| Item                                            | Why it may require review                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Private endpoint or VPC Endpoint connectivity   | Establishing a private network connection to an external account or subscription is a network boundary change that may require network or security team approval. On AWS this involves creating VPC Endpoints; on Azure it involves creating or approving Private Endpoint connections. |
| DNS configuration changes                       | Adding private hosted zones or modifying DNS records often requires change management approval in regulated environments.                                                                                                                                                               |
| IAM or RBAC role changes for data source access | Granting any external system access to storage or data services typically requires security team review. On AWS this involves IAM policy and role changes; on Azure it involves RBAC role assignments to Unstructured's service principal.                                              |

For more information about the dedicated instance deployment model to share with your security team, see:

* [Architecture](/business/dedicated-instances/architecture)
* [Security model](/business/dedicated-instances/security/security-model)
* [Security FAQ](/business/dedicated-instances/security/security-faq)
