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# Getting Started with Unified Stream Manager

This page lists the prerequisites and deployment pathways for setting up
Unified Stream Manager (USM) to manage your Confluent Platform clusters from Confluent Cloud. Confirm your
environment meets the following requirements, then choose the deployment
pathway that matches your setup.

#### NOTE
New to USM? See [Unified Stream Manager in Confluent Platform](overview.md#usm-overview) for a conceptual introduction
before you continue.

## Prerequisites

USM requires the following environment and toolset:

* **Confluent Platform version**: USM supports Confluent Platform 7.9.6 or later
  within the 7.9.x release series or 8.1.0 or later, but Confluent Platform 8.0.x is not
  supported. If you have an existing deployment, you must upgrade
  your on-premises cluster to a supported version before you proceed. If
  you use an unsupported Confluent Platform version, the USM Agent fails to
  connect to Confluent Cloud without reporting an error.
* **Interoperability**: Review the [supported versions and
  interoperability](support-policy.md#usm-compatibility) to ensure that your Confluent Platform version
  and deployment toolset are compatible with the USM Agent.
* **Deployment toolset**: You must use one of the two supported toolsets
  to deploy and manage the USM Agent:
  * **Confluent for Kubernetes**: Deploy and manage the USM Agent
    as a native Kubernetes resource (`CustomResource`) in containerized
    environments.
  * **Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform**: Use Ansible Playbooks for Confluent Platform to deploy
    and configure the USM Agent on Linux-based virtual machines
    (VMs) or bare-metal servers.
* **Operating system support**: For non-containerized deployments, you
  can use Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 or later, or RHEL 8 with
  USM Agent 1.2.0 or later. USM Agent 1.0.x and 1.1.x are
  not compatible with RHEL 8. On those earlier versions, you can deploy
  the USM Agent on RHEL 8 VMs as a container using Podman. For a
  full list of supported operating systems, see [Supported operating systems](support-policy.md#usm-os-compatibility).
* **Networking**: The USM Agent supports IPv4 and dual-stack
  network environments. Dual-stack combines IPv4 and IPv6. Dual-stack
  networking requires USM Agent version 1.1.0 or later and Confluent Platform
  8.2 or later.

  #### IMPORTANT
  The USM Agent does not support IPv6-only environments. The
  agent requires IPv4 connectivity to communicate with Confluent Cloud.

  To configure dual-stack networking, see [IPv6 and dual-stack networking](manage/networking.md#usm-ipv6-dual-stack).

## Deployment pathways

Choose the pathway that matches your environment.

* **For a new Confluent Platform deployment**: If you are deploying Confluent Platform
  7.9.6 or later within the 7.9.x release series, or 8.1.0 or later, for
  the first time, deploy your cluster, then follow the
  [Cluster registration overview for Confluent Cloud](#register-overview).
* **For an existing Confluent Platform deployment**: If you have an
  existing deployment, you must first upgrade your cluster to a
  supported version, Confluent Platform 7.9.6 or later within the 7.9.x release
  series, or 8.1.0 or later. After the upgrade is complete, follow the
  [Cluster registration overview for Confluent Cloud](#register-overview).
* **For a hybrid deployment (existing Confluent Platform and Confluent
  Cloud)**: If you already use both Confluent Platform and Confluent Cloud, first upgrade
  your Confluent Platform cluster to a supported version, Confluent Platform 7.9.6 or later within
  the 7.9.x release series, or 8.1.0 or later. You might need to upgrade
  to the [Advanced Governance](https://docs.confluent.io/cloud/current/stream-governance/packages.html#stream-gov-packages)
  package in Confluent Cloud. Then, follow the [Cluster registration overview for Confluent Cloud](#register-overview), from
  setting up private network configuration.

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## Cluster registration overview for Confluent Cloud

Register your Confluent Platform cluster with Confluent Cloud for USM management in
five high-level steps:

1. Sign up for Confluent Cloud and configure billing.
2. Establish a secure network connection between your on-premises
   environment and Confluent Cloud.
3. Create a service account in Confluent Cloud with the required roles and
   generate API credentials for the USM Agent.
4. Deploy the USM Agent in your Confluent Platform environment using your
   chosen deployment toolset.
5. Complete the registration process to link your Confluent Platform cluster with
   Confluent Cloud. The agent begins syncing metadata and enables USM
   management capabilities.

For detailed instructions, see [Register your Confluent Platform cluster
with Confluent Cloud](https://docs.confluent.io/cloud/current/usm/register/overview.html).
If you use Confluent for Kubernetes to deploy Confluent Platform, you can also follow the
[Quick Start: USM with Confluent for Kubernetes](quickstart.md#usm-quickstart) for a complete walkthrough.

## Next steps

* Follow the [Quick Start: USM with Confluent for Kubernetes](quickstart.md#usm-quickstart) for a complete walkthrough using
  Confluent for Kubernetes.
* Learn how to [Register your cluster with Confluent Cloud](https://docs.confluent.io/cloud/current/usm/register/overview.html).
* Learn how to [Monitor your registered cluster](https://docs.confluent.io/cloud/current/usm/monitor/overview.html).

## Related content

* [Unified Stream Manager in Confluent Platform](overview.md#usm-overview)
* [USM Agent: Metrics and Metadata Reference](manage/metrics-metadata.md#usm-agent-metrics-metadata)