# Instances

## What is an Instance?

An instance is a running UMH Core container - a single Docker container that hosts your entire Unified Namespace. Each instance is identified by its location path (like `enterprise.site.area.line`) which determines where data is organized in your industrial data infrastructure.

## Instance Overview Page

![Instance Overview](/files/cuQHkqPfWejU51z5k2N9)

The instance overview shows all your UMH instances at a glance:

* **Instance Name**: Your chosen identifier for the instance
* **Type**:
  * **Core**: Single container deployment (UMH Core)
  * **Classic**: Kubernetes-based deployment (legacy)
* **Version**: Container version identifier (e.g., `9e22396`)
* **Data Flows**: Number of configured bridges and stand-alone flows
* **Topics**: Total data points in your Unified Namespace
* **Latency**: Network response time in milliseconds
* **Throughput**: Messages per second flowing through the system

**Status indicators:**

* Green dot: Instance is online and reachable
* Gray dot: Instance is offline or unreachable

**Quick actions:** Click the context menu (⋮) on any instance for:

* Instance Details
* Config File
* Delete

## Instance Details Page

![Instance Details](/files/PrcreTNREh8FvF6sIb4K)

The instance details page provides comprehensive monitoring and management:

### Agent Panel

* **Name**: Instance identifier (e.g., `sk-core-hetzner`)
* **Location path**: Your organizational structure
  * Level 0: Enterprise (required)
  * Level 1-4: Site, Area, Line, etc. (optional)
* **Latency**: Connection health indicator (N/A when healthy)
* **Logs button**: Access S6 system logs for diagnostics

### Container Panel

Real-time resource monitoring:

* **CPU**: Usage percentage of available cores
* **Memory**: Usage of available RAM (GiB)
* **Disk**: Storage usage (GiB)
* **Architecture**: System architecture (e.g., `amd64`)
* **Hardware ID**: Unique container identifier

### Data Flows Panel

Bridge and flow status breakdown based on [state machines](/reference/state-machines.md):

* **Active**: Currently processing data (messages flowing)
* **Neutral**: Includes:
  * `idle`: Healthy but no data for 30+ seconds
  * `stopped`: Intentionally disabled
  * `starting`: Initialization in progress
  * Various transition states

Example states:

* `starting_dfc (port is open)`: Connection verified, waiting for Benthos initialization
* `starting: stopping: stopping`: Complex state transition in progress

**Bridges count**: Total configured with active/neutral breakdown

### Redpanda Panel

The message broker powering your [Unified Namespace](/usage/unified-namespace.md):

* **Incoming Throughput**: Data rate into the broker (KiB/s)
* **Outgoing Throughput**: Data rate from the broker (KiB/s)
* **Logs/Metrics buttons**: Direct access to Redpanda diagnostics

### Topic Browser Panel

* **Topics count**: Total number of data topics
* Quick access to the [Topic Browser](/usage/unified-namespace/topic-browser.md) for data exploration

### Release Panel

Version information for support and updates:

* **Version**: Full semantic version (e.g., `v0.43.4`)
* **Channel**: Release channel (`stable`, `beta`, etc.)
* **Software versions**: Individual component versions (S6 Overlay, Benthos, Redpanda)

## Next Steps

* **Configure your instance**: [Edit the config file](/usage/instances/config-file.md)
* **Connect devices**: [Create bridges](/usage/data-flows/bridges.md)
* **View your data**: [Topic Browser](/usage/unified-namespace/topic-browser.md)
* **Understand states**: [State Machines reference](/reference/state-machines.md)


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.umh.app/usage/instances.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.