# Before you begin

Before you start setting up Nexthink, read the following prerequisites.

### Understand the Nexthink architecture

The Nexthink Infinity Platform employs a unique architecture to facilitate automation and remediation across all IT environments.

See the [nexthink-infinity-platform](https://docs.nexthink.com/platform/overview/nexthink-infinity-platform "mention") page for a high-level description of this architecture. For more detailed information about the components, visit the [Infinity Specifications](https://edocs.nexthink.com/nexthink-infinity/infinity-specifications) page.

### Review Security and Legal policies

#### Security considerations

Nexthink takes information security seriously, as shown by the following key highlights of the Platform:

* Nexthink uses dedicated services and databases to ensure data segmentation for single-tenant components.
* Application services use cloud-native techniques to segment tenant data in dedicated services and database tables.
* Service mesh traffic is automatically encrypted with mutual endpoint authentication using mTLS protocol.
* Nexthink ensures fine-grained role-based access control at the application layer.

Nexthink has also invested significant resources in obtaining several cybersecurity certifications. To learn about these certifications, visit the [Security Portal](https://docs.nexthink.com/security/compliance/).

#### Legal policies

See the following documentations to learn about Nexthink's legal policies:

* [Global Privacy Hub](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/global-privacy-hub)
* [Legal FAQ](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/faq)
* [Privacy Code 2022](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/privacy-code-2022)
* [Cloud Processing Addendum](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/cloud-data-processing-addendum)
* [Data Processing Schedule](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/nexthink-data-processing-schedule)
* [Open Source Licenses](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/open-source-software-licenses)
* [Services Terms, including MSA](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/services-terms/)
* [Information Security Addendum](https://docs.nexthink.com/legal/information-security-addendum)

### Technical requirements

Verify that your system meets the following technical requirements before installing Nexthink Collector:

* [hardware-requirements](https://docs.nexthink.com/platform/configuring_nexthink/before-you-begin/technical-requirements/hardware-requirements "mention")
* [software-requirements](https://docs.nexthink.com/platform/configuring_nexthink/before-you-begin/technical-requirements/software-requirements "mention")
* [connectivity-requirements](https://docs.nexthink.com/platform/configuring_nexthink/before-you-begin/technical-requirements/connectivity-requirements "mention")