diff --git a/logclient/install.sh b/logclient/install.sh
index bc23643..98c33eb 100755
--- a/logclient/install.sh
+++ b/logclient/install.sh
@@ -39,6 +39,23 @@ echo "Generating Filebeat configuration..."
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/scripts/generate-config.sh" || _die "Failed to generate configuration"
 
+# Create Docker volumes
+CONFIG_VOLUME="${CONFIG_VOLUME:-${CONTAINER_NAME}_config}"
+DATA_VOLUME="${DATA_VOLUME:-${CONTAINER_NAME}_data}"
+CERTS_VOLUME="${CERTS_VOLUME:-${CONTAINER_NAME}_certs}"
+
+echo "Creating Docker volumes..."
+docker volume create "$CONFIG_VOLUME" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+docker volume create "$DATA_VOLUME" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+docker volume create "$CERTS_VOLUME" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+
+# Copy config to volume
+if [ -f "${CONFIG_PATH}/filebeat.yml" ]; then
+    echo "Copying configuration to Docker volume..."
+    docker run --rm -v "${CONFIG_VOLUME}:/config" -v "${CONFIG_PATH}:/source:ro" alpine \
+        cp /source/filebeat.yml /config/filebeat.yml
+fi
+
 # Start the new container
 bash ./start.sh || _die "Failed to start Filebeat"
 
diff --git a/logclient/scripts/generate-config.sh b/logclient/scripts/generate-config.sh
index 1dd0996..5b3d5ed 100755
--- a/logclient/scripts/generate-config.sh
+++ b/logclient/scripts/generate-config.sh
@@ -3,7 +3,14 @@
 # Generate Filebeat configuration from template
 # This script creates a filebeat.yml configuration file with proper authentication
 
-CONFIG_DIR="${CONFIG_VOLUME:-${CONFIG_PATH:-./config}}"
+# Determine config directory - use CONFIG_PATH from dropshell or fallback
+if [ -n "$CONFIG_PATH" ]; then
+    CONFIG_DIR="$CONFIG_PATH"
+elif [ -d "./config" ]; then
+    CONFIG_DIR="./config"
+else
+    CONFIG_DIR="."
+fi
 
 # Ensure config directory exists
 mkdir -p "$CONFIG_DIR"
diff --git a/logclient/start.sh b/logclient/start.sh
index 8067f90..126d642 100755
--- a/logclient/start.sh
+++ b/logclient/start.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 source "${AGENT_PATH}/common.sh"
 _check_required_env_vars "CONTAINER_NAME" "IMAGE_REGISTRY" "IMAGE_REPO" "IMAGE_TAG"
 
+# Define volume names if not set
+CONFIG_VOLUME="${CONFIG_VOLUME:-${CONTAINER_NAME}_config}"
+DATA_VOLUME="${DATA_VOLUME:-${CONTAINER_NAME}_data}"
+CERTS_VOLUME="${CERTS_VOLUME:-${CONTAINER_NAME}_certs}"
+
 # Create Docker command
 cmd="docker run -d \
     --name $CONTAINER_NAME \
diff --git a/logserver/install.sh b/logserver/install.sh
index 6a85c46..48060dc 100755
--- a/logserver/install.sh
+++ b/logserver/install.sh
@@ -56,29 +56,68 @@ fi
 echo "Starting ELK stack..."
 docker compose up -d --build || _die "Failed to start ELK stack"
 
-# Wait for services to be ready
+# Wait for services to be ready with polling
 echo "Waiting for services to start..."
-sleep 10
+MAX_WAIT=120  # Maximum 2 minutes
+WAITED=0
+while [ $WAITED -lt $MAX_WAIT ]; do
+    # Check if all services are running
+    if bash ./status.sh 2>/dev/null | grep -q "Running"; then
+        echo "All services are up!"
+        break
+    fi
 
-# Check status
-bash ./status.sh || _die "Services failed to start properly"
+    # Show progress
+    echo -n "."
+    sleep 2
+    WAITED=$((WAITED + 2))
+done
+echo ""
+
+if [ $WAITED -ge $MAX_WAIT ]; then
+    echo "Warning: Services took longer than expected to start"
+    echo "Checking current status..."
+    bash ./status.sh || true
+fi
 
 # Create custom user
-echo "Setting up custom user..."
-docker exec ${CONTAINER_NAME}_elasticsearch bash -c "
-  until curl -s -u elastic:${ELASTIC_PASSWORD} http://localhost:9200/_cluster/health | grep -q '\"status\":\"yellow\"\|\"status\":\"green\"'; do
-    sleep 2
-  done
+echo "Setting up custom user '${KIBANA_USERNAME:-admin}'..."
+echo -n "Waiting for Elasticsearch API..."
 
-  curl -X POST -u elastic:${ELASTIC_PASSWORD} \
+# First wait for Elasticsearch to be ready
+WAITED=0
+while [ $WAITED -lt 60 ]; do
+    if docker exec ${CONTAINER_NAME}_elasticsearch curl -s -u elastic:${ELASTIC_PASSWORD} http://localhost:9200/_cluster/health 2>/dev/null | grep -q '"status":"yellow"\|"status":"green"'; then
+        echo " Ready!"
+        break
+    fi
+    echo -n "."
+    sleep 2
+    WAITED=$((WAITED + 2))
+done
+
+if [ $WAITED -lt 60 ]; then
+    # Now create the user
+    docker exec ${CONTAINER_NAME}_elasticsearch bash -c "
+
+  result=\$(curl -s -X POST -u elastic:${ELASTIC_PASSWORD} \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     http://localhost:9200/_security/user/${KIBANA_USERNAME:-admin} \
     -d '{
       \"password\" : \"${KIBANA_USER_PASSWORD:-changeme}\",
       \"roles\" : [ \"superuser\" ],
       \"full_name\" : \"Admin User\"
-    }' 2>/dev/null || true
-"
+    }' 2>/dev/null)
+
+    if echo \"\$result\" | grep -q '\"created\":true'; then
+      echo \"User created successfully\"
+    else
+      echo \"User already exists (this is fine)\"
+    fi
+  "
+else
+    echo "Warning: Elasticsearch API not ready after 60 seconds"
+fi
 
 echo "Installation of ${CONTAINER_NAME} complete"
 echo ""