The CarphaCom federation: what changes when every storefront talks to the hub

The CarphaCom Federation Architecture

The CarphaCom federation is a novel approach to managing multiple storefronts, where each storefront, or tenant node, registers with a central hub at carphacom.com. This registration process enables the tenant nodes to pull signed plugin and theme tarballs, receive heartbeat health checks, and undergo license validation. In this article, we will delve into the architecture of the CarphaCom federation, exploring the wire protocol shape and the advantages of this approach over traditional per-tenant copies.

Tenant Node Registration

When a tenant node registers with the central hub, it initiates a handshake process that establishes a secure connection. The tenant node provides its unique identifier, and the central hub responds with a signed certificate, which the tenant node uses to authenticate subsequent requests. This registration process enables the central hub to maintain a record of all connected tenant nodes, facilitating the distribution of updates, plugins, and themes.

Signed Plugin and Theme Tarballs

The central hub distributes signed plugin and theme tarballs to the tenant nodes. These tarballs contain the necessary code and assets for the plugins and themes, and the digital signature ensures that the contents have not been tampered with during transmission. The tenant nodes can verify the signature using the public key provided by the central hub, guaranteeing the integrity and authenticity of the received tarballs.

Heartbeat Health Checks and License Validation

The central hub performs regular heartbeat health checks on the tenant nodes to ensure they are operational and responsive. This process involves sending a periodic ping to the tenant nodes, which respond with a confirmation signal. If a tenant node fails to respond, the central hub can take corrective action, such as sending an alert to the system administrators or attempting to restart the node. Additionally, the central hub validates the license status of each tenant node, ensuring that only authorized nodes are operating with valid licenses.

Wire Protocol Shape

The wire protocol used by the CarphaCom federation is based on a RESTful API, with JSON-formatted payloads. The protocol defines a set of endpoints for tenant node registration, plugin and theme distribution, heartbeat health checks, and license validation. For example, the POST /register endpoint is used for tenant node registration, while the GET /plugins endpoint is used for retrieving signed plugin tarballs. The protocol is designed to be extensible, allowing for the addition of new endpoints and features as needed.

POST /register HTTP/1.1
Host: carphacom.com
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "tenant_id": "example-tenant",
  "public_key": "-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----..."
}

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "certificate": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----..."
}

Advantages over Per-Tenant Copies

The CarphaCom federation approach offers several advantages over traditional per-tenant copies. Firstly, it enables centralized management of plugins and themes, making it easier to distribute updates and ensure consistency across all tenant nodes. Secondly, the use of signed tarballs and digital certificates provides an additional layer of security, protecting against tampering and ensuring the integrity of the distributed code. Finally, the federation approach allows for more efficient use of resources, as the central hub can manage multiple tenant nodes, reducing the need for redundant infrastructure.

In contrast, per-tenant copies require each tenant to maintain its own separate infrastructure, resulting in duplicated effort and increased costs. Additionally, per-tenant copies can lead to inconsistencies and fragmentation, making it more difficult to manage and update the system as a whole.

The CarphaCom federation approach represents a significant improvement over traditional per-tenant copies, offering a more scalable, secure, and efficient solution for managing multiple storefronts.

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