epflsti/cluster.coreos.powerbox repository overview

⁠cluster.coreos.powerbox: access local privileged services in EPFL-STI clusters

This is experimental, work-in-progress software.

⁠Design Notes

• /run/power is where power is stored and shared
• Power is the ability to cause things. In the epfl-sti/cluster.* security model, power is controlled under principle of least authority (POLA).
  • You start out with as little power as practically possible
  • If you need more, you don't just grab power; you ask nicely for it, and the powerbox hands it out to you (after checking access, of course)
• In a cluster, power comes in two flavors: power over things that run on the same host; and power to talk on the network. This package deals mainly with the former (we plan to rely on Calico⁠ for the latter)
• Local power consists of small, read-only files (e.g. passwords), and UNIX domain sockets
• Power begets power⁠: you can ask for more power through UNIX-domain sockets
• Power is organized in directories; granting power basically consists of mapping a directory inside the target's file tree (e.g. using docker -v)