Component C16 – Image Harbor
By Raj Marni. March 23, 2025. Revised. Version: 0.1.22
Overview
Component C16 – Image Harbor is the backbone for image storage in the Orbit Plane. By providing a secure, scalable, and highly available storage solution based on S3 bucket technology, it plays a vital role in ensuring that images uploaded via the OpsBoard are preserved accurately and can be efficiently retrieved for deployment and further processing. Its integration with other components ensures a seamless flow of artifacts across the deployment pipeline, making it a cornerstone of the overall architecture.
Key Functions
Image Storage & Retrieval
Persistent Storage: Safely stores the binary image files uploaded via the K8or Portal (C8).
Efficient Retrieval: Enables quick access to images when needed for deployment, processing, or auditing.
Data Integrity & Versioning
Integrity Checks: Implements mechanisms (e.g., checksums, ETags) to ensure that stored images are not corrupted.
Version Control: Supports versioning to track updates and modifications to the image files over time.
Scalability & Availability
Scalable Infrastructure: Leverages S3’s inherent scalability to handle a growing number of images and large data volumes.
High Availability: Ensures that images are accessible across various environments, even as clusters in the Cluster Plane are dynamically provisioned or decommissioned.
Security & Access Management
Access Policies: Enforces fine-grained access control policies to ensure that only authorized services and users can interact with the stored images.
Encryption: Supports both in-transit and at-rest encryption, maintaining data security and compliance with best practices.
Architecture & Interaction
Internal Structure
Storage Backend:
Typically built on S3 or an S3-compatible object storage service, which inherently provides durability, scalability, and ease of access.
Management Layer:
Integrates with management tools or APIs that handle image lifecycle operations (upload, update, deletion, versioning).
External Interactions
Upstream (from C8 – OpsBoard):
Receiving Images: When a user uploads an image through the OpsBoard, the image is forwarded to Image Harbor for storage.
Metadata Association: While the actual image is stored in C16, associated metadata is typically handled by other components (e.g., C20 or C32).
Downstream:
Chart Generation & Deployment: Other components such as the Manifestor (C12) and Chart Artifact (C24) may reference stored images in C16 during deployment creation.
Data Retrieval for Processing: Ephemeral clusters in the Cluster Plane, when deploying applications, retrieve images from Image Harbor to ensure they are using the correct versions of the application binaries.
Benefits & Impact
Reliability & Durability:
Ensures that image files are reliably stored with high durability, mitigating risks of data loss.
Performance & Scalability:
Supports high-throughput read and write operations, making it ideal for dynamic, high-demand environments.
Security Compliance:
With robust access controls and encryption capabilities, Image Harbor helps maintain compliance with security standards and protects sensitive application data.
Below is the Layer 3 detailed view for Component C16 – Image Harbor. This level delves into its internal modules, mechanisms, and interactions with surrounding components as depicted in the diagram (connections labeled C4C16-1, C12C16-1, and C8C16-1).
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