Dettonville Project on Dettonville

Core System Hardening Roles

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The baseline security of the entire datacenter depends on the initial stabilization pass applied to the underlying operating system. The platform handles this through two critical automation components: a dedicated initial access role (bootstrap_ansible_user) and a multi-tier orchestration role (bootstrap_linux) that executes modular configuration steps before invoking our authoritative security standard (harden_os_linux).

Technical Stand-Up Pipeline

The execution sequence within the system hardening track transitions a newly provisioned, untrusted OS footprint into a fully managed, locked-down node:

Declarative Jenkins Infrastructure

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The central automation engine behind the platform eliminates manual controller configuration, ephemeral GUI tweaks, and error-prone “click-ops” management. By enforcing a keyless operator model—where no administrator ever types configuration details or builds jobs inside an interactive user interface—the entire platform stays aligned, consistent, and easily reconstructed straight from source code.

Operator-Free Control Plane Architecture

The initialization sequence transitions raw configuration blueprints into fully dynamic execution runners without human keyboard intervention:

Baseline Infrastructure Bootstrapping

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Baseline Bootstrapping track governs the low-level lifecycle of the data center. It stabilizes raw physical chassis, injects operating system foundations, and constructs virtual hypervisor control boundaries.

Because this track establishes the initial connection vectors and credentials for untrusted or bare-metal assets, it serves as the prerequisite foundation for all downstream application runtimes.

Technical Execution Flow

The bootstrap track progresses outward from bare hardware to virtual hypervisor layers:

graph TD
A[Out-of-Band Hardware Management<br/><code>--tags bootstrap-idrac</code>] --> B[Operating System Base Stabilization<br/><code>--tags bootstrap-linux</code>]
B --> C[Hypervisor Switch & Storage Fabrics<br/><code>--tags bootstrap-esx, bootstrap-proxmox</code>]
style A fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style B fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style C fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;

Role & Tag Mapping Matrix

1. Out-of-Band Hardware Control

Target Plays: Bootstrap Dell iDRAC Hosts
Invocation Tags: bootstrap-idrac, bootstrap_dell_idrac, idrac
Core Roles: bootstrap_dell_racadm_host
Execution Mechanics: Establishes out-of-band communication paths via Dell RACADM utility interfaces. This play configures baseline hardware properties, establishes localized RAID array boundaries, modifies low-level BIOS settings, and applies hardware-level network interfaces before an operating system is ever initialized.

2. Operating System Stabilization

Target Plays: Bootstrap Linux Operating Systems
Invocation Tags: bootstrap-linux, bootstrap_linux
Core Roles: bootstrap_linux
Execution Mechanics: Converts an unconfigured base OS install into a predictable engineering node. In alignment with our strict DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) baseline, this singular role handles variations across Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, and Rocky Linux by mapping parameters to discovered host facts.
- Configures persistent network channel-bonding interface rules.
- Maps multi-tiered storage disk volumes and applies optimized mounting flags.
- Overrides package manager paths to target localized mirror systems.

3. Hypervisor Integration Profiles

Target Plays: Bootstrap ESX Hosts, Bootstrap Proxmox Hosts
Invocation Tags: bootstrap-esx, bootstrap-proxmox, bootstrap_esx, bootstrap_proxmox
Core Roles: bootstrap_esx, bootstrap_proxmox
Execution Mechanics: Sets up virtual compute fabrics. It provisions persistent storage datastores, binds isolated private switch ports, and prepares virtual node templating controllers to handle automated workload scaling.

Operational Credential Bootstrapping

When provisioning fresh infrastructure components that do not yet possess your team’s standard administrative keys or automation users, the implicit always pre-flight checks (apply_ping_test, apply_common_groups) will fail because they depend on pre-existing authentication states.

Core System Modules

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The dettonville.core module collection provides the primary lifecycle primitives required to bootstrap and stabilize raw compute instances before platform runtimes or container clusters are deployed. These assets operate natively on bare-metal systems, hypervisor instances, or private enterprise network matrices.

Module Inventory & Parameter Specifications

1. Network Interface Bonding (`core_network_bond`)

Configures kernel-level network interface aggregation to guarantee path redundancy and maximum throughput for data-plane traffic without relying on external upstream dhcp daemons.

Machine Image Delivery & Containment

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The platform enforces absolute isolation across the execution grid. By decoupling execution tools from the host operating system, target nodes require no pre-installed development packages, language runtimes, or custom binaries.

Instead, a target node simply needs a standardized, hardened container runtime base. All pipeline jobs, testing loops, and orchestration scripts run inside purpose-built, disposable container environments.

The Host Bootstrapping & Containment Pipeline

The transition from a raw compute template to an active, containerized execution worker follows a strict, repeatable path:

Platform Architecture Guidelines

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To achieve deterministic and immutable runtime states across an entire organizational domain, the underlying infrastructure must eliminate manual adjustments, ephemeral staging, and environmental drift.

The Dettonville framework enforces this by applying rigorous Configuration-as-Code (CaC) principles directly to the Control-Plane Fixtures that anchor the domain before application layers are ever introduced.

The Immutable Control-Plane Foundation

In an air-gapped or corporate datacenter environment, applications cannot rely on external, cloud-managed primitives. Instead, core network and operational fixtures must be stood up locally. The framework categorizes these foundational elements as the domain’s Deterministic Control Plane:

Runtime Fabric & Containment Roles

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Once the underlying operating system is fully stabilized and hardened by the foundational bootstrap phase, the platform provisions its active execution fabric. By isolating all downstream workloads inside standard container spaces, the system ensures zero package drift on the host nodes while supporting high-density compute and accelerated local AI processing.

Execution Fabric Stand-Up Flow

The runtime fabric roles transition a bare operating system node into an active container cluster or accelerated hardware endpoint:

Control-Plane Configuration & Identity

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Control-Plane Configuration & Identity track governs the configuration layer of the datacenter. Once a target host has been physically and structurally stabilized by the bootstrapping phase, this track injects the cryptographic profiles, local lookup tables, and management portals required to coordinate multi-node workflows.

Technical Execution Flow

The configuration track establishes security anchors before hydrating platform connectivity and automation controllers:

graph LR
A[Cryptographic Trust<br/><code>--tags bootstrap-ca-certs</code>] --> B[Core Network Control Plane<br/><code>--tags config-dns</code>]
B --> C[Orchestration Nodes<br/><code>--tags config-tower</code>]
style A fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style B fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style C fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;

Role & Tag Mapping Matrix

1. Local CA Certification & Distribution

Target Plays: Bootstrap CA Certificates
Invocation Tags: bootstrap-ca-certs
Core Roles: bootstrap_ca_certs
Execution Mechanics: Distributes and registers internal corporate root and intermediate certificates deterministically across system trust anchors. It updates the operating system’s central certificate store, allowing internal services to communicate over secure, verified mutual TLS (mTLS) channels without encountering untrusted authority alerts.

2. Core Network Control Plane

Target Plays: Configure Bind DNS Service, Configure Knot DNS Service, Configure PowerDNS Service
Invocation Tags: config-dns, config-dns-bind, config-dns-knot, config-dns-powerdns
Core Roles: bootstrap_bind_dns_host, bootstrap_knot_dns_host, bootstrap_powerdns_host
Execution Mechanics: Configures localized, high-availability authoritative name servers using open-source engines. In strict adherence to our DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) baseline, identical zone definitions and forward/reverse address layouts are parsed dynamically from a single flat-file variable matrix and mapped across the varying structural syntaxes of Bind, Knot, or PowerDNS.

3. Orchestration & Platform Tooling

Target Plays: Configure Ansible Tower/AWX Resources, Configure Jenkins Server
Invocation Tags: config-tower, config-awx, config-jenkins
Core Roles: bootstrap_awx_resources, bootstrap_jenkins_host
Execution Mechanics: Configures the primary execution runners of the enterprise.
- Jenkins: Restores plugins, provisions job templates, and maps local build worker environments.
- Ansible Tower / AWX: Programmatically constructs organizational assets (inventories, credentials, job templates, and notification targets) directly through declarative code blocks, ensuring the runner environment itself is version-controlled.

Strict DRY Configuration Paradigms

To avoid configuration drift across varying DNS backends or separate automation runner environments, all data matrices are completely decoupled from the execution code blocks.

Control-Plane Service Roles

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Once a host node is established, accelerated, and encapsulated by the runtime fabric, the platform applies target-specific service definitions. Rather than treating hosts as generic servers, site.yml matches specific inventory group scopes—such as AI inference compute clusters, corporate domain definitions, or management gateways—and configures them using dedicated service paths.

Service Track Execution Map

The control-plane service tier parses the node’s final group assignment to apply purpose-driven system profiles:

graph TD
A[Active Runtime Fabric<br/><code>bootstrap_docker_stack Complete</code>] --> B{Inventory Group Scope?}
B -- ollama_hosts / aibrix_prod --> C[Local Inference Platforms<br/><code>bootstrap_llm_host</code>]
B -- ca_domain_prefix_groups --> D[Inventory Domain Architecture<br/><code>Dynamic Target Mapping</code>]
B -- ansible_controller --> E[Declarative Automation Panels<br/><code>bootstrap_awx_resources</code>]
style A fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
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1. Local AI Inference Infrastructure (`bootstrap_llm_host`)

For air-gapped or localized enterprise machine learning spaces, the platform isolates model runtime loops entirely within your local computing farm.

Crypto & Hardening Modules

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The dettonville.crypto collection provides high-integrity primitives engineered to establish absolute defensive boundaries on target nodes. Operating under a zero-trust model inside isolated networks, these modules eliminate manual key generation and configuration drift for security fixtures.

Module Inventory & Parameter Specifications

1. Local Root & Intermediate PKI (`crypto_pki_mint`)

Orchestrates the lifecycle of a self-contained, high-availability cryptographic trust anchor. It automates local root CA distribution, intermediate certificate signing, and automated endpoint minting.

Local Hardening Standards

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Operating infrastructure in private or regulated environments requires moving away from reactive security patches and public trust assumptions. The Dettonville framework integrates cryptographic verification and operating system hardening directly into its execution loop, treating security as an immutable system property rather than a post-provisioning checklist.

Defensive Boundary Architecture

The framework operates under a zero-trust execution model inside your local network perimeter, structuring defensive layers into three clear operational vectors:

graph LR
A[Cryptographic PKI<br/><code>Isolated Trust Anchors</code>] --> B[OS Level Hardening<br/><code>CIS Baselines / PAM</code>]
B --> C[Supply Chain Lock<br/><code>Signed Payload Ingest</code>]
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style B fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style C fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;

1. Cryptographic PKI & Local Trust Anchors

Without access to external public Certificate Authorities (CAs), the domain must maintain a self-contained, high-integrity cryptographic anchor.

Secure Secrets Boundaries

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Operating a secure automation platform within private, air-gapped, or highly regulated perimeters requires moving away from clear-text configuration files and external public cloud credential managers.

The platform addresses this by establishing an immutable, localized secrets perimeter. By wrapping an open-source OpenBao server architecture inside our standardized, tag-driven container orchestration layer, sensitive tokens are fully encrypted at rest and safely injected into active service containers at runtime.

Secure Secrets Processing Loop

The cryptographic lifecycle transitions unconfigured container clusters into highly secure, automatically unsealed credential systems:

Automation Engineering Standards

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

To ensure that the datacenter orchestration remains predictable, repeatable, and maintainable across long-term lifecycles, all playbook and role development must conform to strict structural programming standards.

By treating infrastructure code with the same rigor as compiled application software, the platform completely eliminates ad-hoc modifications, fragile shell-script loops, and opaque node states.

Core Development Patterns

The framework enforces three primary software engineering concepts across the entire code repository:

graph TD
A[Decoupled Logic & Data<br/><code>Tasks vs inventory/group_vars</code>] --> B[Strict Idempotency Proofs<br/><code>Molecule Testing Lifecycle</code>]
B --> C[Flat-File Schema Output<br/><code>No External Database States</code>]
style A fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style B fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style C fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;

1. Decoupling Execution Logic from State Data

Tasks and roles must operate as generic, abstract machines. No hardcoded hostnames, interface strings, IP assignments, or target configuration blocks are permitted inside a role’s tasks/main.yml.

Deployment & Lifecycle Maintenance

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Deployment & Lifecycle Maintenance track controls active workloads and runtime systems across the environment. Once physical structures are stabilized and control planes are fully initialized, this track handles the automated expansion, updating, and resource protection of application nodes.

Technical Maintenance Flow

Workload provisioning and node optimization steps run through a predictable lifecycle path:

graph LR
A[Workload Hydration<br/><code>--tags deploy-vm</code>] --> B[Rolling Upgrades<br/><code>--tags maintenance-os-upgrade</code>]
B --> C[State Redundancy<br/><code>--tags export-tower-*</code>]
style A fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style B fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style C fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;

Role & Tag Mapping Matrix

1. VM Deployment & Continuous Scaling

Target Plays: Deploy Virtual Machine Templates
Invocation Tags: deploy-vm, deploy-app
Core Roles: Uses hypervisor-specific execution modules (vCenter/Proxmox APIs) combined with base configurations.
Execution Mechanics: Clones golden OS templates across active server environments. This play automatically assigns virtual compute resources, maps fixed storage points, hooks up network boundaries, and runs initial system setups without human intervention.

2. Zero-Downtime Cluster Upgrades

Target Plays: Maintenance | OS Upgrade & Security Patching
Invocation Tags: maintenance-os-upgrade, upgrade-packets
Core Roles: maintenance_os_upgrade
Execution Mechanics: Safely handles kernel upgrades and package updates across production groups. It gracefully cordons active systems, drains workloads, executes localized package transactions, restarts instances when necessary, and verifies node health before returning them to active clusters.

3. Disaster Recovery State Extraction

Target Plays: Remove Tower Objects, Export Tower Objects
Invocation Tags: remove-tower-resources, export-tower-resources
Core Roles: Uses automated API tasks via awx.awx.export integrations.
Execution Mechanics: Protects configuration history. It programmatically extracts all runtime parameters, organizational structures, inventories, and credential references into a single flat text asset (YAML/JSON), keeping the configuration metadata safe from hardware failures.

Recommended Execution Commands

Deploy a New Application Instance from a Gold Template

ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts site.yml --tags "deploy-vm" --limit "app_nodes"

Run a Rolling Package Security Upgrade on the Compute Group

ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts site.yml --tags "maintenance-os-upgrade" --limit "edge_compute"

Export Ansible Tower Resource Parameters into Text Assets

ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts site.yml --tags "export-tower-resources"

Platform Engine Modules

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The dettonville.engine collection provides the runtime abstraction layers necessary to deliver unified developer platforms and automation runtimes without public cloud control structures. These modules provision isolated container spaces, local binary endpoints, and highly optimized hardware computing resources for artificial intelligence workflows.

Module Inventory & Parameter Specifications

1. Isolated Container Runtimes (`engine_container_stack`)

Installs and stabilizes upstream container engines and local execution namespaces, isolating virtual process loops while strictly blocking external runtime socket exposure.

Programmatic Inventory Lifecycle

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The platform maintains absolute alignment between live compute assets and your declarative code definitions by eliminating manual inventory adjustments. When a virtual machine or bare-metal host is spun up or decommissioned, the lifecycle event is programmatically committed to the Git-backed inventory repository via API integration patterns.

Programmatic Provisioning & Git Loop

The host enrollment lifecycle transitions an initial provisioning request into a git-versioned inventory alignment loop without operator intervention:

graph TD
A[1. Provisioning Requested<br/><code>In-House System</code>] --> B[2. Automated API Signal<br/><code>AAP / AWX / Jenkins</code>]
B --> C[3. Execute Provisioning Job<br/><code>Playbook / Runner Bubble</code>]
C --> D[4. Ingest & Target State<br/><code>git_inventory.update_inventory</code>]
D --> E[5. Mutate & Lock Blueprint<br/><code>Clone ➔ Update ➔ Commit ➔ Push</code>]
E --> F[6. Core Site Realization<br/><code>site.yml Active Deployment</code>]
style A fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
style B fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;
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style F fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#cbd5e1,stroke-width:2px;

Architectural Lifecycle Steps

1. In-House Provisioning Request

An infrastructure scaling event or machine decommissioning request is initiated inside your internal, in-house provisioning system. This request carries key asset markers including IP addresses, hostnames, and targeted functional groups (such as GPU capabilities or specific application tags).

dettonville.org updated!

Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dettonville has been updated to reflect current content, dettonville.org!

dettonville.org has landed!

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dettonville has now its own web site, dettonville.org!

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

About Dettonville

Dettonville Project on Dettonville

Core System Hardening Roles

Technical Stand-Up Pipeline

Declarative Jenkins Infrastructure

Operator-Free Control Plane Architecture

Baseline Infrastructure Bootstrapping

Technical Execution Flow

Role & Tag Mapping Matrix

1. Out-of-Band Hardware Control

2. Operating System Stabilization

3. Hypervisor Integration Profiles

Operational Credential Bootstrapping

Core System Modules

Module Inventory & Parameter Specifications

1. Network Interface Bonding (core_network_bond)

Machine Image Delivery & Containment

The Host Bootstrapping & Containment Pipeline

Platform Architecture Guidelines

The Immutable Control-Plane Foundation

Runtime Fabric & Containment Roles

Execution Fabric Stand-Up Flow

Control-Plane Configuration & Identity

Technical Execution Flow

Role & Tag Mapping Matrix

1. Local CA Certification & Distribution

2. Core Network Control Plane

3. Orchestration & Platform Tooling

Strict DRY Configuration Paradigms

Control-Plane Service Roles

Service Track Execution Map

1. Local AI Inference Infrastructure (bootstrap_llm_host)

Crypto & Hardening Modules

Module Inventory & Parameter Specifications

1. Local Root & Intermediate PKI (crypto_pki_mint)

Local Hardening Standards

Defensive Boundary Architecture

1. Cryptographic PKI & Local Trust Anchors

Secure Secrets Boundaries

Secure Secrets Processing Loop

Automation Engineering Standards

Core Development Patterns

1. Decoupling Execution Logic from State Data

Deployment & Lifecycle Maintenance

Technical Maintenance Flow

Role & Tag Mapping Matrix

1. VM Deployment & Continuous Scaling

2. Zero-Downtime Cluster Upgrades

3. Disaster Recovery State Extraction

Recommended Execution Commands

Deploy a New Application Instance from a Gold Template

Run a Rolling Package Security Upgrade on the Compute Group

Export Ansible Tower Resource Parameters into Text Assets

Platform Engine Modules

Module Inventory & Parameter Specifications

1. Isolated Container Runtimes (engine_container_stack)

Programmatic Inventory Lifecycle

Programmatic Provisioning & Git Loop

Architectural Lifecycle Steps

1. In-House Provisioning Request

dettonville.org updated!

dettonville.org has landed!

About

1. Network Interface Bonding (`core_network_bond`)

1. Local AI Inference Infrastructure (`bootstrap_llm_host`)

1. Local Root & Intermediate PKI (`crypto_pki_mint`)

1. Isolated Container Runtimes (`engine_container_stack`)