Josh Siviour
7bbd99c792
* feat(eks): multinode control-plane networking, IAM, and CoreDNS parity
Integrates the EKS multinode fix set for the managed-control-plane topology
so a 3-worker cluster brings up ingress/ALB and cross-node DNS the way AWS
EKS does. Squashed from feat/eks-workload-lifecycle, rebased onto dev; the
node-IAM piece (4f6ea8cf) is dropped as dev's lazy IAMProvider supersedes it.
EKS:
- Route apiserver egress (exec/logs/webhooks) through konnectivity
(apiserver-network-proxy): CP servers run konnectivity-server behind the
cluster NLB (:8132), workers run konnectivity-agent, so apiserver->pod
traffic rides the agent-initiated reverse tunnel instead of an unroutable
CP->VPC path. Server-count fan-out gives every apiserver a tunnel to every
replica (HA-correct).
- Pin k3s node-ip to the CP-VPC primary on overlay re-home; CP-overlay
flannel mesh SG rule authorized at cluster launch with ordered teardown.
- Pin VPC data NIC MTU to 1320 so flannel fits the OVN underlay.
- Pin the CoreDNS DaemonSet to workers (drop CriticalAddonsOnly + CP/master
tolerations, add anti-control-plane nodeAffinity) for AWS-EKS parity.
- Spread nodegroup workers across hosts; addon readiness falls back on
workload rollout when gvks are absent.
- elbv2: allow the proxy_protocol_v2.enabled target-group attribute.
EBS:
- Move volume attachment state to state.json so a live nbdkit VB cannot
clobber it; route mounted-volume state updates through the live VB with a
retry for in-use marks racing the mount responder; keep the boot volume
in-use across stop/crash unmount.
* fix(eks): gate orchestration on the resolved IAM ensurer, not raw deps.IAM
missingOrchestrationDeps gated on s.deps.IAM, but production wires only the
lazy deps.IAMProvider and leaves deps.IAM nil (set directly by tests only).
The gate therefore reported missing=[IAM] on every node forever, so
CreateCluster/CreateNodegroup were rejected with ServiceUnavailable even
though the IAM service was fully up via the provider.
Gate on s.iamEnsurer() instead — the same resolver (deps.IAM, else
deps.IAMProvider()) the nodegroup/role code already uses — so the protective
check still rejects a node with no IAM service but passes when the provider
supplies one. Add a regression test that sets only IAMProvider and asserts the
gate is satisfied; the existing nil-both test still rejects.
* fix(eks): let eks-token-webhook use IMDS creds when static keys absent
The CP VM launches on an instance profile, so buildK3sUserData omits
EKS_ACCESS_KEY/EKS_SECRET_KEY. loadConfig() rejected absent static keys
before eksgw.New could fall back to the IMDS SDK chain, so the webhook
aborted on boot, never wrote token-webhook.kubeconfig, and the apiserver
crashed on the missing --authentication-token-webhook-config-file file,
stalling the cluster at CREATING until it timed out to FAILED.
Drop the static-key precondition (matching the sibling eks-gateway-publish
and eks-gateway-fetch helpers); keep the genuinely-required gateway/account/
cluster gates.
* fix(eks): stop dhcpcd IPv4LL hijacking IMDS on multi-NIC control plane
The K3s control-plane system VM is dual-NIC (data ENI + mgmt NIC on br-mgmt,
which has no DHCP server). dhcpcd's no-lease IPv4LL fallback assigned a
169.254.x.x address and a 169.254.0.0/16 route on the mgmt NIC, capturing
169.254.169.254 and steering IMDS off the data NIC away from the per-tap
br-imds datapath, where the host RST it. eks-gateway-publish then failed to
sign requests and no bootstrap artifacts were ever published, so clusters sat
CREATING until they timed out to FAILED.
Bake noipv4ll into /etc/dhcpcd.conf so dhcpcd never assigns an IPv4LL address
or /16 route on a NIC that fails DHCP; real DHCP leases (workers, data ENI)
are unaffected and IMDS falls through the data NIC's default route to the
br-imds demux, matching the single-NIC path. Defense in depth: mulga-mgmt-net
deletes any default route on a NIC declared NIC<n>_DEFAULT=0.
* fix(eks): grant eks:WebhookTokenReview to the control-plane instance role
The eks-token-webhook relays `aws eks get-token` bearer tokens to the gateway
broker at POST /clusters/{name}/token-review, signing with the control-plane
VM's IMDS instance-role creds (spinifex-eks-server). That route authorizes
against eks:WebhookTokenReview, but the role's inline policy granted only
eks:PublishInternal and eks:ListInternalAddons, so the gateway 403'd every
relay and the apiserver returned 401 to all external kubectl.
Add eks:WebhookTokenReview to eksServerInlinePolicy. EnsureSystemInstanceProfile
re-asserts the inline policy on every control-plane instance-profile ensure, and
the gateway evaluates authorization per request, so existing clusters converge
without a rebuild once the shared role is updated.
What is Spinifex? · Platform · Components · Architecture · Installation · Docs
Spinifex: An Open Source AWS-Compatible Stack for Bare-Metal, Edge, and On-Prem Deployments
Spinifex developed by Mulga Defense Corporation is an open source infrastructure platform that brings the core services of AWS—like EC2, VPC, EBS, and S3—to environments where running in the cloud isn't an option. Whether you're deploying to edge sites, private data-centers, or need to operate in low-connectivity or highly contested environments, Spinifex gives you AWS-style workflows on your own hardware.
What is Spinifex?
Spinifex replicates essential AWS primitives—virtual machines, block volumes, and object storage—using lightweight, self-contained components that are easy to deploy and integrate.
It's designed for developers and operators who need:
- Cloud-like infrastructure without the cloud
- Minimal dependencies, full control
- Drop-in compatibility with tools like the AWS CLI, SDKs, and Terraform
- A secure cloud environment you control and own the entire hardware, network and software stack
You can run Spinifex on a few servers in a rack, a field site, or anywhere centralized cloud services aren't feasible.
The Platform
From commodity hardware up to unmodified AWS tooling, every layer is replaceable and yours to own.
Core Components
Spinifex (Compute Service – EC2 Alternative)
Spinifex is a minimal VM orchestration layer built on top of QEMU, exposing APIs similar to EC2. It manages lifecycle operations like start, stop, and terminate, using QEMU's QMP interface. Designed to be straightforward and scriptable, Spinifex lets you launch VMs using the AWS CLI, SDKs, or Terraform—without needing Kubernetes or heavyweight orchestrators. Keep in mind, you can also setup a Kubernetes environment using Spinifex with underlying instances.
- EC2-like VM management on bare metal
- Launches with cloud-init metadata support
- Works with standard AWS tooling
Viperblock (Block Storage – EBS Alternative)
Viperblock is a high-performance, WAL-backed block storage service that replicates volumes across multiple nodes. It's built for reliability and speed, with support for snapshots, recovery, and direct connection to QEMU instances using NBD or virtio-blk.
- Fast, durable virtual disks
- Replication for resilience
- Exposed over NBD or embedded in VMs
- Supports high performance WAL logs using local NVMe drives to reduce IO traffic to S3.
- In memory read/write block cache for blazing performance.
Predastore (Object Storage – S3-Compatible)
Predastore is a fully S3-compatible object storage system. It supports the AWS S3 API, including Signature V4 authentication, multipart uploads, and Terraform provisioning. Data is chunked and distributed across nodes using Reed-Solomon erasure coding, making it fault-tolerant and ideal for large-scale or low-bandwidth scenarios.
- S3-compatible API and auth
- Multipart uploads, streaming reads/writes
- Data redundancy with Reed-Solomon encoding
Architecture at a Glance
Every AWS API call is authenticated at the gateway, published to a NATS subject, and answered by whichever daemon claims it. Daemons are stateless — scale horizontally by starting more. No etcd, no Kubernetes, no external control plane. Deep dive: docs/DESIGN.md.
Key Features
AWS-Compatible Interfaces – Provision infrastructure with awscli, Terraform, or SDKs you already use.
- Designed for Control – Run on your own terms, whether that's in a datacenter, remote site, or sensitive environment.
- Minimal Dependencies – Each service is standalone and avoids complex orchestration layers.
- Works Offline – No reliance on centralized cloud services or external networks.
- Open Source – Licensed under AGPL 3.0. Fork it, extend it, or deploy it as-is.
Installation
Installation requires an Ubuntu / Debian system. See the detailed documentation at docs.mulgadc.com for maintaining and installing Spinifex.
Bare Metal ISO
The recommended installation is a bootable x86 installer for bare-metal hardware.
curl -fLO https://iso.mulgadc.com/spinifex.iso
Follow the USB install guide to write the ISO to USB and install on your hardware. The install guide walks through the full process.
Single Node Install
The installation is straightforward to set up and running on a single node for testing purposes. Debian 13 is currently supported, additional Linux distributions are on the immediate roadmap.
Prerequisite: Linux bridge for networking.
Spinifex requires a Linux bridge configured on the host for VM networking. See the single-node install guide prerequisites for setup details.
curl -fsSL https://install.mulgadc.com | bash
sudo /usr/local/share/spinifex/setup-ovn.sh --management
sudo spx admin init --node node1 --nodes 1
sudo systemctl start spinifex.target
export AWS_PROFILE=spinifex
aws ec2 describe-instance-types
Development Setup
For a complete development environment see the Source Install documentation
Component Repositories
Spinifex coordinates these independent components:
- Predastore - S3-compatible object storage
- Viperblock - EBS-compatible block storage
Each component can be developed independently. See component-specific documentation for focused development guides.
Spinifex UI
Spinifex ships with a built-in web console — an optional alternative to the AWS CLI, SDKs, and Terraform. If you're familiar with the AWS Management Console, the Spinifex UI fills the same role: a browser-based view of your instances, volumes, buckets, VPCs, and IAM resources, without leaving your own network.
The console is served by each node on port 3000 over TLS, and becomes available as soon as spinifex.target is up:
open https://YOUR_NODE_IP:3000
- Same API, different surface. Every action in the UI is the same AWS SigV4 call the CLI makes — so RBAC, audit trails, and IAM policies apply uniformly.
- Single sign-on against your AWS credentials. Log in with the access keys from
~/.aws/credentialson the node where Spinifex is installed — no separate user database. - Self-hosted, works offline. The UI is embedded in the Spinifex binary and served from the node itself. No external CDN, no analytics calls, no cloud dependency.
For the full walkthrough — first-time TLS certificate trust, login, and feature tour — see Launching the Web UI in the cluster setup guide.
Development Philosophy
Built by Engineers, For Engineers
Spinifex is developed by experienced infrastructure engineers with deep AWS expertise, including former AWS team members who understand the intricacies of building production-grade cloud services. Our team brings decades of combined experience from AWS, enterprise infrastructure, and edge computing environments.
Real-World Experience:
- Production AWS service development and operations
- Large-scale infrastructure deployment and management
- Edge computing and resource-constrained environments
- Enterprise security and compliance requirements
AI-Assisted Development
While Spinifex is architected and implemented by experienced engineers, we leverage Claude Code (Anthropic's AI coding assistant) to accelerate certain development tasks. This approach combines human expertise with AI efficiency:
How We Use Claude Code:
- Code Generation: Boilerplate AWS API structures and handlers
- Documentation: Comprehensive development guides and API documentation
- Testing: Test case generation and validation scenarios
- Refactoring: Large-scale code restructuring and optimization
What Remains Human-Driven:
- Architecture Decisions: Core system design and scalability choices
- Security Implementation: Authentication, encryption, and threat modeling
- Performance Optimization: Real-world performance tuning and benchmarking
- Production Operations: Deployment strategies and operational procedures
This hybrid approach ensures Spinifex benefits from both proven engineering expertise and modern development acceleration, while maintaining the quality and reliability standards required for production infrastructure.
License
Spinifex is open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. You're free to use, modify, and deploy it anywhere you need reliable infrastructure without depending on centralized cloud platforms.