DigitalFrontier Core Introduction

DigitalFrontier Core is our multi-cloud, policy-driven orchestration service that enables you to describe compute workloads once and deploy them transparently across multiple cloud providers.

What is Core Compose?

Core Compose is the YAML configuration format used by DigitalFrontier Core. It merges the simplicity of Docker Compose with the power of declarative cloud infrastructure. Write your infrastructure once in a compose.yaml file, and DigitalFrontier Core handles provider selection, placement, networking, security, and compliance automatically.

Supported Providers

• GCP - Enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure
• Akash Network - Decentralized compute network
• Digital Frontier Cloud (DFC) - Managed cloud infrastructure

Key Features

Declarative Configuration

Define your entire infrastructure in a single compose.yaml file:

version: "0.2"

services:
  api:
    image: myapp:latest
    cpu: 2
    memory: "4Gi"
    replicas: 3
    network:
      ingress:
        expose:
          - port: 443
            tls:
              auto: true

Intelligent Provider Selection

DigitalFrontier Core automatically selects the best provider based on your requirements:

• Cost optimization - Lowest price for your workload
• Performance - Best latency and throughput
• Compliance - Data residency and regulatory requirements
• Availability - High availability with automatic failover

Policy-Driven Governance

Enforce compliance and security policies across all deployments:

services:
  api:
    image: myapp:latest
    controls: [PCI-DSS-4.0, DATA-RESIDENCY-EU]
    placement:
      residency:
        require_countries: ["PT", "FR", "ES"]

Automatic Scaling

Built-in autoscaling with CPU, memory, and custom metrics:

services:
  api:
    autoscaling:
      enabled: true
      min_replicas: 2
      max_replicas: 20
      target_cpu_percent: 70

GPU Support

First-class GPU support with topology awareness:

services:
  trainer:
    gpu:
      count: 4
      model: "H100"
      sharing:
        mode: mig
        mig_profile: "3g.40gb"

Secrets Management

Secure secrets injection with automatic rotation:

services:
  api:
    secrets:
      - secret_ref: db-credentials
        mode: env
        keys:
          username: DB_USER
          password: DB_PASSWORD

Core Concepts

Services

The smallest deployable unit - a container with compute resources, networking, and policies.

Profiles

Reusable configuration templates that can be applied to multiple services:

profiles:
  production:
    replicas: 3
    autoscaling:
      enabled: true
    observability:
      metrics:
        enabled: true

services:
  api:
    profiles: [production]

Sovereignty

Define organization-wide sovereignty policies that control where and how your workloads run:

policy:
  placement:
    residency:
      require_countries: ["PT", "FR", "ES", "DE"]
  security:
    confidential_compute: preferred

Governance & Compliance

DigitalFrontier Core includes feature registry and compliance controls that validate deployments:

• Feature Registry - Tracks available capabilities per provider
• Control Registry - Maps compliance requirements to technical controls

How It Works

1. Write Your Configuration

Create a compose.yaml file describing your infrastructure.

2. Validate

Run core validate to check syntax and compliance locally:

core validate compose.yaml

3. Plan

Preview what will be deployed:

core plan compose.yaml

DigitalFrontier Core shows:

• Selected provider and fallback chain
• Estimated cost
• Compliance status
• Resource allocation

4. Apply

Deploy your infrastructure:

core apply compose.yaml

The Control Plane API:

• Runs placement algorithms
• Provisions resources atomically
• Returns deployment status and audit trail

Architecture

Client-Side (CLI)

• Validation - Fast local syntax and schema checking
• Display - Shows deployment intent and results

Server-Side (Control Plane API)

• Placement - Intelligent provider and region selection
• Provisioning - Atomic resource creation
• Orchestration - Handles async operations
• Auditing - Complete deployment history

This server-side intelligence architecture ensures:

• Consistent placement across all interfaces (CLI, Web UI, mobile)
• Real-time provider availability and pricing
• Atomic operations (all resources created or none)
• Crash recovery (server continues if client disconnects)

Use Cases

Multi-Cloud Deployment

Deploy the same workload across multiple clouds for redundancy:

placement:
  strategy:
    mode: high_availability
    providers: [GCP, Akash, DFC]

Data Residency Compliance

Ensure data stays within specific countries:

placement:
  residency:
    require_countries: ["PT", "FR"]
network:
  egress:
    lock_country: true

Cost Optimization

Automatically select the cheapest provider:

placement:
  strategy:
    mode: cost_optimized
    max_cost_per_month: 500

GPU Workloads

Run ML training with GPU slicing:

services:
  trainer:
    gpu:
      count: 1
      model: "A100"
      sharing:
        mode: mig
        mig_profile: "2g.20gb"

Getting Started

Ready to deploy your first workload? Check out the Quick Start guide.

Learn More

• Architecture - Understand how DigitalFrontier Core works
• Service Configuration - Configure your services and workloads
• Provider Capabilities - Compare provider features
• Governance & Compliance - Features and controls