Feature Overview (aka. Goal Summary)  

Establish the foundational architecture and community presence for the Confidential Cluster Operator by creating the upstream repository, designing the comprehensive solution architecture, and socializing the approach through technical content. This feature delivers the architectural blueprint and community framework that enables Red Hat and ecosystem contributors to build a production-ready operator that automates confidential computing capabilities across multi-cloud OpenShift deployments.

Goals (aka. expected user outcomes)

Primary User Types/Personas:

• OpenShift Engineering Teams: Have a clearly defined architecture and upstream repository to begin development work on the Confidential Cluster Operator
• Community Contributors: Can discover, understand, and contribute to the confidential cluster capabilities through accessible upstream channels
• Technical Audience (Architects, Security Engineers): Gain understanding of how OpenShift will deliver confidential computing through published technical content
• Product Management & Field Teams: Have referenceable technical content to discuss the solution approach with customers and partners
   

Observable Functionality:

• A public upstream repository exists with governance, contribution guidelines, and initial project structure
• A documented architecture defines how the operator will integrate with OpenShift, Red Hat build of Trustee, and cloud provider TEE capabilities across AWS, Azure, and GCP
• Published blog post(s) explaining the confidential cluster approach, use cases, and technical architecture
• Clear technical foundation enabling subsequent development features{}

Requirements (aka. Acceptance Criteria):

Functional Requirements:

1. Upstream Repository Established
   • Public repository created in the appropriate upstream organization
2. Architecture Documentation Complete
   • Architecture design document covers:
     • High-level system architecture and component interactions
     • Integration points with OpenShift installation process 
     • Attestation flow using Red Hat build of Trustee for each cloud provider
     • Node bootstrap and admission control mechanisms
     • Multi-cloud abstraction layer for TEE-specific implementations
     • Operator lifecycle (installation, upgrade, configuration)
     • Security model and trust boundaries
   • Architecture reviewed and approved by OpenShift Architecture and Security teams
   • Sequence diagrams for key workflows (initial cluster installation, node addition, attestation failure scenarios)
3. Technical Content Published
   • Blog post published on Red Hat Developer or OpenShift blog
   • Content includes:
     • Problem statement and confidential computing value proposition
     • Solution overview (what OpenShift Confidential Clusters will deliver)
     • High-level architecture explanation

Non-functional Requirements:

• Maintainability: Architecture design allows for extensibility to additional cloud providers and TEE technologies
• Security: Architecture document includes threat model and security considerations
• Reliability: Architecture includes failure modes and recovery mechanisms for attestation failures
• Usability: Repository and documentation use clear, consistent terminology; architecture is understandable by OpenShift engineers without deep confidential computing expertise

Out of Scope

• Actual operator implementation code (covered by subsequent development features)
• Workload-level confidentiality (e.g., confidential containers for individual pods - different solution)
• Key management and encryption key provisioning (architectural dependency, not delivered in this feature)
• Hosted control plane support (HyperShift integration deferred to future)
• Performance benchmarking and optimization (covered in later features)
• Customer-facing documentation (will be created as part of GA documentation effort)
• Multi-cluster or fleet management scenarios