Introduction

Cenvero Stratum is a software-defined networking platform for bare-metal infrastructure. It runs your entire network stack — switching and routing, DHCP and DNS, load balancing, firewalling, and multi-host clustering — as a single agent on the servers you already own. There is no external controller to operate, no hardware appliance to buy, and no per-port licensing.

A node runs one Go agent. The agent programs an in-kernel data plane (XDP and TC eBPF), owns the host's network interfaces through a small kernel module, and coordinates with its peers over a Raft cluster. The result is a complete, self-contained fabric that behaves the same on one server or a thousand.

What you get

• In-kernel data plane. Packet processing runs as eBPF at the XDP and TC

hooks for line-rate forwarding, with the kernel module guaranteeing only the agent can modify managed interfaces.

• Batteries included. DHCP, authoritative DNS, an L4 load balancer, a

zero-trust firewall, BGP edge routing, and per-tenant bandwidth control ship in the box — no add-ons.

• Multi-host by default. Nodes form a Raft cluster and stretch a VXLAN

overlay across hosts, racks, and data centers. A workload's endpoint keeps its addressing as it moves between hosts.

• Operable. A single signed configuration file per node, one CLI

(cenvero-str-ctl), and a management panel for fleet-wide releases, updates, and licensing.

Node modes

Every node runs in one of two modes:

Mode	Role
Compute	Hosts workloads and attaches their endpoints to the fabric.
Gateway	Routes traffic between the fabric and the outside world (BGP, NAT, north-south load balancing).

A typical deployment runs several Compute nodes and a redundant pair of Gateway nodes. Both modes participate in the same cluster.

The two bridges

Stratum separates management traffic from workload traffic on every node:

• cnv-mgmt-br0 — the management bridge (agent control, clustering,

heartbeat).

• cnv-user-br0 — the user bridge that carries workload traffic.

This keeps the control plane reachable even when workload networks are saturated or misconfigured.

How a node is managed

The agent reads a signed .shub configuration file from /etc/cenvero-str/, keeps local state in /var/lib/cenvero-str/, writes logs to /var/log/cenvero-str/, and exposes runtime sockets under /run/cenvero-str/. You drive it locally with cenvero-str-ctl and centrally from the management panel.

Where to go next

• Installation — get the agent onto a node and activated.
• Quick Start — define a network and attach your first endpoint.
• Configuration — the .shub config model in depth.
• Licensing — plans, activation, and enforcement.

Stratum is licensed software. Installation and binary downloads require a valid license — see Licensing to get one.