Configuration file specification: Indy

A network.yaml file is the base configuration file for setting up a Indy network. This file contains all the information related to the infrastructure and network specifications. Here is the structure of it.

Before setting up a Indy network, this file needs to be updated with the required specifications. A sample configuration file is provide in the repo path:
platforms/hyperledger-indy/configuration/samples/network-indyv3.yaml

A json-schema definition is provided in platforms/network-schema.json to assist with semantic validations and lints. You can use your favorite yaml lint plugin compatible with json-schema specification, like redhat.vscode-yaml for VSCode. You need to adjust the directive in template located in the first line based on your actual build directory:

# yaml-language-server: $schema=../platforms/network-schema.json

The configurations are grouped in the following sections for better understanding.

• type

• version

• env

• docker

• name

• genesis

• organizations

Here is the snapshot from the sample configuration file

The sections in the sample configuration file are

type defines the platform choice like corda/fabric/indy, here in example its Indy

version defines the version of platform being used, here in example the Indy version is 1.9.2.

env section contains the environment type and additional configuration. Value for proxy field under this section has to be 'ambassador' as 'haproxy' has not been implemented for Indy.

The snapshot of the env section with example values is below

  env:
    type: "env_type"              # tag for the environment. Important to run multiple flux on single cluster
    proxy: ambassador               # value has to be 'ambassador' as 'haproxy' has not been implemented for Indy
    # Must be different from all steward ambassador ports specified in the rest of this network yaml
    ambassadorPorts:                # Any additional Ambassador ports can be given here, this is valid only if proxy='ambassador'
      # portRange:              # For a range of ports 
      #   from: 15010 
      #   to: 15043
      ports: 15010,15023,15024,15033,15034,15043,15044  # Indy does not use a port range as it creates an NLB, and only necessary ports should be opened 
    loadBalancerSourceRanges: # (Optional) Default value is '0.0.0.0/0', this value can be changed to any other IP adres or list (comma-separated without spaces) of IP adresses, this is valid only if proxy='ambassador'
    retry_count: 20                 # Retry count for the checks
    external_dns: disabled           # Should be enabled if using external-dns for automatic route configuration

The fields under env section are

Field	Description
type	Environment type. Can be like dev/test/prod.
proxy	Choice of the Cluster Ingress controller. Currently supports 'ambassador' only as 'haproxy' has not been implemented for Indy
ambassadorPorts	Provide additional Ambassador ports for Identity sample app. These ports must be different from all steward ambassador ports specified in the rest of this network yaml
loadBalancerSourceRanges	(Optional) Restrict inbound access to a single or list of IP adresses for the public Ambassador ports to enhance Bevel network security. This is only valid if proxy: ambassador.
retry_count	Retry count for the checks.
external_dns	If the cluster has the external DNS service, this has to be set enabled so that the hosted zone is automatically updated. Must be enabled for Identity sample app.

docker section contains the credentials of the repository where all the required images are built and stored.

The snapshot of the docker section with example values is below

  # Docker registry details where images are stored. This will be used to create k8s secrets
  # Please ensure all required images are built and stored in this registry.
  # Do not check-in docker_password.
  docker:
    url: "docker_url"
    username: "docker_username"
    password: "docker_password"

The fields under docker section are

Field	Description
docker_url	Docker registry url. Use private Docker registries for production network and for Identity sample app.
username	Username credential required for login
password	Password credential required for login

Tip

Please follow these instructions to build and store the docker images before running the Ansible playbooks.

name is used as the Indy network name (has impact e.g. on paths where the Indy nodes look for crypto files on their local filesystem)

The snapshot of the genesis section with example values is below

  # Information about pool transaction genesis and domain transactions genesis
  genesis:
    state: absent
    pool: genesis/pool_transactions_genesis
    domain: domain/domain_transactions_genesis

The genesis section contains Information about pool transaction genesis and domain transactions genesis. genesis contains the following fields:

Field	Description
state	State is placeholder for future, when there will be option to join to existing cluter. Currently only "absent" is supported. That means, that genesis will be always generated
pool	Path to pool transaction genesis. Readme here.
domain	Path to domain transaction genesis. Readme here.

The organizations section allows specification of one or many organizations that will be connecting to a network. If an organization is also hosting the root of the network (e.g. membership service, etc), then these services should be listed in this section as well.

The snapshot of an organization field with sample values is below

    - organization:
      name: authority
      type: peer
      external_url_suffix: indy.blockchaincloudpoc.com  # Provide the external dns suffix. Only used when Indy webserver/Clients are deployed.
      cloud_provider: aws             # Values can be 'aws-baremetal', 'aws' or 'minikube'

Each organization under the organizations section has the following fields.

Field	Description
name	Name of the organization
type	Type of organization. This field can be peer/
external_url_suffix	Provide the external dns suffix. Only used when Indy webserver/Clients are deployed. external_dns should be enabled for this to work.
cloud_provider	Cloud provider of the Kubernetes cluster for this organization. This field can be aws_baremetal, aws or minikube.
aws	When the organization cluster is on AWS
k8s	Kubernetes cluster deployment variables.
vault	Contains Hashicorp Vault server address and root-token in the example
gitops	Git Repo details which will be used by GitOps/Flux.
services	Contains list of services which could be trustee/steward/endorser

For the aws and k8s field the snapshot with sample values is below

      aws:
        access_key: "aws_access_key"            # AWS Access key
        secret_key: "aws_secret_key"            # AWS Secret key
        encryption_key: "encryption_key_id"     # AWS encryption key. If present, it's used as the KMS key id for K8S storage class encryption.
        zone: "availability_zone"               # AWS availability zone
        region: "region"                        # AWS region

      publicIps: ["1.1.1.1","2.2.2.2"]                           # List of all public IP addresses of each availability zone

      # Kubernetes cluster deployment variables. The config file path has to be provided in case
      # the cluster has already been created.
      k8s:
        config_file: "cluster_config"
        context: "kubernetes-admin@kubernetes"

The aws field under each organisation contains: (This will be ignored if cloud_provider is not 'aws')

Field	Description
access_key	AWS Access key
secret_key	AWS Secret key
encryption_key	(optional) AWS encryption key. If present, it's used as the KMS key id for K8S storage class encryption.
zone	(optional) AWS availability zone. Applicable for Multi-AZ deployments
region	The AWS region where K8s cluster and EIPs reside

The publicIps field under each organisation contains:

Field	Description
publicIps	List of all public IP addresses of each availability zone from all organizations in the same k8s cluster

Note

Network.yaml file consists of more organizations, where each organization can be under different availability zone. It means, that each organization has different IP. The field publicIps holds list of all IPs of all organizations in the same cluster. This should be in JSON Array format like ["1.1.1.1","2.2.2.2"] and must contain different IP for each availability zone on the K8s cluster i.e. If the K8s cluster is in two AZ, then two IP addresses should be provided here.

The k8s field under each organisation contains

Field	Description
context	Context/Name of the cluster where the organization entities should be deployed
config_file	Path to the kubernetes cluster configuration file

For the vault field the snapshot with sample values is below

      # Hashicorp Vault server address and root-token. Vault should be unsealed.
      # Do not check-in root_token
      vault:
        url: "vault_addr"
        root_token: "vault_root_token"

The vault field under each organisation contains:

Field	Description
url	Vault server
root_token	Vault root token

For gitops fields the snapshot from the sample configuration file with the example values is below

      # Git Repo details which will be used by GitOps/Flux.
      # Do not check-in git_access_token
      gitops:
        git_protocol: "https" # Option for git over https or ssh
        git_url: "gitops_ssh_url"                   # Gitops https or ssh url for flux value files like "https://github.com/hyperledger/bevel.git"
        branch: "gitops_branch"                     # Git branch where release is being made
        release_dir: "gitops_release_dir"           # Relative Path in the Git repo for flux sync per environment. 
        chart_source: "gitops_charts"               # Relative Path where the Helm charts are stored in Git repo
        git_repo: "gitops_repo_url"             # Gitops git repository URL for git push like "github.com/hyperledger/bevel.git"
        username: "git_username"                    # Git Service user who has rights to check-in in all branches
        password: "git_access_token"                    # Git Server user password/ user token (Optional for ssh; Required for https)
        email: "git_email"                          # Email to use in git config
        private_key: "path_to_private_key"          # Path to private key file which has write-access to the git repo (Optional for https; Required for ssh)

The gitops field under each organization contains

Field	Description
git_protocol	Option for git over https or ssh. Can be https or ssh
git_url	SSH or HTTPs url of the repository where flux should be synced
branch	Branch of the repository where the Helm Charts and value files are stored
release_dir	Relative path where flux should sync files
chart_source	Relative path where the helm charts are stored
git_repo	Gitops git repo URL https URL for git push like "github.com/hyperledger/bevel.git"
username	Username which has access rights to read/write on repository
password	Password of the user which has access rights to read/write on repository (Optional for ssh; Required for https)
email	Email of the user to be used in git config
private_key	Path to the private key file which has write-access to the git repo (Optional for https; Required for ssh)

The services field for each organization under organizations section of Indy contains list of services which could be trustee/steward/endorser

The snapshot of trustee service with example values is below

      services:
        trustees:
        - trustee:
          name: provider-trustee
          genesis: true
          server:
            port: 8000
            ambassador: 15010

The fields under trustee service are (find more about differences between trustee/steward/endorser here)

Field	Description
name	Name for the trustee service
genesis	If using domain and pool transaction genesis. true for current implementation
server.port	Applicable for Identity Sample App. This is the Indy webserver container port
server.ambassador	Applicable for Identity Sample App. This is the Indy webserver ambassador port which will be exposed publicly using the external URL.

The snapshot of steward service example values is below

      services:
        stewards:
        - steward:
          name: provider-steward-1
          type: VALIDATOR
          genesis: true
          publicIp: 3.221.78.194
          node:
            port: 9711
            targetPort: 9711
            ambassador: 9711        # Port for ambassador service
          client:
            port: 9712
            targetPort: 9712
            ambassador: 9712        # Port for ambassador service

The fields under steward service are

Field	Description
name	Name of the steward service
type	type VALIDATOR/OBSERVER for steward service. Currenty only VALIDATOR type is supported. Validators are trusted parties who validate identities and transactions in a distributed fashion. They validate identities by the private key of the identity validator. An outside party can also verify claims using the public key of the validator. Observer nodes may be required as the network scales. From the perspective of Indy clients, an observer node is a read-only copy of the Sovrin ledger performing three functions (Read requests, Hot stanbys, Push subscriptions)
genesis	If using domain and pool transaction genesis.
publicIp	Public Ip of service
node.port	HTTP node port number
node.targetPort	HTTP target node port number
node.ambassador	HTTP node port number of ambassador
client.port	HTTP client port number
client.targetPort	HTTP client target port number
client.ambassador	HTTP client port number of ambassador

The snapshot of endorser service with example values is below

      services:
        endorsers:
        - endorser:
          name: provider-endorser
          full_name: Some Decentralized Identity Mobile Services Provider
          avatar: https://provider.com/avatar.png
          # public endpoint will be {{ endorser.name}}.{{ external_url_suffix}}:{{endorser.server.httpPort}}
          # E.g. In this sample https://provider-endorser.indy.blockchaincloudpoc.com:15020/
          # For minikube: http://<minikubeip>>:15020
          server:
            httpPort: 15020
            apiPort: 15030

The fields under endorser service are

Field	Description
name	Name of the endorser service
full_name	Full name of endorser service
avatar	Link to avatar. Not used now.
server.httpPort	Applicable for Identity Sample App. This is the Endorser Agent's Web port which will be exposed publicly using the external URL.
server.apiPort	Applicable for Identity Sample App. This is the Endorser Agent's API/Swagger port which will be exposed publicly using the external URL.