upspin/upspin
Upspin
Upspin is a decentralized naming and storage system that provides an end-to-end encrypted file system. It assigns every user a unique identity and organizes files within a global, permissioned namespace where data is encrypted on the client before transmission.
The system separates identity resolution from data storage using a public-key identity provider and a key-server architecture. This allows for decentralized identity management and the resolution of usernames to specific directory and storage server addresses.
The project includes a hierarchical access control system that manages read and write permissions through directory-based rules and plain-text files. It also features a virtual filesystem integration that uses FUSE to expose the remote global namespace as a local mount point on Linux and macOS.
Additional capabilities include a command-line interface for namespace administration, client-side metadata caching to reduce latency, and tools for storage server deployment.
Features
- End-to-End Encryption - Encrypts data blocks on the client side before transmission to ensure server-side blindness.
- Block Storage - Separates the metadata layer from the actual storage of encrypted data blocks on store servers.
- File Retrieval Systems - Retrieves files by fetching directory entries and decrypting data blocks from store servers.
- Global Namespace Protocols - Assigns secure, global names to files and data across diverse storage services using a uniform naming protocol.
- Hierarchical Metadata Trees - Organizes file metadata in a directory server as a tree of entries pointing to encrypted blocks in store servers.
- Decentralized Naming Systems - Assigns every user a unique identity within a global, permissioned naming and storage system.
- Identity-Storage Decoupling - Decouples identity resolution from data storage by mapping usernames to servers via a key server.
- End-To-End Encryption Systems - Implements an end-to-end encrypted storage system where only authorized users can decrypt content.
- Hierarchical Access Controls - Manages read and write permissions through recursive directory-based rules and plain-text files.
- Permission Rule Groups - Assigns specific read, write, create, list, or delete permissions to named users or group members via access files.
- Decentralized Identity Frameworks - Registers and resolves user identities with public-key cryptography and a key server.
- Public Key Authentication - Uses public-private key pairs and a key server to authenticate users and verify identities.
- Identity Addressing - Resolves user identities by looking up public keys and directory server addresses from a central key server.
- Public Key Identity Providers - Uses a key-server architecture to map user identities to public keys and server addresses for secure peer discovery.
- Identity-Based File Access Control - Enforces file and directory access permissions using identity-based rules defined in plain-text files.
- Hierarchical Metadata Structures - Organizes file metadata in directory servers as a tree of entries pointing to encrypted blocks.
- Identity-Storage Decoupling Architectures - Separates identity resolution from data storage using a central key server to map usernames to directory and storage server addresses.
- Discovery Key Registration - Generates public-private key pairs and registers public keys with a key server to establish new user profiles.
- Local Caching Layers - Caches recently accessed directory entries and storage blocks locally to reduce network latency and server load.
- Block Caches - Implements block-level caching of storage data to accelerate repeated retrieval of encrypted blocks.
- FUSE-Based Filesystem Mounts - Exposes the remote global namespace as a local filesystem on Linux and macOS using the FUSE interface.
- FUSE Virtual Filesystems - Exposes the remote naming hierarchy as a local mount point via the FUSE kernel module.
- Link Traversal Controls - Requires an access right on a link entry before a caller can follow it to its target to enforce traversal restrictions.
- Unauthorized Response Customization - Hides directory entries or returns privacy errors when a user lacks the necessary access rights to view them.
- Wildcard - Supports wildcard permissioning to grant access rights to all authenticated users or all users within a specific domain.
- File and Folder Permissions - Implements a system for managing read and write access to directories using plain-text access files.
- Metadata Caches - Caches directory entries and storage blocks locally to accelerate repeated data access.
