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Domain

The Domain represents the governed TLS certificate and DNS mapping chain for a host exposed by a Route.

It defines:

  • Host binding (inherited from the owning Route).
  • Certificate provisioning strategy.
  • DNS/host mapping to the runtime.
  • Optional mTLS identity for the host.

Domain is not a Route.

Domain is the declarative TLS and mapping contract that a Route delegates to.

Position in Delivery​

ServiceUnit → Deployment → Route → Domain

Where:

  • ServiceUnit defines runtime workload.
  • Deployment projects workload into environment.
  • Route exposes workload to external traffic.
  • Domain governs the certificate and DNS mapping chain for the Route's host.

Domain is owned by its Route via ownerReference — it cannot outlive it.

Why Domain Exists

Traditional systems bundle exposure and certificate management into a single ingress object:

  • TLS provisioning is tangled with routing rules.
  • Platform wildcard certs and client-owned zones are handled by inconsistent, ad hoc scripts.
  • mTLS identity wiring is manual.
  • Certificate renewal windows are undocumented tribal knowledge.

BlanketOps separates:

  • Traffic exposure (Route).
  • Certificate and mapping lifecycle (Domain).

This lets the platform apply two distinct provisioning paths without leaking that decision into the Route contract:

  • platform — the platform wildcard cert already covers the host. The controller emits only a DomainClaim and DomainMapping.
  • custom — a client-owned zone. The controller emits an Issuer, DomainClaim, DomainMapping, and Certificate, satisfying an HTTP01 ACME challenge.

Example (Contractual Form)

apiVersion: networks.blanketops.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Domain
metadata:
  name: for-kaniko-app-domain
  namespace: dev
spec:
  contract:
    host: api.dev.example.com
    routeRef:
      name: route-sample
    tlsStrategy: platform
    mtls:
      enforced: false

Domain must be governed.

Not implied.

Contract Semantics​

The contract defines non-negotiable certificate and mapping boundaries.

host

Declares the fully qualified domain name this Domain covers.

Under platform strategy, this must match the platform wildcard pattern (e.g. *.dev.example.com). Under custom strategy, this may be any client-owned FQDN.

routeRef

Binds this Domain to the Route that owns it.

  • Route owns workload binding.
  • Domain owns TLS and mapping.

Domain cannot exist without a resolvable Route in the same namespace.

tlsStrategy

Selects the certificate provisioning path.

Example:

tlsStrategy: platform

This makes cert issuance:

  • Explicit.
  • Auditable.
  • Strategy-scoped, not inferred from the host string.

mtls

Controls whether inter-service mTLS is enforced for this host.

When enforced: true:

  • blanketops-proxy sidecars are injected.
  • blanketK issues identities for workloads bound to this domain.
  • The platform wires sidecar identity — no manual cert management required.

renewBefore

Controls cert-manager's renewal window for custom strategy certificates.

Platform wildcard certs are renewed on the platform schedule regardless of this field.

Entropy Reduction at the Certificate Boundary​

Before Domain:

  • TLS provisioning is implicit in Route or ingress configuration.
  • Platform and client-owned zones are handled by inconsistent, ad hoc paths.
  • mTLS identity wiring is manual.

After Domain:

  • Certificate strategy is declared.
  • DNS mapping is a first-class, observable resource.
  • mTLS enforcement is explicit.
  • The Route's public surface and its TLS chain are governed independently, but neither exists without the other.

Reconciliation Responsibility​

The Domain controller owns the certificate and mapping chain, and stops there:

  • Resolving the owning Route reference.
  • Selecting the TLS provisioning path (platform or custom).
  • Materializing DomainClaim and DomainMapping, and — for custom strategy — Issuer and Certificate.
  • Wiring mTLS sidecar identity when enforced.
  • Reflecting certificate and mapping status.

Workload binding and path/runtime configuration stay with Route — the resource that owns this Domain, and the only thing this Domain's lifecycle is bound to.

Design Principles​

  • Certificate provisioning must be explicit.
  • Platform and custom zones must follow distinct, declared paths.
  • mTLS enforcement must be opt-in and visible.
  • A Domain must never outlive the Route that owns it.
  • Domain is the TLS truth boundary for a Route's host.

What This Enables​

  • Deterministic certificate issuance across platform and client-owned zones.
  • Safe mTLS rollout per host.
  • Cascade-consistent cleanup — deleting a Route removes its Domain and certificates.
  • Auditable TLS lifecycle, independent of routing logic.

Delivery is not exposed until its certificate chain is governed.