Concepts

AdvFab gives operators a shared language for intent, observations, and controlled change.

Fabric and topology

A fabric is the set of network relationships managed or observed through AdvFab. Topology describes nodes, connections, and routing relationships. Provider-specific details remain at the boundary, so clients can reason across implementations.

Observation and evidence

The read-only Observation API exposes what a provider can actually report. A missing or unavailable observation remains unknown. Consumers should distinguish measured state, declared intent, and inferred explanations.

Portable configuration

The config.advfab.org/v1 schema defines portable configuration input. It is kept in the API repository, along with the Observation API and provider protocol.

Providers

Providers connect the stable contract to a CNI, router, host network, or telemetry source. The reference runtime uses Kubernetes, Cilium, and FRR, but those choices do not define the core API.

Controlled change

Observation is the default posture. An apply operation requires provider capability, explicit policy, RBAC, and authenticated identity. See security and safety for the full boundary.