Skip to content
ELEMENT 31

Provenance record

A provenance record is the documented history of a Czar node, covering its integration, sealing, and software load, so a site can say where its hardware came from from a record.

· 2 min read

IN SHORT

A provenance record is the documented history of a Czar node: its integration, its sealing, and its software load, kept so the site can answer where its hardware came from and what was done to it from a record rather than a reassurance. It is tied to that specific node and extended as signed updates are applied over its life.

A provenance record is the documented history of a Czar node: its integration, its sealing, and its software load, kept so the site can answer where its hardware came from and what was done to it from a record rather than a reassurance.

Why it matters

Operators are asked, by their own security teams, by their customers, and sometimes by an auditor, where the compute in the rack came from and who touched it. Most hardware arrives with a packing slip and a warranty and nothing else.

A provenance record replaces that gap with something an auditor can read. It is not a claim about the node; it is the account of how the node was built, sealed, and loaded, tied to that specific node.

This is what makes a sealed appliance credible. The enclosure says the node was closed; the record says by whom, with what image, and in what state.

How it works at Element 31

Every Czar has a provenance record covering integration, sealing, and software load. The record is created as the node is built and is kept for the life of the node. When the node attests before joining a Grid, what it attests is checked against this record.

Signed updates extend the record. Each bundle applied to a node is part of the software-load history, so the record stays current rather than describing only the day the node shipped.

The record exists regardless of commercial route. A node delivered under a robot vendor's name as Czar Chassis has the same provenance record as one delivered through Facility Direct. Element 31 holds responsibility for the record in both cases.

For the operator, the practical use is answering questions without a phone call. When the security officer asks what is in the rack, or an auditor asks how it was sealed, the answer comes from the record of that node, read on site. The Technology page describes where provenance sits in the wider design, and the Czar page describes the sealed node it belongs to.

Questions this raises

Who can read a node's provenance record?
The operator, on site. It is written so that a security officer or an auditor can read it without a call to Element 31. It answers how the node was integrated, sealed, and loaded, and what has been applied since.
How is provenance different from attestation?
Provenance is the history: where the node came from and what was done to it. Attestation is the present: proof that the node in the rack now matches that history. The Grid uses both before a node is allowed to serve.
Does the record change after installation?
Yes. Each signed update applied to the node becomes part of its software-load history, so the record stays current for the life of the node rather than describing only its first state.

KEEP READING

Related.