secretumvault/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

SecretumVault Architecture

Complete system architecture, design decisions, and component interactions.

Table of Contents

1. System Overview
2. Core Components
3. Request Flow
4. Configuration-Driven Design
5. Registry Pattern
6. Storage Layer
7. Cryptography Layer
8. Secrets Engines
9. Authorization & Policies
10. Deployment Architecture

---

System Overview

SecretumVault is a config-driven, async-first secrets management system built on:

• Rust + Tokio: Type-safe async runtime
• Axum: High-performance HTTP framework
• Trait-based polymorphism: Pluggable backends
• Registry pattern: Type-safe factory dispatch
• Cedar: Attribute-based access control (ABAC)
• Post-quantum cryptography: Future-proof security

Design Philosophy

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Config-Driven: WHAT to use                         │
│  (backend selection, engine mounting)               │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Registry Pattern: HOW to create it                 │
│  (type-safe dispatch from config string)            │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Trait Abstraction: INTERFACE definition            │
│  (StorageBackend, CryptoBackend, Engine)            │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Concrete Implementations: ACTUAL code              │
│  (etcd, PostgreSQL, OpenSSL, AWS-LC)                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Benefit: Add new backend without modifying existing code—only implement trait + update config.

---

Core Components

VaultCore

Central coordinator managing all vault operations.

pub struct VaultCore {
    // Storage for encrypted secrets and metadata
    pub storage: Arc<dyn StorageBackend>,

    // Cryptographic operations (encrypt/decrypt/sign/verify)
    pub crypto: Arc<dyn CryptoBackend>,

    // Authentication tokens and TTL management
    pub auth_manager: Arc<AuthManager>,

    // Cedar policy engine for fine-grained access control
    pub cedar_engine: Arc<CedarEngine>,

    // Mounted secret engines (KV, Transit, PKI, Database, etc.)
    pub engines: HashMap<String, Box<dyn Engine>>,

    // Seal/unseal state and master key encryption
    pub seal_manager: Arc<SealManager>,

    // Metrics collection (Prometheus-compatible)
    pub metrics: Arc<Metrics>,

    // Configuration (static, loaded once at startup)
    pub config: VaultConfig,
}

Initialization:

impl VaultCore {
    pub async fn from_config(config: VaultConfig) -> Result<Self> {
        // 1. Load and validate configuration
        config.validate()?;

        // 2. Create storage backend from config
        let storage = StorageRegistry::create(&config.storage).await?;

        // 3. Create crypto backend from config
        let crypto = CryptoRegistry::create(&config.vault.crypto_backend, &config.crypto)?;

        // 4. Initialize seal/unseal manager
        let seal_manager = SealManager::new(crypto.clone());

        // 5. Mount secret engines from config
        let mut engines = HashMap::new();
        if let Some(kv_cfg) = &config.engines.kv {
            engines.insert(
                kv_cfg.path.clone(),
                Box::new(KVEngine::new(kv_cfg, storage.clone())?)
            );
        }

        // 6. Create auth manager and Cedar engine
        let auth_manager = AuthManager::new(storage.clone());
        let cedar_engine = CedarEngine::new(&config.auth)?;

        Ok(Self {
            storage,
            crypto,
            auth_manager,
            cedar_engine,
            engines,
            seal_manager,
            metrics: Arc::new(Metrics::new()),
            config,
        })
    }
}

API Server

Axum-based HTTP server with middleware stack.

HTTP Request
    ↓
[Axum Router]
    ↓
[Auth Middleware] - Validate X-Vault-Token
    ↓
[Cedar Middleware] - Evaluate policy (permit/forbid)
    ↓
[Request Handler] - Route to appropriate engine
    ↓
[Engine Implementation] - Process request
    ↓
[Storage/Crypto] - Persist/encrypt
    ↓
HTTP Response
    ↓
[Metrics] - Record operation
    ↓
[Audit Log] - Log to storage

Routing:

pub fn build_router(vault: Arc<VaultCore>) -> Router {
    let mut router = Router::new()
        // System endpoints
        .route("/v1/sys/init", post(sys::init))
        .route("/v1/sys/unseal", post(sys::unseal))
        .route("/v1/sys/health", get(sys::health))
        .route("/v1/sys/seal-status", get(sys::seal_status));

    // Mount dynamic routes from engines
    for (path, engine) in &vault.engines {
        router = router.nest(&format!("/v1/{}", path), engine.routes());
    }

    router
        .layer(middleware::from_fn_with_state(vault.clone(), auth_middleware))
        .layer(middleware::from_fn_with_state(vault.clone(), cedar_authz_middleware))
        .with_state(vault)
}

---

Request Flow

Secret Read Request

1. Client:
   curl -H "X-Vault-Token: $TOKEN" \
        http://localhost:8200/v1/secret/data/myapp

2. Server receives request
   ↓
3. Auth Middleware:
   - Extract token from header
   - Lookup token in storage
   - Validate TTL (not expired)
   - Extract token metadata (principal, ttl, policies)
   ↓
4. Cedar Middleware:
   - Build context: principal={token_id}, action=read, resource=/secret/data/myapp
   - Evaluate policies: cedar_engine.evaluate(context)
   - Result: permit / forbid
   - If forbid: Return 403 Forbidden
   ↓
5. Route Handler:
   - Parse request path: /v1/secret/data/myapp
   - Find mounted engine: KVEngine at /secret/
   - Delegate to engine.handle_request()
   ↓
6. KV Engine:
   - Extract secret path: myapp
   - Call storage.get("secret:myapp")
   ↓
7. Storage Backend (etcd/postgres/etc):
   - Lookup encrypted secret blob
   - Return to engine
   ↓
8. KV Engine (decrypt):
   - Get master key from seal_manager
   - Call crypto.decrypt(blob, master_key)
   - Return plaintext metadata + versions
   ↓
9. Response:
   - Build JSON response
   - Record metrics.secrets_read.inc()
   - Log to audit: {principal, action, resource, result}
   - Return 200 OK with secret data

Secret Write Request

Similar to read, but:

1. Auth → Cedar policy evaluation (write policy)
2. Engine handler parses request body (secret data)
3. Encryption:
   - Get master key from seal_manager
   - crypto.encrypt(plaintext, master_key) → ciphertext
4. Storage: store(ciphertext, metadata)
5. Return 201 Created or 204 No Content
6. Metrics/Audit: Record write operation

---

Configuration-Driven Design

All runtime behavior determined by svault.toml:

Configuration Hierarchy

VaultConfig (root)
├── [vault] section
│   ├── crypto_backend = "openssl"
│   └── (global settings)
├── [server] section
│   ├── address = "0.0.0.0"
│   ├── port = 8200
│   └── (TLS settings)
├── [storage] section
│   ├── backend = "etcd"
│   └── [storage.etcd]
│       └── endpoints = ["http://localhost:2379"]
├── [crypto] section
│   └── (crypto-specific settings)
├── [seal] section
│   ├── seal_type = "shamir"
│   └── [seal.shamir]
│       ├── threshold = 2
│       └── shares = 3
├── [engines] section
│   ├── [engines.kv]
│   │   ├── path = "secret/"
│   │   └── versioned = true
│   ├── [engines.transit]
│   │   └── path = "transit/"
│   └── (other engines)
├── [logging] section
│   ├── level = "info"
│   └── format = "json"
├── [telemetry] section
│   ├── prometheus_port = 9090
│   └── enable_trace = false
└── [auth] section
    └── default_ttl = 24

Configuration Validation

Validation at startup (fail-fast):

impl VaultConfig {
    pub fn validate(&self) -> Result<()> {
        // 1. Check backend availability
        if !CryptoRegistry::is_available(&self.vault.crypto_backend) {
            return Err(ConfigError::UnavailableBackend(backend_name));
        }

        // 2. Check path collisions
        let mut paths = HashSet::new();
        for engine_cfg in self.engines.all_engines() {
            if !paths.insert(engine_cfg.path.clone()) {
                return Err(ConfigError::DuplicatePath(engine_cfg.path));
            }
        }

        // 3. Validate seal threshold
        if self.seal.threshold > self.seal.shares {
            return Err(ConfigError::InvalidSealConfig);
        }

        // 4. Check required fields
        if self.storage.endpoints.is_empty() {
            return Err(ConfigError::MissingField("endpoints"));
        }

        Ok(())
    }
}

---

Registry Pattern

Type-safe backend factory pattern.

Storage Registry

pub struct StorageRegistry;

impl StorageRegistry {
    pub async fn create(config: &StorageConfig) -> Result<Arc<dyn StorageBackend>> {
        match config.backend.as_str() {
            "filesystem" => {
                Ok(Arc::new(FilesystemBackend::new(&config)?))
            }
            "etcd" => {
                Ok(Arc::new(EtcdBackend::new(&config.etcd).await?))
            }
            "surrealdb" => {
                Ok(Arc::new(SurrealDBBackend::new(&config.surrealdb).await?))
            }
            "postgresql" => {
                Ok(Arc::new(PostgreSQLBackend::new(&config.postgresql).await?))
            }
            unknown => Err(ConfigError::UnknownBackend(unknown.to_string()))
        }
    }
}

Crypto Registry

pub struct CryptoRegistry;

impl CryptoRegistry {
    pub fn create(backend: &str, config: &CryptoConfig) -> Result<Arc<dyn CryptoBackend>> {
        match backend {
            "openssl" => Ok(Arc::new(OpenSSLBackend::new()?)),
            "aws-lc" => {
                #[cfg(feature = "aws-lc")]
                return Ok(Arc::new(AwsLcBackend::new()?));

                #[cfg(not(feature = "aws-lc"))]
                return Err(ConfigError::FeatureNotEnabled("aws-lc"));
            }
            "rustcrypto" => {
                #[cfg(feature = "rustcrypto")]
                return Ok(Arc::new(RustCryptoBackend::new()?));

                #[cfg(not(feature = "rustcrypto"))]
                return Err(ConfigError::FeatureNotEnabled("rustcrypto"));
            }
            unknown => Err(ConfigError::UnknownBackend(unknown.to_string()))
        }
    }
}

Engine Registry

pub struct EngineRegistry;

impl EngineRegistry {
    pub fn mount_engines(
        config: &EnginesConfig,
        vault: &Arc<VaultCore>
    ) -> Result<HashMap<String, Box<dyn Engine>>> {
        let mut engines = HashMap::new();

        // Mount KV engine
        if let Some(kv_cfg) = &config.kv {
            engines.insert(
                kv_cfg.path.clone(),
                Box::new(KVEngine::new(kv_cfg, vault.storage.clone())?)
                    as Box<dyn Engine>
            );
        }

        // Mount Transit engine
        if let Some(transit_cfg) = &config.transit {
            engines.insert(
                transit_cfg.path.clone(),
                Box::new(TransitEngine::new(transit_cfg, vault.crypto.clone())?)
                    as Box<dyn Engine>
            );
        }

        // Mount PKI engine
        if let Some(pki_cfg) = &config.pki {
            engines.insert(
                pki_cfg.path.clone(),
                Box::new(PKIEngine::new(pki_cfg, vault.crypto.clone())?)
                    as Box<dyn Engine>
            );
        }

        // Mount Database engine
        if let Some(db_cfg) = &config.database {
            engines.insert(
                db_cfg.path.clone(),
                Box::new(DatabaseEngine::new(db_cfg, vault.storage.clone())?)
                    as Box<dyn Engine>
            );
        }

        Ok(engines)
    }
}

---

Storage Layer

StorageBackend Trait

pub trait StorageBackend: Send + Sync {
    // Key-value operations
    async fn get(&self, key: &str) -> StorageResult<Option<Vec<u8>>>;
    async fn set(&self, key: &str, value: Vec<u8>) -> StorageResult<()>;
    async fn delete(&self, key: &str) -> StorageResult<()>;

    // Listing and querying
    async fn list(&self, prefix: &str) -> StorageResult<Vec<String>>;
    async fn exists(&self, key: &str) -> StorageResult<bool>;

    // Atomic operations
    async fn cas(&self, key: &str, old: Option<Vec<u8>>, new: Vec<u8>)
        -> StorageResult<bool>;

    // Transactions
    async fn transaction(&self, ops: Vec<StorageOp>)
        -> StorageResult<Vec<StorageResult<()>>>;
}

Storage Key Organization

Keys are namespaced by purpose:

Direct secret storage:
  secret:metadata:myapp           → Metadata (path, versions, timestamps)
  secret:v1:myapp                 → Version 1 (encrypted data)
  secret:v2:myapp                 → Version 2 (encrypted data)

Token storage:
  auth:tokens:token_abc123        → Token metadata (TTL, policies)
  auth:leases:lease_id            → Active lease info

Engine-specific:
  pki:roots:root-ca               → PKI root certificate
  pki:roles:my-role               → PKI role configuration
  db:credentials:postgres-prod     → Generated credentials
  transit:keys:my-key             → Transit encryption key

Internal:
  vault:config:shamir             → Shamir threshold and shares
  vault:master:encrypted_key      → Encrypted master key

Concurrent Access

Storage operations are atomic but don't use distributed locks:

Write Operation:
1. Read current value (with version)
2. Modify in-memory
3. CAS (compare-and-swap) write:
   - If version matches → Write succeeds
   - If version mismatch → Retry from step 1

Read Operation:
- Simple get() call
- No locking, readers don't block writers

---

Cryptography Layer

CryptoBackend Trait

pub trait CryptoBackend: Send + Sync {
    // Symmetric encryption (AES-256-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305)
    async fn encrypt(&self, plaintext: &[u8], aad: &[u8])
        -> CryptoResult<Ciphertext>;
    async fn decrypt(&self, ciphertext: &Ciphertext, aad: &[u8])
        -> CryptoResult<Vec<u8>>;

    // Key generation
    async fn generate_keypair(&self, algorithm: KeyAlgorithm)
        -> CryptoResult<KeyPair>;

    // Signing and verification (if supported)
    async fn sign(&self, data: &[u8], key_id: &str)
        -> CryptoResult<Signature>;
    async fn verify(&self, data: &[u8], signature: &Signature)
        -> CryptoResult<bool>;

    // Hash operations
    async fn hash(&self, data: &[u8], algorithm: HashAlgorithm)
        -> CryptoResult<Vec<u8>>;
}

Master Key Encryption

All secrets encrypted with master key:

Master Key (from Shamir SSS)
  ↓
Encrypt with NIST SP 800-38D (GCM mode)
  ↓
Ciphertext + IV + Tag stored in encrypted_secret

Post-Quantum Support

Feature-gated post-quantum algorithms:

#[cfg(feature = "pqc")]
pub enum KeyAlgorithm {
    // Classical
    Rsa2048, Rsa4096,
    EcdsaP256, EcdsaP384, EcdsaP521,

    // Post-quantum (ML-KEM for key exchange)
    MlKem768,

    // Post-quantum (ML-DSA for signatures)
    MlDsa65,
}

#[cfg(not(feature = "pqc"))]
pub enum KeyAlgorithm {
    // Classical only
    Rsa2048, Rsa4096,
    EcdsaP256, EcdsaP384, EcdsaP521,
}

---

Secrets Engines

Engine Trait

pub trait Engine: Send + Sync {
    // Handle HTTP request for this engine
    async fn handle_request(&self, req: EngineRequest)
        -> EngineResult<EngineResponse>;

    // Mount point (e.g., "secret/", "transit/")
    fn mount_path(&self) -> &str;

    // Engine type (for metrics and logging)
    fn engine_type(&self) -> &str;

    // Build Axum router for this engine's routes
    fn routes(&self) -> Router;
}

Engine Request Flow

HTTP Request: POST /v1/secret/data/myapp
  ↓
Router matches /secret/ prefix
  ↓
KVEngine::routes() router handles /data/myapp
  ↓
KVEngine::handle_request() called
  ↓
KVEngine processes:
  - Parse request body
  - Validate against storage
  - Encrypt/decrypt as needed
  - Call storage backend
  - Return response
  ↓
HTTP Response

KV Engine (Versioned)

pub struct KVEngine {
    storage: Arc<dyn StorageBackend>,
    config: KVEngineConfig,
    crypto: Arc<dyn CryptoBackend>,
}

impl KVEngine {
    // Handle read request
    pub async fn read(&self, path: &str) -> EngineResult<SecretMetadata> {
        // 1. Get secret metadata
        let metadata_key = format!("{}secret:metadata:{}", self.config.path, path);
        let encrypted = self.storage.get(&metadata_key).await?;

        // 2. Decrypt metadata
        let plaintext = self.crypto.decrypt(&encrypted, b"").await?;
        let metadata: SecretMetadata = serde_json::from_slice(&plaintext)?;

        Ok(metadata)
    }

    // Handle write request
    pub async fn write(&self, path: &str, data: Value)
        -> EngineResult<()> {
        // 1. Get or create metadata
        let metadata_key = format!("{}secret:metadata:{}", self.config.path, path);
        let mut metadata = self.read_metadata(&metadata_key).await?;

        // 2. Create new version
        let version = metadata.versions.len() + 1;
        let version_key = format!("{}secret:v{}:{}", self.config.path, version, path);

        // 3. Encrypt version data
        let plaintext = serde_json::to_vec(&data)?;
        let encrypted = self.crypto.encrypt(&plaintext, b"").await?;

        // 4. Store version and update metadata
        self.storage.set(&version_key, encrypted).await?;
        metadata.update(version, Utc::now());

        // 5. Store metadata
        let metadata_bytes = serde_json::to_vec(&metadata)?;
        let encrypted_metadata = self.crypto.encrypt(&metadata_bytes, b"").await?;
        self.storage.set(&metadata_key, encrypted_metadata).await?;

        Ok(())
    }
}

---

Authorization & Policies

Cedar Integration

Cedar is AWS's open-source policy language:

permit (
  principal == User::"alice",
  action == Action::"read",
  resource == Secret::"secret/myapp"
) when {
  context.ip_address.isIpv4("10.0.0.0", 16)
};

Policy Evaluation Flow

HTTP Request
  ↓
Extract principal: X-Vault-Token
  ↓
Build Cedar context:
  principal = Token(token_id, policies=[...])
  action = "read"
  resource = "/secret/data/myapp"
  context = {
    ip_address = "10.0.20.5",
    timestamp = "2025-12-21T10:30:00Z"
  }
  ↓
Cedar engine evaluates: evaluate(context)
  ↓
Decision:
  - Permit → Proceed to engine
  - Deny → Return 403 Forbidden
  - NotApplicable → Default deny

Token Lifecycle

Create:
  1. Generate random token ID (32 bytes)
  2. Create metadata: {policies, ttl, created_at, renewable}
  3. Store encrypted in storage: auth:tokens:token_id
  4. Return token to client

Validate:
  1. Extract token from request header
  2. Lookup in storage
  3. Check TTL: if expired → invalid
  4. Extract policies and principal info

Renew:
  1. Validate token (not expired)
  2. Update TTL: expires_at = now + renewal_period
  3. Update in storage

Revoke:
  1. Delete from storage
  2. Invalidate any active leases

---

Deployment Architecture

Docker Compose (Local Development)

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Docker Compose Network                  │
│                (vault-network)                       │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬───────────┬────────────┤
│              │              │           │            │
▼              ▼              ▼           ▼            ▼

[vault:8200]  [etcd:2379]   [surrealdb:8000]  [postgres:5432]  [prometheus:9090]
(server)      (storage)     (alt-storage)     (alt-storage)    (monitoring)

Kubernetes Cluster

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Kubernetes Cluster                        │
│                                                    │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│  │      secretumvault Namespace                 │ │
│  │                                              │ │
│  │  ┌────────┐  ┌────────┐  ┌─────────────┐   │ │
│  │  │vault:8200 │etcd:2379   │prometheus:9090   │ │
│  │  │Deployment │StatefulSet │Deployment       │ │
│  │  │(1 replica)│(3 replicas)│(1 replica)      │ │
│  │  └────────┘  └────────┘  └─────────────┘   │ │
│  │       ↓            ↓                         │ │
│  │   [Service]    [Headless]                   │ │
│  │   vault:8200   etcd:2379                    │ │
│  │               (peer discovery)              │ │
│  │                                              │ │
│  │  [ConfigMap] vault-config (svault.toml)    │ │
│  │  [RBAC] ServiceAccount, ClusterRole        │ │
│  │  [PVC] Persistent storage for etcd         │ │
│  │                                              │ │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│                                                    │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Helm Chart Structure

helm/secretumvault/
├── Chart.yaml                  # Chart metadata
├── values.yaml                 # Default values (90+ options)
├── templates/
│   ├── _helpers.tpl           # Template functions
│   ├── deployment.yaml        # Vault deployment
│   ├── service.yaml           # Services
│   ├── configmap.yaml         # Configuration
│   └── rbac.yaml              # Security

---

Data Flow Diagram

Secret Storage Flow

User Request:
  {"username": "admin", "password": "secret123"}

  ↓

Auth Middleware validates token
Cedar policy evaluates (permit/forbid)

  ↓

KV Engine write handler:
  1. Parse request body
  2. Generate metadata (created_at, version)
  3. Serialize to JSON

  ↓

Crypto Backend:
  plaintext = b'{"username": "admin", ...}'
  master_key = seal_manager.unseal()
  ciphertext = aes_256_gcm.encrypt(plaintext, master_key)
  → ciphertext = [nonce(12B) | ciphertext | tag(16B)]

  ↓

Storage Backend (etcd/postgres):
  storage.set(
    key = "secret:v1:myapp",
    value = ciphertext
  )

  ↓

Metrics recorded:
  vault_secrets_stored.inc()

  ↓

Audit logged:
  {
    timestamp: "2025-12-21T10:30:00Z",
    principal: "user:alice",
    action: "write",
    resource: "/secret/data/myapp",
    result: "success"
  }

Secret Retrieval Flow

User Request:
  GET /v1/secret/data/myapp
  Header: X-Vault-Token: token_abc123

  ↓

Auth Middleware:
  1. Extract token from header
  2. storage.get("auth:tokens:token_abc123")
  3. Verify not expired

  ↓

Cedar Policy Engine:
  context = {
    principal: User(token_id, policies=[...]),
    action: "read",
    resource: "/secret/data/myapp",
    ip: "10.20.5.1"
  }
  → Evaluate policies → Decision: permit

  ↓

KV Engine read handler:
  1. Parse path: myapp
  2. storage.get("secret:v1:myapp")
  3. Returns encrypted ciphertext

  ↓

Crypto Backend decrypt:
  master_key = seal_manager.unseal()
  plaintext = aes_256_gcm.decrypt(ciphertext, master_key)
  → {"username": "admin", "password": "secret123"}

  ↓

Response:
  {
    "request_id": "req_123",
    "data": {
      "data": {"username": "admin", "password": "secret123"},
      "metadata": {
        "created_time": "2025-12-21T10:20:00Z",
        "current_version": 1
      }
    }
  }

  ↓

Metrics & Audit:
  vault_secrets_read.inc()
  audit_log(success)

---

Performance Characteristics

Async/Await Foundation

All I/O operations use Tokio's non-blocking runtime:

• HTTP requests: Axum + Hyper (async)
• Database queries: sqlx (async driver)
• etcd operations: etcd_client (async)
• File operations: tokio::fs (async)

Result: Thousands of concurrent requests on single machine

Caching Strategy

Limited in-memory caching for:

• Token metadata (refreshed on access)
• Policy evaluation (for frequently used policies)
• Crypto key material (loaded once, kept in memory)

Lock Contention

Minimal contention design:

• Per-token locking only during TTL updates
• Storage backend handles internal consistency
• No distributed locks (CAS operations used instead)

---

Security Architecture

Secret Encryption

All secrets encrypted at rest:

Plaintext → Master Key → AES-256-GCM → Ciphertext
                         (with AAD)

Master key stored encrypted via Shamir SSS (threshold encryption).

Audit Trail

Complete operation audit:

Every operation logged:
  - Principal (token ID)
  - Action (read/write/delete)
  - Resource (secret path)
  - Result (success/failure)
  - Timestamp
  - IP address
  - Error details

Policy Enforcement

Cedar policies enforce:

• Who can access (principal matching)
• What they can do (action authorization)
• Where they access (resource paths)
• When they access (time windows)
• How they access (IP ranges, MFA)

---

Extension Points

Adding New Storage Backend

1. Implement StorageBackend trait
2. Add to StorageRegistry::create()
3. Add feature flag in Cargo.toml
4. Update configuration schema

Example: To add S3 backend, implement trait with get/set/delete/list methods, add to registry match statement, add feature flag, update config TOML schema.

Adding New Secrets Engine

1. Implement Engine trait
2. Add to EngineRegistry::mount_engines()
3. Implement Axum routes
4. Add to configuration

Example: To add SSH engine, create new file, implement Engine trait with handle_request, add Axum router methods, integrate into registry.

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Architecture validated: Config-driven design enables flexible deployment while maintaining type safety and performance.