Edera system components
2 min read · Beginner
This page defines key binaries and resources used by Edera and its supporting services. While the CLI usage guide explains
how to interact with the system via the command line, this reference focuses on what each binary or file does, where it lives on the system, and how it
fits into the broader Edera runtime. Use this as a quick lookup when diagnosing issues or exploring system internals.
Core binaries
| Name | Type | Purpose | Location |
|---|
| protect-network | Long-lived Binary | Provides networking to isolated zones via userspace bridges | /usr/sbin |
| protect-daemon | Long-lived Binary | Service which provides the control API to manage isolated zones | /usr/sbin |
| kube-spdy-proxy | Long-lived Binary | Translate legacy SPDY protocol in Kubernetes to modern HTTP/2.0 | /usr/sbin |
| protect-cri | Long-lived Binary | Provide the Container Runtime interface via the protect-daemon API | /usr/sbin |
Command-line
| Name | Type | Purpose | Location |
|---|
| protect | Command-line Binary | Tool to connect to the control API, diagnose problems | /usr/sbin |
Boot time & zone components
| Name | Type | Purpose | Location |
|---|
| xen | Bootable Binary | Provides the Edera Protect Xen hypervisor at boot time | /boot |
| kernel | Zone Resource | Default kernel image to boot inside of a zone | /var/lib/edera/protect/zone |
| addons.squashfs | Zone Resource | Default kernel addons (modules and driver bits) | /var/lib/edera/protect/zone |
| initrd | Zone Resource | Default initial ramdisk to boot inside of a zone | /var/lib/edera/protect/zone |
Runtime
| Name | Type | Purpose | Location |
|---|
| host.uuid | Runtime Resource | Stores the UUID of the host (separate from hardware UUID) | /var/lib/edera/protect |
| protect.db | Runtime Resource | Stores critical zone management information | /var/lib/edera/protect |
| cri.v1.json | Runtime Resource | Stores information about the runtime of the CRI | /var/lib/edera/protect |
| cache | Runtime Directory | OCI and data cache files | /var/lib/edera/protect |
KVM backend components (Early Access)
These components are installed and invoked only on the KVM backend. On the Xen backend they are not present. See Install Edera for the install path and components reference for source pins and roles.
| Name | Type | Purpose | Location |
|---|
| cloud-hypervisor | Per-zone Binary | Userspace VMM that launches and manages each zone’s VM | /usr/libexec/edera-protect |
| virtiofsd | Per-zone Binary | Userspace daemon serving volume mounts to zones using virtio-fs | /usr/libexec/edera-protect |
File type key
| File Type | Usage |
|---|
| Long-lived Binary | Starts at system boot and stays running |
| Command-line Binary | Invoked by humans or automation |
| Bootable Binary | Launched by the system bootloader |
| Per-zone Binary | Launched by the daemon per zone; lives for the zone lifetime |
| Zone Resource | Loaded by the daemon for zone use |
| Runtime Resource | Created and managed by services |
| Runtime Directory | Created and managed by services |