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Petra

Hardened Kubernetes that boots in under two minutes, transfers across classification boundaries through a single signed artifact, and verifies every component from source to runtime.

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<2 minBootstrap Time
FIPS 140-2Validated Crypto
SLSA L3Supply Chain
Zero CVEBase Images
Terminal
$

Built for Compliance

Every layer is hardened, verified, and auditable from the operating system to the application runtime.

Immutable from Boot
Flatcar Container Linux provides a read-only root filesystem with A/B partition updates. No packages installed at runtime, no writable system paths, no drift. Node remediation is replacement, not repair. The operating system is a verified, reproducible artifact -- not a configuration to manage.
FIPS Everywhere
FIPS 140-2 validated cryptography is mandatory for all components. k3s uses Go 1.24 native FIPS crypto (CAVP A6650), Chainguard images include FIPS variants, and all TLS uses approved cipher suites -- regardless of deployment target.
Air-Gap Native
Signed bundles contain OS, runtime, addons, and applications in a single artifact. Transfer through hardware data diodes, guards, or AWS Diode. Pre-pulled images in custom AMIs enable fast bootstrap without registry access.
CDS Integration
First-class Cross-Domain Solution support. Bundle format designed for content inspection compatibility. Automated S3-to-S3 pipeline through AWS Diode for cloud-to-cloud domain transfers.
Verified Supply Chain
Every image from Chainguard with SLSA Build Level 3 provenance, cosign signatures, and complete SBOMs. Verification at build, transfer, admission, and runtime. No unsigned image runs.
Defense in Depth
No SSH. IMDSv2 enforced. eBPF networking with Cilium. Runtime security with Tetragon. Policy enforcement with Gatekeeper. Signature admission with Sigstore. CIS benchmarking with kube-bench. Every layer adds an independent security control.

Four Independent Layers

Each layer updates independently with its own verification chain and operational lifecycle.

L4
Applications
Customer workloads deployed via Flux from bundled manifests
HelmReleaseKustomizationGitOps
L3
Platform Addons
Security, networking, and operational tooling managed by Flux
CiliumFluxGatekeeperTetragoncert-manager
L2
Kubernetes Runtime
k3s FIPS with embedded etcd, single binary, Go 1.24 native FIPS
k3sFIPSetcdCAVP A6650
L1
Operating System
Flatcar Container Linux with immutable root and A/B partition updates
FlatcarIgnitionread-onlyA/B swap

How Petra Compares

Purpose-built for compliant, air-gapped Kubernetes from the ground up.

CapabilityPetraTalosOpenShiftRancher Gov
Immutable OSFlatcar (A/B)Talos (A/B)RHCOSNone
FIPS RuntimeMandatoryBeta (140-3)OptionalSTIG + Carbide
CDS IntegrationNative (design)File-compatibleFile-compatibleFile-compatible
Bootstrap Time<2 min3-5 min30-60+ min10-15 min
Supply ChainSLSA L3 (images)SBOM + cosignRHSA + ACSCarbide + STIG
Image SourceChainguard (primary)Sidero LabsRed HatRancher
LicenseTBD$100/node/moPer core-pairPer vCPU pair

Ready to Deploy Hardened Kubernetes?

From zero to a compliant cluster in under two minutes.

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