Federated Nodes

A federated node is an independent Corteza instance with the Federation feature enabled. In a federated network, each node operates autonomously but can connect with other nodes to securely exchange information.

A node can expose data to its destination nodes (acting as an origin), or consume shared data from its origin nodes (acting as a destination).

A node can act as both an origin and a destination simultaneously.

Before any data can be exchanged, the instances must establish a secure connection through the node pairing process.

Node pairing

Node pairing flow outline:

  1. the origin node registers a destination node,

  2. the origin node sends an invite to the destination node,

  3. the destination node accepts the invite, either via email or manually,

  4. the origin node accepts the handshake request sent by the destination node.

You can initiate the node pairing process from any node.
To register a new node (Origin Node):

  1. navigate to the Corteza Admin,

  2. click on Nodes under Federation in the navigation drawer,

  3. click the New button,

  4. provide the requested data regarding the node you wish to connect to,

  5. press the Submit button.

To send the invitation (Origin Node):

  1. navigate to the Corteza Admin,

  2. click on Nodes under Federation in the navigation drawer,

  3. click on the node to which you want to send an invitation,

  4. click the Generate Federation Link button and either:

    • copy the invitation URL, or

    • insert the contact email where the invite should be sent.

The generated invite URL includes a secure OTT (One-Time Token), so ensure you send it over a secure channel.
To accept the email invitation (Destination Node):

  1. click the Pair Federation Node link in the email to open the pairing page,

  2. enter the received URL and confirm.

To accept the invitation manually (Destination Node):

  1. navigate to the Corteza Admin,

  2. click on Nodes under Federation in the navigation drawer,

  3. click the Edit button,

  4. enter the received URL and confirm.

Node pairing will not proceed until the pairing URL is inserted and the handshake request is accepted by the origin node.
To accept the node pair handshake request (Origin Node):

  1. navigate to the Corteza Admin,

  2. click on Nodes under Federation in the navigation drawer,

  3. click on the node you wish to accept the request for,

  4. click the warning icon to confirm the request.

Remember that this final step is done on the origin server (the one that initiated the handshake).