FedRAMP High Event-Driven Data Mesh Architecture

This document provides a high-level overview of the FedRAMP High Event-Driven Data Mesh architecture, including its key components, interactions, and design principles.

Architecture Overview

The FedRAMP High Event-Driven Data Mesh is a decentralized, domain-driven architecture for managing data in a secure and scalable way, compliant with FedRAMP High security requirements. It combines the principles of Data Mesh (domain ownership, data as a product, self-service platform, federated governance) with Event-Driven Architecture (events as the primary communication mechanism).

Key Components

Self-Service Platform

The platform layer provides shared infrastructure, tools, and capabilities for domains to create, manage, and consume data products:

1. Event Bus (Kafka): Central nervous system for event propagation
2. Schema Registry: Central repository for schema management and validation
3. Data Lake Storage (S3/Iceberg): Scalable, durable storage for data products
4. Compute Engine (Databricks): Processing engine for data transformation and analysis
5. Data Catalog (Unity Catalog): Discovery and governance of data products
6. Infrastructure: AWS services configured for FedRAMP compliance

Domain Components

Each business domain (e.g., Project Management, Financials) owns:

1. Data Producers: Components that capture data from source systems and publish events
2. Data Processors: Jobs for transforming raw events into data products
3. Data Products: Event streams and derived datasets provided for consumption
4. Data Consumers: Applications or processes that consume data products

Developer Experience

Tools and APIs for developers to interact with the data mesh:

1. CLI Tool: Go-based command-line interface for local querying and discovery
2. APIs: Interfaces for programmatic access to data products
3. Documentation: Comprehensive documentation for using the platform

Security and Compliance

FedRAMP High compliance is achieved through:

1. Encryption: Data encrypted at rest and in transit
2. Access Control: Fine-grained access control at multiple levels
3. Monitoring and Logging: Comprehensive audit trails and monitoring
4. Network Security: Strict network controls and segmentation
5. Vulnerability Management: Regular scanning and patching

Event-Driven Communication

Domains communicate primarily through events:

1. State Events: Capture the full state of an entity after a change
2. Schema Registry: Ensures schemas are well-defined and evolve safely
3. Topic Naming: Well-defined naming conventions for discoverability
4. Kafka Security: Secure configuration of Kafka for FedRAMP compliance

Data Product Structure

Data products follow a standard structure:

1. Metadata: Description, ownership, classification, etc.
2. Schema: Well-defined schema registered in Schema Registry
3. Access Control: Permissions for who can access the data
4. Quality Metrics: SLAs and quality measurements
5. Lineage: Information about data origins and transformations

Deployment Model

The architecture is deployed on AWS, utilizing:

1. AWS GovCloud: FedRAMP-authorized AWS region
2. Terraform: Infrastructure as Code for provisioning
3. Kubernetes: Container orchestration for supporting services
4. AWS Services: S3, MSK, IAM, KMS, etc.

Next Steps

For more detailed information, refer to the following documentation:

• Security and Compliance Guide
• Developer Guide
• Deployment Guide