Sovereign Data Stack: Building an End-to-End Self-Hosted Digital Infrastructure Training Course

Sovereign Architecture Design

• Threat modeling: Identification of cloud dependencies and data egress pathways.
• Network topology: Configuration of DMZs, internal segmentation zones, and dedicated management networks.
• Hardware procurement: Selection criteria for servers, storage arrays, network infrastructure, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).
• Disaster recovery planning: Establishment of geographically separate sites and air-gapped systems to ensure data integrity.

Identity and Access Management Foundation

• Implementation of Authentik for single sign-on (SSO) across all organizational services.
• Design and deployment of LDAP directories and group policy frameworks.
• Utilization of Step CA to facilitate mutual TLS (mTLS) for service-to-service authentication.
• Enrollment protocols for YubiKeys and other hardware security tokens.

Communication and Collaboration Infrastructure

• Deployment of Synapse and Element to support instant messaging and federated communication.
• Implementation of Jitsi Meet for secure video conferencing capabilities.
• Configuration of Roundcube and Nextcloud Mail for internal email services.
• Establishment of Nextcloud for file synchronization, calendar management, and contact directories.
• Integration of OnlyOffice to enable collaborative document editing.

Development and Operations Platform

• Deployment of Gitea for source code version control and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows.
• Implementation of Woodpecker CI to automate build processes.
• Establishment of Nexus or Harbor repositories for artifact and container image management.
• Configuration of Wazuh for security event monitoring and regulatory compliance tracking.
• Deployment of Uptime Kuma to monitor service health via centralized dashboards.

Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Management

• Deployment of Ollama to facilitate local large language model (LLM) inference.
• Implementation of LibreChat to provide secure internal access to AI assistants.
• Utilization of Obsidian or Logseq for individual knowledge base management.
• Implementation of Hoarder or ArchiveBox for the preservation of web-based content.

Security and Perimeter Defense

• Deployment of pfSense or OPNsense firewalls to secure network boundaries.
• Configuration of Suricata IDS/IPS with customized rule sets for threat detection.
• Establishment of WireGuard or OpenVPN tunnels for secure remote access.
• Implementation of Pi-hole for DNS filtering and local name resolution.
• Deployment of Vaultwarden for team-based password management.

Backup, Disaster Recovery, and Operations

• Establishment of a central BorgBackup repository to consolidate service backups.
• Automation of database dump procedures and off-site replication strategies.
• Development of operational runbooks and incident response protocols.
• Execution of capacity planning and definition of scaling triggers for resource management.
• Scheduling of quarterly sovereignty audits and supply chain dependency reviews for government systems.

Capstone Project

• Presentation of fully operational sovereign infrastructure stacks by participants.
• Peer review of architectural decisions, design tradeoffs, and implementation strategies.
• Execution of load testing and failure injection exercises to validate system resilience.
• Completion of documentation handoff and operational readiness assessments for government deployment.