Users launch sessions through Anchor with resource, account, reason, and policy context.
Anchor Connect
Anchor Connect extends the Anchor control plane into brokered access workflows such as SSH-focused sessions.
Traditional proxy and jump-host patterns often work technically while leaving the access story scattered across networks, consoles, tickets, and logs. Anchor Connect keeps session workflows tied to the same resource, account, policy, trust, and audit model used by the rest of Anchor.
Anchor Engine evaluates permission, scope, target, policy, and component eligibility.
Anchor Connect brokers the session through a controlled component boundary.
Session status, events, recordings, and audit context return to Anchor.
Architecture Pattern
Section titled “Architecture Pattern”Anchor Connect is the access-plane component. Anchor API remains the control-plane authority.
- Anchor Web gives users and operators a clean access workflow.
- Anchor API authenticates the actor, checks permissions, evaluates scope/resource access, resolves policy, issues scoped session context, and records evidence.
- Anchor Connect brokers the live session through a controlled component boundary.
- Anchor Vault stores metadata, session records, component state, logs, audit records, and safe recording references.
- Anchor Ledger and Compass provide integrity and posture context for the session story.
This split is why Anchor Connect is easier to reason about than generic jump infrastructure. The proxy path does not become the policy authority; the control plane remains responsible for the decision.
Core Workflow
Section titled “Core Workflow”Anchor Connect is for approved, policy-gated sessions where the control plane still understands the actor, target, account, reason, policy, component, lifecycle status, and evidence.
Operating Value
Section titled “Operating Value”Anchor Connect gives teams a cleaner access path for privileged sessions:
- Users request access through the UI or API instead of relying on unmanaged jump paths.
- Anchor evaluates permissions, resource context, account context, and policy.
- Session launch context is time-bound and scoped when access is allowed.
- Connect brokers the session through a controlled component boundary.
- Session lifecycle events return to Anchor logs and review surfaces.
Connect components are explicit operational objects, not invisible proxy nodes.
Session launch context stays scoped, time-bound, and policy-approved.
Health, trust, drain, disabled, and credential posture are reviewable.
Actor, target, broker, status, recording metadata, and audit context stay connected.
Component Lifecycle
Section titled “Component Lifecycle”Anchor Connect components should be explicit operational objects, not invisible proxy nodes. A component has identity, trust state, lifecycle state, health, heartbeat, capability, credential posture, and drain/disable controls.
That matters for enterprise operations. Teams can see which access-plane nodes are eligible to broker sessions, which are draining, which are disabled, which need credential rotation, and which session records belong to which component.