vm-cloudflare/OPERATIONAL_FLOWS.md

Cloudflare Control Plane Operational Flows

🔄 Threat Intelligence → WAF Enforcement Flow

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│  Threat Intel   │───►│ WAF Intel MCP   │───►│   GitOps MR    │
│   Collector     │    │  (Analysis)     │    │  (Proposal)     │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│  Classification │◄──►│  Rule Synthesis │◄──►│  MR Automation  │
│   (ML/Intel)    │    │   (Generator)   │    │   (CI/CD)       │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Compliance Map  │───►│ Terraform Apply │───►│ Invariant Check │
│   (Mapper)      │    │   (Safe MCP)    │    │   (Validator)   │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│  Audit Trail   │◄───│  Live State     │◄───│  Remediation    │
│   (Logger)      │    │   (Cloudflare)  │    │   (Guardian)    │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Flow Steps:

1. Threat Intel Collection: Gather indicators from external sources
2. WAF Intelligence Analysis: ML classification + rule gap analysis
3. Rule Proposal: Generate Terraform-ready WAF rules
4. GitOps MR: Automated merge request creation
5. Compliance Mapping: Attach PCI-DSS/OWASP compliance data
6. Terraform Apply: Safe MCP server applies changes
7. Invariant Validation: Real-time state verification
8. Remediation: Automated fix if invariants violated

🌐 DNS/Tunnel Management Flow

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Service Def     │───►│ Tunnel Config   │───►│ DNS Routing     │
│  (Manifest)     │    │   (Terraform)   │    │   (Records)     │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Health Monitor  │◄──►│ Safe MCP Apply  │◄──►│ Invariant Check │
│   (Checker)     │    │   (Mutation)     │    │   (DNS/Tunnel)  │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Rotation Sched  │───►│ Credential Rot  │───►│ Audit Logging   │
│   (Timer)       │    │   (Automation)   │    │   (Compliance)   │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Flow Steps:

1. Service Definition: Define service endpoints and requirements
2. Tunnel Configuration: Create Cloudflare Tunnel ingress rules
3. DNS Routing: Point domains/subdomains to tunnel endpoints
4. Health Monitoring: Continuous tunnel connectivity checks
5. Safe MCP Operations: Programmatic DNS/tunnel management
6. Invariant Validation: DNS integrity + tunnel health checks
7. Credential Rotation: Automated tunnel secret rotation
8. Audit Logging: Comprehensive operational tracking

🛡️ Security Classification Flow

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   User Query    │───►│ Layer0 Classify │───►│ Routing Decision │
│   (Input)       │    │   (Pre-exec)    │    │   (Action)      │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Shadow Eval     │◄──►│ Oracle Answer   │◄──►│ Security Context │
│   (Classifier)   │    │   (MCP Server)  │    │   (Environment)  │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│ Preboot Log     │───►│ Execute/Block   │───►│ Audit Trail     │
│   (Security)    │    │   (Decision)     │    │   (Compliance)   │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Flow Steps:

1. User Query Input: Receive command/query from user/agent
2. Layer0 Classification: Pre-execution security assessment
3. Routing Decision: Determine allow/block/redirect action
4. Shadow Evaluation: ML-based threat assessment
5. Oracle Answer: Security decision support via MCP
6. Preboot Logging: Security event recording
7. Execution/Block: Allow safe operations, block dangerous ones
8. Audit Trail: Comprehensive security event tracking

🔄 Continuous Verification Loop

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Live State    │───►│ Invariant Check │───►│   Anomalies     │
│  (Cloudflare)   │    │   (Validator)    │    │   (Detection)    │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│  Drift Detect   │◄──►│ Auto Remediate  │◄──►│  Notify Ops     │
│   (Guardian)    │    │   (Fixer)       │    │   (Alerting)     │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         ▼                       ▼                       ▼
┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│  State Update   │───►│  Re-check Inv   │───►│  Close Loop     │
│   (Terraform)   │    │   (Validation)   │    │   (Complete)     │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘

Flow Steps:

1. Live State Monitoring: Continuous Cloudflare API polling
2. Invariant Validation: Check against desired state + security policies
3. Anomaly Detection: Identify configuration drift or violations
4. Drift Analysis: Determine root cause and severity
5. Auto Remediation: Apply fixes via Safe MCP server
6. Ops Notification: Alert human operators if needed
7. State Update: Apply Terraform changes if remediation successful
8. Re-validation: Confirm invariants are restored

🎯 Key Operational Principles

Separation of Concerns

• MCP = Intent: What should happen
• Terraform = State: What the desired state is
• GitOps = Change: How changes propagate
• Layer0 = Security: Whether actions are safe

Deterministic Operations

• Same inputs → same outputs
• No ambient dependencies
• Explicit environment configuration
• Version-controlled everything

Continuous Verification

• Real-time state validation
• Automated remediation
• Comprehensive audit trails
• Security classification at every step

These flows represent a production-grade operational model where each component has clear responsibilities and the system self-corrects when deviations occur.