Architecture
Qpoint provides deep visibility and control over your external service dependencies through a modern, distributed architecture. This overview explains how the components work together to deliver comprehensive egress observability.
Core Components
Qpoint's architecture consists of four primary components that work together to provide complete visibility into your external service dependencies:
Qtap Agent - The data plane component deployed on your servers
Control Plane - The central management interface (UI/API)
Metrics Storage - For storing anonymized connection metadata
Payload Storage - For storing connection payload data within your environment
Qtap Agent
At the heart of Qpoint's technology is the Qtap agent, which leverages eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) to provide granular visibility into application traffic.
eBPF is a Linux kernel technology that allows safe execution of programs within kernel space, enabling:
Kernel-level visibility into network events before encryption
Efficient execution with minimal overhead
Transparent operation without code modifications
Safe execution through kernel verification
The Qtap agent uses eBPF to:
Monitor network sockets
Collect metadata and payloads
Attach to specific kernel events
Gather detailed connection information
Control Plane
The control plane serves as the management layer for your Qpoint deployment:
Web-based UI and API access
Team and access management
Configuration management
Deployment orchestration
Single sign-on (SSO) support
The control plane serves as a management interface only and does not store or process sensitive data.
Event Storage
The metrics pipeline consists of two key components that work together to process and store connection metadata:
Pulse Service
Pulse is a specialized service that acts as the gateway for metrics data:
Provides authentication and authorization
Handles data sanitation and processing
Offers a query API for data retrieval
Manages data flow into Clickhouse
Clickhouse Database
Clickhouse serves as the analytical database for processed metrics:
Optimized for high-performance analytical queries
Stores anonymized connection metadata
Enables real-time dashboard updates
Supports complex data analysis
Deployment options:
Managed: Use Qpoint's hosted Pulse service and Clickhouse database
Self-hosted: Run your own Pulse service and Clickhouse database (coming soon)
Object Storage
Qpoint uses S3-compatible object storage for maintaining detailed payload data:
Stores request and response payloads
Supports any S3-compatible storage service
Runs within your own environment
Configurable through environment variables
Key features:
Full control over sensitive data storage
Flexible storage provider options
Scalable storage capacity
Direct access from your environment
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