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Architecture Overview

This document provides a detailed overview of the Safeguards architecture, its components, and how they interact.

High-Level Architecture

The Safeguards is structured as a layered architecture with several key components:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Client Code                    │
└───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┘
                        │
┌───────────────────────▼─────────────────────────┐
│                   API Layer                     │
│  ┌───────────┐  ┌───────────┐  ┌───────────┐    │
│  │ Agent API │  │ Budget API│  │ Config API│    │
│  └───────────┘  └───────────┘  └───────────┘    │
└───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┘
                        │
┌───────────────────────▼─────────────────────────┐
│                   Core Layer                    │
│  ┌────────────────────┐  ┌───────────────────┐  │
│  │  BudgetCoordinator │  │ TransactionManager│  │
│  └────────────────────┘  └───────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────┐  ┌───────────────────┐  │
│  │ Notification System│  │ SafetyController  │  │
│  └────────────────────┘  └───────────────────┘  │
└───────────────────────┬─────────────────────────┘
                        │
┌───────────────────────▼─────────────────────────┐
│                Monitoring Layer                 │
│  ┌───────────────┐  ┌───────────────────────┐   │
│  │ MetricsAnalyzer│  │   ViolationReporter  │   │
│  └───────────────┘  └───────────────────────┘   │
│  ┌───────────────┐  ┌───────────────────────┐   │
│  │ResourceMonitor│  │    PoolHealthMonitor  │   │
│  └───────────────┘  └───────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Component Descriptions

API Layer

The API layer provides contract-based interfaces for client code to interact with the framework.

Agent API

Manages agent creation, registration, and lifecycle operations.

Key interfaces: - AgentAPIContract: Base contract for agent operations - AgentAPIV1: Concrete V1 implementation

Budget API

Manages budget operations, pools, and resource allocation.

Key interfaces: - BudgetAPIContract: Base contract for budget operations - BudgetAPIV1: Concrete V1 implementation

Config API

Manages system configuration and settings.

Key interfaces: - ConfigAPIContract: Base contract for configuration operations - ConfigAPIV1: Concrete V1 implementation

Metrics API

Provides access to system and agent metrics.

Key interfaces: - MetricsAPIContract: Base contract for metrics operations - MetricsAPIV1: Concrete V1 implementation

Core Layer

The core layer contains the central components that manage resources, agents, and safety controls.

BudgetCoordinator

Manages resource allocation, transfers, and budget tracking.

Key responsibilities: - Agent registration - Budget pool management - Resource transfers - Budget allocation - Usage tracking

TransactionManager

Ensures atomic operations across multiple resources.

Key responsibilities: - Transaction boundaries - Rollback on failure - State consistency - Concurrency control

NotificationManager

Manages alerts and notifications across the system.

Key responsibilities: - Alert generation - Notification routing - Handler management - Alert levels

SafetyController

Coordinates safety operations across the system.

Key responsibilities: - Safety rule enforcement - Guardrail coordination - Emergency handling - Safety policy application

Monitoring Layer

The monitoring layer observes system operations and collects metrics.

MetricsAnalyzer

Analyzes metrics to detect patterns and anomalies.

Key responsibilities: - Trend analysis - Pattern detection - Budget efficiency tracking - Usage profiling

ViolationReporter

Reports and tracks safety violations.

Key responsibilities: - Violation detection - Severity assessment - Reporting - Remediation suggestions

ResourceMonitor

Monitors system resource usage.

Key responsibilities: - CPU usage tracking - Memory usage tracking - Disk usage tracking - Network monitoring

PoolHealthMonitor

Monitors the health of budget pools.

Key responsibilities: - Pool utilization tracking - Health assessment - Recommendations - Alert generation

Data Flow

Agent Registration Flow

┌─────────┐      ┌──────────┐      ┌─────────────────┐      ┌─────────┐
│Client   │      │Agent API │      │BudgetCoordinator│      │Budget   │
│         │      │          │      │                 │      │Pool     │
└────┬────┘      └────┬─────┘      └────────┬────────┘      └────┬────┘
     │                │                      │                    │
     │ create_agent() │                      │                    │
     │───────────────>│                      │                    │
     │                │                      │                    │
     │                │ register_agent()     │                    │
     │                │─────────────────────>│                    │
     │                │                      │                    │
     │                │                      │ allocate_budget()  │
     │                │                      │───────────────────>│
     │                │                      │                    │
     │                │                      │   pool_updated     │
     │                │                      │<───────────────────│
     │                │                      │                    │
     │                │ agent_created        │                    │
     │                │<─────────────────────│                    │
     │                │                      │                    │
     │ return agent   │                      │                    │
     │<───────────────│                      │                    │
     │                │                      │                    │

Budget Update Flow

┌─────────┐      ┌──────────┐      ┌─────────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐
│Client   │      │Budget API│      │BudgetCoordinator│      │NotificationMgr│
└────┬────┘      └────┬─────┘      └────────┬────────┘      └───────┬──────┘
     │                │                      │                       │
     │ update_budget()│                      │                       │
     │───────────────>│                      │                       │
     │                │                      │                       │
     │                │update_agent_budget() │                       │
     │                │─────────────────────>│                       │
     │                │                      │                       │
     │                │                      │  check_thresholds()   │
     │                │                      │──────────────────────>│
     │                │                      │                       │
     │                │                      │                       │
     │                │                      │   alert_if_needed()   │
     │                │                      │<──────────────────────│
     │                │                      │                       │
     │                │ update_complete      │                       │
     │                │<─────────────────────│                       │
     │                │                      │                       │
     │ return success │                      │                       │
     │<───────────────│                      │                       │
     │                │                      │                       │

Violation Reporting Flow

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐    ┌───────────┐
│BudgetCoord  │    │ViolationRptr│    │NotificationMgr│    │Handlers   │
└──────┬──────┘    └──────┬──────┘    └───────┬──────┘    └─────┬─────┘
       │                  │                    │                 │
       │ detect_violation │                    │                 │
       │─────────────────>│                    │                 │
       │                  │                    │                 │
       │                  │ report_violation() │                 │
       │                  │───────────────────>│                 │
       │                  │                    │                 │
       │                  │                    │ notify_handlers()
       │                  │                    │────────────────>│
       │                  │                    │                 │
       │                  │                    │ handler_actions()
       │                  │                    │<────────────────│
       │                  │                    │                 │
       │                  │ violation_recorded │                 │
       │                  │<───────────────────│                 │
       │                  │                    │                 │
       │ return status    │                    │                 │
       │<─────────────────│                    │                 │
       │                  │                    │                 │

Key Design Patterns

The framework utilizes several design patterns:

Factory Pattern

Used in the APIFactory class to create concrete API implementations based on version.

class APIFactory:
    def create_budget_api(self, version: APIVersion, coordinator: BudgetCoordinator) -> BudgetAPIContract:
        if version == APIVersion.V1:
            return BudgetAPIV1(coordinator)
        # More versions...

Strategy Pattern

Used for different budget allocation strategies.

class AllocationStrategy(ABC):
    @abstractmethod
    def allocate(self, resources, agents) -> Dict[str, Decimal]:
        pass

class PriorityBasedAllocation(AllocationStrategy):
    def allocate(self, resources, agents) -> Dict[str, Decimal]:
        # Priority-based implementation

Observer Pattern

Used in the notification system.

class NotificationManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self._handlers = []

    def add_handler(self, handler):
        self._handlers.append(handler)

    def notify(self, notification):
        for handler in self._handlers:
            handler(notification)

Command Pattern

Used for budget operations.

class TransferRequest:
    def __init__(self, source_id, target_id, amount, transfer_type, justification):
        self.source_id = source_id
        self.target_id = target_id
        self.amount = amount
        self.transfer_type = transfer_type
        self.justification = justification

Module Dependencies

The framework has the following key module dependencies:

safeguards.api
├── safeguards.core.budget_coordination
└── safeguards.monitoring.metrics

safeguards.core.budget_coordination
├── safeguards.core.transaction
├── safeguards.core.notification_manager
└── safeguards.monitoring.violation_reporter

safeguards.monitoring.violation_reporter
└── safeguards.core.notification_manager

safeguards.core.pool_health
├── safeguards.core.notification_manager
└── safeguards.monitoring.violation_reporter

Thread Safety

The framework is designed to be thread-safe in the following ways:

  1. Transaction Manager uses locks to ensure atomic operations
  2. Budget Coordinator uses transaction boundaries for consistency
  3. Notification Manager is designed for concurrent notification delivery
  4. Pool operations use appropriate synchronization mechanisms

Extension Points

The framework provides several extension points:

  1. Custom Agent Implementations - Extend the Agent base class
  2. Custom Safety Rules - Implement the SafetyRule interface
  3. Custom Notification Handlers - Register handlers with NotificationManager
  4. Custom Budget Allocation Strategies - Implement AllocationStrategy
  5. API Versioning - Implement new API versions while maintaining backward compatibility

Next Steps