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Documentation/Operate
Operate

Cloud providers

Connect providers, validate access, discover resources and start a clear infrastructure workflow.

AudienceCloud administrators, platform operatorsReading time13 minCommands in contextNo terminal requiredReviewed source9552586 · 1 August 2026

Available cloud providers

ProviderStatusWorkflow
Hetzner CloudAvailableValidate, discover, plan and operate.
IONOS CloudAvailableValidate, discover, plan and operate.

Provider account boundary

Provider account APIs create, update, validate, rotate, reset, and inspect provider configuration. Credentials must be represented by protected secret references. Responses, logs, audit, and support output must contain identity and posture—not raw credentials.

  • Use a dedicated project/subscription/account boundary where the provider supports one.
  • Grant the minimum permissions needed for the approved lifecycle operations.
  • Separate validation credentials from broad tenant administration.
  • Document resource naming, labels/tags, regions, networks, quotas, and cleanup ownership.
  • Test rotation and revocation before production approval.

Validation and discovery

Validation should prove identity, permissions, endpoint reachability, TLS, quotas, rate-limit posture, and access to the selected location/resources. Discovery is read-only and must not create provider resources.

ResultInterpretationNext action
ValidThe bounded validation contract passed.Continue to a dry-run plan; do not assume full lifecycle approval.
Rate limitedProvider rejected request volume.Honor retry guidance and reduce concurrency.
Permission deniedIdentity lacks one or more required actions.Correct policy; do not replace with an unrestricted owner token.
Resource conflictName, address, quota, or ownership collides.Fix topology or clean explicitly owned residual resources.
Circuit openRepeated provider failures triggered protection.Restore provider health and wait/reset only through the approved control.

Infrastructure versus Kubernetes

Creating networks, machines, volumes, and firewall posture is a provider operation. Preparing hosts, bootstrapping kubeadm, installing Calico, and joining nodes is a cluster-lifecycle operation. ClusterPilot links their evidence but preserves the boundary so failures and cleanup ownership remain explainable.

Review the cluster lifecycle contract