Pollen

Pollen is a distributed WebAssembly (WASM) runtime designed for efficient workload management over a zero-trust mesh network. This single static binary application allows workloads to autonomously position themselves, enabling seamless scaling and resource distribution without the need for central scheduling.

Key Features

• Distributed WASM Execution: Effortlessly deploy and manage workloads by compiling them to WASM using languages such as Go, Rust, JavaScript, Python, C#, and Zig via Extism.
• Zero-Trust Networking: Establish secure connections with end-to-end mTLS from the outset. Simply run pln serve 8080 api on one machine and pln connect api on another to communicate effortlessly.
• Peer-to-Peer Artifact Distribution: Distribute workloads and artifacts across nodes using peer-to-peer communication. Commands such as pln seed ./hello.wasm allow for flexible deployment.
• Self-Organizing Architecture: Eliminate the need for schedulers, coordinators, or leaders. Workload placement, routing, and service topology emerge based on local state and demand.
• Support for Mesh Services: Utilize TCP and UDP protocols while ensuring connections relay over the shortest paths, enhancing resource efficiency.
• Full CRDT Support: Maintain consistent document state across all nodes, with changes gossiping and resolving conflicts as necessary.
• QUIC Transport Protocol: Benefit from reduced latency and efficient connections through a single multiplexed, encrypted, UDP-based link for gossip and workloads.
• Ergonomic Operations: Pollen offers intuitive operational defaults, allowing users to configure only as necessary.

Usage Examples

Initializing a Cluster:

pln init                                # Create a new cluster rooted here
pln bootstrap ssh user@host [--admin]   # Requires passwordless SSH + sudo

Deploying a Service:

# On Machine A:
pln serve 8080 api

# On Machine B:
pln connect api
curl localhost:8080           # Access the service from Machine A

Running a WASM Seed:

pln seed ./hello.wasm
pln call hello greet '{"name":"world"}'

Additional Benefits

• Edge-Ready Deployment: Pure Go implementation enables compatibility from Raspberry Pi to cloud environments.
• Cryptographic Admission Control: Invites and tokens ensure secure joining of nodes without shared secrets or firewall rules.
• Static Site Hosting and Blob Sharing: Quickly serve static files or share large data blobs across the network.

Pollen seeks to provide a robust framework for developers looking to utilize WASM in a distributed environment, combining cutting-edge technology with user-oriented simplicity.