Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is Bridge Kernel?

Bridge Kernel is a deterministic, tamper-evident event ledger runtime for energy settlement. It ingests raw device telemetry, generates cryptographic proofs (SHA-256 hash + Ed25519 signature), evaluates policy rules, and persists verified events to an immutable SQLite ledger.

Is Bridge Kernel a blockchain?

No. Bridge Kernel uses cryptographic signing and append-only ledger storage, but it is not a blockchain. There is no consensus mechanism, no token, and no distributed chain. It's a deterministic proof pipeline with peer sync.

What programming language is Bridge Kernel written in?

Bridge Kernel is written in Rust. It compiles to a single binary with no JVM or Docker dependency.

Deployment

What platforms does Bridge Kernel run on?

Bridge Kernel runs on ARM gateways (Raspberry Pi, industrial ARM boards), x86 servers, cloud instances (AWS, GCP, Azure), Docker containers, and Kubernetes clusters. The binary is under 50MB.

Can I deploy Bridge Kernel on-premise?

Yes. Bridge Kernel is designed for edge and on-premise deployment. It runs as a single binary with a local SQLite ledger and file-based peer sync.

Do I need an internet connection?

No. Bridge Kernel operates fully offline at the edge. Peer sync uses file-based exchange that works over any transport — local network, USB drive, or cloud sync when connectivity is available.

Integration

What protocols does Bridge Kernel support?

Modbus RTU/TCP, SunSpec, OCPP 1.6/2.0, DNP3, IEEE 2030.5, IEC 61850, webhook/REST, JSONL file, and a mock adapter for testing.

How long does integration take?

A basic integration with mock or file adapters takes minutes. Connecting to real devices via Modbus or OCPP typically takes 1-2 days including configuration and testing. Full production deployment with policy hardening and observability takes 2-4 weeks.

Can I write custom adapters?

Yes. The webhook/REST adapter accepts any HTTP-based telemetry. For protocol-level adapters, the adapter interface is extensible — contact us for guidance on custom adapter development.

Security

How are signing keys managed?

Ed25519 keypairs are generated per node. In development, keys are stored in a JSON keystore. In production, Bridge Kernel supports TPM (Trusted Platform Module) hardware-backed signing for tamper-proof key storage.

What happens if a key is compromised?

Rotate the key immediately with bridge-node ctl keys --rotate. All existing proofs remain valid — they carry their key_id and key_version for audit. New events will use the rotated key.

How does replay protection work?

Each event's timestamp is checked against a configurable replay window (default: 600 seconds). Events with timestamps outside this window are rejected before signing. Additionally, duplicate event_id values are silently dropped.

Pricing

Is Bridge Kernel free?

The pilot program is free for 12 weeks with up to 5 devices. See the Pricing page for Growth and Enterprise tiers.

What happens after the pilot?

You can continue on a paid Growth or Enterprise plan, or the pilot instance stops accepting new events. All existing ledger data remains accessible.

Support

How do I get help?

• Documentation: You're reading it.
• Email: hello@joulebridge.com
• Response time: Typically within 24 hours.