# Tenancy model > Canonical HTML: https://initkoa.org/infrastructures/kristal-farms/tenancy-model > Markdown mirror: https://initkoa.org/infrastructures/kristal-farms/tenancy-model/index.html.md > Route: /infrastructures/kristal-farms/tenancy-model > Source: app/infrastructures/kristal-farms/tenancy-model/page.mdx > Generated: 2026-04-09T23:01:26.288Z [Open the HTML page](https://initkoa.org/infrastructures/kristal-farms/tenancy-model) "How Kristal Farms hosts compute without becoming a surveillance platform: the black-box boundary, what the host provides, what the tenant controls, and how contracts enforce safety and public benefit.", # Tenancy model Kristal Farms is designed to host compute **without owning the tenant’s data** and without turning the site operator into a surveillance authority. The tenancy model is simple: **The host provides utilities up to the pad. The tenant controls everything inside.** This is called the **black-box tenancy model**. ## The boundary (what “black-box” means) A compute pad is treated as an **opaque container**: - The tenant installs and controls their **hardware, operating system, software, models, and data**. - The host operates the **site infrastructure** (power, cooling interfaces, heat export loop, fiber connectivity, physical security). The host does **not** access tenant data, logs, model weights, or internal telemetry. The host does **not** inspect network payloads. ## What the host provides (the pad interfaces) Each pad is delivered with a small set of standardized interfaces: - **Power handoff** (metered, capacity-defined) - **Cooling / heat exchange interface** (non-contact heat transfer boundary) - **Dual fiber uplinks** (A/B connectivity) - **Physical site services** (yard access rules, security perimeter, safety systems) These interfaces make the site **modular**: pads can be installed, removed, replaced, or upgraded without rebuilding the entire facility. ## What the tenant controls Inside the pad, the tenant controls: - compute stack selection (GPU/CPU, storage, networking) - all software and orchestration - security posture and encryption - workload scheduling and priorities - model and data lifecycle If a tenant wants maximum confidentiality, they can run **end-to-end encryption** and keep operational details private by default. ## What the host is allowed to monitor (and why) To operate infrastructure safely and fairly, the host monitors **only physical / utility-layer metrics**, such as: - power draw / energy consumption - cooling flow and temperature differential across the heat exchanger - pad availability (heartbeat/power draw) - network link status and aggregate bandwidth usage - alarms (over-temperature, hardware fault signals, fiber drop, etc.) This is monitoring of **infrastructure health**, not monitoring of tenant activity. ## Optional: higher assurance onboarding For tenants with extremely sensitive workloads, the model can support **optional hardware attestation** (proof that the pad is in a known secure state at turn-up). This is **not required by default**. The baseline model relies on isolation + encryption + strict boundary enforcement. ## Contract structure (lease + SLA) Tenancy is enforced through clear contracts: ### Lease defines capacity + interfaces A lease typically specifies: - IT power capacity (kW) and power quality expectations - fiber ports and connectivity expectations - physical access rules and safety requirements ### SLA defines reliability + response The SLA commits the host to: - infrastructure availability targets (power/cooling/network) - response times for incidents - scheduled maintenance windows and notification practices If the host fails to meet SLA targets, **credits/penalties** apply. ## The heat-first clause (public value built into the lease) Kristal Farms is not a “compute-first” project. It is governed as a **heat-first** system: - waste heat is directed to local uses (district heating, greenhouse heating) whenever possible - seasonal priorities exist (e.g., critical buildings in winter) Contracts include a clause requiring tenants to **cooperate with heat reuse**. In rare conditions, the host may request—or contractually enforce—**non-essential workload curtailment** to stay within environmental limits or to maintain safe operations. Important: curtailment is **infrastructure-level** (power/thermal signaling), never data access. ## Step-in rights (only for safety and contract breaches) The host cannot interfere with tenant workloads except under predefined conditions: - safety emergencies - breach of agreed caps (e.g., exceeding power draw) - refusal to connect to required infrastructure interfaces - environmental compliance constraints that are explicitly defined in advance These rules are designed to prevent arbitrary control while still protecting the site and community. ## Public transparency without tenant surveillance Kristal Farms can publish a public dashboard with: - aggregate energy use - aggregate heat recovered / delivered - site uptime metrics - environmental compliance indicators - high-level network performance But public reporting is **aggregated and anonymized**: no tenant-specific operational details and no content visibility. ## Related pages - How it works → - Fiber & network → - Heat-first design → - Governance → - Metrics & dashboard →