> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.envector.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.envector.io/1.4.x/core-concepts/architecture.md).

# Architecture

This page outlines enVector’s high-level architecture, its core components, and the data flow for encrypted indexing and search.

## Components

* Application (Client + SDK):
  * Generates/holds keys; never shares secret keys with the service
  * Encrypts vectors and queries; decrypts scores and metadata
  * Manages local index config (dimension, presets, query/index encryption)
* API Gateway:
  * Public API endpoint (gRPC/HTTP), authn/authz, request validation
  * Routes calls to the appropriate plane; applies rate limits and observability
* Data Plane:
  * Runs encrypted compute (e.g., inner‑product scoring) on uploaded ciphertext
  * Batches and schedules work; streams data to/from storage as needed
  * Stateless by design; does not require or persist client secret keys
* Index Plane:
  * Owns index lifecycle: create → load → unload → drop
  * Builds and maintains encrypted index artifacts used for fast lookup
  * Persists and retrieves artifacts from storage; exposes index‑level stats/health
* Object Storage:
  * S3‑compatible storage for encrypted payloads (items, blobs, artifacts)
  * No plaintext vectors or secret keys are stored by the service
* Encrypted Index (at rest):
  * The persisted, encrypted representation of each index (separate from raw item blobs)
  * Produced and maintained by the Index Plane; read by the Data Plane for scoring

The abstract roles above map to concrete services as deployed:

| Abstract role | Concrete service(s) |
| ------------- | ------------------- |
| API Gateway   | `endpoint`          |
| Data Plane    | `compute`           |
| Index Plane   | `backend`, `shaper` |
| Coordination  | `orchestrator`      |

`orchestrator` coordinates index lifecycle and leader election across the Index and Data planes; see [Server Environment Variables](/1.4.x/operations-and-management/server-environment.md) for the per-service configuration surface.

## System Overview

Key points:

* The server never requires client secret keys. It only receives the keys and parameters needed for encrypted evaluation.
* Index data is stored encrypted at rest; query processing is currently supported only with plaintext queries to prioritize the protection of the DB itself.
* All similarity computations (e.g., inner product) execute on encrypted data.

Notes:

* Index encryption is always enabled; indexes are never stored in cleartext.
* Queries are currently sent and processed only in plaintext, prioritizing the protection of the database itself.


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