Architecture Overview

NordStern is designed around a three-plane model that separates administration, transaction execution, and anchor discoverability.

flowchart TB
  subgraph Client [Client Facing]
    wallet([Stellar Wallet])
    biz([Founder / Operator])
  end

  subgraph ControlPlane [Control Plane - Management]
    console[platform/founder-console :4001]
    admin_console[platform/admin-console :4002]
    api[platform/api :4000]
    cp[anchor-service/control-plane :3002]
  end

  subgraph DataPlane [Data Plane - Provisioned Anchors]
    ap[anchor-platform v4.4.0]
    biz_server[business-server :3000]
    db_anchor[(anchordb_slug)]
  end

  subgraph DiscoveryPlane [Discovery Plane - Aggregator]
    agg[aggregator-service :3005]
  end

  biz -->|apply / review| console & admin_console
  console & admin_console -->|API| api
  api -->|provision stack| cp
  cp -->|spawns| ap & biz_server
  wallet -->|SEP-10 / SEP-24| ap
  ap <-->|callbacks| biz_server
  biz_server -->|idempotent ledger| db_anchor
  api -->|register| agg
  agg -->|health poll| biz_server
  wallet -->|finds coordinates| agg

The Three Planes

1. Control Plane: Handles onboarding, approvals, provisioning, and orchestration. It is responsible for generating Stellar keys, issuing assets, standing up dedicated containers, and configuring databases.
2. Data Plane: Consists of the active, running containers for each tenant anchor. It executes the core SEP flows, handles deposits and withdrawals, communicates with local banking APIs, and reads/writes the blockchain.
3. Discovery Plane (Aggregator): A registry that tracks the health, liquidity, fees, and uptime of all provisioned anchors. It acts as a routing matchmaker, directing wallet requests to the most optimal anchor.

The 8 Services

The platform consists of the following eight primary services:

Communication Boundaries

To guarantee security and non-custodial status, no customer transactions flow through the Control Plane or Aggregator. All deposits, KYC, and withdrawals occur directly between the customer's wallet, the provisioned Anchor Platform / Business Server, and the external financial rails (Razorpay / Cashfree). The Aggregator only handles routing metadata and quotes.