Trellis
Trellis is a framework for defining, governing, and deploying the components needed to support secure federation across Trusted Research Environments (TREs).
The framework provides a structured model for describing interfaces, dependencies, lifecycle, and operational considerations. Through the concept of Weaves, Trellis enables deployable configurations of software, governance, and metadata across its Planes, supporting repeatable, standards-based federation deployments for consortia and collaborative projects.
Planes
A Plane is a logical layer of functions and responsibilities within a federated TRE, grouping related capabilities so they can be described and secured consistently.
The five Planes are:
- Analysis: Where queries and analyses are initiated.
- Control: Orchestration of queries, validation, and permissions.
- Management: Infrastructure creation, configuration, and monitoring.
- Data: Processing and computation; where analyses run.
- Security: Ingress and egress control.
Weaves
A Weave is a deployable configuration that combines the software, configuration, governance, and metadata required for one or more Planes.
By referencing Helm charts, configuration files, and operational metadata, a Weave enables reproducible deployment of federation capabilities. Weaves are used to operationalise Trellis, such as when a TRE consortium is formed and needs a consistent, standards-aligned deployment.
Different Weaves provide different capability and software across a federated TRE.
An example of a Weave in development is Five Safes TES.