# CHORUS Licensing Master Development Plan

**Date**: 2025-09-01  
**Version**: 1.0  
**Status**: Ready for implementation  
**Priority**: CRITICAL - Foundation for all CHORUS revenue protection

## Executive Summary

This master plan coordinates the implementation of comprehensive licensing across the entire CHORUS ecosystem. Currently, **BZZZ has zero license enforcement**, **WHOOSH has no license integration**, and **KACHING lacks production license server capabilities**. This represents a critical revenue protection gap that must be resolved immediately.

## Business Impact

### Current Revenue Risk
- **$0 recurring revenue** - No license enforcement means unlimited free usage
- **License sharing** - Single licenses used across multiple clusters without restriction
- **Feature leakage** - Enterprise features available to all users regardless of tier
- **No upselling mechanism** - Users unaware of license limitations or upgrade benefits

### Target Business Model
- **Subscription-based licensing** with tiered features and node limits
- **Real-time license enforcement** with immediate suspension capabilities
- **Automated upselling** through usage-driven upgrade suggestions
- **Comprehensive audit trails** for compliance and revenue tracking

## Project Coordination Overview

### Repository Status
- **KACHING**: `feature/license-authority-server` ✅
- **BZZZ**: `feature/licensing-enforcement` ✅  
- **WHOOSH**: `feature/license-gating-integration` ✅

All projects are on dedicated licensing branches and ready for coordinated development.

## Master Implementation Timeline

### Phase 1: KACHING License Authority (Weeks 1-3)
**CRITICAL PATH** - All other projects depend on this

#### Phase 1A: Admin Tooling (Week 1)
- **CLI admin tool** for license create/suspend/upgrade/delete operations
- **Web admin UI** for license management dashboard
- **Database schema** for licenses, clusters, and revocations
- **Testing framework** for end-to-end license flows

#### Phase 1B: License Server API (Week 2)
- **Core endpoints**: `/activate`, `/heartbeat`, `/deactivate`, `/status`
- **Token system**: Short-lived JWT with version-based revocation
- **Cluster binding**: Single-cluster enforcement with grace periods
- **Security hardening**: Ed25519 signing, rate limiting, audit logging

#### Phase 1C: Production Deployment (Week 3)
- **Multi-region deployment** on GCP with Cloudflare protection  
- **Monitoring and alerting** for license server health
- **Load testing** and performance optimization
- **Documentation** and operator runbooks

### Phase 2: BZZZ License Enforcement (Week 4)
**HIGH PRIORITY** - Direct revenue protection

#### Phase 2A: Configuration Integration
- **Fix setup process** to save license data (currently discarded!)
- **Update config structs** to include comprehensive license information
- **Generate cluster IDs** for unique cluster identification

#### Phase 2B: Runtime Enforcement  
- **Startup license validation** - Refuse to start without valid license
- **Background heartbeat worker** with exponential backoff
- **License suspension handling** - Immediate shutdown on suspension
- **Graceful deactivation** on normal shutdown

#### Phase 2C: Feature Gating
- **Tier-based feature restrictions** throughout BZZZ codebase
- **Node count enforcement** to prevent over-provisioning
- **Clear error messaging** for license violations

### Phase 3: WHOOSH License Integration (Week 5)
**MEDIUM PRIORITY** - User experience and upselling

#### Phase 3A: License Status Display
- **Dashboard integration** showing tier, quotas, expiration
- **Header status indicators** for always-visible license info  
- **Real-time quota monitoring** with usage alerts

#### Phase 3B: Feature Gating & Upselling
- **Feature gates** throughout UI based on license tier
- **Upgrade prompts** for restricted features with clear benefits
- **Self-service upgrade workflows** integrated with sales processes

## Detailed Project Plans

### KACHING: `/home/tony/chorus/project-queues/active/KACHING/LICENSING_DEVELOPMENT_PLAN.md`
**Key Focus**: Central license authority with admin tooling

**Critical Components**:
- Admin CLI: `kaching-admin license create/suspend/upgrade/delete`
- License Server API: Activate/heartbeat/deactivate cycle
- Token Management: JWT with instant revocation via token versioning
- Database Schema: Comprehensive license, cluster, and revocation tracking

### BZZZ: `/home/tony/chorus/project-queues/active/BZZZ/LICENSING_DEVELOPMENT_PLAN.md`
**Key Focus**: Runtime license enforcement and revenue protection

**Critical Components**:
- Configuration Fix: Save license data during setup (currently discarded)
- Runtime Validation: Refuse to start without valid license
- Heartbeat Worker: Maintain license token with automatic renewal
- License Suspension: Immediate shutdown when license revoked

### WHOOSH: `/home/tony/chorus/project-queues/active/WHOOSH/LICENSING_DEVELOPMENT_PLAN.md`
**Key Focus**: License-aware user experience and upselling

**Critical Components**:
- License Status Dashboard: Real-time tier, quota, and usage display
- Feature Gating: Restrict features based on license tier
- Upgrade Workflows: Self-service upgrade requests with sales integration
- Usage Tracking: Integration with KACHING telemetry for billing

## Cross-Project Integration Points

### KACHING → BZZZ
- **License Validation API**: BZZZ calls KACHING for activation/heartbeat
- **Token Management**: KACHING issues short-lived tokens to BZZZ
- **Cluster Binding**: KACHING tracks BZZZ cluster assignments
- **Suspension Enforcement**: KACHING can immediately disable BZZZ clusters

### KACHING → WHOOSH  
- **License Status API**: WHOOSH fetches current license details
- **Usage Quotas**: KACHING provides quota limits and current usage
- **Upgrade Suggestions**: KACHING generates tier-based recommendations
- **Feature Definitions**: KACHING defines what features each tier includes

### BZZZ → KACHING
- **Usage Telemetry**: BZZZ reports job completion metrics to KACHING
- **Heartbeat Data**: Regular cluster health and activity reports
- **License Validation**: Real-time license status verification
- **Audit Events**: Security and compliance event reporting

## Testing Strategy

### Unit Testing (Each Project)
- **KACHING**: License CRUD operations, token generation/validation
- **BZZZ**: Configuration loading, heartbeat logic, feature gates
- **WHOOSH**: License display components, feature gate hooks

### Integration Testing (Cross-Project)
- **End-to-End License Flow**: Create license → BZZZ activation → WHOOSH display
- **License Suspension**: Admin suspends → BZZZ stops → WHOOSH shows status
- **Quota Enforcement**: Usage approaches limits → alerts → upgrade prompts
- **Cluster Migration**: Deactivate old cluster → activate new cluster seamlessly

### Load Testing
- **License Server Performance**: 1000+ concurrent license validations
- **Heartbeat Scaling**: 100+ BZZZ clusters with 15-minute heartbeats
- **Database Performance**: License lookups under high query load

## Security Framework

### Cryptographic Protection
- **Ed25519 License Signing**: All licenses cryptographically signed
- **JWT Token Security**: Short-lived tokens (15-30 minutes) with RS256
- **API Authentication**: Bearer tokens for all license API calls
- **Audit Trail Integrity**: Immutable audit logs with cryptographic verification

### Access Control
- **Admin Tool Security**: Multi-factor authentication for license admin CLI/UI
- **API Rate Limiting**: Cloudflare protection against license API abuse
- **Network Security**: VPC isolation and TLS everywhere
- **Key Management**: GCP Secret Manager for all cryptographic keys

### Compliance Requirements
- **Audit Logging**: All license operations logged with full context
- **Data Retention**: License usage data retained per compliance requirements
- **Privacy Protection**: Customer data handled per GDPR/CCPA requirements
- **Revenue Audit**: Financial audit trail for all license transactions

## Monitoring and Alerting

### Business Metrics
- **Active License Count**: Real-time tracking of billable licenses
- **Revenue Recognition**: Monthly recurring revenue from active licenses
- **Upgrade Conversion Rate**: License tier upgrade success metrics
- **Churn Prevention**: License expiration and renewal tracking

### Technical Metrics
- **License Server Uptime**: 99.9% availability target
- **API Response Times**: <200ms for all license operations
- **Heartbeat Success Rate**: >99% successful heartbeat operations
- **Token Validation Performance**: <50ms average validation time

### Alerting Rules
- **License Server Down**: Immediate PagerDuty alert for API failures
- **High Heartbeat Failures**: Alert if >5% heartbeat failure rate
- **Database Performance**: Alert if license queries >500ms
- **Revenue At Risk**: Alert for licenses approaching expiration without renewal

## Success Criteria

### Phase 1 (KACHING) Success
- [ ] Admin can create/manage licenses via CLI and web UI
- [ ] License server handles 100+ concurrent activations
- [ ] Token revocation works within 60 seconds globally
- [ ] All license operations have comprehensive audit trails

### Phase 2 (BZZZ) Success  
- [ ] **Zero unlicensed BZZZ usage possible** - system fails closed
- [ ] License suspension stops BZZZ operations within 5 minutes
- [ ] Cluster migration works seamlessly without service disruption
- [ ] All BZZZ features properly gated by license tier

### Phase 3 (WHOOSH) Success
- [ ] Users clearly understand their license tier and limitations  
- [ ] Upgrade prompts generate measurable increase in license upgrades
- [ ] Quota alerts prevent unexpected service limitations
- [ ] Self-service upgrade workflows reduce sales team overhead

### Overall Success
- [ ] **Recurring revenue model operational** with license enforcement
- [ ] **License sharing prevented** through cluster binding
- [ ] **Real-time license control** with immediate suspension capability
- [ ] **Automated upselling** through usage-driven recommendations

## Risk Mitigation

### Technical Risks
- **License Server SPOF**: Multi-region deployment with automatic failover
- **Network Partitions**: Offline grace periods for temporary connectivity loss  
- **Database Failures**: Read replicas and automated backup/restore
- **Certificate Expiry**: Automated certificate rotation and monitoring

### Business Risks
- **Customer Frustration**: Clear upgrade paths and transparent pricing
- **Revenue Leakage**: Comprehensive audit trails and usage monitoring
- **Compliance Issues**: Legal review of terms and data handling practices
- **Competitive Response**: Focus on value delivery and customer success

## Resource Requirements

### Development Team
- **Backend Engineers**: 2-3 for KACHING license server implementation
- **Full-Stack Engineers**: 1-2 for BZZZ integration and WHOOSH UI
- **DevOps Engineer**: 1 for deployment and monitoring setup
- **QA Engineer**: 1 for comprehensive testing across all projects

### Infrastructure
- **Development**: Local Docker environments for each project
- **Staging**: GCP resources for integration testing and demo
- **Production**: Multi-region GCP deployment with 99.9% uptime SLA
- **Monitoring**: Comprehensive observability stack (Prometheus, Grafana, AlertManager)

### Timeline
- **Total Duration**: 5 weeks for MVP licensing system
- **Critical Path**: KACHING license server (Weeks 1-3)
- **Parallel Development**: BZZZ and WHOOSH integration (Weeks 4-5)
- **Production Readiness**: Week 6-7 for hardening and monitoring

## Conclusion

This master plan transforms CHORUS from having **zero license enforcement** to comprehensive **revenue protection across all products**. The coordinated implementation ensures consistent licensing behavior, prevents revenue leakage, and establishes the foundation for sustainable recurring revenue growth.

The plan prioritizes **immediate revenue protection** (BZZZ enforcement) while building toward **automated revenue optimization** (WHOOSH upselling) - delivering both short-term security and long-term growth capabilities.

**Next Step**: Begin Phase 1A (KACHING Admin Tooling) to establish the foundation for the entire licensing ecosystem.