Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) Virtual Machines

Teenode TEE VMs are full virtual machines that run in a Trusted Execution Environment, providing hardware-level security and isolation.

What is a TEE VM?

A TEE VM is a complete Linux virtual machine that runs in AMD SEV-SNP, a hardware-based trusted execution environment. Key features include:

• Full VM - Not a container or process, but a complete isolated Linux environment
• Hardware Encryption - Memory encrypted by CPU, hypervisor cannot access
• Attestation - Cryptographically verify the environment hasn’t been tampered with
• Isolation - Each VM has its own encrypted memory space
• SSH Access - Full SSH access for remote management

When to Use TEE VMs

Use TEE VMs when you need:

• Maximum security and isolation for sensitive workloads
• Hardware-level encryption of your data
• Cryptographic proof your workload is running securely
• Full control over the operating system and environment
• To run custom software that needs system-level access

VM Lifecycle

VM Specifications

CPU

• Range - 1 to 32 cores
• Type - AMD EPYC (SEV-SNP capable)
• Note - Cores are exclusively allocated

Memory

• Range - 512 MB to 128 GB
• Encryption - All memory encrypted by hardware
• Note - Memory is exclusively allocated

Storage

• Range - 10 GB to 2000 GB
• Type - Encrypted persistent storage
• Note - SSD for performance

Operating Systems

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - Latest stable LTS release
• Debian 12 - Stable Debian release
• Alpine 3.18 - Lightweight Linux

Networking

Each TEE VM has:

• Public IP - Accessible from the internet
• Private IP - For internal network communication
• SSH Access - Remote shell access
• Custom Ports - Run web servers, APIs, etc.

Creating a TEE VM

Step 1: Create a TEE_VM project:

teenode project create \
  --name my-secure-app \
  --type TEE_VM \
  --region us-east

Step 2: Create a VM in the project:

teenode vm create proj_abc123 \
  --cpu-cores 4 \
  --ram-mb 4096 \
  --disk-gb 100 \
  --os-image ubuntu-22.04

Step 3: Wait for it to be ready:

teenode vm info proj_abc123

Accessing Your VM

Get connection information:

teenode vm console proj_abc123

Connect via SSH:

ssh root@YOUR_PUBLIC_IP

Pricing

TEE VMs are charged based on CPU cores, RAM, and storage used. See the Teenode website for current pricing.

What’s Next?

• Launch Your First TEE VM - Step-by-step guide
• AMD SEV-SNP - Learn about the security technology
• Attestation - Verify your VM’s security