Infrastructure · Software component

Ephemeral Sandbox Manager

Software componentInfrastructureInfrastructurearc:EphemeralSandboxManager

A lifecycle component that creates a fresh minimal sandbox from a pristine base image for each tool execution and destroys it, with all created state, when execution completes or times out.

Responsibility. Guarantees no state persists between agent executions.

Also known as: Container lifecycle manager

Direct neighbourhood (hover for relationship types)

Relationships

is invoked by dependency

reads dependency

Container Image Ch9.3

scales control

Execution Sandbox abstract Ch9.3

Design guidance

SHOULD start sandboxes fast enough (e.g., millisecond microVM boot) to avoid user-visible latency while ensuring no state leaks.

Classification

Patterns: Ephemeral containerizationPer-execution sandbox
Technologies: Firecracker
Quality attributes: Security (ISO/IEC 25010 | NIST AI RMF: secure and resilient)Performance efficiency (ISO/IEC 25010)
Risks mitigated: Persistent compromise / backdoorsState leakage between executions

Sources

Ch9.3: T. Nguyen, "Sandboxing and Transparency Foundations," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 9.3. ISBN: 9798244538229.