diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml b/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml
index 5015d407..629cce26 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: nix build .#checks.x86_64-linux.deployment-panel -L
 
+  check-deployment-model:
+    runs-on: native
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - run: nix build .#checks.x86_64-linux.deployment-model -L
+
   ## NOTE: NixOps4 does not provide a good “dry run” mode, so we instead check
   ## proxies for resources, namely whether their `.#vmOptions.<machine>` and
   ## `.#nixosConfigurations.<machine>` outputs evaluate and build correctly, and
diff --git a/default.nix b/default.nix
index 24b73cd2..e929e516 100644
--- a/default.nix
+++ b/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ let
     ;
   inherit (pkgs) lib;
   inherit (import sources.flake-inputs) import-flake;
-  inherit ((import-flake { src = ./.; }).inputs) nixops4;
+  inputs = (import-flake { src = ./.; }).inputs;
+  inherit (inputs) nixops4;
   panel = import ./panel { inherit sources system; };
   pre-commit-check =
     (import "${git-hooks}/nix" {
@@ -78,6 +79,7 @@ in
   # re-export inputs so they can be overridden granularly
   # (they can't be accessed from the outside any other way)
   inherit
+    inputs
     sources
     system
     pkgs
diff --git a/deployment/check/basic/constants.nix b/deployment/check/basic/constants.nix
index 3cf28d8f..f2573fb8 100644
--- a/deployment/check/basic/constants.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/basic/constants.nix
@@ -5,4 +5,5 @@
   ];
   pathToRoot = ../../..;
   pathFromRoot = ./.;
+  useFlake = true;
 }
diff --git a/deployment/check/basic/nixosTest.nix b/deployment/check/basic/nixosTest.nix
index 93c8ad23..10ed196f 100644
--- a/deployment/check/basic/nixosTest.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/basic/nixosTest.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-{ inputs, lib, ... }:
+{
+  inputs,
+  lib,
+  config,
+  ...
+}:
 
 {
   _class = "nixosTest";
@@ -8,6 +13,7 @@
   sourceFileset = lib.fileset.unions [
     ./constants.nix
     ./deployment.nix
+    (config.pathToCwd + "/flake-under-test.nix")
   ];
 
   nodes.deployer =
diff --git a/deployment/check/cli/constants.nix b/deployment/check/cli/constants.nix
index ce3b5e4d..a48d9076 100644
--- a/deployment/check/cli/constants.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/cli/constants.nix
@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@
   pathToRoot = ../../..;
   pathFromRoot = ./.;
   enableAcme = true;
+  useFlake = true;
 }
diff --git a/deployment/check/cli/nixosTest.nix b/deployment/check/cli/nixosTest.nix
index d171a182..f7f1cf2d 100644
--- a/deployment/check/cli/nixosTest.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/cli/nixosTest.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 {
   inputs,
   hostPkgs,
+  config,
   lib,
   ...
 }:
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ in
   sourceFileset = lib.fileset.unions [
     ./constants.nix
     ./deployments.nix
+    (config.pathToCwd + "/flake-under-test.nix")
 
     # REVIEW: I would like to be able to grab all of `/deployment` minus
     # `/deployment/check`, but I can't because there is a bunch of other files
diff --git a/deployment/check/common/deployerNode.nix b/deployment/check/common/deployerNode.nix
index 987a0a7c..dcb5deef 100644
--- a/deployment/check/common/deployerNode.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/common/deployerNode.nix
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ in
         inputs.nixpkgs
 
         sources.flake-parts
+        sources.nixpkgs
         sources.flake-inputs
         sources.git-hooks
 
diff --git a/deployment/check/common/nixosTest.nix b/deployment/check/common/nixosTest.nix
index bc30edba..93bd3fef 100644
--- a/deployment/check/common/nixosTest.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/common/nixosTest.nix
@@ -76,8 +76,6 @@ in
       ./sharedOptions.nix
       ./targetNode.nix
       ./targetResource.nix
-
-      (config.pathToCwd + "/flake-under-test.nix")
     ];
 
     acmeNodeIP = config.nodes.acme.networking.primaryIPAddress;
@@ -164,31 +162,38 @@ in
           deployer.succeed(f"echo '{host_key}' > ${config.pathFromRoot}/${tm}_host_key.pub")
         '')}
 
-      ## NOTE: This is super slow. It could probably be optimised in Nix, for
-      ## instance by allowing to grab things directly from the host's store.
-      ##
-      ## NOTE: We use the repository as-is (cf `src` above), overriding only
-      ## `flake.nix` by our `flake-under-test.nix`. We also override the flake
-      ## lock file to use locally available inputs, as we cannot download them.
-      ##
-      with subtest("Override the flake and its lock"):
-        deployer.succeed("cp ${config.pathFromRoot}/flake-under-test.nix flake.nix")
-        deployer.succeed("""
-          nix flake lock --extra-experimental-features 'flakes nix-command' \
-            --offline -v \
-            --override-input nixops4 ${inputs.nixops4.packages.${system}.flake-in-a-bottle} \
-            \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos ${inputs.nixops4-nixos} \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos/flake-parts ${inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.flake-parts} \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos/flake-parts/nixpkgs-lib ${inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.flake-parts.inputs.nixpkgs-lib} \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos/nixops4-nixos ${emptyFlake} \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos/nixpkgs ${inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.nixpkgs} \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos/nixops4 ${
-              inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.nixops4.packages.${system}.flake-in-a-bottle
-            } \
-            --override-input nixops4-nixos/git-hooks-nix ${emptyFlake} \
-            ;
-        """)
+      ${
+        if config.useFlake then
+          ''
+            ## NOTE: This is super slow. It could probably be optimised in Nix, for
+            ## instance by allowing to grab things directly from the host's store.
+            ##
+            ## NOTE: We use the repository as-is (cf `src` above), overriding only
+            ## `flake.nix` by our `flake-under-test.nix`. We also override the flake
+            ## lock file to use locally available inputs, as we cannot download them.
+            ##
+            with subtest("Override the flake and its lock"):
+              deployer.succeed("cp ${config.pathFromRoot}/flake-under-test.nix flake.nix")
+              deployer.succeed("""
+                nix flake lock --extra-experimental-features 'flakes nix-command' \
+                  --offline -v \
+                  --override-input nixops4 ${inputs.nixops4.packages.${system}.flake-in-a-bottle} \
+                  \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos ${inputs.nixops4-nixos} \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos/flake-parts ${inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.flake-parts} \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos/flake-parts/nixpkgs-lib ${inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.flake-parts.inputs.nixpkgs-lib} \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos/nixops4-nixos ${emptyFlake} \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos/nixpkgs ${inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.nixpkgs} \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos/nixops4 ${
+                    inputs.nixops4-nixos.inputs.nixops4.packages.${system}.flake-in-a-bottle
+                  } \
+                  --override-input nixops4-nixos/git-hooks-nix ${emptyFlake} \
+                  ;
+              """)
+          ''
+        else
+          ""
+      }
 
       ${optionalString config.enableAcme ''
         with subtest("Set up handmade DNS"):
diff --git a/deployment/check/common/sharedOptions.nix b/deployment/check/common/sharedOptions.nix
index 7201a8f5..c0efc6cf 100644
--- a/deployment/check/common/sharedOptions.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/common/sharedOptions.nix
@@ -64,5 +64,7 @@ in
         during the test to the correct value.
       '';
     };
+
+    useFlake = lib.mkEnableOption "Use a flake in the test.";
   };
 }
diff --git a/deployment/check/common/targetNode.nix b/deployment/check/common/targetNode.nix
index a346d873..e88be811 100644
--- a/deployment/check/common/targetNode.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/common/targetNode.nix
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ in
       system.switch.enable = true;
 
       nix = {
+        # short-cut network time-outs
+        settings.download-attempts = 1;
         ## Not used; save a large copy operation
         channel.enable = false;
         registry = lib.mkForce { };
diff --git a/deployment/check/data-model/constants.nix b/deployment/check/data-model/constants.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0c8576a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/check/data-model/constants.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+{
+  targetMachines = [
+    "hello"
+  ];
+  pathToRoot = ../../..;
+  pathFromRoot = ./.;
+}
diff --git a/deployment/check/data-model/default.nix b/deployment/check/data-model/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..11c1fb37
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/check/data-model/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{
+  runNixOSTest,
+  inputs,
+  sources,
+}:
+
+runNixOSTest {
+  imports = [
+    ../../data-model.nix
+    ../../function.nix
+    ../common/nixosTest.nix
+    ./nixosTest.nix
+  ];
+  _module.args = { inherit inputs sources; };
+  inherit (import ./constants.nix) targetMachines pathToRoot pathFromRoot;
+}
diff --git a/deployment/check/data-model/deployment.nix b/deployment/check/data-model/deployment.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..69380519
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/check/data-model/deployment.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+{
+  config,
+  system,
+  inputs ? (import ../../../default.nix { }).inputs,
+  sources ? import ../../../npins,
+  ...
+}:
+
+let
+  inherit (sources) nixpkgs;
+  pkgs = import nixpkgs { inherit system; };
+  inherit (pkgs) lib;
+  deployment-config = config;
+  inherit (lib) mkOption types;
+  eval =
+    module:
+    (lib.evalModules {
+      specialArgs = {
+        inherit inputs;
+      };
+      modules = [
+        module
+        ../../data-model.nix
+      ];
+    }).config;
+  fediversity = eval (
+    { config, ... }:
+    {
+      config = {
+        resources.login-shell = {
+          description = "The operator needs to be able to log into the shell";
+          request =
+            { ... }:
+            {
+              _class = "fediversity-resource-request";
+              options = {
+                wheel = mkOption {
+                  description = "Whether the login user needs root permissions";
+                  type = types.bool;
+                  default = false;
+                };
+                packages = mkOption {
+                  description = "Packages that need to be available in the user environment";
+                  type = with types; attrsOf package;
+                };
+              };
+            };
+          policy =
+            { config, ... }:
+            {
+              _class = "fediversity-resource-policy";
+              options = {
+                username = mkOption {
+                  description = "Username for the operator";
+                  type = types.str; # TODO: use the proper constraints from NixOS
+                };
+                wheel = mkOption {
+                  description = "Whether to allow login with root permissions";
+                  type = types.bool;
+                  default = false;
+                };
+              };
+              config = {
+                resource-type = types.raw; # TODO: splice out the user type from NixOS
+                apply =
+                  requests:
+                  let
+                    # Filter out requests that need wheel if policy doesn't allow it
+                    validRequests = lib.filterAttrs (
+                      _name: req: !req.login-shell.wheel || config.wheel
+                    ) requests.resources;
+                  in
+                  lib.optionalAttrs (validRequests != { }) {
+                    ${config.username} = {
+                      isNormalUser = true;
+                      packages =
+                        with lib;
+                        attrValues (concatMapAttrs (_name: request: request.login-shell.packages) validRequests);
+                      extraGroups = lib.optional config.wheel "wheel";
+                    };
+                  };
+              };
+            };
+        };
+        applications.hello =
+          { ... }:
+          {
+            description = ''Command-line tool that will print "Hello, world!" on the terminal'';
+            module =
+              { ... }:
+              {
+                options.enable = lib.mkEnableOption "Hello in the shell";
+              };
+            implementation = cfg: {
+              input = cfg;
+              output.resources = lib.optionalAttrs cfg.enable {
+                hello.login-shell.packages.hello = pkgs.hello;
+              };
+            };
+          };
+        environments.single-nixos-vm = environment: {
+          resources."operator-environment".login-shell.username = "operator";
+          implementation = requests: {
+            input = requests;
+            output.ssh-host = {
+              ssh = {
+                username = "root";
+                inherit (deployment-config) host;
+                key-file = null;
+              };
+              nixos-configuration =
+                { ... }:
+                {
+                  imports = [
+                    ./options.nix
+                    ../common/sharedOptions.nix
+                    ../common/targetNode.nix
+                    "${nixpkgs}/nixos/modules/profiles/qemu-guest.nix"
+                  ];
+
+                  inherit (deployment-config) enableAcme;
+                  acmeNodeIP =
+                    if deployment-config.enableAcme then
+                      deployment-config.nodes.acme.networking.primaryIPAddress
+                    else
+                      null;
+
+                  users.users = environment.config.resources."operator-environment".login-shell.apply {
+                    resources = lib.filterAttrs (_name: value: value ? login-shell) (
+                      lib.concatMapAttrs (
+                        k': req: lib.mapAttrs' (k: lib.nameValuePair "${k'}.${k}") req.resources
+                      ) requests
+                    );
+                  };
+                };
+            };
+          };
+        };
+      };
+      options = {
+        "example-configuration" = mkOption {
+          type = config.configuration;
+          default = {
+            enable = true;
+            applications.hello.enable = true;
+          };
+        };
+        "example-deployment" = mkOption {
+          type = config.environments.single-nixos-vm.resource-mapping.output-type;
+          default = config.environments.single-nixos-vm.deployment config."example-configuration";
+        };
+      };
+    }
+  );
+in
+fediversity."example-deployment"
diff --git a/deployment/check/data-model/nixosTest.nix b/deployment/check/data-model/nixosTest.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..11c0e3a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/check/data-model/nixosTest.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+{
+  lib,
+  config,
+  pkgs,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  inherit (import ./constants.nix) targetMachines pathToRoot;
+  escapedJson = v: lib.replaceStrings [ "\"" ] [ "\\\\\"" ] (lib.strings.toJSON v);
+in
+{
+  _class = "nixosTest";
+  imports = [
+    ./options.nix
+  ];
+
+  name = "deployment-model";
+  sourceFileset = lib.fileset.unions [
+    ../../data-model.nix
+    ../../function.nix
+    ./constants.nix
+    ./deployment.nix
+  ];
+
+  nodes.deployer =
+    { pkgs, ... }:
+    {
+      environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
+        jq
+      ];
+      system.extraDependenciesFromModule =
+        { pkgs, ... }:
+        {
+          environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
+            hello
+          ];
+        };
+    };
+
+  extraTestScript = ''
+    ${lib.concatStringsSep "\n" (
+      lib.lists.map (
+        nodeName:
+        let
+          deployment-config = {
+            inherit (config) enableAcme;
+            acmeNodeIP = if config.enableAcme then config.nodes.acme.networking.primaryIPAddress else null;
+            host = nodeName;
+          };
+          inherit
+            ((import ./deployment.nix {
+              inherit (pkgs) system;
+              config = deployment-config;
+            }).ssh-host.ssh
+            )
+            host
+            username
+            key-file
+            ;
+        in
+        ''
+          with subtest("Check the status before deployment"):
+            ${nodeName}.fail("${nodeName} 1>&2")
+
+          with subtest("Run the deployment for ${nodeName}"):
+            deployer.succeed("""
+              set -euo pipefail
+
+              # INSTANTIATE
+              command=(nix-instantiate --show-trace --expr '
+                let
+                  system = "${pkgs.system}"; # FIXME: what system are we deploying to?
+                in
+                import ${pathToRoot}/deployment/nixos.nix {
+                  inherit system;
+                  configuration = (
+                    import ${pathToRoot}/deployment/check/data-model/deployment.nix {
+                      inherit system;
+                      config = builtins.fromJSON "${escapedJson deployment-config}";
+                    }
+                  ).ssh-host.nixos-configuration;
+                }
+              ')
+              # DEPLOY
+              host="${lib.defaultTo "root" username}@${host}"
+              sshOpts=(
+                ${if key-file == null then "" else "-i ${key-file}"}
+                -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no
+                -o "ConnectTimeout=1"
+                -o "ServerAliveInterval=1"
+              )
+              # instantiate the config in /nix/store
+              "''${command[@]}" --show-trace -A out_path
+              # get the realized derivation to deploy
+              outPath=$(nix-store --realize "$("''${command[@]}" --show-trace --eval --strict --json | jq -r '.drv_path')")
+              # deploy the config by nix-copy-closure
+              NIX_SSHOPTS="''${sshOpts[*]}" nix-copy-closure --to "$host" "$outPath" --gzip --use-substitutes
+              # switch the remote host to the config
+              output=$(ssh "''${sshOpts[@]}" "$host" "nix-env --profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/system --set $outPath; nohup $outPath/bin/switch-to-configuration switch &" 2>&1) || echo "status code: $?"
+              echo "output: $output"
+              if [[ $output != *"Timeout, server ${nodeName} not responding"* ]]; then
+                echo "non-timeout error: $output"
+                exit 1
+              else
+                exit 0
+              fi
+            """)
+            ${nodeName}.wait_for_unit("multi-user.target")
+            ${nodeName}.succeed("su - operator -c ${nodeName} 1>&2")
+        ''
+      ) targetMachines
+    )}
+  '';
+}
diff --git a/deployment/check/data-model/options.nix b/deployment/check/data-model/options.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8492bee3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/check/data-model/options.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+  lib,
+  ...
+}:
+let
+  inherit (lib) types;
+in
+{
+  options = {
+    host = lib.mkOption {
+      type = types.str;
+      description = "name of the host to deploy to";
+    };
+  };
+}
diff --git a/deployment/check/panel/constants.nix b/deployment/check/panel/constants.nix
index ce3b5e4d..a48d9076 100644
--- a/deployment/check/panel/constants.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/panel/constants.nix
@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@
   pathToRoot = ../../..;
   pathFromRoot = ./.;
   enableAcme = true;
+  useFlake = true;
 }
diff --git a/deployment/check/panel/nixosTest.nix b/deployment/check/panel/nixosTest.nix
index ffcb8e53..fddad457 100644
--- a/deployment/check/panel/nixosTest.nix
+++ b/deployment/check/panel/nixosTest.nix
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ in
   sourceFileset = lib.fileset.unions [
     ./constants.nix
     ./deployment.nix
+    (config.pathToCwd + "/flake-under-test.nix")
 
     # REVIEW: I would like to be able to grab all of `/deployment` minus
     # `/deployment/check`, but I can't because there is a bunch of other files
diff --git a/deployment/data-model-test.nix b/deployment/data-model-test.nix
index ac35df39..e754bc03 100644
--- a/deployment/data-model-test.nix
+++ b/deployment/data-model-test.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 let
   inherit (import ../default.nix { }) pkgs inputs;
   inherit (pkgs) lib;
-  inherit (lib) mkOption;
+  inherit (lib) mkOption types;
   eval =
     module:
     (lib.evalModules {
@@ -13,17 +13,82 @@ let
         ./data-model.nix
       ];
     }).config;
+  inherit (inputs.nixops4.lib) mkDeployment;
 in
 {
   _class = "nix-unit";
 
   test-eval = {
+    /**
+      This tests a very simple arrangement that features all ingredients of the Fediversity business logic:
+      application, resource, environment, deployment; and wires it all up in one end-to-end exercise.
+      - The dummy resource is a login shell made available for some user.
+      - The dummy application is `hello` that requires a shell to be deployed.
+      - The dummy environment is a single NixOS VM that hosts one login shell, for the operator.
+      - The dummy configuration enables the `hello` application.
+      This will produce a NixOps4 deployment for a NixOS VM with a login shell for the operator and `hello` available.
+    */
     expr =
       let
         fediversity = eval (
           { config, ... }:
           {
             config = {
+              resources.login-shell = {
+                description = "The operator needs to be able to log into the shell";
+                request =
+                  { ... }:
+                  {
+                    _class = "fediversity-resource-request";
+                    options = {
+                      wheel = mkOption {
+                        description = "Whether the login user needs root permissions";
+                        type = types.bool;
+                        default = false;
+                      };
+                      packages = mkOption {
+                        description = "Packages that need to be available in the user environment";
+                        type = with types; attrsOf package;
+                      };
+                    };
+                  };
+                policy =
+                  { config, ... }:
+                  {
+                    _class = "fediversity-resource-policy";
+                    options = {
+                      username = mkOption {
+                        description = "Username for the operator";
+                        type = types.str; # TODO: use the proper constraints from NixOS
+                      };
+                      wheel = mkOption {
+                        description = "Whether to allow login with root permissions";
+                        type = types.bool;
+                        default = false;
+                      };
+                    };
+                    config = {
+                      resource-type = types.raw; # TODO: splice out the user type from NixOS
+                      apply =
+                        requests:
+                        let
+                          # Filter out requests that need wheel if policy doesn't allow it
+                          validRequests = lib.filterAttrs (
+                            _name: req: !req.login-shell.wheel || config.wheel
+                          ) requests.resources;
+                        in
+                        lib.optionalAttrs (validRequests != { }) {
+                          ${config.username} = {
+                            isNormalUser = true;
+                            packages =
+                              with lib;
+                              attrValues (concatMapAttrs (_name: request: request.login-shell.packages) validRequests);
+                            extraGroups = lib.optional config.wheel "wheel";
+                          };
+                        };
+                    };
+                  };
+              };
               applications.hello =
                 { ... }:
                 {
@@ -31,19 +96,50 @@ in
                   module =
                     { ... }:
                     {
-                      options = {
-                        enable = lib.mkEnableOption "Hello in the shell";
+                      options.enable = lib.mkEnableOption "Hello in the shell";
+                    };
+                  implementation = cfg: {
+                    input = cfg;
+                    output.resources = lib.optionalAttrs cfg.enable {
+                      hello.login-shell.packages.hello = pkgs.hello;
+                    };
+                  };
+                };
+              environments.single-nixos-vm =
+                { config, ... }:
+                {
+                  resources."operator-environment".login-shell.username = "operator";
+                  implementation = requests: {
+                    input = requests;
+                    output.nixops4 =
+                      { providers, ... }:
+                      {
+                        providers = {
+                          inherit (inputs.nixops4.modules.nixops4Provider) local;
+                        };
+                        resources.the-machine = {
+                          type = providers.local.exec;
+                          imports = [
+                            inputs.nixops4-nixos.modules.nixops4Resource.nixos
+                          ];
+                          nixos.module =
+                            { ... }:
+                            {
+                              users.users = config.resources."operator-environment".login-shell.apply {
+                                resources = lib.filterAttrs (_name: value: value ? login-shell) (
+                                  lib.concatMapAttrs (
+                                    k': req: lib.mapAttrs' (k: lib.nameValuePair "${k'}.${k}") req.resources
+                                  ) requests
+                                );
+                              };
+                            };
+                        };
                       };
-                    };
-                  implementation =
-                    cfg:
-                    lib.optionalAttrs cfg.enable {
-                      dummy.login-shell.packages.hello = pkgs.hello;
-                    };
+                  };
                 };
             };
             options = {
-              example-configuration = mkOption {
+              "example-configuration" = mkOption {
                 type = config.configuration;
                 readOnly = true;
                 default = {
@@ -51,20 +147,66 @@ in
                   applications.hello.enable = true;
                 };
               };
+              "example-deployment" = mkOption {
+                type = config.environments.single-nixos-vm.resource-mapping.output-type;
+                readOnly = true;
+                default = config.environments.single-nixos-vm.deployment config."example-configuration";
+              };
             };
           }
         );
+        resources =
+          fediversity.applications.hello.resources
+            fediversity."example-configuration".applications.hello;
+        hello-shell = resources.resources.hello.login-shell;
+        environment = fediversity.environments.single-nixos-vm.resources."operator-environment".login-shell;
+        result = mkDeployment {
+          modules = [
+            (fediversity.environments.single-nixos-vm.deployment fediversity."example-configuration")
+          ];
+        };
+
       in
       {
-        inherit (fediversity)
-          example-configuration
-          ;
+        number-of-resources = with lib; length (attrNames fediversity.resources);
+        inherit (fediversity) example-configuration;
+        hello-package-exists = hello-shell.packages ? hello;
+        wheel-required = hello-shell.wheel;
+        wheel-allowed = environment.wheel;
+        operator-shell =
+          let
+            operator = (environment.apply resources).operator;
+          in
+          {
+            inherit (operator) isNormalUser;
+            packages = map (p: "${p.pname}") operator.packages;
+            extraGroups = operator.extraGroups;
+          };
+        deployment = {
+          inherit (result) _type;
+          deploymentFunction = lib.isFunction result.deploymentFunction;
+          getProviders = lib.isFunction result.getProviders;
+        };
       };
     expected = {
+      number-of-resources = 1;
       example-configuration = {
         enable = true;
         applications.hello.enable = true;
       };
+      hello-package-exists = true;
+      wheel-required = false;
+      wheel-allowed = false;
+      operator-shell = {
+        isNormalUser = true;
+        packages = [ "hello" ];
+        extraGroups = [ ];
+      };
+      deployment = {
+        _type = "nixops4Deployment";
+        deploymentFunction = true;
+        getProviders = true;
+      };
     };
   };
 }
diff --git a/deployment/data-model.nix b/deployment/data-model.nix
index 8f584af4..90d3b0d2 100644
--- a/deployment/data-model.nix
+++ b/deployment/data-model.nix
@@ -6,28 +6,107 @@
 let
   inherit (lib) mkOption types;
   inherit (lib.types)
-    attrsOf
     attrTag
+    attrsOf
     deferredModuleWith
-    submodule
-    optionType
     functionTo
+    nullOr
+    optionType
+    raw
+    str
+    submodule
     ;
 
   functionType = import ./function.nix;
-  application-resources = {
+  application-resources = submodule {
     options.resources = mkOption {
       # TODO: maybe transpose, and group the resources by type instead
       type = attrsOf (
-        attrTag (lib.mapAttrs (_name: resource: mkOption { type = resource.request; }) config.resources)
+        attrTag (
+          lib.mapAttrs (_name: resource: mkOption { type = submodule resource.request; }) config.resources
+        )
       );
     };
   };
+  nixos-configuration = mkOption {
+    description = "A NixOS configuration.";
+    type = raw;
+  };
+  host-ssh = mkOption {
+    description = "SSH connection info to connect to a single host.";
+    type = submodule {
+      options = {
+        host = mkOption {
+          description = "the host to access by SSH";
+          type = str;
+        };
+        username = mkOption {
+          description = "the SSH user to use";
+          type = nullOr str;
+          default = null;
+        };
+        key-file = mkOption {
+          description = "path to the user's SSH private key";
+          type = nullOr str;
+          example = "/root/.ssh/id_ed25519";
+        };
+      };
+    };
+  };
+  deployment-type = attrTag {
+    ssh-host = mkOption {
+      description = "A Terraform deployment by SSH to update a single existing NixOS host.";
+      type = submodule {
+        options = {
+          inherit nixos-configuration;
+          ssh = host-ssh;
+        };
+      };
+    };
+  };
 in
 {
-  _class = "nixops4Deployment";
-
   options = {
+    resources = mkOption {
+      description = "Collection of deployment resources that can be required by applications and policed by hosting providers";
+      type = attrsOf (
+        submodule (
+          { ... }:
+          {
+            _class = "fediversity-resource";
+            options = {
+              description = mkOption {
+                description = "Description of the resource to help application module authors and hosting providers to work with it";
+                type = types.str;
+              };
+              request = mkOption {
+                description = "Options for declaring resource requirements by an application, a description of how the resource is consumed or accessed";
+                type = deferredModuleWith { staticModules = [ { _class = "fediversity-resource-request"; } ]; };
+              };
+              policy = mkOption {
+                description = "Options for configuring the resource policy for the hosting provider, a description of how the resource is made available";
+                type = deferredModuleWith {
+                  staticModules = [
+                    (policy: {
+                      _class = "fediversity-resource-policy";
+                      options.resource-type = mkOption {
+                        description = "The type of resource this policy configures";
+                        type = types.optionType;
+                      };
+                      # TODO(@fricklerhandwerk): we may want to make the function type explicit here: `application-resources -> resource-type`
+                      options.apply = mkOption {
+                        description = "Apply the policy to a request";
+                        type = functionTo policy.config.resource-type;
+                      };
+                    })
+                  ];
+                };
+              };
+            };
+          }
+        )
+      );
+    };
     applications = mkOption {
       description = "Collection of Fediversity applications";
       type = attrsOf (
@@ -52,12 +131,13 @@ in
               readOnly = true;
               default = input: (application.config.implementation input).output;
             };
+            # TODO(@fricklerhandwerk): this needs a better name, it's just the type
             config-mapping = mkOption {
               description = "Function type for the mapping from application configuration to required resources";
               type = submodule functionType;
               readOnly = true;
               default = {
-                input-type = application.config.module;
+                input-type = submodule application.config.module;
                 output-type = application-resources;
               };
             };
@@ -65,6 +145,60 @@ in
         })
       );
     };
+    environments = mkOption {
+      description = "Run-time environments for Fediversity applications to be deployed to";
+      type = attrsOf (
+        submodule (environment: {
+          _class = "fediversity-environment";
+          options = {
+            resources = mkOption {
+              description = ''
+                Resources made available by the hosting provider, and their policies.
+
+                Setting this is optional, but provides a place to declare that information for programmatic use in the resource mapping.
+              '';
+              # TODO: maybe transpose, and group the resources by type instead
+              type = attrsOf (
+                attrTag (
+                  lib.mapAttrs (_name: resource: mkOption { type = submodule resource.policy; }) config.resources
+                )
+              );
+            };
+            implementation = mkOption {
+              description = "Mapping of resources required by applications to available resources; the result can be deployed";
+              type = environment.config.resource-mapping.function-type;
+            };
+            resource-mapping = mkOption {
+              description = "Function type for the mapping from resources to a deployment";
+              type = submodule functionType;
+              readOnly = true;
+              default = {
+                input-type = attrsOf application-resources;
+                output-type = deployment-type;
+              };
+            };
+            # TODO(@fricklerhandwerk): maybe this should be a separate thing such as `fediversity-setup`,
+            # which makes explicit which applications and environments are available.
+            # then the deployments can simply be the result of the function application baked into this module.
+            deployment = mkOption {
+              description = "Generate a deployment from a configuration, by applying an environment's resource policies to the applications' resource mappings";
+              type = functionTo (environment.config.resource-mapping.output-type);
+              readOnly = true;
+              default =
+                cfg:
+                # TODO: check cfg.enable.true
+                let
+                  required-resources = lib.mapAttrs (
+                    name: application-settings: config.applications.${name}.resources application-settings
+                  ) cfg.applications;
+                in
+                (environment.config.implementation required-resources).output;
+
+            };
+          };
+        })
+      );
+    };
     configuration = mkOption {
       description = "Configuration type declaring options to be set by operators";
       type = optionType;
diff --git a/deployment/flake-part.nix b/deployment/flake-part.nix
index 952fc694..ca80f247 100644
--- a/deployment/flake-part.nix
+++ b/deployment/flake-part.nix
@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@
           inherit (pkgs.testers) runNixOSTest;
           inherit inputs sources;
         };
+
+        deployment-model = import ./check/data-model {
+          inherit (pkgs.testers) runNixOSTest;
+          inherit inputs sources;
+        };
       };
     };
 }
diff --git a/deployment/function.nix b/deployment/function.nix
index d1a047f0..f0210a34 100644
--- a/deployment/function.nix
+++ b/deployment/function.nix
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 let
   inherit (lib) mkOption types;
   inherit (types)
-    deferredModule
     submodule
     functionTo
     optionType
@@ -14,10 +13,10 @@ in
 {
   options = {
     input-type = mkOption {
-      type = deferredModule;
+      type = optionType;
     };
     output-type = mkOption {
-      type = deferredModule;
+      type = optionType;
     };
     function-type = mkOption {
       type = optionType;
@@ -25,10 +24,10 @@ in
       default = functionTo (submodule {
         options = {
           input = mkOption {
-            type = submodule config.input-type;
+            type = config.input-type;
           };
           output = mkOption {
-            type = submodule config.output-type;
+            type = config.output-type;
           };
         };
       });
diff --git a/deployment/nixos.nix b/deployment/nixos.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c5228106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deployment/nixos.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{
+  configuration,
+  system,
+  sources ? import ../npins,
+}:
+let
+  eval = import "${sources.nixpkgs}/nixos/lib/eval-config.nix" {
+    inherit system;
+    specialArgs = {
+      inherit sources;
+    };
+    modules = [ configuration ];
+  };
+  os = {
+    inherit (eval) pkgs config options;
+    system = eval.config.system.build.toplevel;
+    inherit (eval.config.system.build) vm vmWithBootLoader;
+  };
+in
+{
+  drv_path = os.config.system.build.toplevel.drvPath;
+  out_path = os.config.system.build.toplevel;
+}