diff --git a/ballista/core/src/transport/channel.rs b/ballista/core/src/transport/channel.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aecd62a28
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ballista/core/src/transport/channel.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+use std::error::Error;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+
+/// A factory responsible for creating outbound client channels.
+///
+/// This abstraction allows different transport implementations
+/// (e.g. plain HTTP, TLS) without changing core logic.
+pub trait ChannelFactory: Send + Sync {
+    fn create_channel(
+        &self,
+        target: &str,
+    ) -> Result<Arc<dyn std::any::Any + Send + Sync>, Box<dyn Error>>;
+}
+/// Default channel factory using the existing HTTP-based gRPC connection logic.
+pub struct DefaultChannelFactory;
+
+impl ChannelFactory for DefaultChannelFactory {
+    fn create_channel(
+        &self,
+        target: &str,
+    ) -> Result<std::sync::Arc<dyn std::any::Any + Send + Sync>, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        // NOTE:
+        // For now, this is a placeholder that will be wired
+        // to existing client connection logic in the next step.
+        //
+        // The purpose here is to establish the factory structure
+        // without changing behavior.
+        Err("DefaultChannelFactory not wired yet".into())
+    }
+}
+/// TLS-enabled channel factory (stub).
+///
+/// This implementation is intentionally left unimplemented.
+/// It exists to demonstrate how TLS support can be plugged in
+/// without changing core logic.
+pub struct TlsChannelFactory;
+
+impl ChannelFactory for TlsChannelFactory {
+    fn create_channel(
+        &self,
+        _target: &str,
+    ) -> Result<std::sync::Arc<dyn std::any::Any + Send + Sync>, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        Err("TlsChannelFactory is not implemented yet".into())
+    }
+}
diff --git a/ballista/core/src/transport/mod.rs b/ballista/core/src/transport/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b760c80d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ballista/core/src/transport/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+pub mod channel;
+pub mod server;
diff --git a/ballista/core/src/transport/server.rs b/ballista/core/src/transport/server.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f76729b78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ballista/core/src/transport/server.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+use std::error::Error;
+
+/// A factory responsible for creating inbound servers.
+///
+/// Implementations may create plain HTTP or TLS-enabled servers.
+pub trait ServerFactory: Send + Sync {
+    fn serve(&self, addr: &str) -> Result<(), Box<dyn Error>>;
+}
+/// Default server factory using the existing HTTP server implementation.
+pub struct DefaultServerFactory;
+
+impl ServerFactory for DefaultServerFactory {
+    fn serve(&self, _addr: &str) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        // NOTE:
+        // This will later delegate to the existing scheduler/executor
+        // server startup logic.
+        //
+        // For now, this is a structural placeholder.
+        Err("DefaultServerFactory not wired yet".into())
+    }
+}
+/// TLS-enabled server factory (stub).
+///
+/// This is a placeholder for future TLS support (e.g. using rustls).
+pub struct TlsServerFactory;
+
+impl ServerFactory for TlsServerFactory {
+    fn serve(&self, _addr: &str) -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
+        Err("TlsServerFactory is not implemented yet".into())
+    }
+}