[dpdk-dev] Beyond DPDK 2.0

["O'Driscoll, Tim" <tim.o'driscoll@intel.com>]

Following the launch of DPDK by Intel as an internal development project, the launch of dpdk.org by 6WIND in 2013, and the first DPDK RPM packages for Fedora in 2014, 6WIND, Red Hat and Intel would like to prepare for future releases after DPDK 2.0 by starting a discussion on its evolution. Anyone is welcome to join this initiative.
 
Since then, the project has grown significantly:
-    The number of commits and mailing list posts has increased steadily.
-    Support has been added for a wide range of new NICs (Mellanox support submitted by 6WIND, Cisco VIC, Intel i40e and fm10k etc.).
-    DPDK is now supported on multiple architectures (IBM Power support in DPDK 1.8, Tile support submitted by EZchip but not yet reviewed or applied).

While this is great progress, we need to make sure that the project is structured in a way that enables it to continue to grow. To achieve this, 6WIND, Red Hat and Intel would like to start a discussion about the future of the project, so that we can agree and establish processes that satisfy the needs of the current and future DPDK community.

We're very interested in hearing the views of everybody in the community. In addition to debate on the mailing list, we'll also schedule community calls to discuss this.


Project Goals
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Some topics to be considered for the DPDK project include:
-    Project Charter: The charter of the DPDK project should be clearly defined, and should explain the limits of DPDK (what it does and does not cover). This does not mean that we would be stuck with a singular charter for all time, but the direction and intent of the project should be well understood. 
-    Project Contributions:  We want to continue to grow the size and diversity of the DPDK contributor community.
-    Project Presence: Maximise the impact of the DPDK project by ensuring that it has a strong brand and industry perception. Growing awareness of DPDK as a project is important to growing the community and giving people confidence in using DPDK as part of their product offerings.
-    Project Process: The project needs a clear decision making process to resolve issues that don't reach a conclusion on the mailing list.

  
References to Open Source Projects
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Governance structures for open source projects vary widely. For reference, below are some examples with links to their governance info. Some are home grown, while others avail of the infrastructure provided by organisations such as the Linux Foundation. Some are more formal, while others are more lightweight. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

DPDK (http://dpdk.org/):
- Maintainers are listed in http://dpdk.org/browse/dpdk/tree/MAINTAINERS
- Process for contributing is outlined in the "Contribute by sending patches" section of http://dpdk.org/dev

Open vSwitch (http://openvswitch.org/):
- Committer Grant/Revocation: http://openvswitch.org/development/committer-grant-revocation/
- Committer Responsibilities: http://openvswitch.org/development/committer-responsibilities/
 
OpenStack (http://www.openstack.org/):
- Governance Model: http://www.openstack.org/foundation/
- Technical Committee: http://www.openstack.org/foundation/tech-committee/
- Board of Directors: http://www.openstack.org/foundation/board-of-directors/
- User Committee: http://www.openstack.org/foundation/user-committee/
 
OpenDaylight (http://www.opendaylight.org/):
- Linux Foundation
- Governance: http://www.opendaylight.org/project/governance
- Technical Steering Committee: http://www.opendaylight.org/project/governance/tsc
- Board of Directors: http://www.opendaylight.org/project/board-members
 
CloudStack (http://cloudstack.apache.org/):
- Apache Foundation
- Project Management Committee & Committers: http://cloudstack.apache.org/who.html
- The Apache Way: http://theapacheway.com/

QEMU (http://wiki.qemu.org/Main_Page):
- Structure: http://wiki.qemu.org/Contribute/StartHere
- Process: http://wiki.qemu.org/Contribute/SubmitAPatch

U-Boot (http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/):
- Maintainers: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/Custodians
- Process: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/DevelopmentProcess
- Guidelines: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/Patches


Thank you