OPNFV was started with the broad goal to create an open source, carrier grade platform for NFV and to accelerate the adoption of NFV products and services. In just one year, we’ve grown to 55 members and shipped our first release, Arno, with the commitment and support from individuals representing a broad range of industries, company types and areas of interest. In order to move with greater velocity, the OPNFV Board of Directors made a recommendation to the community that we focus our initial efforts to the NFVI and VIM capabilities of an NFV platform, as defined by ETSI. This approach has applied to our Arno release as well as the upcoming Brahmaputra release.
The open source and networking industries themselves are continually evolving, and the way in which OPNFV looks to address market needs will also evolve over time, calling on the same agility required of the platform itself. In taking a broad look at how the industry is advancing around NFV and the growing interest and work on the topic of Management and Orchestration (MANO), our Board recently decided to lift any initial scope constraints that may have previously limited OPNFV activities.
This means that OPNFV projects can expand, as needed, and the community is free to incubate and propose projects on additional topics, including MANO. This decision does not affect the project bylaws, TSC charter, or the upcoming Brahmaputra release, expected February 2016. Any project proposals related to MANO-type functionality will go through the same incubation and approval process as all projects to date.
We welcome interested parties to follow the OPNFV project pipeline, propose new projects, participate in the technical community discussions, and make contributions to realize the goal of accelerating NFV products and services. I invite you to join our efforts!
About the author of this post
Heather Kirksey
Heather Kirksey is the director of NFV leading initiatives around the OPNFV project.