Hi everyone,

I’d like to submit my candidacy for the OpenStack Technical Committee. You
may know me as john-davidge on IRC.

I’ve been an active member of the OpenStack community since 2012 (Folsom).
I met many of you for the first time while presenting the Curvature Network
Visualization Dashboard[1] at the Grizzly Summit in Portland. Since then
I’ve been working 100% upstream, mostly in neutron[2][3], and for a couple
of different sponsors. Right now I’m employed in the OpenStack Innovation
Center (OSIC) - a joint venture between Rackspace and Intel - where I’m
leading a small team contributing to neutron, and helping to shape the OSIC
development roadmap. Over the years I have seen and participated in a lot
of the changes that have led our community to where it is today. I’ve
experienced the things that have improved our lives as developers, and
operators, as well as the things that have caused us difficulties.

I know where I would like to see OpenStack head in the future, and I feel
strongly about making it a success. The most important thing that I would
like to see changed is the overarching framework under which all of
OpenStack operates:

The Big Tent.

Last year, the TC moved OpenStack away from the Integrated Release, and
into The Big Tent. This removed the separation between those projects
considered integral to OpenStack, and those which enhance it. Since then,
the number of official projects has gone from ~12 to 60. While this was a
fantastic move for community inclusivity, it has also made life harder for
operators and customers, and has diminished the focus on OpenStack’s core
purpose.

Managing every team under one roof has led to issues for both the core and
the newer projects. The experience so far has taught us that there isn’t a
single set of rules that can be helpfully applied to both. I believe that
now is the time to take The Big Tent’s ideas and iterate upon them to
create a new model that can promote inclusivity, while still preserving a
clear focus for the core of OpenStack. The main points of this new model
are:

* Define OpenStack as its core components
* Introduce a new home for complementary projects - The OpenStack Family
* Reinstate Stackforge as the primary incubator for new projects

OpenStack will once again be a focused set of closely aligned projects
working together to provide an operating system for the datacenter. The
OpenStack Family will provide a home for projects that work to improve the
experience of an OpenStack cloud (think Ceilometer, Heat, etc), while
protecting them from some of the more prescriptive rules that go with being
a core OpenStack component. Stackforge will be the main focus of
early-stage innovation, with a clearly defined path towards graduation into
The OpenStack Family. I believe that this model[4] can go a long way
towards solving many of the pain points that we are seeing with OpenStack
today.

This transformation is one that I think is very important for the future
of OpenStack. We have a fantastic project surrounded by a talented
community, of which I am very proud to call myself a member. Trust me with
your vote, and I’ll work hard to ensure its continued success.

Thank you for your consideration,

John

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmpRhcwyJIo - Curvature
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjuF-3fB0IQ - IPv6 Prefix Delegation
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ag1NiCVBDo - Neutron Purge
[4] https://johndavidge.wordpress.com/mr-openstack-tear-down-this-tent/