Throughout quite a few industries, correct timing is a frequent requirement. Mostly, that is enabled via Community Time Protocol (NTP), which can typically present millisecond-level accuracy. When NTP is not adequate, customers can use Precision Time Protocol (PTP), which might assure accuracy to inside 100 nanoseconds. The most typical open supply implementation of this protocol is thru the linuxptp package deal.

The Purple Hat OpenShift PTP operator is meant to supply assist for utilizing and configuring the linuxptp package deal on Purple Hat OpenShift, offering enhanced-precision timing utilizing PTP. This stage of precision is usually tightly coupled to the precise {hardware} {that a} system is utilizing, with numerous hardware-dependent configurations wanted. An instance of this might be setting {hardware} configuration pins on a community interface card. Offering this stage of timing accuracy is usually a requirement in industries reminiscent of telecommunications (telco), finance, and industrial automation. 

Given the tight dependencies on {hardware} companions to make sure acceptable ranges of efficiency for precision timing, Purple Hat has moved main growth of the PTP operator out there to a broader neighborhood, higher facilitating an upstream-first growth mannequin.

Constructing a broader neighborhood

Beforehand, all growth was underneath the OpenShift group, solely managed by Purple Hat, and never receptive to exterior contributors. All hardware-specific performance was delivered via plugins within the daemon, developed by Purple Hat Engineering utilizing the documentation of that {hardware} as a reference. Accomplice testing didn’t essentially use the operator, however quite examined on the decrease layers, usually on naked steel. With out accomplice testing using the complete software program stack, as clients do, and with out their shut alignment throughout plugin growth, there was extra room for errors and extra issues in growth.

For higher collaboration with each {hardware} distributors and software program companions, Purple Hat has moved main growth of the PTP operator exterior of OpenShift right into a broader neighborhood. This transfer intends to make contributing to the PTP operator extra simple for exterior events, particularly within the context of hardware-specific code.  It’s going to additionally give them an atmosphere to correctly take a look at their {hardware} with a full software program stack, nearer to how clients will probably be utilizing it, quite than ready for Purple Hat to check it.

Deciding on a brand new dwelling

As soon as Purple Hat had determined to maneuver the PTP operator to a community-development mannequin, the following step was to search out the place this neighborhood would reside. When searching for a brand new dwelling, Purple Hat’s necessities included discovering someplace each with a networking focus and a cloud-native context.  With these issues in thoughts, the k8snetworkplumbing was probably the most pure match, and their endorsement was a robust issue on this choice.

After reaching the preliminary, casual settlement with the k8snetworkplumbing neighborhood, Purple Hatters that beforehand maintained the OpenShift PTP operator grew to become members of the k8snetworkplumbing neighborhood to get the undertaking proposal formally accredited upstream. As soon as accredited, Purple Hat started pushing the code upstream, making the required adjustments for it to run upstream and be in conformance with open supply design rules. Lastly, the Purple Hat group wanted to make sure that the method for accepting contributions within the upstream undertaking was clearly outlined, as defined within the contributing information. This helps allow anybody focused on supporting the event of the PTP operator to get entangled.

New workflow

Now that the PTP operator has moved to a community-oriented growth mannequin, virtually all code will probably be delivered to the upstream tasks first, particularly on the 2 repositories: ptp-operator and linuxptp-daemon. Nevertheless, adjustments to the ContainerFiles, that are utilizing Purple Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) base photos quite than CentOS Stream base photos, are the exception. They’re solely related downstream, so they don’t seem to be delivered to the upstream repository.

All growth is delivered at these upstream repositories, after which Purple Hat merges it to the downstream principal branches for the respective OpenShift repositories.

Utilizing this downstream principal department permits Purple Hat Engineering to supply photos to the Purple Hat High quality Engineering group to proceed testing. These photos could be constructed upon a RHEL base picture, quite than utilizing the upstream ContainerFiles, which use CentOS Stream as the bottom picture.

Purple Hat high quality

Whereas growth is upstream first, backports of bug fixes and options to prior releases are nonetheless anticipated to be continuously required, as is pushed by the enterprise wants of our companions. This considerably restricted the scope of adjustments Purple Hat might make to the PTP operator. Particularly, Purple Hat was unable to consolidate the 2 repositories into one due to backport prices.

In terms of high quality, it’s essential to contemplate each upstream and downstream high quality.  Shifting upstream will neither compromise the upstream nor the downstream high quality.  

• In terms of upstream high quality, the aim is to make sure that there’s a persistently deployable product from the upstream repository. This requires a restricted subset of unit testing and linting to make sure that nothing is damaged, and to cease from including overhead to the in-depth testing downstream. This could permit greater growth velocity upstream.
• In terms of downstream high quality, the testing is similar as earlier than, besides with end-to-end testing operating when merging upstream to downstream, quite than merging particular person options into downstream. High quality engineering testing will stay on downstream builds, particularly these constructed on Purple Hat base photos.

Concerning safety points, Purple Hat Engineering plans to resolve these points each upstream and downstream shortly, and backport fixes the place acceptable.

Going ahead

Now that that is in a community-based undertaking, the precedence is to develop the neighborhood to incorporate collaborators from different firms, specifically {hardware} companions.  

For those who’re focused on getting concerned, please attain out to [email protected], or be part of our upstream neighborhood assembly at ptp neighborhood agenda.