ONL is dead? Maintenance mode

[D W]

Looks like ONL was put in maintenance mode. I liked this project. I want to thank its maintainers. I will check DentOS (but it uses ONL), SONIC (big baggage - too many things to remove to make it look close to ONL). Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[Paul Menzel]

Dear D, dear ONL folks,


Am 29.03.23 um 20:59 schrieb D W:

> Looks like ONL was put in maintenance mode. I liked this project. I want to
> thank its maintainers.

After getting a notification from Steven’s comment [1], I saw that Kevin
Kifer (Cc:), involved in SONiC, updated the `README.md` in commit
38d4baa8c75e (Update README.md) [1].

```
commit 38d4baa8c75e9cd154aaf707eb6e86cb9396b5a2 (origin/master, origin/HEAD)
Author: Kevin Kifer <111308254+ke...@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue Mar 28 10:41:41 2023 -0400

Update README.md

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index df2ef0b0..52eefd87 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
Open Network Linux
==================

+The OCP Open Network Linux Project has been moved to maintenance mode,
pending archival.
+
Check out the main/offical website at http://opennetlinux.org .

Open Network Linux (ONL) is a Linux distribution for bare metal
switches. ONL
```

While I believe this is a good thing to document the current status quo,
as Steven’s call for help *Looking for members to help reboot the
project* [2] in December 2021, did not seem to be successful, and
shipping and using ONL in the current state puts a bad light on FLOSS
quality.

As nobody, that means especially no company, stepped up, I think, ONL
should be retired and archived properly. Especially the Web site should
be updated too [3].

> I will check DentOS (but it uses ONL), SONIC (big baggage - too many
> things to remove to make it look close to ONL). Any other suggestions?

It all depends on, what blobs the switching ASIC vendor supports. I
personally do not like SONiC as it uses an out of tree Linux kernel
module for SAI, which is a big downside compared to switchdev, which
DentOS focuses on, and which is in the upstream Linux kernel. But due to
their size and power as a company, Microsoft’s (Azure) SONiC prevailed
up to know.

As an alternative to the ONL/DentOS build system, Sartura, a company
involved in the DENT project, created Replica.one [4].

> Replica.one is an easy to use build system designed to deliver both
> secure and flexible firmware images.
And there is always OpenWrt [5].


Kind regards,

Paul


[1]:
https://github.com/opencomputeproject/OpenNetworkLinux/commit/38d4baa8c75e9cd154aaf707eb6e86cb9396b5a2
[2]:
https://groups.google.com/g/opennetworklinux/c/3T6rN1kCHd8/m/hHCKaAYqBAAJ
[3]: http://www.opennetlinux.org/
[4]: https://github.com/sartura/replica/
[5}: https://openwrt.org/

[Alexandre Ferrieux]

Hello Paul,

Thanks a lot for synthesizing the state of the union... Wish I had stumbled upon your message earlier - that would have saved me days of frustration ;}

(I'm respectfully suggesting you insert this material into the same ONL/README.md,  just below the "maintenance mode" notice)

Given all this, I'd like some advice on a specific subproblem (mine):

Suppose one wants to explore exotic stuff  in P4 on a Tofino-based EdgeCore box (Wedge or AS9516). By "exotic" I mean arbitrary processing, harnessing the full freedom of a programmable pipe, and *not* the run-of-a-mill switch application with tons of bells and whistles. The question is: what OS ?

  - SONIC is well-supported by Edgecore, but is a terrible overkill for the task (needs serious arm-twisting, as SAI initialization fails if the P4 program doesn't honor some switch duties...)

  - ONL is abandonware as you said ; fails to build images post Debian 9

  - DentOS is unclear: "based on ONL"... though it claims a Debian 10 build (??)... And not clear what the switchdev Linux module would do with a Tofino.

  - Just some lightweight, generic x86_64 Linux distro (or even OpenWRT as you suggest), then add back the Barefoot drivers. Not sure of all the ramifications though...

  - Other ?

In your opinion, what in this context is the best bet ?

 

Thanks in advance,

-Alex

[weila...@gmail.com]

We just install debian 10. As both ONL & Sonic is debian based. And it works like a charm.