5G Super Blueprint FAQ

Owned by Brandon Wick
Last updated: Nov 05, 2024 by LJ Illuzzi
5 min read

Motivation: Our goal is to provide opportunities for open source communities to collaborate and build some of the most important technologies across the globe. Doing so often requires a deep, specific expertise on the part of the developers who build and test these components. Bringing those pieces together, however,  is often challenging, not just for the developers, but for the real-world end-users who need to stitch together multiple open source and proprietary solutions. In this activity, multiple projects, communities, and companies collaboratively blueprint, prototype, and integrate real-world use cases to showcase the capabilities of open source projects in the context of the full ecosystem in which they exist. 

What is a Super Blueprint? 

  • It is a community-driven integration/illustration of multiple open source initiatives coming together to show end-to-end use cases demonstrating implementation architectures for end users.

  • 5G Super Blueprint is one example, and this initiative allows open contribution for more use cases across Enterprise, Cloud and Telecom ecosystems, as resources and time allow.

What the Super Blueprint is not

  • It is not a product; however, a blueprint may contain image files, scripts, documentation, etc. to allow it to be duplicated in an end-user environment.

  • It is not a project in the sense that ONAP, MAGMA, Akraino, Anuket, K8s,  etc., are top level chartered projects; it is a proof of concept and integration across multiple open source projects and multiple company products of how to create something end-to-end using open source.

  • It is not a commercial distro.

  • It does not prove-out all non-functional requirements such as security, reliability, etc., unless the community adds a use case and resources for that specific purpose. 

  • It is not an endorsement of any specific participating organization; it is an exercise in building a solution. 

  • It does not prove-out full SDO compliance.

What is the long term vision of Blueprints? 

  • LFN will create a structure and framework to develop blueprints as defined by a community-driven process, allowing more end-to-end solutions across use cases in various vertical markets.  

  • If you’d like to create a future blueprint, we would love to hear from you. Just please remember that it’s sometimes easier to put things down on paper than it is to actually build them. So, please bring interesting ideas to this community initiative along with contributors to realize the vision.

How is the demonstration use case determined?

  • By those doing the work who not only bring to the table interesting ideas, but resources who are willing to put the work in. The community wants to show something exciting and marketable but also within the realm of the resources available. 

Are you forking code for this?

  • No. We recognize that there are caveats and nuances. If we are curious about a feature and want to use a local branch to try it out, we can. But like open source best practices, participants are required to bring it back to the main branch. 

What license is this work being done under?

  • We are working with the LF legal team to determine what license headers we will need in our centralized repos. 

  • Each upstream community has its own IPR regime; this is not an opportunity to have opinions about any of those, but any code that is outside deploy, configure, experiment, or document needs to go upstream and follow that community’s IPR policy. Please see the above question and answer about forking code.

Do you have a charter?

  • No. This is an exercise in bringing together components to answer questions and show solutions. We do not intend to create IPR or do something that requires legal incorporation.

How do you make decisions then?

  • Rough consensus and running code -- it’s more important to figure out how things work and to demonstrate that than it is to be ideologically “pure.”

  • Do-acracy -- folks who care about a use case bring to the table people and resources (e.g., labs) to get things done. The best idea in the world that no one is willing to work on is of little value.

  • Listening -- we do recognize that many of our end users do not bring developers to the table, but our ecosystem benefits by understanding end user requirements, use cases and ideas.

What is the process to engage projects (within and outside LFN) that are either identified as part of Super Blueprint OR need to be included?

  • LF will help facilitate the initial introduction. All TSCs will be provided an opportunity to participate and help drive the collaboration. 

  • There is a requirement on open source licensing for projects that needs to be validated prior to integration. 

  • Please see above questions about coming to the table with enthusiastic people -- we want technical breadth and depth, but all individuals involved only have so many hours to devote to this work. It’s very easy to say “someone should do this,” but much harder to commit “I will do this.”

How are you facilitating transparency?

Can anyone participate in a Blueprint Initiative?

  • Yes, Blueprints and technical collaborations under LF Networking (LFN) and the Linux Foundation (LF) are fully open to all in the open source community.

Do Blueprints require membership?

  • No. All Technical projects with the Linux Foundation are open to all, including LFN’s initiative on 5G Super Blueprint, and do not require any membership.

What is the relationship between DARPA project OPS 5G with the Linux Foundation and Super Blueprints?

  • DARPA is one of many end users of community open source work. Others, including several countries in the EU/Africa, are looking at open source blueprints as a quick step to innovation. All work will be carried out upstream in open source communities including participating TSCs.

Can we get other projects and proprietary products added to the 5G Super Blueprint?

  • The 5G Super Blueprint is meant to stimulate collaboration across open source project communities within and outside the LF. The community can work on a framework process to allow derivative blueprints that include other projects or products. The community can, for example, if desired, take notes from building/writing the process sim,.ilar to the LF Edge Akraino project that has written a community document on blueprint lifecycle management which includes multiple projects and proprietary products. Commercial distributions and commercial products leveraging the community blueprint work are welcomed and encouraged. The 5G Super Blueprint work is not itself a distribution.

What is the path of Blueprints into open source official releases of projects? And conversely, what is the process of adjusting the initial vision of Blueprints based on community work in progress?

  • This will be part of the Community Document that will outline the process of operations and is currently being worked in conjunction with TSCs across the projects. Feel free to contact the program manager for this. 

I want to be part of this! What do I do? 

  • At the top of this page are a set of helpful links. We recommend you start by filling out the interest form on the website and joining the mailing list. The projects, labs, and access are open to anyone who requests for participation. You might show up on a call where you don’t know anyone and feel intimidated. That’s ok! Please reach out directly over zoom chat to LF staff to request context lilluzzi@linuxfoundation.org). We really do want to hear from you. This is, literally, our job.