The Open Networking Foundation (ONF), working with the Open Compute Project (OCP), today launched a program that will continually test and certify compliance with ONF open source software projects and OCP-recognized open hardware.

At launch eight vendors received certification: Edgecore Networks, Accelleran, Delta, Inventec, MiTAC, Sercomm, STORDIS, and Wiwynn. And major network operators across the globe are taking note, said Timon Sloane, VP of marketing and ecosystem for ONF. “AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Turk Telekom, China Unicom, Telefónica have done some things where they have been using ONF software on OCP hardware, so there’s definitely traction,” Sloane said. “We are definitely already seeing consumption from tier-one operators.”

The new Continuous Certification Program extends across the ONF portfolio for broadband platforms. This include open source broadband platforms SDN Enabled Broadband Access (SEBA) and Virtual OLT Hardware Abstraction (VOLTHA), along with the mobile platform Aether and SDN infrastructure project Stratum.

The trouble with traditional testing and certification is that it can’t keep pace with open source development, Sloane said. ONF open source updates often occur daily or even multiple times a day. Software may have advanced by one or two releases by the time a test plan is completed and certification program launched, which means certifications are outdated before they even publish.

“Over the last two years we’ve really struggled with this,” he explained. “There’s still a need for certification, but open source moves so fast. In the cloud era things change day to day, so how do you certify and keep up in an environment like that?”

The answer, he added, is to integrate ONF and OCP certification testing into the continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) process. “CI/CD is the secret to cloud-era development, and the secret there is testing built into the code,” Sloane said. “Think of continuous certification (CC) as a new phase in the CI/CD model.”

ONF already uses a continuous testing framework for its projects, so the new program will use this framework and insert certification into the pipeline. This ensures the systems are continuously retested and certified on an hourly or daily basis. And when a formal release of the project drops, all systems currently validated as conformant in the CI/CD/CC pipeline will be certified as part of the release package bill-of-materials.

Plus, these OCP hardware and ONF software products are tested over and over again — it’s not a one-time deal — and a live public Jenkins dashboard will include the status of all products. The goal is to make is easier for operators to assemble and deploy open source software and hardware products, Sloane said. “The OCP marketplace will list and tag products that are ONF certified, and the ONF marketplace will likewise tag products that are OCP recognized.”