I, Guillaume Boutry, apply for upload rights for package set OpenStack and the regress-stack package.

I am applying because:

Remove any reasons that don't apply, add any extra reasons and edit as needed. These examples are the common cases, but are not a hard requirement for applications.

• I'd like to eliminate delays in getting my work sponsored.
• I'd like to reduce the burden on my sponsors.

Who I am

I am a software engineer with a focus on OpenStack. I am also a Canonical employee working in the OpenStack organization. My daily focus is Sunbeam which is a containerized distribution of OpenStack. All these containers are, for the most part, built using Ubuntu packages. I dabble in backporting / SRU / updating in devel.

My Ubuntu story

Tell us how and when you got involved, what you liked working on and what you could probably do better. I've started using Ubuntu 18.04 with Kubernetes containers to ship applications. My primary focus has been as an application developer using Ubuntu as a base image. I've actually been using Debian as primary driver for years, but with 20.04, I have switched to Ubuntu as my primary driver. I got involved in Ubuntu by working on OpenStack packages primarily.

My first contribution to Ubuntu have been bug reports, specifically to Libvirt:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libvirt/+bug/2071848

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libvirt/+bug/2083986

These 2 bugs were preventing live migration on recent Intel CPUs. I have worked with Sergio to get them fixed and backported to 24.04.

My involvement

Examples of my work / Things I'm proud of

Include your existing sponsored uploads for the packages for which you are seeking upload rights. You can link directly to an upload by following this pattern.

This past cycle, I have bootstrapped the following project: Regress Stack. It's a simple OpenStack installer which goal is meant to be used to validate regression in OpenStack packages. It is small enough to be used in AutoPackage tests. It is a leaf to many OpenStack packages, meaning it will help catch regressions moving forward. github|plucky upload

Areas of work

Let us know what you worked on, with which development teams / developers with whom you cooperated and how it worked out.

I have been involved on the OpenStack packages. I've done packaging milestone / release targets, and caring for the Ubuntu Cloud Archive. Milestone are specific checkpoints in the OpenStack development cycle, and I firmly believe Ubuntu should be able to ship these milestones.

While the current situation is not alarming, I do think pro-active maintenance is needed. We've been following the different advancement of the OpenStack release, and we should focus on closing the gap. Important changes are coming in the next OpenStack release, such as the eventlet removal, which will require work at multiple projects are going to remove their standalone daemons in profit of a new service model. This will require some work in the packaging, and I am looking forward to it.

The thing that was the most challenging to me was the validation model, as current autopackage tests are not sufficient to validate OpenStack packages solely from the autopackage tests. While I don't believe it is currently possible to actually validate multi-node OpenStack deployments from within the archive infrastructure, the work I've done on Regress Stack are a step in the right direction as it will allow to run upstream functional tests on the packages from within the archive infrastructure (actually spawning VMs, networks from within the archive infrastructure). Regress Stack is also focused on the core features supported on OpenStack, not all the various features that are available on OpenStack.

Another area of work that could be improved is the actual contribution to the OpenStack packages. I would like to reduce the differences between Ubuntu Packages and the OpenStack ubuntu packages, and have a more gitops oriented approach to managing the Ubuntu Cloud Archive, as it is, at the moment, a bit of a black box. I would like to be able to have a more transparent process for the Ubuntu Cloud Archive.

Things I could do better

My review process could be improved. I tend to focus on the current goal, and actually nitpicking, while I should improve my feedback to be more constructive and positive.

Plans for the future

General

As outlined above, I would like to focus on improving the contribution process for OpenStack packages in Ubuntu, specifically around more robust testing and validation processes.

What I like least in Ubuntu

Please describe what you like least in Ubuntu and what thoughts do you have about fixing it.

I think the main issue is the lack of clarity in the contribution process. It can be difficult to understand how to contribute effectively, and there are often barriers to entry for new contributors. Improving documentation and providing more guidance on the contribution process could help address this issue.

Comments

If you'd like to comment, but are not the applicant or a sponsor, do it here. Don't forget to sign with @SIG@.

Endorsements

As a sponsor, just copy the template below, fill it out and add it to this section.

James Page

General feedback

I enjoyed working with Guillaume in Ubuntu - he's definitely ready for the OpenStack package set and should look to Core Developer status soon - he just needs the opportunities to learn and prove his merit and value to Ubuntu.

Specific Experiences of working together

Guillaume and I worked together on several OpenStack Milestones during the Plucky development cycle; he demonstrated a natural aptitude for the technical aspects of packaging, quickly picking up the core skills required to the point where his proposed uploads only required minimal review/validation.

RegressStack appeared after a discussion about quality of OpenStack in Ubuntu and the need for tests that could be run as part of autopkgtests; Guillaume put together a proof of concept that quickly evolved into a tool that added value to the OpenStack packages, providing much needed in-distro test coverage.

Areas of Improvement

Make sure to take any opportunities to broaden your exposure to more general Ubuntu distro engineering - this will enable you work more quickly towards Ubuntu Core Developer status.

TEMPLATE

== <SPONSORS NAME> ==
=== General feedback ===
## Please fill us in on your shared experience. (How many packages did you sponsor? How would you judge the quality? How would you describe the improvements? Do you trust the applicant?)

=== Specific Experiences of working together ===
''Please add good examples of your work together, but also cases that could have handled better.''
## Full list of sponsored packages can be generated here:
##  https://udd.debian.org/cgi-bin/ubuntu-sponsorships.cgi
=== Areas of Improvement ===

CategoryPerPackageUploaderApplication