Show Me Your PRs#

steve ulrich – nexthop.ai

• Why: For a PM whose core work includes physical DC networking, the open-NOS question is a portfolio-level bet, and this is one of the few operator-perspective (not vendor-marketing) assessments of what a durable SONiC ecosystem actually requires.
• What: A pragmatic map of where open NOS works today — greenfield L3 leaf/spine DC, AI/GPU cluster fabrics (with PFC and new hashing capabilities), campus refresh — and where it doesn't yet: the Internet edge (open NOSes lack high-scale ACL support even where the silicon, e.g. a Q3D ASIC with DFZ-scale FIB, could support it) and legacy SP core. Plus a security-compliance argument (patch out-of-support hardware yourself, Linux-LTS analogy), a sovereign-infrastructure/supply-chain angle, a sustainability warning (durable open source isn't free; "maintenance taxes" must be paid across the community), and a due-diligence checklist.
• How: The actionable core: before buying, target platforms that can run an open NOS later, require an open-NOS offramp, verify SAI/driver status, and — the title — ask vendors to show their PRs: verifiable upstream contributions, TSC presence, bootloader availability, and the ability to build your own images.
• Where applicable: Not org-specific; a strategy talk for any operator. Honest limitations stated: legacy-platform transitions are mostly unrealistic (no SAI pathway), secure/measured boot adds twists, and current roadmap leverage is concentrated in a handful of large operators. Explicitly not a vendor pitch, though the speaker's affiliation is worth noting.