Philosophy & Approach

An upstream-first OpenBMC distribution focused on stability, long-term maintenance, testing, and developer enablement.

Our Core Philosophy

Canopy is an upstream-first OpenBMC distribution built on four core pillars:

  • Stability - Enterprise-grade reliability through comprehensive testing and validation
  • Long-Term Maintenance - Extended LTS support with security patches and critical fixes
  • Testing - Hardware CI testing on real boards for every commit
  • Developer Enablement - Modern tooling and streamlined workflows to accelerate development

By staying closely aligned with OpenBMC upstream while adding robust testing and long-term support, Canopy delivers the best of both worlds for production deployments.

Upstream-First Approach

Weekly Upstream Tracking

  • Weekly rebases against OpenBMC upstream
  • Automated CI/CD testing on every rebase
  • Latest features from the OpenBMC community
  • Active participation in upstream development

Production Stability

  • Six-month release cycles with extensive testing
  • Hardware CI testing on real boards
  • Long-term support (LTS) with security patches
  • Predictable maintenance lifecycles

The Four Pillars

Stability

Enterprise-grade reliability through comprehensive testing, validation, and six-month release cycles that provide predictable deployment schedules.

Long-Term Maintenance

Extended LTS support with security patches, critical bug fixes, and defined maintenance lifecycles for production environments.

Testing

Hardware CI testing on real boards for every commit, ensuring rock-solid reliability and catching issues before they reach production.

Developer Enablement

Modern tooling, prebuilt binaries, streamlined configuration, and comprehensive documentation that make development productive and enjoyable.

Developer Enablement

Part of our core philosophy is developer enablement. We love developers, and we are developers as well! We want to provide more value for developers by easing out the development process.

How do we do that?

Extra Development Tools

We provide additional tools and utilities that make OpenBMC development easier and more productive, complementing the standard upstream toolchain.

Streamlined Configuration

We streamline the OpenBMC configuration process to make customization easier, reducing complexity and setup time for new projects.

Prebuilt Binaries

We provide prebuilt binaries for supported boards to lower the barrier to entry and reduce the time needed to get started with development.

Automation

We provide a fully automated CI/CD pipeline as part of our weekly rebase against upstream. Let's use 21st century development tools to make our life easier.

Release Strategy

Our release strategy is designed to serve different use cases within your organization:

Weekly Builds

Automatic rebases from OpenBMC upstream with basic smoke testing. Perfect for development, early testing, and staying current with the latest features.

Stable Releases (Every 6 Months)

Thoroughly tested releases that undergo extensive validation, security audits, and compatibility testing. Ideal to build your solution on top.

LTS Support

Extended support for stable releases with security patches, critical bug fixes, and enterprise-level support commitments.

Enterprise Use Cases

This philosophy specifically addresses the needs of enterprise environments that require:

  • Predictable Release Cycles - Plan deployments around our six-month stable release schedule
  • Validation and Testing - Comprehensive testing ensures compatibility and reliability
  • Security Assurance - Regular security audits and timely patch delivery
  • Support Commitments - Long-term support with defined service level agreements
  • Documentation - Thorough documentation for deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting
  • Migration Paths - Clear upgrade paths between releases with migration guides

Upstream-First Commitment

Our upstream-first philosophy ensures Canopy remains closely aligned with the OpenBMC community:

  • Weekly rebases ensure we never drift from upstream
  • Contributions flow back to OpenBMC from our testing and validation work
  • Bug fixes and improvements are shared with the broader community
  • Active participation in OpenBMC development and technical discussions
  • Community-driven development while maintaining production stability