OpenFastPath (OFP) Foundation aims to create and develop an open source fast path TCP/IP stack, designed to run in Linux user-space. The OFP project is based on the user space FreeBSD implementation and the code is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License.

The OFP Foundation, created by Nokia Networks, Enea and ARM operates as a nonprofit organization, open to anyone who will participate in the efforts to advance the development of OFP. Among the founders we approach the project from three different perspectives, (1) as an ecosystem builder to allow for a multivendor System on Chip (SoC) solutions, (2) as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) to provide services based on the OFP code and (3) as an end user, considering OFP in the products.

Our joint goal is to create a vibrant open source community where participants contribute their own code and technologies that facilitate more efficient networking solutions, leverage hardware acceleration, and lower the barriers to building network applications in multivendor environments.

In order to fully utilize acceleration in current state of the art System on Chip (SoC) architectures and provide an IP stack with optimal performance across hardware architectures OFP utilizes the APIs from OpenDataPlane (ODP). We are open to welcome members who would like to add support for other industry APIs like DPDK.

OpenFastPath Foundation is a non-profit organization, organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Technical direction and the roadmap of the OpenFastPath project as well as any affairs of the foundation shall be managed by the Board. Initially the project is established by Nokia Networks, Enea and ARM, who all have a representative on the Board.

The intention is to grow the Board over time in order to quickly evolve the project and broaden the OpenFastPath community and support.

The OpenFastPath Foundation Board:

• President: Daniel Forsgren, Enea
• Secretary: Matt Spencer, ARM
• Treasurer: Jarmo Hillo, Nokia Networks
• Member: Michael Schmidt, Marvell

If you or your company want to take an active role in the OpenFastPath project, then a membership in the project is the best way to help you achieve your goals. To become a member, you need to sign an applicable membership agreement and agree to the bylaws. If you want to take an active contributor role, you also need to sign the Contribution Agreement.

There are three levels of membership in the foundation; Founding Core Members, Core Members and Community Members. Founding Core Members and Core Members are in essence at the same membership levels, except that the Founding Core Members have a guaranteed seat on the Board for the first three years of the project. The annual membership fee for all core members is $5,000 and offers an opportunity to affect the direction of the project, participate in the voting and a possibility to have your representative on the Board and in the Technical Steering Committee.

A community membership is free of charge and offers an insight in the projects undertaken by the working groups.

In order to join the OpenFastPath foundation, fill in the membership application form and you will be contacted by a representative from the OpenFastPath Foundation who will take you through the process.

These are the bylaws, policies governing documents for the OpenFastPath Foundation:

• Bylaws: Bylaws describe how the OpenFastPath foundation operate. All new members need to review and agree to the bylaws before joining the foundation.

• Membership Agreement: All Core Members of the OpenFastPath foundation need to sign the membership agreement.

• Community Membership Agreement: All Community Members of the OpenFastPath Foundation need to sign the community membership agreement.

• Contribution License Agreement: Anyone who wants to contribute to the OpenFastPath Foundation needs to sign the contribution agreement.

• Anti-Trust Policy: Anti-Trust policy describes the rules related to the applicable antitrust and competition laws that everyone involved in the OpenFastPath Foundation needs to comply with.

• IP Policy: OpenFastPath IP Policy describes the licensing model used by the OpenFastPath Foundation.

• Privacy Policy: The privacy policy is provided to inform users of OpenFastPath Foundation’s policies and procedures regarding collection, use and disclosure of personally identifiable information received from users.