Compass
Contents
What is Compass?
Compass is an open source project that provides automated deployment and management of OpenStack and other distributed systems. It can be considered as what the LiveCD to a single box for a pool of servers – bootstrapping the server pool. Compass project follows the OpenStack community's four opens: Open Source, Open Community, Open Development, and Open Design.
Compass Overview
Compass is a Restful API driven deployment platform that performs discovery of the physical machines attached to a specified set of switches. It then customizes configurations for machines you identify and installs the systems and networks to your configuration specs. Compass is:
- A Restful API server works in place
- A demo UI frontend consuming our Restful API (as we provide Restful API, a third-party UI can be easily pluggable)
- An adapter interface for automatic resource discovery with topology awareness (Huawei switch plug-in and HP switch plug-in have been tested, and it should be a matter of thin plug-ins for other network vendors’ device*)
- An adapter interface for configuration management tools and we have implemented the Chef plug-in (we are willing to work with other CM tools, and it should be a matter of thin plug-ins**)
- A Cobbler interface for OS provisioning
- An interface for policy driven service deployment
Compass Overview
Compass is a Restful API driven deployment platform that performs discovery of the physical machines attached to a specified set of switches. It then customizes configurations for machines you identify and installs the systems and networks to your configuration specs. Compass is:
- A Restful API server works in place
- A demo UI frontend consuming our Restful API (as we provide Restful API, a third-party UI can be easily pluggable)
- An adapter interface for automatic resource discovery with topology awareness (Huawei switch plug-in and HP switch plug-in have been tested, and it should be a matter of thin plug-ins for other network vendors’ device*)
- An adapter interface for configuration management tools and we have implemented the Chef plug-in (we are willing to work with other CM tools, and it should be a matter of thin plug-ins**)
- A Cobbler interface for OS provisioning
- An interface for policy driven service deployment
Compass Use Cases
We believe Compass may provide values to other OpenStack projects other than our original envisioned scenario. Here are some of our thoughts (and we would like to think of it and discuss it if needed)
- Remote install and configure all or a subset of physical servers in a datacenter
- Remote Install the OpenStack seed for a TripleO installation (maybe Ironic, too?)
- Remote install and configure a Hadoop cluster (synergy with Savanna?)
- Quickly setup and tear down test installations iteratively to develop the preferred configuration for a production deployment (cloud, big data, etc. Synergy with Infra or Test?)
Roadmap
Project Roadmap
- Publish Project resources
- Become an OpenStack Related Project
- OpenStack community engagement
- Cleanup the project to OpenStack Standards
- Integrate and synergize with OpenStack projects
Development Roadmap
- Next Development Steps
- Long term vision
Resources
Project Home Page for Compass: http://www.syscompass.org/
