[ogb-discuss] quick ARC primer

[James Carlson]

As we discussed today, here's a quick overview of the ARC.  (How it
_is_, and not necessarily how it needs to be for OpenSolaris.)

Sun's CTO sponsors a group called SAC -- the Systems Architecture
Council.  This is the body that sponsors the ARC as well as RBs
(Review Boards, such as UIRB and IMRB) and the SWGs (Strategic Working
Groups).

We like to say that there's just one ARC.  It's broken into a set of
subgroups in order to handle workload, interest areas, and case
history, but there's intentionally a lot of overlap and fuzzy
boundaries.  Don't look for crisp definitions.  These subgroups are:

	FWARC - Firmware
	LSARC - Layered Software
	PSARC - Platform Software
	WSARC - Web Services

Others (such as SARC) have come and gone over time.  The SWGs are
groups set up to set policies (such as the Security SWG's Secure By
Default policy), and the RBs handle special detail areas (such as user
interface review) that aren't exactly architecture.

The ARC has been around for a while, and PSARC is the oldest of them.
There's some special language for it -- "Imports," "Exports," and
"Projects" have special meanings that work for ARC but aren't always
what you expect.  (Argot seems inevitable.)

We have 'licensees' who have special permission to file fast-tracks on
their own, 'interns' who are learning the process, and 'members' who
have voting privileges.

SAC, as the chartering body, acts as the first level of appeals for
ARC decisions.  All ARC chairs are part of SAC, as are some of the CTO
staff.  The next (and last) level of appeal is the CTO.

The original charter describes the reasoning behind the way this is
set up:

  http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/arc/arc-faq/sun-arc-charter/

There's more on the web site about how the process works in detail,
but not so much on the internal structure.

-- 
James Carlson, Solaris Networking              <james.d.carlson at sun.com>
Sun Microsystems / 1 Network Drive         71.232W   Vox +1 781 442 2084
MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757   42.496N   Fax +1 781 442 1677