This policy defines the requirements and procedures for remote and physical access to the SONiC Community Hardware Testing Lab, hosted and maintained by the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab (UNH-IOL) on behalf of the Linux Foundation SONiC Project.

The SONiC Community Lab operates as a dedicated testbed to facilitate community-driven development and testing.

• Objective: To enable and support continuous integration (CI/CD) and testing activities on hardware platforms provided by SONiC Foundation members and industry participants.
• Purpose: Resources are made available to community members primarily for the development, testing, and continuous release process of SONiC features, providing transparency into image quality and feature readiness across diverse hardware.
• Location: Hosted at the UNH-IOL facility.

Access to the lab's infrastructure is categorized into human users and automated systems.

A SONiC Community Lab User is defined as any member of the community who has been granted access to one or more specific testbeds by the Point of Contact (PoC) from the company or vendor that provided the hardware.

• This access authority is delegated by the equipment-providing company to its PoC, who may grant access to employees, customers, or other designated partners.
• PoC Designation: The PoC must be formally designated at the time the equipment is provided to the lab.
• Access List Management: The PoC is responsible for managing their company's access list. Updates to the list must be made by the PoC directly contacting UNH-IOL lab staff (see Section 4.2).
• Individual Users must obtain credentials from UNH-IOL, but their access authorization originates from the hardware provider's PoC.

Automated systems (test frameworks) are granted broad access under strict oversight and are not intended for human/user interaction.

Physical entry and hands-on maintenance of the lab facility are strictly limited to authorized UNH-IOL staff only.

Remote connectivity is the primary means of interaction. Users are strictly prohibited from sharing their VPN credentials with any other individual.

Examples of Automated Systems:

• Integrations with Microsoft Azure to run sonic-mgmt tests.
• Integrations with Google Cloud to run Ondatra and PINS ThinKit tests.

To ensure stability and integrity across parallel testing activities:

• Network Segregation: Testbeds are designed to be physically and logically isolated. The Lab ToR (Top of Rack) must provide a unique VLAN for each company or testbed.
• Routing Restriction: Layer 3 IP routing between testbed VLANs is disabled to prevent cross-traffic interference.
• PDU Access: Access to remotely controlled Power Distribution Units (PDUs) will be provided to enable participants to remotely power cycle their Devices Under Test (DUTs).

The Community Testbed Group and UNH-IOL staff manage the daily operation and maintenance of the testbed.

• Onsite Support: Hands-on support within the lab is available during USA East Coast normal business hours. Support outside of those hours is provided on a best effort basis only.
• Response Time: Typical response resolution time, or the provision of an anticipated resolution, to support inquiries is 1 business day. Complex requests might take up to 24 business hours to be fully completed.

For all initial support requests related to access, connectivity, or hardware availability, and to submit updates to the SONiC Community Lab User access list, please contact: [email protected]