diff --git a/tags/tag-developer-experience/initiatives/cloud-native-oci-compliant-inner-loop/README.md b/tags/tag-developer-experience/initiatives/cloud-native-oci-compliant-inner-loop/README.md index bb5d838b4..07c60c85a 100644 --- a/tags/tag-developer-experience/initiatives/cloud-native-oci-compliant-inner-loop/README.md +++ b/tags/tag-developer-experience/initiatives/cloud-native-oci-compliant-inner-loop/README.md @@ -19,4 +19,97 @@ Focus on the developer inner loop, everything an AI engineer does on a laptop/de * An technical POC showing <10 min “idea-to-inference” path for cloud-native agent development on a developer laptop. * Clearly documented standards for OCI artefact standardization across runtimes and registries. * Specification / procedure to achieve MOF Class III compliant model distributions via any OCI registry. -* Standardised process for leveraging model signing with artefacts-level provenance to support a verified end-to-end CI/CD reference pipeline including outer loop for AI engineering. \ No newline at end of file +* Standardised process for leveraging model signing with artefacts-level provenance to support a verified end-to-end CI/CD reference pipeline including outer loop for AI engineering. + +## Project Scope & Intent - Cloud-Native AI Developer Workflow Interoperability + +### Overview and Intent +AI developers today frequently work in fragmented local environments that are disconnected from cloud-native operational workflows. While emerging standards like ModelPack and OCI-aligned AI artifact initiatives provide the “packaging” foundations, there is no unified interoperability specification that defines how these artifacts must be structured, secured, and described to move seamlessly from a developers laptop into a Kubernetes-based production system. + +The goal of this initiative is to define a minimal Interoperability Specification (a “Compliance Profile”) for AI Artifacts. Rather than rebuilding the OCI layer structure, this initiative defines the **Standardized Metadata Contract** that must exist on top of packaging formats like **ModelPack**. This ensures that any “Cloud-Native Ready” AI artifact contains the mandatory identity, security, and runtime information required that enables a cohesive developer inner loop and GitOps-driven delivery. + +This initiative intentionally builds on existing OCI-aligned packaging efforts rather than redefining artifact storage or layer mechanics. + +### Scope Overview +This initiative defines the **Interoperability Layer** for AI artifacts, bridging the gap between raw packaging and operational deployment. + +Within this scope, the initiative will explore and document: +* **An Interoperability Profile Spec:** A set of mandatory annotation conventions and metadata requirements (the “Manifest Contract”). +* **Compliance & Trust Requirements:** Standards for signing, SBOMs, and openness classification. +* **Workflow Reference Patterns:** Validating the spec through “Laptop-to-Cluster” GitOps and runtime integration. + +The initiative is intended to encourage ecosystem alignment and workflow interoperability rather than define new standalone packaging specifications or runtime standards. + +### In-Scope Areas +#### 1. The Interoperability Specification +Define a structured, minimal specification for AI artifacts to be considered “Cloud-Native Interoperable”. This does not define OCI layering but specifies the mandatory metadata: +* **Annotation Conventions:** Standardize keys for runtime frameworks (e.g., vllm), hardware accelerators (e.g., nvidia-gpu), and lifecycle status. +* **Agentic Assets:** Standardizing the packaging of “skills”, prompt templates and workflow definitions. + * To ensure interoperability, the internal format for skills will align with the agentskills.io community standard. + * The spec defines how these standardized skills are encapsulated into the OCI layers for consistent distribution and discovery. + * The initiative may leverage Skill DLC as the primary reference for demonstrating how these assets are dynamically loaded and managed. +* Interface Definitions: Define the "Ingredient List” for the different classes of artifacts (Models, RAG contexts, and Agentic Assets). + +This includes defining how artifacts relate to and compose with one another. + +#### 2. Metadata, Relationships, & MOF Mapping +Define how artifacts describe themselves and their dependencies to enable cross-tool discovery: +* **MOF-to-OCI Mapping:** Standardize how the LF AI & Data Model Openness Framework (MOF) classifications (e.g., Class I, II, III) are represented as machine-readable OCI metadata. +* **Lineage & Authorship:** Standardizing metadata for provenance, versioning, and authorship to ensure clear ownership as artifacts move from local environments to registries. +* **Relationship Mapping:** Defining minimal relationships to metadata conventions between related artifacts (e.g., model → skill → pipeline) within the OCI manifest. +* **Dependencies & Compatibility:** A schema for declaring software dependencies and infrastructure requirements (e.g., specific CUDA versions or vRAM minimums) to ensure cross-runtime interoperability. +* **Large Binary Asset Optimization:** Establishing best practices and metadata conventions for the efficient handling of large-scale binary artifacts (multi-GB model weights) within OCI registries, focusing on registry compatibility and layer deduplication. +* **Alignment with CNCF:** Build on existing efforts (e.g., ModelPack, ModelKit, ModelCar) + +#### 3. Supply Chain Security and Transparency +Define the mandatory “Trust Profile” for AI artifacts to ensure they are verifiable before entering production: +* **Cryptographic Identity:** Standardize artifact signing and verification using Sigstore and Notary v2 at the point of creation on a developer's machine. +* **Transparency Manifests:** Mandatory requirements for SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) generation and attachment for all artifact layers. +* **Provenance Metadata:** Defining the "Hardened Provenance" requirements to ensure the journey from local experimentation to a secure registry is immutable and documented. + +The goal is to ensure artifacts are trusted and verifiable before entering CI/CD pipelines. + +#### 4. Developer Inner-Loop & Workflow Interoperability +Define the operational patterns that allow the specification to be utilized in a portable "laptop-to-cluster" journey. +* **Workflow Consistency:** Documenting how existing OCI-aligned tools (ModelPack, ModelKit, ModelCar) can produce artifacts that adhere to this initiative's compliance spec. +* **Local Execution Patterns:** Reference patterns for running specified artifacts in local, container-based environments to ensure high-fidelity parity with remote clusters. +* **Rapid Iteration Flow:** Validation of the spec through a reference implementation targeting a sub-10-minute "idea-to-inference" experience. + +#### 5. GitOps and Kubernetes Integration Patterns +Define the "Handoff" patterns for how artifacts transition into production cloud-native systems. +* **GitOps Delivery Patterns:** Reference architectures for pulling compliant artifacts into Flux or Argo CD workflows. +* **Runtime Integration:** Standardized patterns for the seamless deployment of artifacts into serving platforms (e.g., KServe, vLLM) and registration into model registries (e.g., Kubeflow Model Registry). +* **Enterprise Requirements:** Ensuring the promotion spec accounts for air-gapped, regulated, and hybrid-cloud infrastructure constraints. + +#### 6. Real-World Deployment Considerations +Ensure the approach accounts for: +* Air-gapped and regulated environments +* Enterprise security and compliance requirements +* Regulated environments +* Hybrid and multi-platform infrastructure +* Resource-constrained developer environments + +This ensures the solution is practical and broadly applicable. + +#### 7. Ecosystem Collaboration +This initiative will be developed in collaboration with: +* ModelPack and related OCI-aligned initiatives +* CNCF projects +* LF AI & Data communities +* OpenSSF and supply chain security initiatives +* Kubernetes AI and platform engineering communities + +The intent is to align efforts across communities rather than define a solution in isolation. + +### Out of Scope Areas +* Define new low-level binary compression or OCI layering techniques (deferring to OCI/ModelPack) +* Define model architectures or ML training frameworks +* Mandate specific vendor-locked developer tools +* Standardize outer-loop pipelines beyond reference integration patterns + +### Definition of Success +* **A Published Interoperability Spec:** A validated specification that existing tools can adopt to ensure cloud-native readiness. +* **Cross-Tool Portability:** Demonstrated ability for an artifact built by one tool to be verified and deployed by a different runtime. +* **The "10-Minute Flow":** A successful reference implementation demonstrating the journey from a local idea to a running inference service on Kubernetes. +* **Ecosystem Alignment:** Broad adoption of the "Compliance Profile" metadata across CNCF and LF AI & Data communities. +