OCP

The Open Compute Project (OCP) is a collaborative effort to design and openly share data center hardware specifications and designs. Initiated in 2011 by Facebook (now Meta), it seeks to make servers, storage, networking equipment, and data center infrastructure more efficient, scalable, and cost-effective by publishing open hardware designs rather than proprietary specifications. The project emphasizes open standards, modular components, and crowd-sourced development.

Projects cover server and chassis designs, motherboards, storage devices, and open hardware for networking gear, as well as data center components such as racks, power distribution, and cooling. Designs are accompanied by documentation, bill of materials, and testing methodologies to facilitate implementation by any organization.

OCP is governed by the OCP Foundation, a nonprofit organization that maintains the open designs and certification programs. Member companies, including cloud providers, hardware manufacturers, and academic or research institutions, contribute to working groups and review processes. The foundation also offers certification programs to indicate conformance with OCP specifications.

Impact: The initiative has influenced the data center hardware market by promoting standardization and transparency, enabling more suppliers to participate and potentially lowering total cost of ownership and energy use. Adoption spans hyperscale operators as well as enterprises seeking scalable, energy-efficient infrastructure.

Criticism: Some concerns include the pace of standardization, the applicability of open designs to all workloads, and the need for robust manufacturing ecosystems to realize benefits. Nevertheless, OCP remains a prominent platform for open hardware collaboration in the data center industry.