[Nix-dev] Google Summer of Code 2015

[stewart mackenzie]

Distributed Hydra build support

NixOS already has a very impressive track record in delivering quality
reproducible services via AWS and other cloud platforms. The secret
sauce is NixOps, Nix and most importantly Hydra. Hydra is the heart
and liver that keeps the packages cleanly building and circulating to
all our users. Due to the high demand, Hydra often becomes a
bottleneck. Our goal is to live off master branch, or at least live as
close to master branch as possible. By living on master our community
responds quickly to arising issues.

We'll need a Hydra web-of-trust system, such that individuals whom
have demonstrated trust may participate in running a Hydra build farm.
Thus binaries from their Hydra node may be run on my system. Binaries
are disseminated via Named Data Networking (NDN) to other NixOS/Nix
users. This also allows us to implement a hierarchical Linux
lieutenant model such that certain lieutenants are responsible for
certain areas of code. Contributors then submit their patches to a
lieutenant whom vets the build and merges into master. As soon as the
merge happens those binaries are already available via NDN.

Tasks
* Ensure builds are exactly reproducible
* Build NDN into Nix
* Build a web-of-trust (key dissemination will be achieved via the NDN)

Skills
* Perl
* C/C++
* Familiarity with Named Data Networking

Contacts
Stewart Mackenzie <setori88 at gmail.com>
<your name here> (eelco I think you're needed :-)