Today, we’re launching the Technical Preview for Cosmonic Control, an enterprise control plane for managing WebAssembly (Wasm) workloads in cloud native environments.
Cosmonic Control is built on the open source foundations of wasmCloud, an Incubating project at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) that originated with the founders of Cosmonic.
Since we’re launching an enterprise product built on open source, now seems like a good time to lay down some of our guiding principles and commitments.
1. We will never try to re-license wasmCloud.
No rug pulls. Ever. The code for wasmCloud is owned by the CNCF and licensed under Apache 2.0, and we will never attempt to change those terms.
Our CEO Liam Randall and his wasmCloud co-creators contributed the project to the CNCF in August 2021 because being open source is not enough. When engineers build on open source projects, they need to know that the project will be governed in a way that protects their investment—that they are building on solid ground.
Confidence in open source foundations is essential in the cloud-native world, where teams are building entire platforms on open source. When terms change, it’s cataclysmic for the entire stack, creating toxic uncertainty over direction and architecture.
One of the main reasons we joined the CNCF is it aligns with our own values on how open source software should be governed and managed. The CNCF’s steadfast protection of project licenses and trademarks continues to strengthen our belief in strong software foundations.
2. We don’t hobble open source projects—we steward them.
We’re dedicated to stewarding and maintaining the upstream open source projects that make up the body of our product.
Being good stewards means ensuring that an open source project like wasmCloud stands on its own, without needing a proprietary puzzle piece to be truly useful—whether that means an enterprise product or paid support. This philosophy extends from software design to docs to brand.
We've fostered a thriving community around wasmCloud, with a diverse set of contributors, maintainers, and users. We believe that the best way to build a successful open source project is to ensure that it can be used independently of any single vendor or company.
As far as we’re concerned, open source CNCF wasmCloud should be the best way to build and run Wasm applications. The docs for wasmCloud should be the best way to learn how to build and run those applications. And when we speak as Cosmonic, we should and will be very clear when it’s wasmCloud doing the heavy lifting, refraining from plastering the Cosmonic logo over the wasmCloud brand.
Of course, open source stewardship alone doesn’t pay the bills. Fortunately, it is possible to deliver excellent enterprise products without compromising on OSS commitments.
3. Enterprise products don’t have to play games.
We can build software that provides value through support and integrations that enterprises need. You don’t have to play games.
Just look at Kubernetes. The project stands on its own and provides extensive value, while also creating manifold opportunities for extension, managed services, productization, consulting, and more. Value begets value, and there are many wide-open domains for good-faith enterprise value-adds:
- SSO
- Auditing
- Support
- Backup
- Migration
- Managed services
- Infrastructure
- The list goes on.
Our goal is to foster community for open source projects that stand on their own, and provide additive, expert-driven value for enterprises to take to production. We will never play games with the work of the OSS community.
4. Software is only as good as the community that lives and breathes it.
One of the most important selection criteria for software is community. It’s why projects like Kubernetes and Nix are so successful.
The amazing wasmCloud community doesn’t just shape and sustain the project—it makes us all want to get up and do our jobs every day. For many of us at Cosmonic, the weekly wasmCloud community meeting is the highlight of our week, showing us a panoply of new use-cases and extensions for the project.
Our dedication to open governance and open standards extends beyond the wasmCloud community or the CNCF. I serve as the at-large director for the Bytecode Alliance, and I see that role as advocating for engineers working on our projects, doing everything we can to prevent maintainer burnout, and providing folks with best practices, services, utilities, and opportunities to get together and build real-world relationships.
Let’s build together
We’re here to build successful open source projects that change the world. If you’re an enterprise user, Cosmonic Control can reduce your cloud costs, simplify maintenance, and deliver a more flexible platform with ultra-dense, Wasm-powered sandboxes. We think you should check it out.
No matter who you are, if you’re interested in Wasm, platform engineering, or new paradigms in computing, we hope you’ll join a wasmCloud community meeting or say hello in the wasmCloud Slack. The cloud-native world is better when we build together. We hope to see you soon.