configurations: add VENDOR guidelines
In order to allow configurations to be arranged in subdirectories
for vendors, some guidelines are proposed on who is a vendor.
Signed-off-by: Patrick Williams <patrick@stwcx.xyz>
Change-Id: I1e5f329ddd5066b2226077c9930488927358abd1
diff --git a/.prettierignore b/.prettierignore
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configurations/*
+!configurations/**/*.md
diff --git a/configurations/VENDORS.md b/configurations/VENDORS.md
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+# Vendors
+
+To simplify the organization and ownership of configuration files, they can be
+organized into vendor-specific subdirectories. This begs the question "what is a
+vendor"?
+
+In some cases a company might design a component (such as a network card),
+manufacture said component, and package it into an elegant cardboard box with
+their logo, which is sold on retail store shelves to customers; this company is
+clearly "the vendor" of said component. Where the situation is less clear is
+when multiple companies are involved in the chain between design and end-user.
+
+For purposes of this repository, the following prioritized guidelines are used
+for identifying the vendor:
+
+1. A company which primarily initiates and oversees the design, manufacture and
+ sale of a component is always the vendor. "Sale" does not require retail but
+ can include components which are exclusively sold to other enterprises for
+ inclusion in their products. This covers typical "components" such as network
+ cards, processors, and mainboards.
+
+2. When a company is assembling a group of components into a single product,
+ which they exclusively label and sell, such as a server chassis, they are the
+ vendor for the assembled product and any sub-components which are exclusively
+ designed for and used by their assembled product(s). Sub-components that are
+ procured from others and may be sold by others for use in other products
+ should be covered by guideline (1).
+
+3. When one company primarily oversees the design but other companies
+ manufacture and/or sell the component or system, such as [OCP][OCP] designs,
+ the company that primarily oversaw the design of the component would be the
+ vendor.
+
+These guidelines are not meant to be exhaustive rules to cover all scenarios and
+contractual arrangements, but simply direction pointing for how the repository
+is intended to be organized. The overriding principle should be: if someone
+claims to be the vendor of a device, they probably are, unless there is strong
+evidence they are not.
+
+[OCP]: https://www.opencompute.org/