Cloud based subscription and orchestration of continuous integration and deployment for firmware

1. A method, implemented by one or more computing devices, of operating a cloud platform, comprising:

providing access to a first firmware image containing firmware through the cloud platform;

receiving, from a first device of a first subscriber, a request to retrieve the first firmware image according to a first subscription;

granting, to the first device, access to the first firmware image;

receiving, from a development process, a first component of the firmware;

providing access to the first component through the cloud platform;

receiving, from a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the first subscriber executing the firmware, a request to retrieve the first component according to the first subscription, wherein the first component running on the firmware; and

granting, to the BMC, access to the first component.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

implementing the development process in the cloud platform;

receiving, from the development process, code for generating the first component; and

providing access to the code through the cloud platform.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the code is received from a device of the first subscriber.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the development process includes continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, wherein the code and the first component have been approved through the CI/CD pipelines.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

implementing, in the cloud platform, a build process that builds a firmware image;

receiving, from a second device of a second subscriber of a second subscription, a request for building a second firmware image containing a customized firmware according to a specification, the second firmware image contains at least one component that is not in the first firmware image;

retrieving, in the build process and from the cloud platform, one or more source files specified in the specification;

building the second firmware image with the one or more source files in the build process; and

providing access to the second firmware image through the cloud platform.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

receiving, from a device of the second subscriber, a request to retrieve the second firmware image according to the second subscription; and

granting, to the device of the second subscriber, access to the second firmware image.

7. A method, implemented by one or more computing devices, of deploying a firmware image, comprising:

authenticating a subscription with a cloud platform;

sending, to the cloud platform, a request for building the firmware image according to a specification;

requesting the firmware image from the cloud platform in accordance with the subscription; and

deploying the firmware image to one or more baseboard management controllers (BMCs).

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

configuring the one or more BMCs executing firmware contained in the firmware image to retrieve one or more components from the cloud platform according to the subscription, the one or more components running on the firmware.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the specification specifies one or more source files provided in the cloud platform to be used for building the firmware image.

10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

submitting code to the cloud platform for generating a first component;

detecting that the first component is accessible through the cloud platform; and

configuring the one or more BMCs to retrieve the first component from the cloud platform.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the code is submitted to continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines implemented in the cloud platform.

12. An apparatus, the apparatus being one or more computing devices, comprising:

a first memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the first memory and configured to:

provide access to a first firmware image containing firmware through a cloud platform;

receive, from a first device of a first subscriber, a request to retrieve the first firmware image according to a first subscription;

grant, to the first device, access to the first firmware image;

receive, from a development process, a first component of the firmware;

provide access to the first component through the cloud platform; and

receive, from a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the first subscriber executing the firmware, a request to retrieve the first component according to the first subscription, wherein the first component running on the firmware; and

grant, to the BMC, access to the first component.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

implement the development process in the cloud platform;

receive, from the development process, code for generating the first component; and

provide access to the code through the cloud platform.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the code is received from a device of the first subscriber.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the development process includes continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, wherein the code and the first component have been approved through the CI/CD pipelines.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

implement, in the cloud platform, a build process that builds a firmware image;

receive, from a second device of a second subscriber of a second subscription, a request for building a second firmware image containing a customized firmware according to a specification, the second firmware image contains at least one component that is not in the first firmware image;

retrieve, in the build process and from the cloud platform, one or more source files specified in the specification;

build the second firmware image with the one or more source files in the build process; and

provide access to the second firmware image through the cloud platform.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive, from a device of the second subscriber, a request to retrieve the second firmware image according to the second subscription; and

grant, to the device of the second subscriber, access to the second firmware image.