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The Xen Project software is Open Source, which means you can get involved in the process — and you don’t even need to be a developer to do so!

How you may ask? By a number of different ways.

The first is by simply using the software. Open Source is only valuable if it is useful, and our project is no exception. Download the software and try it out. See if it works for you. Start small and take it for a test drive. Then think to yourself, “Could this make my life easier?  Could it solve a problem I have right now or will have in the near future?” If so, take it to the next level and begin to make plans to deploy it in your situation.

Once you’ve started using it, then start talking. The software won’t get better unless people start communicating about their needs. Does our software do what you need?  Could it be made simpler? Faster? Does it need better documentation? Maybe quick how-to recipes for attacking certain problems?

If you’re a company, join the Xen Project Advisory Board.  The project team needs code, but it also needs the support of active advocates who fund and manage the operations of the project.  The Xen Project Advisory Board ensures the project has the funding and infrastructure required to support development and works closely with project committers and maintainers.

Our project gives you many ways to talk to the rest of the community, including:

  • IRC (Internet Relay Chat) for getting real-time answers to your questions from others in the community who may have conquered issues you are puzzling about (and for helping out others once you have begun using it yourself).
  • Mailing lists for getting the ear of a larger community of users and developers.
  • Wiki for storing information in an informal, flexible, dynamic yet longer lasting format.
  • Documentation for formal information.
  • Bug Reports are very important and one of the most valuable types of feedback you can give.  When you log a bug, you are working to make the software better, even if you are not a programmer.

In addition, the community holds periodic events which allow you to give feedback, as well as lend a hand in the effort to create even better software. These events include:

  • Test Days which allow you to test new software and give feedback to the project in real time.
  • Community calls which allow you to participate in technical discussions: please follow the xen-devel@ list for more information.

These facilities and events are useless unless people like you use them, so get involved!