I, Hector Cao, apply for server package-set PPU rights.
Contact Information:
* Name: Hector Cao
* Launchpad Page: Hector CAO in Launchpad
* GitHub Page: hector-cao (Hector Cao) · GitHub
* Matrix username: @hectorcao:matrix.org
I am applying because:
- I’d like to reduce sponsorship burden on my team
- I’d like to eliminate delays in getting my work delivered to Ubuntu
- I want to help sponsor other contributors, enabling more community work to land
Who I am
I am a software engineer within the Ubuntu Server team.
My primary focus is maintaining and improving the Ubuntu virtualization stack,
including packages such as libvirt, QEMU, EDK2.
My Ubuntu story
My journey began when I joined Canonical as part of the Partner Engineering team, where I worked on enabling Intel technologies and features in Ubuntu. During that time, I contributed to several Stable Release Updates (SRUs) and packaged Intel QuickAssist libraries for the Ubuntu Universe repository.
Later, I joined the Server team, where I specialized in the virtualization stack. This transition marked a new chapter in my Ubuntu journey, allowing me to deepen my expertise and make broader contributions to the platform.
Examples of my work / Things I’m proud of
Quick links: Uploads on UDD, Launchpad Uploads
- I have worked on the introduction of the HWE virt stack on Ubuntu Resolute
- I have run +1 maintenance shift
- I have helped on several package migrations
- I carried out several MIRs
- I have worked on several FFe
- I have helped and driven some transitions: python3.14, libgnutls, net-snmp
- I did a seed change
Areas of work
Currently my involvement is:
- Virtualization packages (core server-set)
- libvirt
- qemu
- edk2
- ipxe
- libslirp
- Intel hardware acceleration
- qatlib
- qatengine
- qatzip
- ipp-crypto
- intel-gpu-tools
- intel-media-driver
- Storage and hardware management
- mdadm
- sg3-utils
- ledmon
- open-iscsi
- ipmitool
- Drive-by contributions and merges in various other server packages
Upstream contributions
My upstream contributions closely align with my work on Ubuntu and primarily consist of bug reporting and bug fixing across approximately 15 projects.
Unsurprisingly, my most significant contributions have been in the virtualization space, where I have been able to make the greatest impact.
Things I could do better
On my Ubuntu journey, I think it is more about doing more.
TODO
Plans for the future
My plans for the future are twofold:
-
With PPU upload rights, I hope to increase the pace of my contributions and expand my involvement across a broader range of Ubuntu subsystems. Being able to upload directly would allow me to address issues more efficiently and take on additional duties on Ubuntu.
-
I intend to continue deepening my understanding of Ubuntu’s development processes, including more advanced topics such as Britney hints, proposed-migration, and release management workflows. I also plan to further develop my packaging expertise in areas such as package transitions, complex dependency resolution, and the packaging of Rust and Go software.
What I like the least in Ubuntu
I believe there are many areas where Ubuntu can be improved, but the following issues stand out as the ones that have most frequently caused frustration during my work.
- The path that brings contributors’ work / upstream to users is often burdened by manual processes, unnecessary complexity, and a lack of visibility.
- The tooling available to contributors does not always meet the standards expected from a modern software development ecosystem.