FAQ: Choosing GHEC‐ORG or RDKCentral

Choosing the Right GitHub Organisation and Access Level

This document outlines the decision-making process for selecting the appropriate GitHub organisation and repository access level for code storage and collaboration.

GitHub Organisations

• rdkcentral (Github Teams Plan):

  • Primarily for open-source projects with public read access.
  • Private repositories require a paid licence for write access.
  • No Comcast login required for public access (Read Only)
  • Cost: Free for public repositories. Paid licences for write access, or private repositories.
    • Teams plan costs $4 dollars per user per month.

• ghec-org (GHEC - GitHub Enterprise Cloud):

  • Controlled by Internal DevX.
  • Designed for internal and private repositories.
  • Offers "private" (team-based access) and "internal" (wider access) repository settings.
  • Cost: Paid enterprise license
    • GHEC Plan costs $21 dollars per user per month. (Comcast may have a discounted rate due to volume)

https://github.com/pricing

Decision Tree

The flowchart below illustrates the decision-making process. Here's a breakdown of the key considerations:

• Public vs. Controlled Access: If the code needs to be publicly accessible or in the future will be publically accessible , rdkcentral is the appropriate choice. If controlled access is required, ghec-org is preferred.

• rdkcentral Access Levels:

  • Public: Free, read-only access for everyone.
  • Private: Paid licence for write access, restricted to team members.
  • Write: Paid licence for write access, restricted to team members.

• ghec-org Access Levels:

  • Internal: Visible to all users within the ghec-org domain.
  • Private: High security, restricted to specific teams.
  • Partner: Access for external partners, requiring onboarding to Comcast enterprise.

Key Factors

• Open Source: For new/current or future, open-source projects, rdkcentral with public repositories is ideal.
• Collaboration with Partners: If partners need write access, rdkcentral (private) offers a simpler and potentially more cost-effective solution compared to onboarding them to Comcast's GHEC.
• Security: For highly sensitive code, ghec-org (private) provides the highest level of security.
• Cost: Consider the costs associated with each option, including paid licences and potential onboarding expenses.

By carefully evaluating these factors and following the decision tree, you can select the most suitable GitHub organisation and access level for your project.

graph TD
    A[Start] --> C{Public or Controlled Access?};
    C -- Public --> E{rdkcentral};
    C -- Controlled --> F{ghec-org};
    E --> G{Read-Only or Write Access?};
    G -- Read-Only --> H[rdkcentral-public - Tier 2 Engineers];
    G -- Write Access --> I{rdkcentral-private - Tier 1 Engineers};
    F --> J{Access Level?};
    J -- Internal --> K[ghec-org internal];
    J -- Private --> L[ghec-org private];
    J -- Partner --> M[ghec-org partner];

    H --> N(Can read all public repos<br>No paid license<br>Changes in personal forks<br>PRs from forks possible<br>Issues & discussions allowed);
    I --> O(Future public release possible<br>Easy external sharing<br>Lower write access cost<br>No DevX onboarding<br>Branching & PRs allowed<br>Read all public repos<br>Paid license for Tier 1 engineers<br>Issues & discussions allowed);
    K --> P(Internal, not shared externally<br>All ghec-org users can see);
    L --> Q(High security<br>No vendor access by default);
    M --> R(Partner access possible with DevX onboarding<br>Internal DevX codebase access);
    
    style N fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style O fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style P fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style Q fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style R fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

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