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TL;DR — The LFN Mentorship Program focuses on open-source networking projects like ONAP, OPNFV, and OpenDaylight. It’s part of the broader LFX Mentorship ecosystem with similar stipends and structure, but specialized for networking and telecom infrastructure.

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What is LFN Mentorship?

The Linux Foundation Networking (LFN) Mentorship Program connects developers with open-source networking and telecom projects. It’s ideal for developers interested in:
  • Software-defined networking (SDN)
  • Network function virtualization (NFV)
  • 5G and telecom infrastructure
  • Cloud-native networking
  • Network automation and orchestration

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Key Projects

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Program Structure

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How to Apply

  1. Browse LFN mentorship projects on the LFX Mentorship portal
  2. Filter by networking-related projects
  3. Follow the standard LFX application process (see LFX Mentorship page for details)

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Who Should Apply?

This program is particularly good for:
  • Computer science students interested in networking and protocol-level systems programming
  • Developers working on or learning about cloud infrastructure who want to specialize in the networking layer
  • Anyone interested in telecom and 5G technologies — the industry is actively hiring and LFN experience is a strong differentiator
  • Developers who want to work on high-performance, low-latency systems where nanoseconds matter

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Practical Tips for Strong Applications

  1. Learn networking fundamentals first — Before applying, ensure you understand TCP/IP basics, SDN concepts, and can explain what a virtual network function (VNF) does. The projects assume baseline networking knowledge.
  2. Deploy ONAP or OpenDaylight locally — Even a partial local deployment demonstrates genuine interest and technical capability. Document any setup issues you encounter — this itself can become a contribution.
  3. Familiarize yourself with the ONAP wiki and architecture docs — These projects have steep learning curves. Reading the architecture documentation before applying shows mentors you are serious about the domain.
  4. Highlight any networking coursework or projects — Even academic projects involving socket programming, network simulation, or SDN controllers (like using Mininet) are relevant and help your application stand out.

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Resources