Conference Program Overview
Agenda
Conference Chairmen
Who Should Attend?
What You Will Learn
Track 1: Linux In The Datacenter
Track 2: Clustered and Distributed Computing
Track 3: Operations, Management and Infrastructure
Track 4: Applications, Storage and Information Management
Call for Presentations
Conference FAQ
Conference Brochure
Who Should Attend? Enterprise Linux Forum was specifically designed to serve the informational needs of those IT and business executives and managers from Global 2000 organizations and mid-sized businesses chartered with evaluating, purchasing and utilizing Linux solutions as a cost effective platform for building the next generation of enterprise business systems including: - Executive and Corporate Management: CEO's, Presidents, Vice Presidents; LOB Managers;
- Information Technology Executives: CIOs, CTOs, Sr. VPs, VPs, Directors;
- Architecture, Infrastructure and Operations Personnel: VPs and Directors of IT Operations, Enterprise Management Architects;
- Strategic Business Development Executives: VP's of Business Development, Directors of Strategic Planning and Development;
- Internet and eBusiness Executives: VP's of eCommerce, Directors of Business Strategy and Technology, eBusiness Directors, eCommerce Directors;
- IT Management: IT/IS Directors & Managers, eCommerce Managers, Web Site Managers, Network Managers; Application Development Managers, IT Operations Managers/Data Center Managers; and
- Technical Professionals: Enterprise Architects, Systems Managers, Analysts, Consultants, Integrators, Web/Intranet/Extranet Professionals, Service Provider Infrastructure and Operations Personnel.
back to top What You Will Learn Attendees of the Enterprise Linux Forum will: - Understand how Linux-based technologies, techniques and services can be applied to mainstream corporate and commercial business systems to cut operating costs, reduce risk and increase architectural flexibility;
- Learn the entire range of Linux solutions that are available in the marketplace;
- Discover how to assess a company's need for a particular class of Linux solution;
- Gain knowledge of all of options for Linux server consolidation initiatives;
- Gauge the readiness of Linux as an enterprise-scale server OS;
- Learn how to achieve maximum system reliability, availability, scalability, performance and manageability in Linux systems; and
- Network with industry leaders in the analyst, vendor, and end-user communities to discuss and evaluate Linux solutions.
back to top Track 1: Linux In The Datacenter Long considered a hobbyists and hackers operating system, Linux has proven itself a very stable platform for file, print, email and Web serving. Compared to these systems, however, enterprise class applications place much more demand on the operating system on which they run. The performance, stability, scalability and availability enterprise systems must to be of an extremely high order. System security and manageability are also of paramount importance. Discussions dedicated solely to the technical aspects of achieving maximum scalability, reliability, performance and availability in Linux-based enterprise systems mean little to the average business or technical manager unless they are covered in the context of solving real business problems. The Linux in the Datacenter track covers when and how Linux technologies and techniques can be applied to mainstream corporate and commercial business systems to deliver real business value. Case studies from well-known companies, as well as ROI studies will be highlighted: - Is Linux enterprise ready?;
- Linux on the mainframe;
- Support services, training, certifications;
- Selecting a Linux distribution partner;
- Linux and server consolidation strategies;
- Linux futures: Kernel, distributions, vendor and partnering trends;
- Linux in the enterprise: Evaluation, integration and interoperability strategies;
- Linux and open software support for Web services;
- Enterprise Linux: The opportunity for ISVs, service providers and others;
- Linux and decentralized development;
- Selecting and managing Linux services providers;
- If, when and how to deploy Linux solutions in the enterprise;
- Linux ROI and TCO studies;
- Linux in the enterprise: Potential and pitfalls of early adoption;
- Selecting, managing and developing for multiple Linux distributions;
- An introduction to Linux for UNIX professsionals;
- The role of open source software in the enterprise;
- Linux and the small-to-medium enterprise (SME); and
- Case studies of enterprise-class Linux implementations.
| Spending on Linux-related hardware, software, services and staffing will grow 9% of the IT budget in 2002, up from only 3% in 1999. |
|
back to top Track 2: Clustered and Distributed Computing Linux has seen tremendous growth as a server operating system deployed in the enterprise for Web, file and print serving. However, adoption is quickly moving towards more demanding enterprise applications such as databases and eCommerce systems. To meet the increased workload requirements, Linux environments are often scaled through clustering. A cluster is a group of computers that are connected in a way that lets them work as a single, continuously available system. A cluster arrangement leads to greater availability by providing duplicate servers, interconnections, storage and even controllers and adapters. All this redundancy allows work to continue transparently whenever one or more of the components in a cluster, whether hardware or software, fail. In addition to failover support, clusters can be aggregated using a "scaling out" approach to achieve the highest possible levels of workload scalability with unmatched price/performance. The scale-out approach, very common in Web serving environments, in now becoming widely accepted in OLTP (On-Line Transaction Processing) and E-business environments. The Clustered and Distributed Computing track is designed to highlight the full range of Linux clustering solutions and services that are now available, and to educate corporate managers as to the potential and the pitfalls of utilizing these solutions. Topics in this track include: - Commodity off-the-shelf clustering;
- Commercial application of Beowulf clusters;
- Linux cluster management tools and techniques;
- Evaluating cluster-based network servers;
- Selecting cluster hardware technologies;
- Single system image clustering;
- Modular server architectures and horizontal scaling approaches;
- Linux cluster deployment and installation approaches;
- Cluster interconnections (Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Myrinet, SCI etc.);
- Parallel and distributed clustering;
- Linux and commercial GRID computing;
- Network Clustering scenarios: High-availability clustering, administrative clustering; application clustering, computational clustering and scalability clustering; and
- Clustering case studies from leading enterprises.
| Linux general-purpose and enterprise servers will grow to a $3.8 billion market in 2005 from a $1.8 billion market in 2001. |
|
back to top Track 3: Operations, Management and Infrastructure Linux has been making inroads into the corporate mainstream and is increasingly viewed as a viable operating system alternative for mission-critical support applications in large corporations. Such "enterprise class" computing environments, however, call for highly reliable systems that are built for high performance, high availability, and high scalability. To meet these demands, many Linux operations, management and infrastructure issues must be addressed. The challenge of maintaining "enterprise class" Linux operations encompasses many traditional information technology disciplines. Yet for Linux-based systems, some older management and operations practices have been made obsolete and a need for new classes of tools, techniques and services has emerged. Solution providers have responded by offering Linux management tools focused on delivering high levels of availability, performance, and manageability. Moreover, new patterns of Linux support infrastructure are beginning to emerge, and with it Linux management and operations standardization will soon follow. It is incumbent upon technology and business professionals to have access to the latest information regarding tools, technologies and strategies for managing their Linux environments. The Operations, Management and Infrastructure track covers the full range of Linux "run and support" strategies, architectural elements and tools available to maintain high-end Linux business systems including: - Linux system administration in enterprise environments;
- Ensuring reliability, availability and serviceability;
- Migrating IT infrastructure to Linux;
- Linux system programming essentials;
- Linux secure operations (the Linux Security Module Framework);
- Application availability and response-time monitoring;
- Integrating Linux with Windows environments;
- Linux SMP and NUMA systems;
- Managing Linux distributions;
- Linux memory management;
- Linux rollout and implementation;
- Linux on Itanium;
- Performance enhancement/management;
- Linux system security; and
- Linux networking and system administration.
| The lack of Linux software management solutions has frequently been cited as one of the top reasons organizations are cautious about deploying Linux. |
|
back to top Track 4: Applications, Storage and Information Management Most enterprise application providers and database vendors, as well as many other classes of software and system vendors, have released, or will soon release, commercial Linux solutions. Moreover, the number of available solutions is increasing rapidly, particularly those Linux products targeting the large enterprise. These include business centric applications such as ERP, CRM, OLTP, E-commerce, systems management and others where the availability of both vertical and horizontal solutions, as well as customer service and application support, are paramount. Sessions in the Applications, Storage and Information Management track will cover the full gamut of Linux applications, storage and information management solutions available in the market today: - Database support for Linux;
- Linux desktop and office environments;
- Linux storage area networks;
- Linux and Web services solutions;
- Data storage and management techniques for Linux systems;
- Data intensive computing in Linux environments;
- The role of MySQL in enterprise environments;
- Distributed data management, DB parallel processing and parallel storage systems;
- Vertical and horizontal commercial Linux application solutions including:
- E-commerce systems;
- Application servers;
- Enterprise resource planning (ERP);
- Customer relationship management (CRM);
- Data warehouse, business intelligence and data mining systems;
- High-end Web serving systems;
- Telecommunications systems;
- Management, operations and security solutions;
- Financial services (trading and settlement, banking, payment, etc.),
- High-capacity online transaction processing (OLTP), and
- Others.
| Linux is the fastest growing operating system for servers. Commercial shipments of Linux will grow at a compound annual rate of 25% through 2003. |
|
|
