SPUG: FW: GSLUG TOMORROW, September 10th -- Centeris Linux/Windows Interoperability OSS

Ken Meyer kmeyer at blarg.net
Fri Sep 9 03:41:23 PDT 2005


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The September 2005, regular meeting of the Greater Seattle Linux Users Group
(GSLUG) will be held this Saturday, September 10th, starting at 10:00 AM on
the North Seattle Community College campus.

  ********************************************************

    We are confirmed to use room IB 3319.

    Parking is free on weekends.

    For directions, please visit the GSLUG monthly meetings web page at:

     	http://www.gslug.org/meeting.html

    Room 3319 is in the Instruction Building (IB) on the west side of the
    building, facing College Way, on the third (top) floor about mid-way
    between the two ventilation towers.  Parking is available directly to
    the west of the building and there are elevators in the towers.

    Please feel free to forward this announcement as appropriate.

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NOTE: Regrets for the late notice.  After experiencing two bail-outs
by presenters, we were going to cancel when this very interesting
offer arrived, completely out of the blue.

The presentation topic will be:

    * 10:00 AM - Centeris' Linux/Windows Interoperability Application

	David Louden -  Program Manager

	Chris Rude -      Engineering Manager

	Michelle Arney - Marketing Manager

Abstract:

By providing simple and familiar administrator tools and improved
Linux/Windows compatibility, many of the barriers to Linux adoption for both
mid-market and enterprise companies can be removed.  We will discuss the
barriers to increasing Linux adoption, the solutions we are planning for the
open source community, our own solution to extend those capabilities across
configuration and management tasks, and finally present a product demo.

Centeris is a local start-up company working with the open source community
to improve platform interoperability.  We focus primarily on Red Hat and
SuSE right now, and are making contributions to the SAMBA open source
efforts, so that others can leverage the code we have created.

------------

Out of the box, Linux and Windows servers do not work well together, and it
is difficult to configure the two systems to co-exist happily in the same
network. In order to have true platform choice in the data center or back
office, enhanced interoperability of these operating systems must be
provided.

We will share some of the advancements we’ve made, both in our open source
contributions to SAMBA and within our own product, currently in beta, which
will make it easier for customers to configure and manage Linux servers.

------------

We would like to get the local Linux users' perspective on the steps we are
taking and whether they see any value in the efforts we are making.  We are
truly interested in feedback from the group.  What do they think of the idea
overall?  Is the product plan good or a hunk of crap?  Is anyone interested
in checking-out the software and providing feedback?

Note from Your Organizer:

As I understand it, Centeris perceives that a major impediment to adoption
of Linux by the enterprise is that means to ease the transition
incrementally from Windows are inadequate, and few CIO's will take the
chance of doing it "cold turkey", particularly because this requires
generating a whole new set of competencies in the administration personnel.

Ergo, this product is intended to link Windows and Linux servers in a manner
that allows administration of the Linux boxes via familiar Windows
procedures, including use of the Windows Active Directory.  The commercial
product will add to the open source functions to assist sysadmins in
setting-up and managing such open source applications as Apache.  It is
asserted that the portion of the Centeris offering that is being
open-sourced will provide substantial stand-alone functionality associated
with the process of linking the servers.

The demo will apparently be performed using VMWare, which should provide
interesting insights in itself.

                                ---------------

     * 11:15 AM - The Future of GSLUG

Periodically, volunteers who manage any community organization without any
stated "terms of office" will "burn out", or will find that other
obligations that have been going unaddressed are ganging-up on them, or will
even want to free-up time to address other creative aspects of Linux
promotion.  This appears to be the case at present with a substantial
portion of the present active GSLUG organizers (and strangely
coincidentally, for some other similar organizations in the area).  In fact,
if we had stood-by our stated schedules for the intent to refocus our lives,
this meeting would not be occurring at all.  This year, GSLUG celebrated its
10th anniversary as the leading local force for promoting and understanding
Linux in the Puget Sound area.  Will it survive to age 11?  Is support of
the anti-Windows worth the effort?

There is an immediate critical need to discuss the future of GSLUG in an
environment in which people are not reluctant to share their ideas for fear
that they will immediately be asked to assume the responsibility for
implementing them, but conversely, in which they are willing to step-up and
share part of some aspect of the load.  Who will step-up to the plate as
Brian, Heather, Dave and Ken have been doing for periods from one to three
years already?  Do the purpose and objectives of the organization need to be
re-oriented to create enthusiasm for contributing to its support?  Have
recent presentations been too elementary to attract the experts among us?
Do you loath the sight of the people running the organization?  Is there a
need for somewhat more formal organizational structure, to assure volunteers
that they will not be grabbing a tiger by the tail (ill-defined and
open-ended commitment)?

We have leads on some excellent presentations for future meetings, but if
you respond to the call by ducking under your table, better take a good look
around there, because it could be your last opportunity in the foreseeable
future.

   - Ken Meyer

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    The typical GSLUG meeting agenda is as follows:

       10:00 AM       First Presentation

       11:00 AM       Break

       11:10 AM       Key Announcements and (usually) Raffle Quiz

       11:15 AM       Second Presentation

       12:15 PM       Break

       12:30 PM       Raffle prizes giveaway, when available

       12:35 PM       GSLUG business, including discussion of potential
		          future presentation topics

                	          Announcements by attendees

                	          Requests for assistance desired during the
		          following Workshop session, including
		          trouble-shooting and help with Linux installation
		          (bring your system).

       1:00 PM-ish    Formal meeting is adjourned; Workshop and
                             social networking opportunities begin,
                             including:

                * Installation and trouble-shooting assistance

                   For recommendations on preparations to maximize the
                   probability of a successful outcome, it is recommended
                   that you consult the "What to Bring" topic, way down the
                   page at:

                        http://www.gslug.org/meeting.html

                * Potential break-out discussions about interest-group
                   activities

                * Informal PGP key signing

                * Talking, chatting, blathering, etc, etc.

       4:00 PM        End of meeting

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GSLUG meetings are held regularly on the second Saturday of the month
at 10 AM, currently at North Seattle Community College and USUALLY
in room 3319.

Meeting announcements are posted to the gslug-announce mail list.
To receive reminders for future GSLUG meetings and notice of other
GSLUG activities, you are invited to join the list at:

        http://lists.gslug.org/mailman/listinfo/gslug-announce

Directions, agenda, and presenters' bios will also be posted on
the GSLUG website, on the home page and at:

        http://www.gslug.org/meeting.html

You are also invited to join the gslug-general discussion list at:

        http://lists.gslug.org/mailman/listinfo/gslug-general

And a new wiki site is at:

        http://wiki.gslug.org/


  -- The GSLUG Crew

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