Everyone

UNIX and Linux sys admins have been using the GNU Screen utility for 25 years. While expert Screen users swear of its importance in their toolbox, the learning curve for new users can be quite steep. Enter 'Byobu', an innovative, intuitive approach to GNU Screen. The author of Byobu will introduce the basic flow of operation and also showcase the advanced features of Byobu and GNU Screen.

Julian Simpson (@builddoctor) summarizes devops as "a rejection of conflict between two groups who attempt to achieve conflicting goals, and an attempt to be good at whatever pigeonhole you’re in." Our first talk will elaborate on this through expert opinions on how far along we are today, and where we're going next. You'll hear examples of tools and ideas you can employ to make the devops goal a reality.

This talk explores the much-anticipated Postgres 9.0 features of hot standby and streaming replication. It explains how these features work, how to configure them, and their current limitations. It includes a hands-on demonstration that can be done either by the instructor or by students.

Mac users are a different breed, and their expectations are high. Fortunately Ubuntu is up to the task. But the road from OS X to Ubuntu is not without some bumps, and this session aims to help those coming from a Mac background make the ride as smooth as possible. We'll start with a brief review of installation options, including running Ubuntu as a VM within your Mac, but we'll quickly get to the more daunting issues Mac users face, like how to choose among a much wider range of hardware options than you've ever known before. Some Mac users like to get as much of a Mac-like experience from their new Ubuntu system as possible, while others prefer to dive into the Ubuntu way head first. We'll cover both, outlining the differences between the two systems and exploring some of the options like Cairo Dock to make your new Ubuntu system feel more familiar as you get started. The command line is considered exotically geeky to most Mac users, but here we'll cover some of the basics of using Terminal to show why it's so very useful and can even be fun. Perhaps the biggest challenge moving from Mac to Ubuntu is finding the sorts of applications you've come to rely on with your Mac, and we'll find some favorite from the Ubuntu Software Center and elsewhere, noting the strengths and weaknesses relative to their Mac counterparts. One of the biggest differences advantages Ubuntu offers over Mac is its customization, and we'll take some time to explore some of the many ways you can personalize your system to work just the way you like, leaving plenty of time for Q&A discussion to help with any specific issues you've had in your own transition to Ubuntu.

The ever growing pool of neglected web applications is a breeding ground for malicious activity on the web, and is a concern for web hosting providers whose customers tend to leave no time for security updates after updating their blogs, forums or CMS sites. This talk will cover some basic information on 3 common attack methods as well a 3 easy ways system administrators can address each type of threat and some other details regarding security best practices. Attack: XSS, SQL Injection and insecure upload forms. Defense: mod_security, IDS/IPS (snort/snortsam), and file system monitoring.

SUSE Studio ( http://susestudio.com ) provides a ridiculously simple interface for creating custom Linux distributions based on openSUSE Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Ideal for a wide range of projects, from custom desktop distros, to server appliances, to demonstration systems, SUSE Studio emphasizes clarity and usability, while not sacrificing flexibility and power in the tools it provides.