Managing the "Complexity Hell" of Customized Linux Platforms

Original Air Date: Thursday, December 10, 2009

OS groups are under pressure to tailor off-the-shelf Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other OS platforms-but, today, it's flexibility at the expense of control. Application, middleware, security and other specialized requirements spawn new platform variants that create "complexity hell," making ongoing management a major challenge. It leads to duplicate effort in maintaining common OS components, inefficient and fragile update and patching, and transparency issues that put compliance at risk. In an age of flat or declining resources and pressure for customization, today's management models no longer work.

Join this timely webinar to hear from some of the foremost Linux innovators on what it takes to achieve flexibility and control in low-cost and scalable management of customized Linux platforms. Presenters include:

• Erik Troan, founder & CTO of rPath, Inc.; first engineer and former VP of Engineering at Red Hat
• Lee Thompson, DTO Solutions Consultant; formerly Chief Technologist at E*TRADE FINANCIAL
• Bryan Richard, Editor-in-Chief, Linux Magazine
  

You'll learn about:

• The organizational pressures forcing a managed model for Linux customizations
• How to create hierarchical system definitions that combine standardization and customization
• The importance of system version control in managing the lifecycle of platform variants
• The management implications of virtualization and cloud computing
• Innovative, real-world practices for scalable, low-overhead Linux management

All attendees will have the opportunity to participate in the discussion by asking questions during the event and posting to Twitter via #ManagingLinux. All registrants will receive complimentary copies of:

• "Rethinking Application Delivery in the Age of Complexity," by Erik Troan for The Cutter Consortium
• "Combining Flexibility and Control: A New Model for OS/Platform Management"