Possible Topics for Authors and Speakers

Technical Challenges

  • DevOps: NoSQL, massively parallel, redundancy, capacity planning, automated operations, provisioning
  • Authentication and authorization: "Single sign-on" technologies, identity management
  • Autonomic computing: Self-repairing systems, zero administration systems, fail-safe design
  • Cloud computing: Managing and deploying your applications in the cloud
  • Computer-human interaction
  • Configuration management: Specification languages, configuration deployment
  • Data center design: Modern methods, upgrading old centers, moving centers
  • Data management: DBMS management systems, deployment architectures and methods, real world performance, scalability
  • Grid computing: Management of grid fabrics and infrastructure, Cloud related
  • Hardware: Multicore processor ramifications
  • Mobile computing: Supporting and managing laptops and remote communications
  • Multiple platforms: Integrating and supporting multiple platforms (e.g., Linux, Windows, Macintosh)
  • Networking: New technologies, network management, IPv6, Trill, DCE
  • Security: Malware and virus prevention, security technologies and procedures, response to cyber attacks targeting individuals, threat analysis
  • Standards: Enabling interoperability of local and remote services and applications
  • Storage: New storage technologies, remote filesystems, backups, scaling, disaster recovery
  • Virtualization: Managing and configuring virtualized resources
  • Web 2.0 technologies: Using, supporting, and managing wikis, blogs, and other (collaboration) tools in Web 2.0 space
  • WebOps: Traffic management, scaling, latency, Game Days, release engineering and deployment

Professional Challenges

  • Budgeting: Definitions and methods
  • Communication: Tools and procedures for improving communication between administrators and users, distribution organizations, or teams
  • Consolidation: Merging and standardizing infrastructures and procedures
  • Devolution: Managing dependence on devolved services (calendars, mail, Web 2.0, etc.) and users
  • Documenting: Tools and techniques to document your work
  • Ethics: Common dilemmas and outcomes
  • Flexibility: Responding effectively to changes in technology and business demands
  • In-house development: The (dis)advantages and pitfalls of in-house technology development
  • Legislation: Security, privacy
  • Management: The interface and transition between "technical" and "managerial"
  • Metrics: Measuring and analyzing the effectiveness of technologies and procedures
  • Outsourcing/offshoring system administration and system engineering: Is it possible?
  • Proactive administration: Transitioning from a reactive culture
  • Standardizing methodologies: Sharing best practice and lessons learned
  • Training and staff development: Developing and retaining good system administrators; certifications
  • User support: Systems and procedures for supporting users

This topic list should not be considered exhaustive. Good proposals related to any important aspect of system and network administration or engineering are always welcome. If you are unsure whether your topic is appropriate, contact the program chair.

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