Dear Colleague,

Not only is the year 2001 the first year of a new millennium, but thanks to Clarke and Kubrick's legendary Space Odyssey, it has become a symbol of humanity on the threshold of new development. It seems fitting that LISA 2001 should celebrate the occasion by looking forward to the future of system administration, as well as reflecting back on the lessons of the past.

LISA has never attracted more interest than it does today. It remains a conference by system administrators, for system administrators; but it has grown at the periphery and continues to grow, touching on all aspects of computing systems and networks. This year LISA focuses on the latest in system and network security by adding security-focused tutorials, invited talks, and a new Network/Security track. Don't miss the panel on "The Future of Network Security," led by Marcus Ranum.

Among the invited speakers:

• Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Greg Bear, on "Slime vs. Silicon"
• Ernest Prabhakar of Apple Computer, on "Rebuilding the Digital Enterprise Around Internet Standards"
• William Lefebvre of CNN.com, on "CNN.com: Facing a World Crisis"

When you register for LISA this year, you can expect a surprise in your bag to celebrate the special occasion! The conference itself has its familiar, comfortable mixture of invited talks, tutorials, and refereed papers on established and new technologies. This year, every major operating system is represented, and we have gone to some lengths to bring together the broader international community of USENIX, IEEE, and ACM researchers, practitioners, and vendors in what is surely a unique program. As always, the vendor exhibition will put you in touch with the latest products and freebies from the commercial world, and LISA's strong connections with the Open Source and Free Software communities bring the latest on GNU/Linux and BSD projects. USENIX's unique Guru Is In sessions offer the opportunity to bring your specific questions to experts, and the famous "hallway track," the eclectic Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, and a plethora of social events round out a full and memorable conference.

Mark Burgess

For the LISA 2001 Organizing Committee,

Mark Burgess
Program Chair