Conference Overview
The annual LISA conference is the meeting place of choice for system and network administrators and engineers; it is the crossroads of Web operations, DevOps, enterprise computing, educational computing, and research computing. The conference serves as a venue for a lively, diverse, and rich mix of technologists of all specialties and levels of expertise. LISA is the place to teach and learn new skills, debate current issues, and meet industry gurus, colleagues, and friends.

Attendees have a wide range of administration specialties, including system, Web, network, storage, cloud, platforms, and security administration, to name a few. They hail from computing environments of all sorts, including "dot coms," large corporations, small businesses, academic institutions, and government agencies.

The "hallway track" is always full of informal discussions on both technical and non-technical topics. Experts in different fields are very approachable at LISA, not kept in roped-off "VIP areas." LISA is a place to learn, to network, and to have fun!

Theme: DevOps: New Challenges, Proven Values
The theme for LISA '11 is "DevOps: New Challenges, Proven Values." DevOps is "an umbrella concept that refers to anything that improves the interaction between development and operations." While usually associated with Web operations, the tools and techniques are now being mainstreamed into the enterprise. While DevOps is new, it embodies themes long popular at LISA: automation, performance, scaling, collaboration, and cooperation.
In addition, this being the 25th LISA conference, expect retrospectives and panels to celebrate our "Silver Anniversary."

Get Involved!
We welcome participants who will share their experiences/lessons learned and provide concrete ideas to implement immediately, as well as those whose research will forge tomorrow's infrastructures. We are particularly keen to showcase areas that lead to cross-fertilization between DevOps, Web operations, and enterprise computing. This is your conference and we want you to participate.
The technical tracks seek submissions in the following areas:

Refereed Papers: These are written papers, 8 to 18 pages long, describing work that advances the art or practice of system administration. These papers are held to high research standards. If accepted, the paper will be published in the proceedings and the author(s) will give a 20-minute presentation immediately followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. A submission may be either an extended abstract (4–8 pages) or the (draft) full paper. These are original works which must not be concurrently submitted to another publication in whole or in part.

NEW! Practice and Experience Reports: These describe a substantial system administration project whose story reveals lessons worth sharing. Submissions must be highly practical and show do's and don'ts that were learned. The report will be published in the proceedings and the author(s) will give a 20-minute presentation immediately followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. A submission may be either an extended abstract (at least 4, no more than 6 pages) or the (draft) full report. Each submission will be judged on the basis of whether it addresses a pressing or rising need in the industry and the utility of the lessons learned. If accepted, a final draft of the full report (4–10 pages) is due by the publication deadline prior to the conference.

Talks: Talks are 30- or 60-minute presentations by experts on a single topic of interest to system administrators. We are seeking suggestions/proposals from people who wish to give talks or to propose topics. Talks may focus on the latest hot technology or be retrospective, be serious or funny, cover a spectrum of related issues or dive deeply into one specific topic. We also accept proposals for panel discussions, especially when accompanied by a tentative slate of panelists.

The Guru Is In Sessions: Q&A with an expert! Are you a guru? These sessions are a chance to share your expertise with your fellow system administrators. For the audience these are a chance to get your questions on a specific topic or technology answered by an acknowledged expert. Submissions are in the form of a half-page description of the topic.

Poster Session: This is your chance to share an idea that could turn into something more formal at next year's conference. Posters are a good way to get feedback on research that may not be "ready for prime time." Submissions are in the form of a 1-page abstract.

In addition, LISA has long-format sessions (proposals welcome!):

Workshops: Workshops are half-day or full-day sessions for small groups (typically no more than 30 people) to share ideas and knowledge. Workshops are intended to be participatory, not instructional, and familiarity with the specific topic/area is expected of the attendees. Proposals are in the form of a 1-page description.

Training Program: Tutorials are also half-day or full-day sessions but, unlike workshops, tutorials are generally intended for an instructor to share knowledge, not to be open discussions. We welcome (and encourage) suggestions or requests for new classes from anyone! Contact Dan Klein with suggestions/requests or find out how to submit a proposal here.

Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions (BoFs): Birds-of-a-Feather sessions are informal gatherings held in the evenings. Topics range from use of a particular software package or product, through folks wanting to talk politics, to people interested in a particular aspect of computing. Time slots are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis before and during the conference. See the conference Web site for submitting your BoF topic and time slot.