When I think of system administration I think of the folks I just spent three days with.
LOPSA’s Phoenix Sysadmin Days was fun. LOPSA is the “League of Professional System Administrators.” The gathering in Phoenix was their first conference-style gathering since they formed. I was asked to do a presentation on virtualization for it. I hadn’t really done a presentation of that magnitude before, and I have to say my audience was quite forgiving. 🙂 Thanks guys! It was interesting to get a message from my friend Nate, who caught Chris St. Pierre’s blog entry on the topic. Thanks for the press, Chris.
I’m hoping that in the next year I can continue to be involved in LOPSA, especially as they continue to hold “sysadmin days” around the country. If you are a system administrator you should definitely consider joining. LOPSA isn’t a technical organization, per se, but instead dedicated to advancing the profession. For instance, the talks given over the last two days weren’t intended to be “how to” types of talk, but instead share strategies and discuss higher-level topics (like professionalism). We can all handle the “how” of our jobs, but it’s the “why” that needs more discussion.
I have quite a few notes from the last couple of days, but since I’ve moved almost 2000 miles since I woke up this morning I’m going to get some sleep first. 🙂