The USENIX’s Associations 24th annual Large Installation System Administration Conference has just recently announced their call for participation for the LISA 2010. LISA is one of the largest and longest running conferences on System Administration and one of the premier locations to connect with and present with the greatest in the field. LISA is one of the richest conferences on systems administration with a wide variety of opportunities to learn, contribute, and interact, as well a true feeling of community, which cannot be described, but rather must be experienced. Here are some ways to get involved:

Invited Talks
If you are an expert in a particular aspect of system administration and want to present it to an audience of System Administrators, then you might consider giving a talk at LISA. If you have some great idea or discovery that you would like to share with the community and help advance the practice of Systems Administration, then presenting at LISA is the opportunity for you. Email lisa10it@usenix.org or see http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/cfp/its.html for more details.

Refereed Papers
Refereed papers are typically papers based on some academic research that is to be presented to the public. In the past presenters from top Universities and companies have presented bleeding edge research and is the primary place to present such information. If you are interested in presenting research see http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/cfp/papers.html for submission information.

BoFs and Works in Progress
Even if you prefer not to give a full-fledged presentation, there are still opportunities at the LISA Conference to get involved in the community. Bird’s of a Feather are an excellent way to meet others involved in a subject matter that is of a particular interest. They are informal and you don’t even have to necessarily present anything at them. Consider a BoF as having many small meetups within the conference on a wide variety of subjects. Some of last year’s BoF presenters came from companies such as Sun, Google, Argonne National Laboratory on various topics http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa09/bofs.html.

Experience Reports
Experience reports are a new segment of the LISA Conference geared more towards experts sharing information about the planning and social aspects of Systems Administration, with a focus on lessons learned with a large project and the practical experienced gained from such projects. For more information about submitting an experience report, see http://www.usenix.org/events/lisa10/cfp/reports.html.