The annual LISA conference is the meeting place of choice for system administrators, IT architects, and IT engineers. The conference provides a rich mix of technical training by industry experts, dynamic talks that inspire attendees to think beyond today, panel discussions that debate current issues, ask-the-expert guru sessions, and presentations by people like you who introduce the next generation of methods and solutions. In the "hallway track," beginners and experts mingle as peers to discuss the day's talks and exchange solutions to current problems.

Attendees represent a wide range of specializations, including security, cloud, HPC, Web, network development, and storage administration. They come from all over the world to represent dot.coms, non-profits, academic and research institutions, military and government, and corporations of all sizes. LISA is also a great place to come as a student to get a wider perspective on the profession and to make valuable industry contacts.

LISA truly is the ultimate networking and development environment for our profession. Come to LISA to learn new skills, catch up on the latest trends and best practices in the industry, elevate yourself in your profession, and make new connections.

Get Involved!
We welcome participants willing to share their research and experiences. This is your conference and an opportunity to give back to your community.
NEW! Review and Response Period for Authors of Papers and Experience Reports: In order to improve the review process and increase authors' chances of acceptance into the conference, we have included an authors' review and response period for refereed papers and practice and experience report (PER) submissions. Authors of refereed papers and PERs can use this period to answer questions from reviewers and clear up any misconceptions about their submissions. Questions about the process? Feel free to contact the program chair at lisa12chair@usenix.org.

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 and are evaluated based on their theoretical development, contribution to the field, or extension of previous work to new contexts. If accepted, the paper will be published in the proceedings and the author(s) will give a 20-minute presentation 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 submitted concurrently to another publication in whole or in part.

Practice and Experience Reports: Bring your favorite system administration story to LISA. These can include successes as well as failures, as long as there are useful lessons imparted to the audience. Initial submissions can be in the form of a 4–10 page report or a short (5–7 minute) video submission. Your proposal should include a clear description of the problem you are addressing, its relevance, the approaches and trade-offs made, and the lessons learned. Please note that we are including video submissions to make it easier to produce a PER proposal without the up-front effort of writing a report. Accepted video proposals still require a final written report for the conference. If accepted, the author(s) will give a 20-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.

Talks: Talks are 30- or 60-minute presentations by experts on a single topic of interest to system administrators. We are seeking suggestions from people who wish to give talks or to propose topics. Talks may focus on the latest hot technology or may 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. Send ideas to lisa12it@usenix.org.

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. Send ideas to lisa12guru@usenix.org.

Lightning Talks: Talk about a recent success, energize people about a pressing issue, ask a question, start a conversation! Lightning talks are 5-minute opportunities to get up and talk about what's on your mind. You can give several lightning talks if you have more than one topic. Send ideas to lisa12lightning@usenix.org.

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 formal publication. Submissions are in the form of a 1-page abstract. Send poster ideas to lisa12posters@usenix.org.

In addition, LISA welcomes proposals for the following:

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. Send ideas to lisa12workshops@usenix.org.

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. BoF groups range from users of particular software packages or products, through those interested in discussing current problems or issues, 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.

Join us!