syslog

Sys Admin's technical editor, Hal Pomeranz, has put together a new call for papers, which I want to highlight this month. As you're probably aware, Sys Admin relies solely on its readers for its content. One of the original marketing tags for the magazine described Sys Admin as the magazine "by and for systems administrators", and that principle has not changed.

As systems administrators, you probably develop solutions for complex problems on a fairly regular basis. We would like you to think of Sys Admin as both a tool to help you solve those problems and a vehicle to share your solutions with others.

We are always looking for articles that explore new territories within systems administration -- articles providing solutions to hard problems or illuminating technologies that are poorly understood or poorly documented. If you've been working on a project that breaks new ground or researching a particular tool or technology, please share what you've learned by writing up your findings for Sys Admin.

Here are a few specific topics on Hal's list:

Automation -- New tools written in awk, C, Perl, Python, sed, and/or the shell to automate everything from backups to log monitoring to patch installations to remote system management.

Cutting Edge -- High-performance clusters and extreme computing, IPv6 and mobile networking, emerging wireless standards, massive and distributed storage models, and new methods of spam control.

Integration -- Robust enterprise solutions with LDAP, Oracle, Websphere, and more. Effective solutions for big enterprises without big resources.

Open Source -- New uses and cool hacks for established tools like Apache, BIND, MySQL, Samba, Sendmail, and SSH. New tools that have revolutionized the way you do your job.

Security -- DNSSec, Kerberos, encryption, VPNs and IPSEC, kernel-level security modules, intrusion detection and prevention, trusted computing, auditing.

For the complete call for papers, see page 32 of this issue. As always, please send proposals and manuscripts to Rikki Endsley at: rendsley@cmp.com and send comments and suggestions to me at: aankerholz@cmp.com. We invite you to make Sys Admin your own by contributing your experiences and expertise.

Sincerely yours,

Amber Ankerholz
Editor in Chief