Impressions from the HEPIX' 99 Spring
meeting at RAL
General Observations
- almost all talks covered Linux/NT
- Linux is clear winner on UNIX platforms
- new farms mostly build up using Linux boxes
- also increase in number of Linux workstation installations
- Linux on the desktop is coming
- Redhat is the most widely used Distribution, notable exception DESY: SuSE
- NT is clear winner as desktop OS
- Sites are reducing the number of UNIX flavors
- most often mentioned dropping AIX
- few (no) plans to upgrade to Solaris 7, HP-UX 11
- SunOS 4 and Ultrix already gone
- Web interfaces are being developed for an increasing number of tasks
- Batch
- LSF established as most popular system despite of licensing problems
- Codine entered list of Batch systems with AFS support
- Email
- move towards IMAP both on server and client side
- several sites involved in LDAP tests
- UNIX - NT Integration
- Filesystems - interim solution AFS (JLAB also CIFS)
- Account/Password synchronization - no general solution yet
- NT <-> UNIX access realized using commercial products
(PCXWare, eXcess, Wincenter, ...)
- Services more often installed on UNIX (mail, printing, Samba)
- LDAP becoming important directory service for both UNIX and NT
Homework
- Set up LDAP working group
- initial step: create mailing list
- installation of working group well before next meeting
- interested persons:
A. Taddei
M. Jouvin
D. Kelsey
K. Kuenne
who else ?
- Discuss proposal of L. Robertson/A. Silverman concerning platforms
- what platforms to support in future
- what service/platform combinations are indispensable
- time frame for change in number of platforms
- discuss with users, experiments, management
- Discuss licensing issues (site licenses) with Platform Computing
Coordination by C. Boeheim
Next Meetings
- October 99 at SLAC (larger HEPIX/NT meeting(s))
- Spring 2000 atteched to CHEP 2000, which is held in Padova, Italy
location is not fixed yet
- Further offers
- Braunschweig University (by P. Duempert)
- KFKI Budapest (by P. Giese)
Last updated: Apr 21, 1999,
wolfgang.friebel@ifh.de