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Sample Session Abstracts from Past Years

The results of a recent BrainShare survey left no doubt that you come to BrainShare for the in-depth, hands-on technical sessions. Here are several session abstracts from past years we've posted to whet your appetite. This year we're going to have more than 450 hours of fast-paced and relevant educational sessions.

Data Center

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Workload Management

The Living Data Center

 Workloads today have moved out of the physical confines of a hardware box. This evolution demands new techniques and solutions to manage today's data centers. This session will discuss and demonstrate how Novell products help you plan, relocate, automate and consolidate your virtual infrastructure. The products that enable this are: Novell ZENworks Orchestrator, PlateSpin PowerRecon and PlateSpin PowerConvert. PowerRecon is a sophisticated planning and chargeback tool that analyzes workload usage patterns. PowerConvert is the tool that enables an easy transition of workloads from physical to virtual or vice versa. ZENworks Orchestrator is the overall management platform that automates workload management based on policies.

Lab Automation Using Novell ZENworks Orchestrator and PlateSpin PowerConvert

 Software testing is a critical activity, but very few tools are available to optimize infrastructure needs and reduce workflow overheads and bottlenecks at critical phases. To address these challenges, we offer a solution using Novell ZENworks Orchestrator and PowerConvert. Orchestrator is a heterogeneous data center automation product that comes with an open, extendable automation framework. PowerConvert is an industry-leading image migration tool capable of migrating images from physical to virtual, virtual to physical, or even virtual to virtual. The combined solution automates the entire workflow of a software test environment, archives critical test beds and optimizes resource utilization. This presentation and demo will show how, using this solution, you can ease the burden of manual workflows and help your organization save on capital expenses.

Securing Your Virtual Infrastructure Using Authenticated VLAN Enabled Virtual Machines

 Ensuring the security of the virtual machines and the applications hosted on them is a prime concern from a user's standpoint, while an administrator's worst nightmare is a free-wheeling VM messing up security restrictions. Ideally, you want to have granular and individual control over each VM's access rights and privileges even when they are not the same as those of the host. Authenticated VLAN is the de-facto way to ensure network security in a non-virtualized environment. The same can be extended to virtual machines by allowing VMs to uniquely bind to VLAN ports. In this session we will demonstrate how to create and configure a VM to operate in an authenticated VLAN network.

Dynamic Workload Management Solution Using Novell ZENworks Orchestrator

 Linux offers powerful virtualization capabilities with Xen, but managing a huge virtualized infrastructure requires powerful automation tools. Novell ZENworks Orchestrator offers the necessary functionality. This session discusses techniques for dynamic load management from resource level to service level. The session scope ranges from configuring simple settings to creating custom workload management jobs. As a special example of "green IT", the session analyzes how information external to the compute resources, like a heat distribution map in the server room, is utilized by a workload manager job to remove thermal hot spots in the data center. The session includes a live demo to demonstrate green IT.

Novell ZENworks Orchestrator Success Story with Hosted Service Providers

 In 2008 the New Zealand Supercomputing Centre (NZSC) chose Novell to automate the management of its on-demand computing infrastructure. Together with its partner InterGrid, NZSC hosts high-intensity computing projects for oil companies, bio-pharmaceutical enterprises, movie production houses and universities. In this session, we explore why Novell was chosen, how and why Novell ZENworks Virtual Machine Management was deployed, what value it brought to NZSC's customer, and how this project influenced the Novell development of the product. This session and the accompanying demo will help participants understand the scalability and HPC capabilities of Novell ZENworks Orchestrator. The session is co-hosted by an engineer of Gen-i, the partner that took care of the production deployment.

Virtualization and Consolidation

Business Dynamics in a Virtualized IT World

 The challenges faced by CIOs while considering virtualization are: where to start from? What to virtualize? How much to virtualize? And finally even in a virtualized enterprise, the CIO needs to know the ROI. To address these and other challenges, we will discuss using PlateSpin PowerRecon for consolidation planning and using Novell ZENworks Orchestrator to leverage the most out of the virtual enterprise. PlateSpin PowerRecon features include workload identification, profiling and scenario modeling. These features allow you to exploit usage patterns of workloads for optimal consolidation. PowerRecon also give you data for chargeback and ROI. ZENworks Orchestrator, the Novell data center automation product, can help you maximize the ROA from your virtualized enterprise.

Novell ZENworks Virtual Machine Management Roadmap

 In this session we will discuss the future direction of Novell ZENworks Virtual Machine Management. What strategy is behind the product? Which features are essential in the current release? What is lined up for the next releases? Where do these features come from and how are they applied in the field? How will the product be integrated with other products from Novell and possibly even with products from third-party vendors?

Advanced Networking with Linux, Xen and Novell ZENworks Orchestrator

 This session is all about how to integrate Linux systems in complex, virtualized networking environments. The main focus will be on implementing network configurations, which increase throughput and resilience. The demo will show the basic configuration with the graphical YaST interface as well as AutoYaST. With Novell ZENworks Orchestrator, these tasks can be automated further. We will also discuss examples for ZENworks Orchestrator policies and JDL code to integrate the functionality in existing environments.

Novell Virtualization Strategy and Solutions

 Regardless of the size of the enterprise, all IT managers look for new levels of flexibility and agility in their environments at a lower total cost of ownership. Virtualization creates opportunities and offers compelling reasons for its adoption. Virtualization is so important for the data centers of today that many customers will no longer make software or hardware decisions without considering its impact. With a virtualized platform, businesses can solve issues such as constricted budgets, IT staff shortages and increased power usage. Virtualization from Novell offers open source, operating system-based virtualization with cross-platform systems management. When you deploy virtualization solutions using Novell technology, you get full interoperability with your existing IT infrastructure and an integrated suite of tools for virtualization management and automation-a solution that maximizes efficiency and reduces your total cost of ownership. Want to know more about the Novell strategy for virtualization, and what the roadmap is looking like? Then sign up for this session.

Linux and Windows Interoperability

 The proven collaboration between Microsoft and Novell has been built on our desire to meet our customers' real-life IT requirements as well as give our partners greater breadth in their solution offerings. The agreement is focused on several areas of technology that enable better interoperability between Windows and Linux platforms: virtualization, systems management, directory and identity management, document format compatibility, accessible computing and the Moonlight multimedia framework. In this session we provide an update on each of these areas and let you know how you can start taking advantage SUSE Linux Enterprise as the best Linux in a Windows environment.

Enterprise Linux Servers

Mission-Critical Linux

 Gartner states that Linux has entered its third generation, becoming a recognized data center operating system with proven reliability for mission-critical applications and databases. What capabilities does SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 offer for mission-critical deployments? How are customers deploying it today? What advantages does it offer for your organization? Learn about the state of mission-critical Linux and bring your questions as we dive into this exciting topic.

The Perfect Guest for Virtual Machines

You expect outstanding performance, reliability and interoperability in your virtual servers and in your physical environments. That's why Novell has optimized SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to run as the perfect guest on VMware, Hyper-V and Xen. Learn how to achieve maximum performance and interoperability at the lowest cost of ownership-on your chosen hypervisor.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time

 SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time is a real-time operating system based on SUSE Linux Enterprise. As more and more proprietary embedded real-time technologies become incorporated into the mainstream Linux kernel, innovative enterprises are increasingly leveraging Real Time Linux and COTS systems to increase their competitive advantage. Find out which companies today are using SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time, and learn how they are using it to increase agility, increase the predictability and reliability of their mission-critical services, and operate more efficiently. See if you, too, should be using it to run your business faster, better and more cost effectively.

Workloads for Linux for System z

 Many customers are migrating their mission-critical workloads to Linux on System z servers to reduce data center costs. An important aspect of this server consolidation process is determining which workloads are appropriate for running on Linux for System z. In this presentation, we focus on the types of workloads that are good candidates to migrate to Linux for System z and look at some of the important workloads such as Oracle, IBM middleware and SAP that are successfully running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z.

Cost Efficient Consolidation of SAP Workloads on SLES

 Join us and learn why you should move your SAP environment to Linux and why you should choose Novell. We will talk about data center optimization, lower TCO, interoperability, commodity hardware, Linux and industry standards, reliability, scalability, performance, priority support for SAP, and new technology. Learn about best practices for SAP migration and consolidation on Linux. In addition, we will describe SAP migration processes and projects based on best practices from REALTECH Consulting. Learn about real customer projects, success factors and risks to keep in mind.

End User Computing

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Collaboration

Maximize the Return on Your IT Investments with Novell Open Workgroup Suite

 If you are planning to upgrade your IT infrastructure, Novell Open Workgroup Suite is your best choice. It will save you money while revitalizing the way your teams collaborate. This session will provide an overview of the different versions of the suite and what products are included, so you can select the version that best matches the needs of your organization. You will also gain insight into how the suite stacks up against the competition. Come and see how we take on Microsoft Professional Desktop Platform and deliver comparable functionality for as much as 70 percent less.

Building a Business Case for Novell Teaming

 Customers are facing big decisions about adopting Microsoft Office SharePoint Server in their environment without the knowledge that there is a better alternative to collaboration-Novell Teaming. An enterprise-ready and interoperable collaboration solution, Novell Teaming reduces your total cost of ownership. Novell Teaming can be one-fifth the cost of a Microsoft SharePoint solution. It can also increase your time-to-value to get your people on the road, innovating more freely and creatively with impactful business results.

Novell Open Enterprise Server 2 Introduction, Overview and Futures

 Want to know all about the latest release of Novell Open Enterprise Server? This session updates you on new enhancements in Open Enterprise Server 2 SP1-such as Domain Services for Windows, which drives down cost with administrative interoperability, and the new upgrade utility. The speaker will also cover plans for future releases of the product and discuss details on the latest version of Novell iFolder, virtualization, support for Apple Mac OS, enhanced storage initiatives and the transition of some of your favorite NetWare services to Linux.

The Promise and Pitfalls of the Next-Generation End-User Computing Environment

 People are at the heart of moving business forward. It's people who develop and execute on strategies; create, provide and sell services and products; and ultimately win or lose business and create reputations. Technology advances the promise to help people do more, work smarter and harvest and grow more creativity and innovation. But will today's new solutions wreak havoc with IT control processes? Join this session to explore the promises and challenges of the next-generation end-user computing environment. You'll also find out how, together with Novell and our partners, you can deliver the capabilities each user needs and count on the right security and manageability to meet your service quality, risk mitigation and cost objectives.

GroupWise 8-Personal Productivity at Its Best

 Novell raises the bar on user productivity with a highly connected collaborative workspace that leverages Web resources to enhance your interactions. With GroupWise 8, you don't have to be a power user to make the most of your tools or your time, because a rich and intuitive "dashboard"-the Home View-puts everything you need right in front of you. Nothing else plugs you into the Web 2.0 world as thoroughly as GroupWise or makes it look so good-and so easy-once you're there. Come and see the value you can take back to your organization. From a simple interface to the most powerful and flexible tools, GroupWise 8 is the solution for every user in your organization.

Enterprise Linux Desktops

Desktop Migration

 With SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell, customers get a compelling business alternative to Windows-a much more affordable, secure and usable desktop operating system. With hardware vendors preloading SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and major software vendors and system integrators offering complementary services, the time is right for you to perform your own pilot. See how customers are deploying SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, learn about the latest product advancements, and find out how you can take your first steps today to lower costs and gain a more secure desktop computing environment.

Linux and Thin Client Computing

 IDC estimates that the Linux thin client market will nearly double by 2011, with devices based on Linux representing over 30 percent of all thin client shipments. As the Linux operating system of choice preloaded on leading thin computing devices from Wyse and Dell, learn how SUSE Linux Enterprise Thin Client enables enterprises to lower costs, improve security and capitalize on emerging desktop paradigms. These paradigms include server-based desktop virtualization from companies such as VMware and Citrix.

All You Should Know about OpenOffice.org Novell Edition

 OpenOffice.org Novell Edition, bundled with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and available for Microsoft Windows, is a full office productivity suite containing word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and database applications. Join us for this session as we highlight and demonstrate the latest innovative features, collaborative capabilities and interoperability opportunities that are available today and in the near future. Those who use OpenOffice.org Novell Edition will find tricks and tips for increased productivity, efficiency and collaboration capabilities within their business processes, their document processing system and document-based collaboration. Those who haven't used OpenOffice.org Novell Edition will discover why it is so easy to use, easy to learn and easy to choose. If you aren't using it, you should be. Come find out why.

Experience SUSE Linux Enterprise 11

 Learn about the innovation and business value that SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 delivers. Come hear about the capabilities of the industry's newest and most powerful enterprise platform and how it will help you reduce cost, complexity and risk from the desktop to the data center. Whether you are considering solutions for your mission-critical data center and UNIX migration, building out your virtualized infrastructure, looking at green IT enablers or seeking client computing solutions, we'll show you how SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 creates business value for all of these and more.

Update, Patch and Subscription Management for SUSE Linux Enterprise

 Novell Customer Center is an online interface that makes it easy to manage your business and technical interactions with Novell. From one location, you can review the status of all your Novell products, subscriptions and services-and obtain critical Linux updates and support. Novell Customer Center combines the innovative tools and automated services you need to ensure licensing compliance and reduce systems management costs. The Subscription Management Tool for SUSE Linux Enterprise is a package proxy system that helps you manage your SUSE Linux Enterprise software updates while maintaining corporate firewall policy and regulatory compliance requirements. The downloadable tool is integrated with Novell Customer Center and provides a repository and registration target that is synchronized with it, thus helping track entitlements in large deployments. Novell ZENworks Linux Management makes it easy to extend Linux within your existing environment. It uses policy-driven automation to deploy, manage and maintain Linux resources. Advanced policies let you control workstation and server settings as well as certain applications.

Endpoint Management

Migrating from Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management to Novell ZENworks Configuration Management

 Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management is the latest release from the famed ZENworks product family. This new architecture builds on the success of Novell ZENworks 7 Desktop Management, and carries the features and functionality into the future. This session will describe in detail the steps you need to take to migrate your existing ZENworks 7 Desktop Management infrastructure to ZENworks 10 Configuration Management, and how to be successful doing so.

Securing Your Endpoints Using Novell ZENworks Endpoint Security Management

 Endpoint security is one of the greatest concerns on the minds of senior management today. Protecting your data, and controlling how systems access resources is of the utmost importance. You must take actions to protect your infrastructure while ensuring your employees can continue to perform their jobs effectively and efficiently. Come to this session to learn how you can leverage the power of Novell ZENworks Endpoint Security Management across your enterprise, so you and the rest of your organization can sleep at night.

Securing Your Infrastructure Using Novell ZENworks Network Access Control

 How do you control what systems access your network and its resources? How do you ensure that the systems that connect to your network, or attempt to connect to your network, comply with your standards for security? Novell ZENworks Network Access Control is one of the latest additions to the ZENworks product family, and we have the answers to these and many more questions. Come to this session to learn how you can leverage the features of this product to ensure that systems that access your network are secure and compliant.

Advanced Application Management Using Novell ZENworks Configuration Management

 One of the number one reasons organizations deploy a systems management solution today is to control the deployment and releases of software across the entire enterprise. Come to this session to see what best practices Novell recommends when it comes to provisioning software and configuring endpoints. This session will go deep into how you can leverage the power of Novell ZENworks Configuration Management, and remove the manual administrative burden from your shoulders.

Software Distribution Using Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization

 Application virtualization is a very hot topic these days. Using this method to provision software to your endpoints allows you to control how software interacts with your systems, and helps applications avoid disrupting other software that is already installed. Come to this session and learn why Novell recommends you take advantage of this new set of features, and find out how you can quickly and easily start to virtualize your software.

Identity and Security

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Identity and Access Management

Introduction, Overview and Future: Novell Identity and Security Products

 Novell Identity and Security products are among the best in the industry. They help you manage the user identities spread across your organization; provision and de-provision access to systems and applications; protect those systems from unauthorized access; and deliver single sign-on for both non-Web and Web-based resources. Attend this session to get a brief overview of these products and to learn what you can expect in upcoming versions. This presentation will cover all of the Novell Identity and Security products, including Novell Compliance Management Platform, Novell Identity Manager, Novell Access Manager, Novell SecureLogin, Novell Sentinel, Novell Identity Audit, Novell Identity Assurance, Identity Manager Roles Based Provisioning Module and Novell Access Governance Suite.

Installing and Configuring Novell Access Manager 3.1

 Novell Access Manager 3.1 includes several enhancements that will help you strengthen the security of your applications and improve interoperability with your existing environment. These enhancements include an enterprise-mode SSL VPN, an improved administration interface, authentication levels and Kerberos-enabled background authentication. This session will help you plan a successful implementation, create a basic configuration and avoid potential pitfalls so you can begin taking advantage of the enhancements in Novell Access Manager 3.1.

Put Down the Sticky Note! Exploring Password Management Options

 Novell provides a number of options for helping you address the cost, hassle and risk associated with managing multiple passwords. In this session, the presenters will highlight password synchronization, self-service password reset, credential provisioning, Web single sign-on, and enterprise single sign-on. They'll discuss how these technologies can work together to create a more robust password management system or work as standalone products to address a specific password-related challenge. The discussion will also cover advanced authentication options like smart cards, biometrics and proximity cards. If you're still searching for a way to get a handle on password inflation, this is a session you should not miss.

How'd They Do That? Looking under the Hood of the Identity and Security Keynote

 If you're wondering how we do what we showed you during the Identity and Security keynote, then add this session to your schedule. The presenters will give attendees a behind-the-scenes look at how they set up and configured the Novell Identity and Security demonstration for the BrainShare keynote. In addition, presenters will answer questions about product integrations, overcoming technical challenges, tips for deploying a similar solution in a real-world setting and anything else that piques attendees' interest. Attending the Identity and Security keynote is a prerequisite for this session.

Compliance Management

Does the $7 Billion Dollar Man Work for You?

 On January 24, 2008, Societe Generale, the second-largest bank in France, announced that it had been the victim of a US$7 billion crime. In an announcement reported around the world, bank officials revealed that, over the course of several years, a rogue trader executed fraudulent transactions that cost the bank billions of dollars. According to company executives, it was the trader's knowledge of internal policies and process controls that had allowed him to hide the fraud for so long. Someone like this might work for you. Learn how you can avoid a US $7 billion mistake. Speaker: Nick Nikols, Vice President of Product Management, Novell, Inc.

Emerging Technologies

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Solutions Incubator

Mono ASP.NET and How to Scale Your.NET Applications

 Sponsored by Novell, the Mono open source project has an active and enthusiastic contributing community and is positioned to become the leading choice for development of Linux applications. ASP.NET is a Web application framework, developed by Microsoft, that programmers can use to build dynamic Web sites, Web applications and Web services. ASP.NET is built on the Common Language Runtime (CLR), allowing programmers to write ASP.NET code using any supported .NET language. Mono, which provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows and UNIX, has an implementation of ASP.NET 2.0. Come learn more about these outstanding technologies.

Community and Open Source

Discover SUSE Studio

 Over the last decade, computing platforms have evolved and proliferated to meet specific use case demands-appliances, cloud computing, mobile computing and thin clients, to name a few. Mass customization of hardware has enabled this proliferation through cost-effective construction of products that feel customized, but are based on standard and fully supported components. Customers are now demanding that software vendors provide the same kind of fully supported mass customization that they have come to expect from their hardware vendors. SUSE Studio meets this demand, enabling the mass customization of fully supported Linux. Come see SUSE Studio in action and learn how you can create software appliances and achieve the benefits of simplified deployment, easier maintenance and greater security for your next application deployment.

How the openSUSE Build Service Makes Your Software Production Easier and More Efficient

 The success of a software product is no longer dependent on the capabilities of a single engineer. Today, all parts of the process need to seamlessly mesh to ensure that a product or solution will be successful and accepted by the market. The openSUSE Build Service provides software developers with a fully automated, convenient and easy-to-use development platform to create and release open source software for openSUSE, other Linux distributions and Windows on different hardware architectures and for a broad user audience. Different hardware architectures such as x86, x86-64 and PowerPC are supported and can easily be added. With the openSUSE Build Service, you can easily find the latest open source packages you are looking for-and customize them. It provides a bridge between developers and users with feedback and rating functionality. For developers, it is an efficient place to build up groups and work together through its project model. The openSUSE Build Service integrates perfectly in your existing infrastructure and provides complete transparency for your software development. Come learn how you can optimize your software development process by using open source technology and the openSUSE Build Service.

Are You New to BrainShare?

If this is your first time to BrainShare, click here to find out what to expect. We've provided a simple step-by-step guide to aid you as you prepare for BrainShare 2010.

Program

BrainShare Sessions
 Call for session proposals will be open until November 13, 2009. >

Week at a Glance
 Wondering what to expect at BrainShare 2010? Here's all of the basic information you'll need to get the most out of your week at BrainShare. >

Training Passes
 Novell is pleased to announce the worldwide availability of its new BrainShare 2010 Training Pass program. >

IT Central
 This year there are some exciting new changes at BrainShare. Find out more about what we're calling IT Central. >


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