The LinuxWorld event in expert eyes

Article title: The LinuxWorld event in the eyes of experts. Linux is a technology channel of the IT lab in China. Includes basic categories such as desktop applications, Linux system management, kernel research, embedded systems, and open source.
The three-day LinuxWorld World exhibition was over, and the music was one after another. the exhibition hall was filled with shining lights. As a member, I participated in the entire presentation process, including the essence of which, of course, some unsatisfactory works. Here, I want to share with you what I have seen and heard.
　　
　　 The biggest surprise: the hardware family is huge.
　　
I didn't expect to see so much hardware on the Expo. LinuxWorld is a heavy metal display this year. Many of the booths display large LinuxWorld servers, most of which are AMD64-bit-based Opteron dual-core chips. I have just built an Athlon 64-chip home server. I think this is enough to surprise everyone.
　　
The exhibition also showed some hardware storage devices that support Linux, such as Linux operating systems using NAS (network-attached storage) or SAN (storage area network. In general, these products are very cost-effective.
　　
The most outstanding hardware company in the day was BlackDog. It shows a Linux server, which is similar to a card pair, connected to a PC through a USB interface. now the PC can be used as a monitor and becomes a small laptop.
　　
The BlackDog machine is displayed on the local area network, and other network devices can see the fast server! I personally think it is very charming: the USB interface is used to "generate power" and an ecosystem card reader is carried next to it. I don't know how to use it, but it provides a platform for many lab applications.
　　
　　 Cool: rich quasi-enterprise software
　　
Linux is software, so it is not surprising that the software has appeared in this exhibition. However, the number of quasi-enterprise application software displayed has brought a small surprise. Here are some of my favorites.
　　
Astaro integrates many independent open-source security products into an integrated security system, which may be said to be an improvement. This integrated security system includes firewall, VPN, intrusion protection, anti-spam and anti-virus, and management console. In addition, it is very competitive and the price is impressive, therefore, I want to purchase such a product for my own company. This product is also available in the form of appliances, which makes IT very suitable for IT companies.
　　
I was impressed by the Coraid and AoE manufacturers. The AoE protocol allows Ethernet connection to the hard drive. So what are the benefits? It can create a SAN at no cost and avoids complex fiber channel or iSCSI technologies. In fact, this allows machines to write data using low-level Ethernet protocols and standard NIC cards. For me, this enables SMB to have similar SAN functions, which were previously impossible for SMB.
　　
Now you may ask: why is the Coraid hardware written in the software section of the article? Because Coraid releases the AoE protocol as a public standard for everyone to use. In addition, 2.6 kernel is supported for AoE, which means you can use it now. In such an era of digital information explosion, such solutions seem to be the real winners. Another trend shown at the Expo is the commercialization of open-source products. For example, EnterpriseDB commercialized PostgreSQL to provide support for Oracle interfaces and functions. In other words, it is a transparent open source migration platform. A total of 55 engineers developed the product, which was a huge investment even if many of them stopped the work.
　　
On the day of the conference, I met a person preparing to start a business. his company planned to use PostgreSQL as a log file analysis library. He only has his own business card and only has time to prove whether they can rely on these real operations. However, their efforts prove the strength of open source and the huge potential of resource access.
　　
One thing that hasn't made me crazy is that there aren't many companies that trust open source code, because they have already invested in Linux. What kind of big transaction is this?
　　
If more software companies announce adoption of Linux support, I think this is truly exciting. For many IT users, the ability to cross the door of such an app means that they can be close to Linux. Unfortunately, most companies that use Linux support on LinuxWorld are still skeptical about it. I think I can only hope for the future.
　　
　　 Minimal surprise: dominant IT staff
　　
Unlike LinuxWorld in the past, most people seem to be wearing IT staff in mainstream companies, but in the past, they were dominated by people with nose loops and strange hair. As far as I have heard, most visitors want practical open-source information, which is provided by conservative vendors.
　　
It seems that LinuxWorld has reached a turning point. Traditional interest in IT is approaching, and enthusiasm for pure open source code is about to decline. Therefore, LinuxWorld will focus more on commercial application software in the future.
　　
　　 Biggest disappointment: discrimination and isolation against. org
　　
The. org booth was evicted to the upper-floor box so that many participants did not notice its existence. I think this seems to convey such a message that. org is not important. I think that the. org booth should be placed in the center of the main venue, but the planner gave such an important large venue to the PC.
　　
Even if the dominant group involved in LinuxWorld changes, non-commercial. org is also very important to it. Both Linux and Open Source rely on the strength of this group and their obligations. it is a huge mistake to expel them to another place. Without this group and open-source licenses that are closely related to and promote each other, LinuxWorld is just a reheated UnixWorld. who would like to attend such an exhibition?
　　
　　 The most strange phenomenon: exhibition stand actors
　　
On the morning of the first day of the exhibition, the exhibition hall door was not opened yet. I bought a cup of coffee. at this time, I saw a person wearing a T-shirt with a famous IT logo. We now call this company XYZ. I asked him what he was doing in the company. He told me that he was actually an actor and was hired to stand at the booth to introduce the improved video instruments.
　　
This actor looks like a middle-level cadre like a product marketing manager. he is a real man-made technical director with medium height, eyes on the frame, and a humble attitude.
　　
I know that many dealers hire beautiful women to stand in front of their booth, hoping to attract more men at this technical exhibition. But I don't know that this kind of trick has another version. it's really old and I learned it!