CJ Fearnley

I recently finished Stanford’s excellent free on-line course Introduction to Databases with Jennifer Widom. The course is a broad survey of database technology including XML, Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) from many angles (SQL forms the centerpiece of the course), OLAP (OnLine Analytical Processing) and NoSQL. I was very impressed with the breadth of Widom’s approach to the subject: it was a major reason I decided to spend time on the course. Another strength is its nuts-n-bolts approach: some theoretical topics are covered but for the most part this is a course for practitioners. Finally, I particularly appreciated the extensive use of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) in the course. Why study databases? I will merely say that data is a core tool pervading the information resources of modern civilization. Databases are where data is housed. Fo... (more)

Cluster Services Built With FOSS

Built on the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) model for cluster deployments, LinuxForce staff has been hard at work over the past months developing and deploying LinuxForce Cluster Services built upon exclusively FOSS technologies and on December 15th we put out a press release: Announcing LinuxForce Cluster Services In September Laird Hariu wrote the article “File Servers - The Business Case for High Availability” where, in addition to building a case to use clusters, he also briefly outlined how Debian and other FOSS could be used to create a cluster for a file server. File ser... (more)

File Servers - The Business Case for High Availability

Introduction You have probably heard of high availability transaction processing servers.  You have most likely read about the sophisticated systems used by the airlines to sell tickets online.  They have to be non-stop because downtime translates to lost orders and revenue.  In this article I will discuss the economics of using non-stop technologies for everyday applications.  I will show that even ordinary file sharing applications can benefit from inexpensive Linux based Pacemaker clustering technology. Availability Goal What is our availability goal?  Our goal should be to tak... (more)

Fosscon 2011 Keynote Video and Slides

The video of Elizabeth Krumbach Keynoting at Fosscon in Philadelphia Saturday 23 July 2011 is now on-line: Direct link to video on youtube. The slides are not visible in the video, you can view or download them at slideshare.net: http://www.slideshare.net/pleia2/getting-involved-withfossfosscon ... (more)

Elizabeth Krumbach Keynoting at Fosscon in Philadelphia Saturday 23 July 2011

LinuxForce Systems Administrator, Elizabeth Krumbach will deliver the keynote address this Saturday, 23 July 2011 at FOSSCON. Her talk entitled “Make a Difference for Millions: Getting Involved with FOSS” will help attendees better understand how to contribute to the greater good by participating more actively in FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). FOSSCON will be held at Basekamp, 723 Chestnut street, 2nd floor; Philadelphia, PA. The doors open at 8 AM on Saturday. Elizabeth’s talk starts at 10 AM. The other talks follow her keynote. A listing of speakers at FOSSCON and the s... (more)