[16:17] <carson> hello
[16:20] <Mathiasbk> b
[16:26] <Mathiasbk> hey
[17:29] <robbiew> o/
[17:29] <robbiew> don't want to be "tardy for the party"
[17:31] <jono> hi everyone!
[17:31] <jono> alrighty, I think we are nearly ready for the Q+A
[17:31] <jono> today we have an awesome guest
[17:31] <jono> he is Robbie Williamson who leads the Ubuntu Server Team
[17:31]  * robbiew also leads Foundations ;)
[17:31] <jono> so today feel free to ask all your questions about Ubuntu Server, the cloud, and the future :-)
[17:32] <ClassBot> Logs for this session will be available at http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2011/02/11/%23ubuntu-classroom.html following the conclusion of the session.
[17:32] <jono> ahhh
[17:32] <jono> couldnt speak for a second there :-)
[17:32] <jono> asking a question is simple:
[17:32] <jono> ask your questions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat and prefix every questions with 'QUESTION'
[17:32] <jono> e.g.:
[17:33] <jono> QUESTION: What new features are coming in Ubuntu Server in 11.04?
[17:33] <jono> I will cut and paste the questions in here for robbiew
[17:33] <jono> alrighty, let's give it a few minutes for you folks to add some questions and then lets get going
[17:35] <jono> come on folks, feel free to add your questions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat :-)
 Question: Any statistics of what % of EC2 instances run Ubuntu server?
[17:36] <jono> robbiew, ^
[17:36] <robbiew> a lot
[17:36] <robbiew> :)
[17:36] <robbiew> all joking aside
[17:37] <robbiew> Amazon doesn't reveal those numbers
[17:37] <robbiew> so it's hard for us to really say
[17:37] <robbiew> there are other organizations out there who attempt to count
[17:37] <robbiew> and we typically lead the pack
[17:38]  * robbiew will look for a juicy link
[17:39] <robbiew> jono: go ahead with the next question and I'll post the link when I find it
 Question: What in Ubuntu server differentiates it from other server distros?
[17:40] <robbiew> good question
[17:40] <robbiew> so for one, I'd point to the cloud infrastructure integration
[17:40] <robbiew> i.e. eucalyptus and soon-to-be openstack
[17:41] <robbiew> beyond that...we've recently started working on an infrastructure service suite
[17:41] <robbiew> called orchestra
[17:41] <robbiew> with the aim of making a sysadmins life easier
[17:41] <robbiew> in terms of everything he/she needs to do to get servers and services up and running fast
[17:41] <robbiew> across multiple machines
[17:41] <robbiew> http://launchpad.net/orchestra
[17:42] <robbiew> up until recently, we were focused on being Debian + security updates and regular cadence
[17:42] <robbiew> as Debian itself is a rock sold server platform
[17:42] <robbiew> but with the emergence of cloud, we've seen an opportunity
[17:43] <robbiew> beyond that, we are also looking at other architectures besides x86 and amd64
[17:43] <robbiew> where we feel a strong server presence helps us
[17:43] <robbiew> ARM for example is VERY interesting
[17:43] <robbiew> and we hope to partner with Linaro and the Ubuntu on ARM team to deliver something soon
[17:43]  * robbiew needs hardware first ;)
[17:48] <jono> robbiew, still there?
 question: any new cloudy things coming down the pipe?
[17:51]  * robbiew thinks 
[17:51] <robbiew> we also have some suite tools, like byobu
[17:51] <robbiew> but I'd be happy if other distros picked that up too
[17:51] <robbiew> and we have work on power management tools for servers...like PowerNap
[17:51] <robbiew> I could go on and on...feel free to email me and I can point you to a few places
[17:51] <robbiew> jono: next?
[17:51] <robbiew> jono:  hello? is this thing on :P
[17:51] <jono> I think we are having a few freenode server issues
[17:52] <jono> a lot of scrollback just appeared
 question: any new cloudy things coming down the pipe?
[17:52] <robbiew> "cloudy things"
[17:52] <jono> :-)
[17:53] <robbiew> well...zul
[17:53] <robbiew> that's an excellent question
[17:54] <robbiew> the easiest answer is "yes"...better integration with openstack....making sure folks can deploy clouds on their choice of infrastructure
[17:54] <robbiew> eucalyptus or openstack
[17:54] <robbiew> in term of running IN the cloud
[17:55] <robbiew> smoser has done some very cool things with cloud-init
[17:55] <robbiew> (I'm sure you can talk to him about this)
[17:55] <robbiew> given zul is on the Ubuntu Server team...I'll end there
[17:55] <robbiew> ;)
[17:56] <robbiew> if he doesn't know...we have a problem :P
[17:56] <robbiew> jono: next
 Question: Isn't 6 months release cycles for a server version just too fast? 3 years support and 5 yrs LTS support is also fine, but 6 months cycle sounds fast for server markets
[17:56] <robbiew> not if you run in the cloud
[17:56] <robbiew> were you could care less about what hardware you run on
[17:57] <robbiew> and you want the latest php or mysql support
[17:57] <robbiew> the way I see it, for server, we should build towards an LTS
[17:57] <robbiew> knowing most users will prefer an LTS, we should plan accordingly
[17:57] <robbiew> with each non-LTS being stable to stand-alone, but used as ways to introduce new features
[17:58] <robbiew> that can be tested for robustness with each successive release
[17:58] <robbiew> leading up to LTS
[17:58] <robbiew> so we should strive to push the newest stuff LTS+1 and gradually reduce the "riskiness" as we get closer to the LTS
[17:59] <robbiew> with the LTS dev cycle having most of its' focus on stabilizing what we have
[17:59] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: How does Canonical's interest and commitment differ from the server flavour?
[17:59] <robbiew> another Ubuntu Team question..nice
[17:59] <robbiew> will make this short
[18:00] <robbiew> Canonical is a business, and this aims to make money using Ubuntu Server as the core of it's service offerings around Server
[18:00] <robbiew> Ubuntu Server is a distro
[18:00] <robbiew> and aims to provide the best opensource has to offer for a server os
[18:00] <robbiew> free of charge
[18:00] <robbiew> ;)
[18:00] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: What are you doing to get applications like SAP certified on Ubuntu Server? Right now I have to use RedHat or SuSe.
[18:01] <robbiew> oh man...good one
[18:01] <robbiew> so this is where having Canonical as a backer of Ubuntu Server helps
[18:01] <robbiew> in order to be a REAL player in linux server, you need strong relationships with hardware providers
[18:01] <robbiew> like Dell, HP, IBM, etc
[18:02] <robbiew> ISVs support what the OEM's ship
[18:02] <robbiew> pretty simple
[18:02] <robbiew> so, that's why we were excited about Dell's recent announcement regarding the shipment of servers with Ubuntu installed
[18:03] <robbiew> targeted at cloud of course
[18:03] <robbiew> but to be the best cloud os, we need top notch hardware support
[18:03] <robbiew> I think the ISVs will begin to come soon...as Ubuntu grows in popularity in the cloud
[18:03] <robbiew> and more businesses start trusting their workloads in the cloud
[18:04] <robbiew> and more try to find cheaper ways to run...which means not wanting to pay license fees for every instance in the cloud
[18:04] <robbiew> Canonical is working VERY hard to partner with ISVs
[18:04] <robbiew> to help all this along
[18:04] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: Question: Are there plans to make landscape more affordable or open source. Or is there a good alternative?
[18:05] <robbiew> I don't no, as Landscape is a Canonical product developed outside my team
[18:06] <robbiew> depending on what your needs are, I think orchestra can be an alternative at some degree
[18:06] <robbiew> jono: next
 question: With the instability with Novel and SUSE, is there any plans to aggresively go after current potentially dissilusioned users?
[18:06]  * robbiew rushes a bit to answer as many ?s as possible
[18:07] <robbiew> absolutely
[18:07] <robbiew> I think we should at least try to support the same architectures
[18:07] <robbiew> to allow those users to migrate
[18:08] <robbiew> but that will take time
[18:08] <robbiew> re: architectres, specifically speaking about ppc and s390
[18:08] <robbiew> IBM platforms traditionally supported by SUSE (and  RHEL)
[18:09] <robbiew> but we still need to stay focused on cloud...where I feel things are transitioning to
[18:09] <robbiew> where the hardware becomes more of a commodity
[18:09] <robbiew> so I guess it's a balancing act
[18:09] <robbiew> to keep one eye on current landscape and the other on where we think it's moving to
[18:10] <robbiew> and choosing our features and strategic direction appropriately
[18:10] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: People ask me (surprisingly often) 'Why run Ubuntu when I can run Debian server?'. What's the 'Caononical' answer to that?
[18:10] <robbiew> heh
[18:11] <robbiew> I asked the same thing
[18:11] <robbiew> well for one, security updates
[18:11] <robbiew> now we do try to keep Debian updated with our updates...but we can't force them to
[18:12] <robbiew> and to be honest, the cloud integration, but for some...Debian is the answer
[18:12] <robbiew> now if you need support
[18:12] <robbiew> well...then I suggest Ubuntu Server, where you can get email and phone support from Canonical
[18:12] <robbiew> as well as engineering assistance to in deploying customized solutions
[18:12] <robbiew> Canonical sells a "service"...not a Server
[18:12] <robbiew> ;)
[18:13] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: People like Turnkey Linux are making lots of applicances based on Ubuntu Server. Is this something Canonical have considered, given a brand new server is
[18:13] <jono>  somewhat unexciting on its own?
[18:14]  * robbiew clearly needs to setup an interview with popey :P
[18:14] <robbiew> so, yes
[18:14] <robbiew> but I'm not the right person to ask
[18:15] <robbiew> Nick Barcet is the man you want to talk to ;)
[18:15] <robbiew> nijaba on IRC
[18:15] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: I am often asked for a webmin like system (but not webmin for historical reasons) for administering servers, to bring the admin overhead down and comparable with MS SBS. Something you're looking at?
[18:16] <robbiew> yup...orchestra will solve all your troubles :)
[18:16] <robbiew> well...not all
[18:16] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: Are there any plans for better official support for hardware management drivers and software of high-end servers, like IBM?
[18:18] <robbiew> yes, there are
[18:18] <robbiew> and that's all I can say now ;)
[18:18] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: is it possible to have an UI (gnome or kde) for Ubuntu Server ?
[18:19] <robbiew> ahh
[18:19] <robbiew> sure sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
[18:19] <robbiew> Server and Desktop share the same archive, so it's possible
[18:19] <robbiew> but we don't have any plans (of yet) to roll out a UI specifically for Server
[18:19] <robbiew> that of course could change tomorrow
[18:20] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION Is ubuntu server good for heavy hosting?
[18:20] <robbiew> "heavy hosting"
[18:21] <robbiew> you mean like wikipedia or something?
[18:21] <robbiew> yes
[18:21] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: What kind of paid Canonical customers tend to use Ubuntu Server and for what?
[18:21] <ClassBot> There are 10 minutes remaining in the current session.
[18:23] <robbiew> typically ones who either can't afford the license fees of other Linux server distros, but want support
[18:23] <robbiew> or need an OS that moves at a faster rate to support key hardware/software features they need
[18:24] <robbiew> tbh, I'm just an engineering manager...and i try to keep focused there
[18:24] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: Do you think that Ubuntu Server will turn into mainly a cloud distribution?
[18:25] <robbiew> no
[18:25] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: Do you have any ideas on how to encourage existing systems administrators to take part in the Ubuntu community and provide ideas and fixes to make servers easier to manage?
[18:26] <robbiew> first, as promised, in reference to the first question about EC2 statistics: http://thecloudmarket.com/stats#/by_platform_definition
[18:26] <ClassBot> There are 5 minutes remaining in the current session.
[18:26] <robbiew> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ServerTeam/GettingInvolved
[18:27] <robbiew> go there :)
[18:27] <robbiew> participate in #ubuntu-server
[18:27] <robbiew> join lists
[18:27] <robbiew> reach out
[18:27] <robbiew> email me...I'll get to it
[18:27] <robbiew> pretty good at keeping my email inbox low ;)
[18:27] <robbiew> jono: next
 Question: Are there any "products" for lined up for identity management, mangement of many servers (puppet), or other enterprise needs?
[18:28] <robbiew> I wouldn't say "product", but orchestra can do some of this
[18:28] <robbiew> https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/cloud-server-n-install-service
[18:28] <robbiew> describes our work on it
[18:28] <robbiew> and any member of the team can provide more details
[18:28] <robbiew> jono: next
 QUESTION: How good would Ubuntu Sever be for a cloud based startup company? Would it be a logical choice? Could it scale up well if our traffic gets big?
[18:29] <robbiew> last one
[18:29] <robbiew> absolutely
[18:29] <robbiew> check out www.atlantic.net ;)
[18:29] <robbiew> they host with Ubuntu
[18:30] <robbiew> jono: one more!
 QUESTION: Are there any plans to release Ubuntu One source code so we can use it on our servers?
[18:30] <robbiew> damn
[18:30] <robbiew> lol
[18:30] <robbiew> should have stopped while I was ahead :P
[18:30] <robbiew> so that's a completely different team
[18:30] <robbiew> outside of the Platform team even
[18:30] <robbiew> so I don't know
[18:31] <robbiew> but if they do....we'll pull it in and ship as fast as we can ;)
[18:31] <robbiew> promise
[18:31] <jono> :-)
[18:31] <jono> thanks robbiew
[18:31] <jono> ok, I think that is a wrao
[18:31] <jono> wwrap
[18:31] <jono> wrap
[18:31] <jono> erk
[18:31] <jono> thanks to everyone for your questions
[18:31] <robbiew> np
[18:31] <ClassBot> Logs for this session will be available at http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2011/02/11/%23ubuntu-classroom.html
[18:31] <jono> we do have some final outstanding questions
[18:32] <jono> hmmm
[18:32] <jono> ahhh I can still speak
[18:32] <jono> we do have some outstanding questions, robbie will follow up with a blog entry
[18:32] <jono> thanks, folks!
[18:34] <sebsebseb> jono: Now everyone can speak again.  The blog entry will be where?
[18:34] <jono> sebsebseb, on robbie's blog
[18:35] <sebsebseb> what's the link?
[18:35] <m4n1sh> jono: is it aggregated on planet?
[18:35] <jono> http://undacuvabrutha.wordpress.com/
[18:35] <sebsebseb> ok thanks :)
[18:35] <m4n1sh> thanks jono
[18:36] <jono> :-)
[20:12] <mo23116> s
[20:26] <savage24x> QUESTION Has there ever been a release with an actual GUI in 32-bit form? I would love to use ubuntu for my server instead of windows xp!
[20:57] <sergegagne> savage24x: All the desktop edition can be use has a server.  Server people just prefer to optimize resources an so tend to operate without a GUI
[20:59] <sergegagne> savage24x: BTW the GUI can be turn off by default and started only when you need it (try disabling gdm and use startx instead...)