Debian Conference 2014

Speaker: Alexandra Yates
In this talk we will do a reality-check in terms of the power consumption on off-the-shelve systems running “out of the box” Linux distributions. The goal is to prove how out-of the-box Linux distros on the latest commercial hardware is not optimal. We will demonstrate the steps needed to achieve optimal system power using various tools and analysis techniques including PowerTOP & Turbostat. Upon completion of the talk, the audience should understand the steps needed to properly configure an out of the box Linux distro to take advantage of the power features available on the latest Intel platforms.

Speaker: Roopa Prabhu
This talk introduces ifupdown2, a new network interface manager for Debian. ifupdown2 is a rewrite of ifupdown. It maintains backward compatibility with ifupdown. ifupdown2 is used on Cumulus Linux, a Debian based distribution for network switches. Existing tools for network interface configuration have several shortcomings when applied to network switches. These challenges include the lack of ability to handle interface dependencies, incremental updates to interface configuration without disruption, interface configuration validation and simplifying interface configuration in large scale deployments. The lack of such functionality increases operational burden. ifupdown2 attempts to solve these challenges through an implementation based on dependency graphs, querying running state before applying interface configuration, extensions to ifquery to support validation of interface configuration, templates for large scale cookie-cutter interface configurations, JSON support and more. ifupdown2 on github: https://github.com/CumulusNetworks/ifupdown2 ifupdown2 documentation on github: http://cumulusnetworks.github.io/ifupdown2/

Speaker: Josh Triplett
Let's look at a future Debian system, taking full advantage of systemd components and features. This presentation will take an entirely different approach from past discussions of systemd in Debian. Rather than thinking about how to avoid or replace individual components, we'll look at how they fit together, and what unique functionality they provide. Finally, after exploring this world of the future, we'll return to the present and discuss ways to enable smooth transitions. We'll also explore facilities in systemd that support easier and better integrated selection of components, both for system services and within user sessions. Technologies covered include journald, systemd-networkd, socket activation, timer units, containers, and systemd user sessions. Goals include reducing boot time, reducing duplicate configuration, improving system manageability, improving battery life, and unifying graphical session startup.

Speaker: Ben Hutchings
The Linux kernel is under rapid development. Stable releases are made around 5 times per year, each including many new features and support for new hardware. This talk will summarise the features that have been added and enabled in the last year. There have been many changes to Linux between 3.10 and 3.16. Some of these will require new or updated userland applications to take advantage of them. I will attempt to summarise the most interesting changes and the state of integration in Debian.