[Planetlab-announce] update

[Larry Peterson]

Just a brief update on recent events...

Over the last several weeks we have been moving operational
support for PlanetLab from Intel to Princeton. All the servers
(e.g., web, mail, boot, database) now run at Princeton, and
the Princeton team is answering most of the requests that come
into support (with the group at Intel still backing us up for
the next couple of months). At the same time, we have also been
transferring responsibility for various software components
(e.g., kernel, node manager, installer) to someone at Princeton.

In the process of this transfer, we have been thinking about how
the community can get more deeply involved in the development and
support of PlanetLab. A big part of the answer is to open the
system up as much as possible. Towards this end, the following
three efforts are in progress. (I can't claim that we are at the
point we would like to be, but we're getting close and should have
all the pieces in place shortly.)

1) We are consolidating all the PlanetLab source code and making
    it available on-line. See the "ToDo" and "Download" links on
    the left-hand nav bar at www.planet-lab.org. Our hope is that
    a larger set of developers start fixing bugs, adding features,
    and so on. Proposed changes to the PlanetLab infrastructure
    are typically discussed on either the "arch" mailing list, or
    one of the more narrowly-focused working group lists.

2) We are going to open up the support mailing list to any PlanetLab
    user that wants to join. Hopefully, this will help make support
    more scalable (by getting more people involved in answering
    questions), but also make PlanetLab operations more transparent.
    There is a lot for the community to learn in simply observing the
    kinds of requests that come into support. (More on exactly how
    this will work will be posted in the next few days.)

3) We are looking for volunteers to help maintain various PlanetLab
    web pages. To support this, we are reorganizing the content so
    independent pieces can be put in independent CVS repositories. If
    you're a whiz at documentation, tutorials, FAQs, or maintaining
    feature/bug lists, please speak up.

A couple other reminders:

   - It's not too late to register for the April 1st PlanetLab meeting
     in Palo Alto. See www.planet-lab.org/php/meetings.php

   - Please think about attending the May 14-15 PlanetLab meeting in
     Cambridge, UK. Same link as above.

   - Please sign and submit a Consortium membership application if
     you have not done so already. See www.planet-lab.org/consortium/

Larry