Note We will be holding our annual Steering Committee elections at the very start of the meeting.

Summary In this talk, I will cover how you can create your very own lab for both testing and learning new platforms using freely available software. I want to share with everyone a way that you can have your very own test lab at home for little to no money. With this project, you can brew your own lab at home or work with only one "server" allowing you to test many OSes and networking configurations. I will discuss topics including: Why do a Home Brew Lab? What kind of hardware to you need? What virtualization platform? What kind of networking? I will also provide ideas on how to obtain hardware at reduced and sometimes no cost. I will present methods of acquiring various type of OS and software including VMWare, KVM, and Hyper-V. I will also discuss the implications of the licensing for each product.

Bio Mike Canada is an Engineer/Account Manager at Deal Consulting providing IT Support for small to medium businesses in the Triangle. In his own words... I have over 30 years of experience in IT ranging from mainframes to PC’s to mobile devices. I cut my teeth in Linux on Slackware in the mid 90’s. I have been using Linux as a hobbyist ever since and I am currently working on Linux Certification. I have a B.S. degree in Computer Science from James Madison University. I have the unique experience of having worked in federal, private, non-profit, and entrepreneurial endeavors.

May-11 Meeting Announcements Slides