So what's the different between a Solaris Boot Camp, a Solaris Deep Dive (aka Boot Camp II), and a Solaris Workshop ? The question comes up frequently, so here is how I approach each of these different events.

A Solaris Boot Camp is a thorough overview of Solaris 10, much more complete than you might get in a typical customer briefing that is usually limited to 45 minutes or so.

A Boot Camp agenda might look something like

• Operating System Strategy and Update
• Dtrace Overview & Demo
• Solaris Containers Overview & Demo
• Predictive Self Healing (SMF & FMA)
• Role Based Access Control (RBAC) and Process Rights
• ZFS

Each of these topics is generally limited to 30 minutes, so the discussions lean towards concepts: from a practical perspective to be sure, but concepts nontheless. The idea is that this is a good way to be exposed to the vast technology set that we call Solaris. It also makes the Deep Dive (aka Boot Camp II) more interesting as we can dispense with the concepts, for the most part.

So that brings us to the Deep Dive. A typical agenda looks like

• Overview of Solaris 10
• Solaris 10 Performance Features
• Migration of a Legacy RC service to an SMF managed service
• Server Consolidation with Solaris Containers including Best Practices for Container Use
• Solaris Dynamic Tracing (DTrace) Overview
• DTrace Performance Scenarios (aka How to use Dtrace in the real world)

Each of these discussions are a bit longer, 45 minutes to as long as 90 minutes for the combined Dtrace overview and use cases. With the expanded time and the assumption that this follows a Boot Camp, we jump right into the details. For example, the Service Management Facility (SMF) module is a complete migration of a legacy service - which makes sense if you understand the concepts of SMF.

So what's this thing called a Workshop ? It builds on the Deep Dive and goes farther, potentially much farther. For each Deep Dive modules there is a corresponding one day Workshop session. These are highly interactive and best done in a hands-on lab environment where each participant has their own system. It does not replace instructor led training and it will not adequately prepare you for passing the Solaris Cerification exam, but the modules are designed to help customers understand how to take advantage of key Solaris technologies.

So now you know what to expect when a Solaris Boot Camp or Deep Dive comes to a city near you. We hope to see you at a future event.

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