This is a duplicate of a blog I authored for SUSE, originally published at the SUSE Blog Site.
In a few days, Stackers will congregate in beautiful Barcelona, Spain to kick off the bi-annual OpenStack Summit and User Conference, the 14th of its kind.
On the heels of the recent OpenStack Newton launch, we will see a wide variety of people, backgrounds, industries, and skill sets represented, all focused on learning about, sharing best practices on, and working on the future of OpenStack.
There are many great sessions, workshops, and evening events happening at the summit this coming week, but three in particular that I want to highlight.
OpenStack Board of Directors Meeting
Did you know that, since OpenStack is an open community, the OpenStack Foundation board meeting is open for members to attend and listen in to the discussion? It’s great for members to have this level of access , so take advantage of the openness built into the OpenStack community, and take a listen.
While there are some portions of the meeting that will be a closed session (rightly so), most of the meeting you’ll hear about progress in specific initiatives, comments on new members to the community, and hear back on future directions.
It’s a great experience that more of our members need to participate in, so I highly recommend it to members. You can check out the planned agenda and WebEx details here.
OpenStack Ops Meetup
I mentioned the OpenStack operator community in my last blog (“Renewing Focus on Bringing OpenStack to the Masses”), and how I feel strongly about championing the cause of the operators out there.
While many of us are focused on code design, quality, new projects, etc, the operators are tasked with implementing Openstack. This involves the day-to-day effort of running OpenStack clouds, which include readying IT environments for OpenStack deployments, first hand implementation of the project, the ongoing maintenance and upgrade aspects of the cluster, and being driven by a specific business goal they will be measured by.
At this Summit, the Operators will be hosting an Ops Meetup to get into the meat of OpenStack Ops. Now this stands to be an intense, down-in-the weeds discussion – not for the faint of heart! 
So if you are among the many tasked with getting OpenStack operational in your environment, head on over and get to know your peers in this space, swap stories of what works well, share best practices, and make connections you can stay in touch with for years to come.
Learn more about the Ops Meetup here.
Certified OpenStack Administrator (COA)
Are you aware that you can now be CERTIFIED as an OpenStack Admin?
The COA is an exam you can take to prove your ability to solve problems using both command line and graphical interfaces OpenStack, demonstrating that you have mastered a number of skills required to operate the solution.
At OpenStack Summit, there are a few COA activities occurring that you should be aware of:
- COA 101. Anne Bertucio and Heidi Bretz of the OpenStack Foundation will be hosting a 30min beginner-level session on the topic of COA, touching on the why / what / how relating to the COA exam. (More info here.)
- COA booth. The Foundation Lounge at the Summit will feature an area dedicated to learning more about the COA. A variety of OpenStack community volunteers will be pitching in to answer questions, find trainings, and even sign up for the COA. I plan on helping out on Wednesday right after the morning keynotes, so stop by and let’s chat COA.
- COA exams. If you’re ready now to take the exam, head on over to https://www.openstack.org/coa/ and get the details on when you can take the exam. The world needs Certified OpenStack Admins!
(PS – If you need help with some prep, SUSE’s happy to help there – click here to get details on COA training from SUSE.)
I’m looking forward to a great week of re-connecting with a number of you I haven’t seen in some time, so if you’re out at Barcelona, look me up – I’d love to hear what OpenStack project you’re working on, or learn about how you are implementing OpenStack, or where I can help with places OpenStack can further help you in your business objectives.
See you in Barcelona!
JOSEPH
@jbgeorge
