June 12 - The Evolution of System Administration with NetActuate and TriLUG Elections!
2025-06-08Topic: The Evolution of System Administration with NetActuate and TriLUG Elections!
Presenter:
When: Thursday, 12 June 2025 - 7:30 to 9:00pm
Where: North Carolina College of Textiles, room 2207 at 1020 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh NC, 27606
Parking: There is an underground parking deck next to the College at the Monteith Engineering Parking Deck. Parking is free after 5 PM. Detailed parking instructions can be found at https://trilug.org/meetings/
Map: Google Maps
Video: Will not be Recorded
Summary:
As technology infrastructure evolves, so too does the role of the system administrator. What was once a role defined by hands-on hardware management and server uptime has grown into a dynamic, automation-driven, and highly strategic discipline. In this talk, Craig Jackson from NetActuate explores the transformation of system administration from traditional break-fix and maintenance tasks to modern expectations that include infrastructure as code, cloud orchestration, cybersecurity awareness, observability, and cross-team collaboration. We'll examine how the rise of DevOps culture, containers, and platform engineering has reshaped not just the tools sysadmins use, but also the mindset required to stay effective and relevant. This session is both a retrospective and a call to action: to embrace adaptability, continuous learning, and the shift from "keeping the lights on" to becoming infrastructure architects and enablers of innovation.
A lifelong Linux and Unix enthusiast, Craig got his start as a hobbyist in his adolescence, eventually working in dial-up internet support through the 90s and early 2000s. During college, he interned at a healthcare hosting company, where he deepened his understanding of infrastructure and real-world operations. He later took a career turn into healthcare, stepping away from tech for a time. When he returned to the internet world, he found a landscape transformed—where scripts became pipelines, servers became containers, and sysadmins became automation engineers. Now established in the cloud networking and DevOps world @ NetActuate, he's been on a continual path of rediscovery, bridging old-school fundamentals with modern infrastructure requirements.
TriLUG Elections are upon us!
Due to various circumstances, the TriLUG Steering Committee Elections were postponed from the May meeting until the June.
TriLUG elections are upon us! TriLUG needs YOU to help with the week to week operations and steer the direction of TriLUG for the next year (May - May). As described in About Steering, there are 5 positions:
- Chair
- Vice Chair
- Treasurer
- PR Officer
- SysAdmin
Candidates do not run for a specific position, but to become a member of the overall Steering Committee.
Together, the individuals elected to these positions do things like:
- Curate speakers for monthly meetings
- Manage TriLUG infrastructure/services
- Coordinate on various TriLUG concerns
Please fill out the form at Nomination Form to put yourself or another as a nominee on the ballot. During the meeting, we will vote on the top 5 nominees who will then become the new Steering Committee for 2025-2026. There will be a lot of challenges in the upcoming year, but there will be ample opportunity to network with others and grow community organization skills.
The Talk:
Watch this space! The TriLUG Steering Committee is working on finalizing speaker details for the June meeting. The description and title of this meeting will change once details are confirmed.
As usual, pizza and beverages will be provided and the meeting will be held at the North Carolina College of Textiles, room 2207, 1020 Main Campus
Drive, Raleigh NC, 27606 at 7:30 PM.
Please sign up using the Meetup link so that an accurate headcount can be gathered for pizza and drinks. That link is: TriLUG Meetup
Note that TriLUG meetings start at 7:30 PM this year due to a change in venue availability. Please adjust accordingly
There is an underground parking deck next to the College at the Monteith
Engineering Parking Deck. Parking is free after 5 PM.
Call for speakers and topics
We are always looking for potential speakers! If you or someone you know would like to present on a topic please let us know. Contact the TriLUG Steering Committee by email at steering@trilug.org