Scalable Infrastructures
May 5-6, 2003 in Denver, CO

conference overview
Infrastructures are the backbone we all take for granted, those things that surprise us by their absence rather than their existence. They are not static. Infrastructures evolve with their surroundings. Truly reliable infrastructures exist so transparently that specific knowledge about them is not needed to use them.

Today, there's more attention being paid to scalable infrastructures, especially ones that can support an increasingly large volume of e-transactions. Tomorrow, more questions will arise over how these infrastructures will be managed than about what specific technology is used. Scalable systems aren't perfect; they're fixable and flexible and are capable of growing to meet future demands. The difficulty arises when we're unable to accurately forecast where the systems will be deficient.

So what's the best way to build and manage these infrastructures of the future? We'll focus on the characteristics and benefits of scalable infrastructures, and what different approaches to scalability exist. Capacity will always be an issue. How significant an issue will it be? How will we know if something will or will not scale, and how can we cope with scaling limits? Architectures using modular design could prove beneficial, as could the combining of existing components. Can we get to the point where people won't distinguish between a device and the service it provides?

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speakers
Professor Yochai Benkler, Director, Engleberg Center for Innovation Law and Policy, New York University
Mr. Eric Blossom, Founder, GNU Radio
Dr. Eric Brewer, Co-founder and Chief Scientist, Inktomi Corp.
Dr. Bill Cheng, Co-founder, Bistro Project
Dr. Marc Goldburg, Chief Technology Officer, ArrayCom
Dr. Richard Green, President and Chief Executive Officer, CableLabs
Mr. Jeff Huber, VP Architecture, eBay
Mr. Dave Hughes, Partner, Old Colorado City Communications
Dr. M. Frans Kaashoek, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, MIT
Dr. Carl Kesselman, Director, USC Information Sciences Institute Center for Grid Technology
Dr. Douglas Van Houweling, President and CEO, University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development
Mr. Dave Winer, CEO, UserLand Software

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