FreeBSD Developer Summit

University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory Cambridge, UK August 15 - 18, 2008

The invitation-only FreeBSD Developer Summit took place at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory in Cambridge, UK between 15 August and 18 August, 2008. Key topics of discussion included operating system virtualization, access control, and the FreeBSD 8.0 release. Advanced registration was required in order to attend; a registration fee of £35.00 was charged in order to cover meals and facilities. Accommodation was at King's College Cambridge.

Most attendees arrived in Cambridge on Wednesday 13 August or Thursday 14 August, depending on their tolerance for jet lag and desire to see sites before the summit began. Most attendees departed Tuesday 19 August.

Official residence for the developer summit was at King's College Cambridge. Additional options included a number of hotels and bed-and-breakfasts in Cambridge. There is an enjoyable 15-30 minute walk from most residence venues to the developer summit; a frequent bus runs on weekdays, less frequently on weekends, from the city centre to the West Cambridge Site. Taxis are also available.

Cambridge, UK is located approximately 45 minutes North of London by train, with easy access by bus or train to St. Pancras International - Eurostar (45m rail), London Stansted Airport (40m rail), London Heathrow Airport (LHR - 2h rail), London Gatwick Airport (LGW - 2h rail), Manchester Airport (MIA - 4h rail), London Luton Airport (1h25m bus). European attendees may consider Eurostar or Stansted Airport preferred routes due to short transit time to Cambridge and lower prices. Visitors from the US or elsewhere will likely need to travel into one of London's major international airports, such as Heathrow or Gatwick. With the exception of Luton Airport, rail offers a more convenient but more expensive route to Cambridge than bus.

Please note: during the summer, rail service in and out of Cambridge is often significantly disrupted on Sundays due to rail works on the track between London Kings Cross and Camridge. Attendees are encouraged to avoid the need to travel by rail on Sundays.

Registration has closed, and rooms at King's have been booked. If you have not yet contacted RobertWatson with your registration details, please do so ASAP. We anticipate around 20 participants.

(sorted by last name)

Developers were welcome to invite guests to attend the developer summit, subject to their tolerance for ceaseless hours of kernel-hacking, and availability of space at the venue.

Residence was arranged at King's College, Cambridge, and was available in the form of single en suite rooms with breakfast included at a rate of £58.00 per night including 17.5% VAT. All bookings were required by 1 August, 2008.

A number of items were on the agenda for the developer summit:

• Discuss and hack on network stack and other subsystem virtualization code.
• Present and record short talks to make available via the web site or Google Video.
• Features for FreeBSD 8.0-RELEASE.
• A new kernel and userspace privilege model.
• Punting to Grantchester.

Unless otherwise indicated, events took place in FW26 on the first floor of the William Gates Building; other rooms were available for break-out sessions, etc. Outside of regular office hours, the building requires a keycard to access, so developers arrived by 10:00am to be let into the building, or call RobertWatson on his mobile to be let in.

Lunch was included in the £35 registration fee for attendees, and provided on-site at the Computer Laboratory. Breakfast was available at hotels or residences. Dinners were not included in the registration or room fees. Cambridge is well-equipped with pubs and restaurants catering to a variety of tastes and budgets.

Developers arrived over the course of the day, but nothing formal was planned. Some of us met up at the Eagle, just around the corner from King's College, starting at around 7:00pm for dinner/drinks.

First day of the developer summit, starting at around 10:00am in FW26, the William Gates Building. Lunch was provided for registered attendees.

Second day of the developer summit, started around 10:00am in FW26, the William Gates Building. Lunch was provided for registered attendees.

Third day of the developer summit, including a social activity, punting on the Cam, followed by lunch and afternoon hacking.

Final day of the developer summit, starting at around 10:00am in FW26, the William Gates Building. Lunch was provided for registered attendees.

Possibly useful Google map of Cambridge and environs

20080812-cambridge-map.pdf Downloadable PDF map of Cambridge and Developer Summit sites

• Visit Cambridge
• National Rail
• National Express (bus)
• BAA Airports