Red Hat Summit First Timer’s Guide (Part 1)

This is the first part of a two-part Summit guide. Part two is at this link.

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Practical Tips

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The Red Hat Summit is an amazing annual event that alternates between San Francisco CA and Boston MA. You can register online, and the earlier you register, the more money you will save.

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This quote from Red Hat gives a focus for the 2020 Red Hat Summit:

“Red Hat Summit is the premier open source technology event for thousands of IT professionals to innovate and focus on high-performing Linux, cloud, automation and management, container, and Kubernetes technologies.”

https://www.redhat.com/en/summit

There are numerous guides for planning your agenda and getting the most out of the Red Hat Summit. My guide has tips on what to bring, and daily things that at least made my day-to-day time there go easier. Some of this may help, other tips maybe not.

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Making the Most of the Summit

I’ve lived in San Francisco years ago and know some things about the city. I have been to three San Francisco Red Hat Summits. Each one has been an amazing experience. The summit was a wonderful time to meet so many amazing people and experiencing technologies, hands-on learning sessions while having a lot of fun.

Here is a well-thought-out guide with a different focus than mine written by Joe Brockmeier of Red Hat. His quote below is worthwhile:

For many people, Red Hat Summit is an annual ritual. A chance once again to catch up on Red Hat’s plans for the year, learn about new technologies, see colleagues and friends, and make new acquaintances. (Joe Brockmeier, Red Hat)

https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/first-timers-guide-red-hat-summit

The Introvert’s guide also offers fantastic tips for the Summit, including arriving early for whatever sessions you’ve signed up for.

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Restaurants

There are a variety of amazing restaurants for almost any food you wish in San Francisco. One example is The Grove where I found this impeccable pastrami sandwich in 2018 while having lunch with other Red Hat Accelerators members…

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Rent a Car or not?

• I found it much more practical to walk around while at the Summit than having a car. Everything I need is right around the location of the Summit and using a car would be very impractical and excessively expensive for parking.
• I rented a car at my first Summit in 2014, yet I never used the rental car except to and from the airport. I had to pay about $220.00 USD total for daily parking at the hotel during my stay.
• I used a taxi/Lyft/Uber/etc for subsequent Summit trips and saved money. Evaluate the various transportation services prior to arrival to San Francisco.
• Consider installing the phone app for Uber/Lyft/Curb/Muni/etc app prior to arrival.
• Read into each of the travel services to understand how to verify if the car approaching you is really your ride or not to keep yourself safe. It’s a good idea even at least to avoid confusing someone else’s ride with your own.
• The Red Hat Summit FAQ page has a section on where to park your car while at the Summit.

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Hotels Near and Farther

The best deals for immediately nearby hotels are offered during summit registration. Generally, the the hotels closer the Summit are more expensive but nice. A diligent search using Google, Kayak, Yelp will yield other options for those wanting to save some money. You might sacrifice the convenience of being directly nearby perhaps, perhaps not.

Please see the good tip in the comments below by jgkootstra where he mentions the option of cheaper hotels, even if it is more of a walk. One example is Hotel EPIK (Google currently cites Hotel EPIK as permanently closed however you can apparently get rooms there according to the reviews at Yelp and TripAdvisor). If you take a hotel outside the immediate area, you could use the money you saved to take a taxi/Lyft/Uber or one of the scooters, bikes to get around too if you want an even cheaper price. Examine reviews for places you stay at with Yelp and TripAdvisor. Some reviews are more helpful than others.

• If you want a hotel within walking distance to the Summit, by all means, plan on booking a hotel while you register for the Summit.
• Red Hat makes arrangements with the closest hotels and these are the best nearby deals available. In my first Summit, I did not book a hotel with the Summit Registration. I now pick one of the hotels Red Hat suggests during the online registration.
• Consider arriving at least one day early. You will have more time to enjoy and see the sights of San Francisco, to get settled, acquire necessities and even take advantage of early site-registration to get your Summit Event Pass.
• Read about the available amenities at your hotels to know what useful services they offer. Some may charge you for WiFi, some won’t. Some will give it for free if you register for their membership program. Most will do laundry for a price and deliver it to your room when it’s done.
• There are numerous stores to get the things you need, be it groceries, nail-clippers, shaving supplies, electronic supplies, shoelaces, personal necessities and so forth.
• Amazon.com will deliver your orders to nearby lockers in the city. Some sources I found say that Amazon will deliver to your hotel, but make sure to make arrangements with the Hotel’s front desk.

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Site Registration & Sessions

• Red Hat allow you to pick your sessions in advance after online registration. The most popular sessions fill up fast, sign up for sessions, classes, events early!
• The day before the Summit, you can pick up your 2020 Summit Pass, Sunday April 26th at the “Pre-Summit” at the Moscone South Lobby Level from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. I did this one year, it was helpful to have this taken care of early.
• There is a First Timer’s Reception Sunday, April 26th at Moscone South, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

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Walking is good

• Have comfortable shoes for walking while at the Summit. The Summit is located across three major buildings comprising the Moscone Center.
• There is plenty of walking involved in exploring the sessions you pick, and all the Summit has to offer.
• Everything you need is within walking distance, and most people walk to and from all the sessions and around the city for what they need. Walking is good exercise too.
• There are a lot of wonderful foods available at the Summit, and also nearby. Getting your steps in by walking everywhere will help you curb some of the deliciousness you’ll experience.

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Things to bring

• Did I mentioned bring comfortable shoes? A previous Summit attendee reminded me of this point again because they didn’t.
• The site named herpackinglist.com looks comprehensive, especially the Ultimate Female Travel Packing List.
• Know what you can bring on a plane if you are flying. See the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) website for all the details.
• TSA-approved travel-sized bottles – If you’re traveling carry-on only, you’ll need a few little bottles to pack your liquids. This set has every type of bottle you could need, all small enough to fly.
• Noise-canceling headphones really make a difference when you are on a airplane with really persistently noisy distractions. This can make the difference for me between a somewhat restful flight or not.
• Consider having movies downloaded to a phone or tablet if you are taking a flight. Another good thing to have is is a Kindle e-reader loaded with your books which fits nicely in a jacket and stores hundreds of books.
• You can try to pack smarter for your trip by having an idea of the usual seasons and weather for the time of year you visit San Francisco.
• San Francisco’s weather can be unpredictable. The locals describe “microclimates”, (one part of the city may have different weather than another). A local scientist wrote a nice list of things to bring with the unusual weather you can experience.
• Bring at least a lightweight jacket, maybe one that can take rain. You can buy one at nearby stores. They sell jackets and hoodies of various types at the Red Hat Cool Stuff store. Some vendors give away pull-over hoodies.
• A hat, sunglasses and sunblock are good if you are outside seeing the sights. I forgot a hat and was cooked while photographing the city over the weekend. You can get hats from the Red Hat stores and the vendors give them away.
• Parts of the Bay Area charge for coffee cups, so consider bringing your own mug. The Red Hat store sells a variety of nice coffee cups including the amazing Contigo spill proof cups at the Summit.

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Have an Electronics Charge Plan

• Traveling will place a heavy drain on phone and tablet batteries. I always see people gathered around wall outlets at airports and at the Summit. Having charged power banks available can liberate your from being chained to a wall for power.
• Be careful in airports against known fraudulent scam charging stations that will attempt to steal your private information. Here’s another warning on this topic.
• I recommend having a few decent power banks to charge cell phones/tablets. Have these prior to travel because people will snap up the ones in the nearby stores.
• Have the necessary power converters for your devices in advance if you are traveling from overseas.
• Bring a multi-port USB wall charger to charge your devices at night at your hotel. Remember to bring extra cords you need to charge all your devices.
• Have your charging cables readily accessible when traveling and at the Summit.
• My new phone was draining fast until I adjusted the settings to reduce the power drain. These settings vary from one phone to another.
• Turn off location services for any apps that do not require it or limit it to only while the app is in use.

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During the Summit

• Red Hat has a cell phone app to keep track of your agenda and the sessions you’ve signed up for. You can connect with other people and share your contact info with others you have met, or not.
• You will receive a nice backpack during initial site registration at the Summit. You will find many things in the bag including a water bottle. Have a unique sticker in advance to put on the water bottle they give you because everyone has the same bottle and it’s easy to get them mixed up.
• The vendors will give away a lot of fun swag, T-shirts and more. There are hands-on labs you can do on-demand. The bag Red Hat gives you will get full fast and can become quite heavy. Consider a smaller roll-around suitcase/bag to take the strain off of your shoulder. You can carry your tablet or laptop and other things without taking a toll against your neck and shoulders.
• This list here might be overkill, but evaluate what may be useful for you.

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Throughout the Day

• Consider making a trip to your hotel to unload vendor swag or heavy items you may not want to carry all day long.
• There are daily use lockers with locks that you can rent for free in the Moscone West building on the first floor. The lockers even have chargers inside.
• Keep your daily agenda in mind throughout the day and prepare yourself to know where the next session will be so you can get there with a plan in mind.
• Red Hat has a “Cool Stuff” store where there are lots of shirts, jackets, hats, and other things to buy. They even have some nice electronics. If you’re going to buy shirts, you could potentially pack less clothing and wear the shirts you buy.
• There is usually a $20.00 USD coupon you can earn for the Red Hat store if you go around and get a bunch of stamps from vendors and places within the Summit. It doesn’t take too long to complete; I used mine against a button-down shirt I wanted that was on sale.

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City Safety

• Traffic is busy in San Francisco. Use caution, use the crosswalk and wait for the light.
• Crime is an issue in San Francisco. There are some basic tips to keep yourself safe.
• Safety tips generally boil down to not being distracted, being aware of your surroundings and the people all around you. Make sure to your belongings, zip up your bags and pockets.
• Be wary of those that offer distractions which can be a ploy for an accomplice to take advantage (theft) of your misdirected attention.
• Do not leave your cell phone or electronics unattended. Imagine all the personal information you’d risk if you lost your phone.
• Turn on biometric safeguards on your phone and have Two Factor Authentication (2FA) established for email, banking and financial apps, and social media, and any app with sensitive information.
• Consider  turning on “find-my-phone” and remote wiping features on your phone. Perform routine backups on your phone.
• Consider a VPN and be wary of fake WiFi spots as mentioned in this article.
• Most people don’t experience crime, but it happens. Avoid becoming a statistic by being circumspect as you walk with your belongings. Be aware of everything, don’t look like an easy mark. Secure your pockets that have valuables or wallets.
• A current Google search of “cell phone theft San Francisco” will yield current relevant examples of the issue of cell phone theft San Francisco.

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Fantastic Foods

• Your Summit pass includes daily catered food that is pretty amazing considering the volume of people they serve. They have daily breakfast and Lunch.
• Evening food is available in the vendor area including all types of drinks you’d expect. Local restaurants and hotels are an option for food, yet the catered food has variety and is delicious.
• There is good coffee and tea available usually in the 2nd floor of the West Moscone center.
• San Francisco has a wonderful selection of culinary delights nearby. Mel’s Diner on Mission Street hash fantastic food and service.

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This is one of the breakfasts provided by the Red Hat summit with eggs, peanut butter, jam, breads etc. The breakfast and lunch variety is different each day.

Some eat breakfast in their hotels for convenience or go to sample the foods in nearby restaurants.

Consider the reviews at places such as Google or Yelp when evaluating restaurants. Just be aware of your options and do what works for you. I’d say most Summit attendees take advantage of the catered food. They’ve done a lot of renovations to the Moscone Center, so check your Red Hat Summit app for the specifics.

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Brandy Ho’s Hunan Restaurant on 217 Columbus Ave is one of the very best Chinese restaurants you will find in San Francisco. The food is always fresh, delicious. The restaurant opened in 1980 by the three brothers, Brandy, Jack and Sedgewick.

They are famous for Hunan food which has the features of chili pepper, shallots and garlic. However, the food is not dominated by these flavors, and their menu is diverse.

Their Chicken Curry is one of the very best meals I’ve had in my lifetime. All of their food is amazing, fresh and cooked right in front of you in a very open kitchen. No MSG either. They don’t need it, the food is always exemplary.

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Translation Please

The Red Hat Summit has attendees from all over the world, and San Francisco has people from many cultures. The Google Translate app is highly useful when attempting to overcome translation barriers with other attendees, and the people in San Francisco. This may sound overly obvious, but using complete sentences really helps improve the quality of the translation from your language to another person’s. This particular phrase at right was very popular with the shopkeepers when I was talking to people in China Town. They found it hilarious and called co-workers over to see it and even took the time to take a photo of my phone when I showed it to them.

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Some Additional Photos

Here are some additional photos I took:

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My article can not possibly consider everyone’s experience – Please post what worked for you when attending the Red Hat Summit. I have a friend who travels occasionally to San Francisco for other technology events. Tips from other technology events are also helpful. Please feel free to comment on what worked for you. Please see the comments below. This is the link to part 2 of this guide.

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While I am not a representative of Red Hat and my views about Red Hat are just my own, I am a member of the official Red Hat Accelerators community, which gives me the connection to Red Hat and through which I engage with other RHA team members.