Linkedin Corporation Not Just Your Ordinary Network

LinkedIn Corporation Not Just Your Ordinary Network Hardware In the business world, relationships matter, and no company understands this better • Xserve than LinkedIn. Cofounders Reid Hoffman and Jean-Luc Vaillant created the premier • Xsan professional social network to help people open doors to opportunities using the • Mac Pro business relationships they have already established. LinkedIn’s secret is the six- • MacBook degrees-of-separation philosophy, which helps people connect to a broader network, • MacBook Air find each other, and be found. The approach is clearly working. Today, LinkedIn is an • MacBook Pro online network of more than 40 million experienced professionals around the world, • Mac mini representing 150 industries. • iPhone • iPod 99 percent Java, 100 percent Mac • Apple Cinema Display A no-nonsense site with little visual fluff and few distractions, LinkedIn provides the perfect venue for busy professionals who have little time to spare. Behind the scenes, a team of talented engineers and software developers work to keep the site stream- Software lined, responsive, and as useful as possible. To equip technical staff with a powerful • Mac OS X Leopard development environment and the high-performance hardware necessary to write, • Mac OS X Leopard Server debug, and deploy code efficiently, LinkedIn has a standard policy: All development • Apple Remote Desktop is 99 percent Java and 100 percent Mac. • iChat • QuickTime Streaming Server Every new engineer who joins LinkedIn automatically receives a new Mac Pro with • QuickTime Broadcast Server dual quad-core “Nehalem” CPUs and 12GB of RAM, as well as a MacBook. The only • JAMF Casper Suite tough decision: engineers must choose between two 23-inch Apple Cinema Displays • Microsoft Office or one 30-inch Apple Cinema HD Display. LinkedIn actively advertises the fact that • Adobe Creative Suite engineers are always equipped with Mac systems, and according to Vaillant, the Mac factor is a huge draw and an effective recruiting tool. “For our engineers, we have standardized on the Mac across the board,” says Chief Technology Officer Vaillant. “Most of our engineers come from UNIX® backgrounds. Mac OS X, being UNIX-based and supporting Java and open source development tools, equips our engineers to be productive right away. Engineers also have the convenience and flexibility of using VMware Fusion to boot Linux alongside Mac OS X and develop code for Linux on the Mac.” Working together, better A rock-solid development environment was just one reason for standardizing on the Mac. LinkedIn engineers also need to interact with web and graphic designers, product managers, and others within the company at a moment’s notice. “The Mac supports all of the standard applications and formats, like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office, making interaction among engineers and others a breeze,” says Vaillant. Mac OS X Leopard and Leopard Server also offer built-in tools for collaboration. A favorite among engineers is iChat, which enables engineers to conduct remote meetings on the spot. Says IT Director Mike Jennings, who is responsible for LinkedIn’s heterogeneous mix of Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux operating systems, “Even if they are working at home in the wee hours of the morning, engineers are constantly on iChat because they can take a quick screen shot of a page, share it, and chat about it Profiles in Success instantly with other engineers who are working late.” Profiles in Success LinkedIn Integration in a heterogeneous environment To integrate Macs into the company’s mixed environment, Jennings and his team took advantage of Open Directory in Mac OS X Leopard Server to provide directory services for Mac users. Today, directory information is centralized in one place for easier IT maintenance, and Mac and PC users alike enjoy the convenience of single sign-on for accessing services such as email and calendaring. “Mac OS X Server builds in support for Microsoft’s Active Directory services, so the Mac works with Active Directory in much the same way Windows clients do,” says Jennings. “ In terms of low overhead Because the Mac is completely compatible, everyone can seamlessly share files and and support, the Mac is print to the same print servers. In addition, WiFi works effortlessly across the entire an IT manager’s dream. I’d heterogeneous network. “The bottom line is there’s not a lot we had to do modify our environment to accommodate Macs,” Jennings explains. like to see a Mac on every desktop at LinkedIn.” More than half choose Mac Use of the Mac at LinkedIn extends far beyond the engineering department. Employees Mike Jennings, IT Director, LinkedIn from product managers to executives can, upon being hired, choose which platform they prefer to use. More than half of them choose Mac. Sixty-eight percent of employees overall use the Mac, a significant percentage considering that the company’s substantial call center operations are PC-based. “For those who have a choice, close to 70 percent of our employees choose the Mac because they prefer its quality and elegance,” says Jennings. “We often point to the Mac and say, ‘Now this is something that is really, really well done.’ It serves as an example of excellence at LinkedIn, where mediocrity is never an option.” The Mac, from client to server The Mac is used for everything from email and iChat communications to designing websites and conducting standard business functions such as operations, marketing, and sales. Employees can also watch streaming video that relays news and technical information—called Tech Talks—on the company intranet using a Mac desktop or notebook, an iPod, or an iPhone. Even signage in the receptionist area and throughout the company runs on Mac minis. Apple tools are not only used on the desktop, but also for vital back-end operations. Several Xserve systems provide storage, serve up media assets such as podcasts, and run QuickTime Streaming Server to stream live Tech Talks over the intranet. An IT manager’s dream According to Jennings, administering the Mac is painless. Using Apple Remote Desktop, IT staff can support companywide client systems centrally with minimal IT resources. Any issues with client systems can be addressed quickly and easily without support staff needing to leave their desks, enabling everyone in IT to work more efficiently. LinkedIn is also using JAMF’s Casper Suite to image, update, and maintain existing Mac computers or set up new ones. For LinkedIn, the Mac is an essential part of a heterogeneous mix that provides the technical and collaborative tools employees need to do their best work. At the same © 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iChat, iPhone, Leopard, Mac, MacBook, time, making it all work is no sweat for IT. “In terms of low overhead and support, the Mac OS, QuickTime, Xsan, and Xserve are trademarks Mac is an IT manager’s dream,” says Jennings. “I’d like to see a Mac on every desktop of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. at LinkedIn.” Apple Remote Desktop is a trademark of Apple Inc. Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. August 2009 L415877A.

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