That’s right, I’m heading out on the road again. This time a bit closer to home though.
I’ll be flying to Atlanta, Georgia, here in the U.S. this Sunday for NANOG 60. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, NANOG is the North American Network Operators Group, and as is often the case, they have already described themselves better than I probably can:
…NANOG, is the professional association for Internet engineering and architecture. Our core focus is on the technologies and systems that make the Internet function: core routing and switching; Internet inter-domain routing; the domain name system; peering and interconnection; and Internet core security. We also cover associated areas with a direct impact on Internet architecture such as data centers and optical networking.
You could say that NANOG is my “home” NOG. This may be obvious, since I live in North America, but it’s also true because I’ve been a member of their mailing list (and their organization) longer than any other NOGs – and I hold a couple positions with NANOG as well. I’m super stoked to be serving in the second year of my first term on the NANOG Program Committee, for one. The PC is responsible for selecting the speakers and setting the agenda for each NANOG meeting (there are three a year). I love doing it because I get a really intimate view of what Network Operators (and their vendors) find interesting, important, and “hot.” No one wants to submit a presentation on an uninteresting topic, and I learn a lot – even (perhaps especially) from the talks which don’t end up on the agenda.
For this meeting in particular, I’m even more excited about my new position as Chair of the Ad Hoc BCOP Committee. While I’ve been involved with the ongoing BCOP (Best Current Operational Practice) efforts in this region for around five years now, it is super exciting to finally have a NANOG Board-recognized Ad Hoc Committee to do this work! I’ll be taking the torch from Aaron Hughes who has been leading the charge, and the NANOG BCOP Tracks, for the past few years. Aaron deserves great credit for escalating this important work within the NANOG community to the point that we are today! Now it’s time for others to step up. Documenting these BCOPs, for engineers by engineers, is one of the most critical projects an operators group can take on in support of a free and open Internet. I’m proud to be a part of it but no one can do this alone. It will take multitudes of bright, dedicated people to make this a success. We’ll need subject matter experts (both to write and to edit), document shepherds (to help BCOPs through the process), and Ad Hoc BCOP Committee members to keep the whole thing rolling. Want to get involved? See the call for volunteers, or find me in Atlanta. Building out the initial committee will be one of my primary goals at this NANOG.
My other big goal while attending NANOG 60 next week is to spread the word, and get some feedback, about our Operators and the IETF project. Currently we are in the research phase, and will continue collecting data for the next few months. To get involved, first take our survey, and then find me in Atlanta to chat further!
If you’d like to know more, or provide input about Deploy360, BCOP, Operators and the IETF, or any of our topics (IPv6, DNSSEC, Securing BGP) and activities (e.g: ION conferences), please do find me! There are tons of opportunities to get involved, and we’re always open to community feedback. Unfortunately I have some other meetings further up the East Coast later in the week and will have to leave on Wednesday morning. So look for me onsite (and at the socials) all day Monday and Tuesday!
As always, I’ll shoot updates, quotes, and likely several photos from the event on my Twitter as it happens! Be sure to also stay in touch with us during and after this event for all of the latest deployment and operationalization news, events, live streams, and more!