NANOG 92 in Toronto: A Focus on IPv6

Introduction

The North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG) 92 conference, held in Toronto from October 21–23, 2024, provided a platform for internet professionals to discuss key advancements in networking technology and infrastructure. Known for drawing a diverse mix of engineers, operators, and academics, this conference focused on critical aspects of internet connectivity, routing technologies, and network security. This blog post provides a recap of the key takeaways from NANOG 92.

Venue

NANOG 92 was held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ontario. The Westin Harbour Castle, a popular choice for large conferences, provided an ideal setting on Toronto’s waterfront, offering participants convenient amenities and proximity to the city’s vibrant downtown area. This location allowed attendees to connect, network, and enjoy a professional yet relaxed environment conducive to engaging discussions on critical networking topics. NANOG’s emphasis on community-driven events also offered an atmosphere where network engineers could share knowledge and innovative ideas without being interrupted by marketing-driven presentations.

Keynote Sessions

One of the draws of any NANOG event is the keynote speakers that address to audience on Monday and Tuesday morning. NANOG 92 was no exception.

Day 1 Keynote: Networking for AI and HPC, and Ultra Ethernet

Hugh Holbrook, VP of Software Engineering at Arista kicked off Day 1 with a keynote titled Networking for AI and HPC, and Ultra Ethernet. Holbrook started off by talking about the various challenges that distributed GPU clusters for AI bring the modern datacenter design. He then walked the audience through the work being done by the Ultra Ethernet Consortium to address these issues. I have sat through a number of networking talks around AI in the last couple years and this was one of the best I have seen.

Day 2 Keynote

Geoff Huston, Chief Scientist at APNIC kicked off Day 2 with a keynote titled Whatever Happened to IPv6. Huston addressed ongoing IPv6 adoption challenges despite the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, underscoring the need for a robust strategy to encourage organizations to shift from legacy systems to IPv6. His insights resonated with many attendees, as IPv6 adoption remains a critical issue in the networking community.

Technical Sessions

As usual, the NANOG Program Committee (PC) did a nice job of putting together talks, workshops, tutorials, and a hackathon. For those not aware, the program at a NANOG conference is vetted by industry experts to keep the content vendor-neutral and applicable to network operators. To that end, they set a theme for each NANOG conference and for NANOG 92 that was IPv6. That being said, there were a wide range of topics discussed including DNS, RPKi, EVPN, and even a talk titled Go Long! Sending weird signals long distances over existing optical infrastructure. I will put in a plug for my own talk titled BGP Flowspec Doesn’t Suck. We’re Just Using it Wrong and my colleague Doug Madory’s panel titled Routing Security: Fostering continunous improvement. The slides are post on the agenda page and the video recordings will be added once the video finishes the edits.

Getting Social

Anyone who has been to a NANOG event is aware of what is called the hallway track. This is a term attendees use to describe the value they get out of discussions in the hallway between sessions. One of the main reasons to attend a NANOG event is to spend time talking to fellow network operators. It is a great way to bounce some ideas off of someone and to learn what they are doing. NANOG92 provided many opportunities for this including the NANOG Peering Coordination Forum, Monday Night Social, Beer ‘N Gear (my personal favorite), and Tuesday Night Social. The Monday Night Social was especially fun this time around, being hosted at The Rec Room which allowed attendees to play some games while they socialized with each other.

Conclusion

NANOG 92 was a successful event that provided valuable insights into the latest trends and challenges in the networking industry. As the industry continues to evolve, it is essential for network operators to stay informed and adapt to new technologies and approaches. The next NANOG meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, from February 3rd to 5th, 2025. We look forward to seeing what new innovations and ideas will be presented at this upcoming event.