NetUK3

Building a National NOG Community

Not scheduled

30m

The Porter Tun (1st Floor) (The Brewery)

Standard Presentation Main Session NetUK3 Plenary

Speaker

Mx Keith Mitchell (SMOTI)

Description

netUK's predecessor organisation, the United Kingdom Network Operators' Forum (UKNOF), ran over 50 conferences and operated community platforms for British Internet infrastructure providers and professionals between 2005 and 2023.

This talk, by UKNOF's founder, is a retrospective of that time, from UKNOF's early volunteer high-energy ad-hoc formation, through its growth and success, to one of the largest national Network Operator Groups (NOGs) globally, by way of pandemic adaptions, and latterly sustainability challenges.

As well as looking at some high-note presentations, tools, fun anecdotes and various numbers, the theme of professional development through community building runs through everything that UKNOF did. Another important thread is openness of participation to all, in the true spirit of international Internet bodies such as RIPE and IETF.

There will also be reflections on what worked, and what didn't, including the benefits and limitations of a strongly pragmatic approach to governance, together with some lessons learned for the long-term sustainability of nonprofit entities in the Internet operations space.

Summary

A retrospective of the 18-year life of NetUK's predecessor, the UK Network Operators' Forum (UKNOF), including some history/background, anecdotes, what worked, and some reflections/observations relevant to sustainable nonprofit activities in the Internet Operations space that are hopefully of value to the netUK community.

Presentation materials

netUK3-UKNOF_sample.pdf