Partnering with NSRC on MANRS & Routing Security Training

One of the biggest hurdles to routing security is getting the right information to the right people at the right time. We offer implementation guides, tutorials, hands-on workshops, and more, but there are a lot of networks and a lot of operators out there and we cannot reach them all. That’s why we’re proud to partner with the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) to bring more education and hands-on learning to the community.

NSRC comprises a distributed team of network engineers and trainers from across the globe. NSRC works directly with indigenous network engineers and operators who develop and maintain the Internet infrastructure in their respective countries and regions. They provide technical information, direct engineering assistance (DEA), training, donations of equipment and networking books, and other resources to improve operational infrastructure, resulting in better and faster networks.

As part of DEA, they go on the ground to provide organizations with technical support to help solve problems they face in the management and growth of their networks. It will typically involve NSRC-sponsored engineers working side-by-side on location with local engineers to identify and implement tailored solutions. The NSRC model is for local hands to develop local expertise for their network environment, which means the responsible staff will implement the recommended changes themselves, working shoulder-to-shoulder with NSRC staff.

The Internet Society and NSRC have a long history of working together on developing Internet exchange points (IXPs), community network initiatives, capacity building, and more. Beginning in the early 1990s, the organizations’ founders collaborated to create a set of TCP/IP training workshops, bringing together engineers from all over the world to the annual INET conferences, which helped facilitate the first Internet connections to several dozen countries. NSRC has also been involved in the MANRS project since its inception in 2014, with work on routing and routing security education pre-dating MANRS.

“There are still thousands of routing incidents each year, often due to accidental misconfigurations or technical mistakes. Our work with NSRC is vital to bringing much needed training and information to network operators on the ground so that they can implement the best practices that help protect us all. Together, we’re making the Internet more globally connected and secure so that everyone can benefit,” said Andrew Sullivan, Internet Society CEO.

NSRC developed a detailed video series focused on Internet routing called BGP for All, partially funded by the Internet Society and the National Science Foundation. There’s a wealth of information in this series, from basic routing and BGP information to specific design and implementation advice. And, of course, there is a whole section on MANRS, including video clips focused on each action.

We have many more plans to deepen our collaboration, including:

• Updating the MANRS implementation guidelines for network operators and creating a MANRS implementation guide for IXPs 
• Producing additional technical education video content about routing security and MANRS best practices
• Jointly delivering routing security workshops using NSRC’s lab-based Routing Infrastructure and Security Operations (RISO) course with Network Operator Group (NOG) communities and Research and Education Network (REN) organizations
• Improving MANRS Observatory data sources, data collection, and verification with the University of Oregon RouteViews BGP monitoring infrastructure

We hope this is just the start of our collaboration with NSRC. Please go check out the BGP for All materials – you might just learn something new!