Face to face
The University that first brought the Internet to New Zealand will next month be hosting the third annual New Zealand
Network Operators Group (NZNOG) conference.
The conference will be hosted by the Waikato University WAND Network Research Group from 29 – 30 January 2004. Staff
from network companies including Telecom, Ihug, Cisco and others from around the country will meet to discuss networking
issues in New Zealand.
Conference organiser and leader of the WAND group, Professor Tony McGregor, says the conference is an opportunity for
technical staff from different ISPs, private network operators and equipment manufacturers to meet face to face and talk
about current developments in New Zealand networks.
“Even Internet professionals need to meet face to face at times to facilitate more effective electronic discussion and
to deal with difficult issues.” says Professor McGregor.
One hot topic for discussion at the conference will be the delicate issue of ‘peering’. Peering provides a mutual
crossroads between participating ISPs, allowing them to bypass using otherwise costly connections for communications
between each other. Telephone calls over the Internet and wireless networks are other high profile topics that will be
discussed.
The NZNOG conference evolved from a mailing list that has been hosted by Waikato University since 1998. The list now has
approximately 400 people subscribed to it, including staff in large companies like Telecom and Ihug as well as smaller
local equipment manufacturers, service providers and private network operators.
“The NZNOG conference brings everyone up to speed on what is happening in New Zealand networks, as well as providing the
opportunity to hear from overseas visitors,” says Professor McGregor.
International speakers confirmed for the 2004 conference include Geoff Huston, Chief Scientist in the Internet area for
Telstra and responsible for the initial build of the Internet within the Australian academic and research sector. Philip
Smith, a member of the Internet Architectures Group of Consulting Engineering who works with many ISPs in the Asia
Pacific region and the rest of the world, is also confirmed to speak.
In 2002 and 2003 the NZNOG conference was held as part of the UniForum NZ gathering but this year is the first
stand-alone conference for the group.
More information can be found on the conference website: http://www.nznog.org