IETF116, we meet on the other side of the world
The IETF116, annual meeting organized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), was held between March 25 and 31 in Yokohama (Japan), also counting on online transmission, to discuss and work on issues related to the Network.
Seven days of activities, talks and meetings that had the participation of around a thousand attendees in the city and more than five hundred people connected remotely.
Some selected sessions are available at https://www.ietf.org/live/, while other recordings can be accessed through the IETF YouTube channel.
The next version of this event, IETF117, will take place in July 2024 in San Francisco, California (USA).
IEFT, the community that seeks to improve the Internet
The IEFT is the first Internet standards body to develop free standards through open processes to make the Internet work better. It´s made up of a large international community of network designers, operators, marketers and researchers concerned with both the evolution and the proper functioning of networks.
Their work is carried out in groups organized by topic in various areas, thus providing long-range technical direction for the development of the Network along with research for its evolution.
Some topics addressed are related to architecture, through the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), or research from the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF), the latter being of special interest to us since it´s the group in charge of promoting the importance of research for the evolution of protocols, applications, architecture and technology, bringing together researchers who work, think and design what will probably become a standard for the Internet in the medium or long term.
I consider this type of instances are a great contribution to our laboratory, since they allow us to understand where we should direct the research when seeking to improve a protocol and meet other researchers in the area with different points of view.
In addition, the IETF features talks organized by different particular groups of people with a specific interest. The conference provides the opportunity to join these groups or form new ones, and thus maintain contact with people interested in the same topics as one, who are not only researchers, but also people from the industry. This diversity is always remarkable and an improvement. Javiera Alegría, researcher at NIC Lab Chile.
Kon'nichiwa, Japan
The researchers, Javiera Bermúdez, Diego Madariaga and Javier Bustos, together with the engineer, Maite González, represented us and participated in the meeting in the second most populous city in the Nippon country; especially the activities organized by the aforementioned IRTF.
Within this group, we highlight the work carried out by the Measurement and Analysis for Protocols (MAPRG) forum, made up of researchers and engineers who address issues such as Internet operation telemetry, an area in which as a laboratory we have done research in recent years.
What was developed by the research group Usable Formal Methods Proposed Research Group, in which both academics and engineers investigate formal methods to verify and/or evaluate protocols is in line with our work since as NICLabs we carry out the evaluation of the SCHC protocol through techniques called «model checking», obtaining as a result the detection of an error in the assumptions of its use.
Without a doubt, it was an enriching experience that motivates us to continue researching in order to contribute to the development of Internet improvements for the benefit of society.
My experience at IETF was very good, it was my first time attending. I really liked that they took care of the new members, both by mail and in person. The reception was super pleasant, and in general, I think the people who attend have a very good profile. In my case, I mainly participated in the research sessions (IRTF). Diego Madariaga, a researcher at NIC Labs.
Diego Madariaga, Maite González, Javier Bustos y Javiera Alegría.