North American Network Operators Group

General Information
Type:	Network Operator Group
Issue Areas:	Number Resources, Networks
Country:	USA
Region:	North America
Founded:	1994
Website:	[www.nanog.org www.nanog.org]

People
Steve Feldman, Steering Committee Chairman
Founder(s):	Elise Gerich Mark Knopper

NANOG (North American Network Operators Group) is an educational and operational forum dedicated to promoting discussions between individuals about the development, maintenance and operation of Internet Protocol networks.

Background

NANOG was founded by Elise Gerich and Mark Knopper in 1994. It was developed from the National Science Foundation Network's (NSFNET) Regional Techs Meeting. The original funding for NANOG was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of the NSFNET Backbone Service and the Routing Arbiter projects of Merit Network, Inc. with NSF. Since then, the activities, staff, logistical coordination, registration services, and financial management of NANOG was provided by Merit Network, Inc., a non-profit member owned organization managed by Michigan public universities.

In 2005, the NANOG charter was ratified and the organization was re-structured as a self-governance non-government organization and the Steering Committee, Program Committee, Communications Committee, and Marketing Working Group were created. The transition plan of NANOG as a new entity was supported by Merit, which stated that it would maintain its relationship with NANOG.

In October, 2010, the NANOG community supported the amendment of its Charter during the 50th meeting of the organization in Atlanta, Georgia.; the amendment dealt with the transition of NANOG to the newly formed organization NewNog, Inc., which was to handle the responsibility to continue NANOG's. The move took effect after the NANOG51 in Fenruary, 2011.

On February 1, 2011, NewNog, Inc. and Merit Network Inc. signed an agreement transferring the ownership of the trademark, meeting archives and the (nanog.org) domain name to the newly formed organization.

Mission

Its objective is create a forum to exchange technical information and discuss specific issues relevant to network providers such asexperiences with new protocols and backbone technologies, implications of routing policies on the Internet as a whole, measurement techniques and measurements of Internet health and performance wherein cooperation and coordination is needed. It also serves as a connection between internet providers and other technical communities to implement specific policies, solution to problems and ensure the over-all stability of services offered to network users. It aims to promote and coordinate in interconnection of networks within North America and to other continents as well as to conduct three regular meetings every year.

Leadership

• Steve Feldman, Steering Committee Chair
• Patrick W. Gilmore, SC member
• Sylvie LaPerrière, SC member
• Joe Provo, SC member
• Robert Seastrom, SC member
• Duane Wessels, SC member
• David Meyer, Program Committee chair
• Tom Daly, Program Committee Vice-chair

Scholarships

NANOG supports the advancement of education in networking and engineering by supporting scholarships, which include:

• Postel Network Operator's Scholarship- a scholarship that was created in memory of Jon Postel and his lifetime contribution to the development of the internet.
• Abha Ahuja Scholarship- a scholarship fund created in Abha's name after her sudden death. Her work had great influence in the areas of ISP coordination, routing, statistical analysis, and performance measurement and she was an active participant of ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, AfNOG, the Internet Society and other internet related organizations.
• ARIN Fellowship Program

NANOG and ARIN

In 2002, NANOG and American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), one of Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) conducted a back-to-back public policy and members meeting to gain additional network operator input to the public policy discussion of IP address issues. Subsequently, in 2003, participants in the NANOG meetings were given the opportunity to vote in the election of a representative from the ARIN Region to the Numbers Resource Organization (NRO) Number Council.

NANOG and ICANN

The organizations are involved through the overlap of participation of their respective members. On September 27, 2021, ICANN signed an MoU with NANOG. The agreement states that the two parties will conduct joint technical engagement and outreach efforts at colleges and universities in North America and the Caribbean concerning cybersecurity programs, informatics, computer science, and other network-related issues. They also agree to work together to better support underserved communities in both regions by creating joint scholarship and mentorship programs for university students.

National Science Foundation

Internet Service Provider

Number Resource Organization