AfNOG2005 Workshop on Network Technology

In conjunction with the Sixth meeting of African Network Operators Group (AfNOG) in April 2005, AfNOG is holding a Network Technology Workshop prior to the meeting. The workshop will be held in facilities of the Conference Centre, Maputo, Mozambique during 17th to 22nd April, 2005.

Conference Venue

IFT-Instituto de Formacao das Telecomunicacoes de Mocambique
Prolongamento da Av. Kim Il Sung, No. 96
Maputo - Mozambique

Tel: + 258 1 497131/4, 495655
Fax: + 258 1 490079

Hotel Information

Please find list of hotels HERE

Plus - Rovuma Hotel.

The workshop will offer advanced training to operators of existing African Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who are participants in the process of developing and enhancing a national Internet with regional and international connectivity. Attendance at the workshop includes attendance at AfNOG's Sixth meeting, AfNOG 2005 ( www.afnog.org ) and AfriNIC meeting ( www.afrinic.net ) which will be held in Maputo from 25th to 27th April 2005 respectively.

This workshop builds upon the experiences of the previous AfNOG workshops held in Cape Town South Africa, Accra Ghana, Lome Togo, Kampala Uganda, Dakar Senegal and the INET workshops held during 1993-2000 at eight locations around the world.

Goals

The goals of the workshop are:

  1. To train a critical mass of trainers and professionals in network infrastructure and services to be able to support an extension of Internet-related activities within the African countries represented.
  2. To identify and share individual and institutional contacts as well as information sources that will assist the process of national development, using international Internet connections.
  3. To build robust professional linkages between all participants in the programs so that the mentor-student and colleague-colleague relationships formed during the workshop and conferences will remain strong and of continuing usefulness well beyond the workshop and conference.
  4. To increase the level of co-operation among existing projects and activities for establishing public data networks in Africa.
  5. To train people and groups of people who will return to their country and region and who will teach others what they have learned at the workshop.

Program

An intensive program of instruction is planned for the workshop, composed of three instructional tracks.

Participants attend only one of the two instructional tracks presented in English, and one in French, since the tracks run concurrently.

All participants will engage in extensive hands-on training, setting up and managing prototype infrastructure and services.

The course descriptions below include for each instructional track:

  1. Who should attend this course.
  2. What you need to know to enter this course and benefit from it (Prerequisites).
  3. What you will learn in this course (Subjects).

TRACK E0: UNIX SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION

Overall objective: After attending this track, students will be able to install, upgrade, secure and competently manage the Unix operating system on standard PC hardware, and use it to provide essential Internet services on a network. It is aimed at students who are technically competent but may have had little or no prior exposure to the Unix environment.

Who should attend: Technical staff who are now providing Internet Services, or those who will be involved in the establishment and/or provisioning of basic national Internet Services in the country.

Prerequisites: Experience in managing PCs and installing software (such as installing the 'Windows' operating system), but not necessarily Unix. Some prior Unix/Linux experience would be of great benefit.

Training is hands-on in a well-equipped computer laboratory. All software installation on these machines will be performed by the students themselves.

The topics are expected to include:

Differences between Unix and Windows
Differences between FreeBSD and selected other types of Unix/Linux Installation of FreeBSD
Essential command-line utilities and scripting
Administering, Maintaining and Securing FreeBSD Servers
Installing Software Packages using ports and packages
Maintaining Software Packages using ports and cvsup
The internal operation of Internet mail, web and DNS services will be outlined, and students will configure their machines to provide these services in a way which can support future growth.

NOTE: There may be time to cover other topics, either during the main programme or in the evenings, and applicants are encouraged to indicate on their application what other areas would be of interest to them.

TRACK E1: SCALABLE INTERNET SERVICES

Overall objective: After attending this track, students will be able to build large-scale, resilient service platforms to support very large customer bases.

Who should attend: technical staff who are now providing Internet Services to a regional/national organisation or in a service provider environment, with a growing user base.

Prerequisites: Extensive experience with installing and administering some version of Unix/Linux, installing software packages, extracting information from 'man' pages, creating configuration files etc. Those who are not fully comfortable with Unix would most likely find track E0 more appropriate.

Training is hands-on in a well-equipped computer laboratory, making use of practical exercises to apply the techniques learned.

The topics are expected to include:

Scalability pitfalls
Approaches to clustering and resilience
Design and scaling of a web cache (Squid)
The Domain Name System
Operation of Internet mail
Configuration of an MTA (Exim)
Design of a large-scale mail cluster
Database backends
Cryptographic techniques and applications (ssh, ssl, certificates)
Server performance optimisation and monitoring; configuration management.
Securing and monitoring large-scale servers and services

The operating system to be used will be FreeBSD, but a summary of the differences compared to other common Unix/Linux platforms will be provided.

Applicants should indicate clearly what version(s) of Unix/Linux they currently administer.

TRACK E2: SCALABLE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

Who should attend: Technical staff who are now operating a wide area TCP/IP network, likely with international and/or multi-provider connectivity. Those who will be involved in the establishment and/or operation of a basic national network infrastructure in the country.
Prerequisites: experience using TCP/IP-based networking technologies.
Subjects: configuration and operation of larger scale backbones,
Including:

Basic routing
OSPF routing
BGP routing (limited)
Management of router configuration
NOC (Network Operation Center)
Exchange points between networks
Network Security

TRACK F2: INFRASTRUCTURE RESEAUX IP (French Version of Track E2)

Base des reseaux IP
Bases de configuration des routeurs Cisco
Routage statique (utilisation d'Unix et de Routeur Cisco)
OSPF
Architecture d'un reseau redondant
BGP
NOC services et application
Securite Reseau

Place

The workshop activities will be held at the Conference Centre, Maputo,Mozambique. Participants will be offered double room accommodation during the workshop, the AfNOG and AfriNIC meetings, which follow. Shuttle bus and taxi transportation is available from the airport to the workshop accommodations.

Dates

Participants should plan to arrive in Maputo on or before 1800 hours on Saturday 16th April 2005, and leave after 1800 hours on Wednesday 27th April. 2005. Workshop sessions begins the afternoon of, Sunday 17th April, and end in the evening of Friday 22nd April 2005.

Tutorials begin at 0830 hours on Sunday 24th April 2005. The AfNOG 2005 meeting begins at 0900 hours, Monday 25th April 2005, and AfriNIC 2005 Meeting begins at 0900 hours, Tuesday, 26th to 27th April, 2005.

Eligibility

The workshop is specifically directed toward the needs of people from Africa who are playing an important part in introducing and extending public internetworking in their countries and region. Attendees should be involved in establishing the Internet's presence, in institutionalizing its operation, and in assisting the country's schools and universities, governmental agencies, local firms, and residents in exploiting the range of services available through the net. By the Internet, we mean the publicly accessible Internet, with unrestricted access for educational and commercial institutions and the not-for- profit community.

Working engineers from international and bilateral technical co- operation agencies, as well as engineering professionals having substantial involvement in international technical assistance activities, are also eligible for admission as space allows.

Participants who have attended the AfNOG 2000 - 2004 training or any of the INET Developing Countries Workshop will be considered eligible to attend the AfNOG 2005 workshop on a space- available basis; however, these former participants must apply for a course of study other than subjects studied previously. Their request must be consistent with their responsibilities in a national and/or regional context, and a convincing argument for repeated attendance must accompany the application. This should include a statement of the activities carried out as a result of the previous workshop. Less financial aid will be available for repeat attendees than for first-time applicants.

Application for Admission

To apply for admission, please complete the application form and return it as soon as possible, but no later than 31st January, 2005. If you expect to attend the workshop as the result of being awarded a United Nations or similar fellowship awarded by a multilateral of bilateral aid agency, please inform us of the details in your application.

Applicants will be notified of their acceptance to the program and the amount of financial aid available (if any) by February 15th 2005.

Please note that the workshop activity includes attendance at the AfNOG 2005 and AfriNIC meetings. If you are admitted to the workshop, you should NOT register separately for the meeting; that will be done automatically for you.

NOTE: Applicants are required to submit their application via email, and also to give an electronic mail address for future correspondence regarding the workshop. A reliable FAX number should also be included on your application.

Please be sure that all of the contact information you submit is legible and accurate, or we will not be able to contact you.

Visas

Every visitor to Maputo must have a valid passport in order to obtain the necessary visa for Mozambique. If you apply to attend the workshop, be prepared to obtain a passport immediately upon receiving an invitation to attend, or sooner if practical, since visa procedures may be lengthy.

It is the responsibility of participants to ascertain the visa requirements that apply to them and to obtain any appropriate visas (including transit visas) needed to attend the workshop and the related meetings). AfNOG will assist applicants in this matter by providing visa application information as well as information regarding the Workshop, AfNOG and its professional goals and activities.

Health Restrictions

Accepted participants will be notified of any health restrictions and regulations for entry into the country.

Costs

The cost of attending the workshop and associated events is U.S.$1600.00. This fee includes:

All tuition and fees for the workshop. All lodging charges from Saturday 16th, April through Wednesday 27th, April 2005

All meal charges for the period starting with dinner on Saturday evening, 16th April through dinner on Wednesday evening, 27th April 2005. Registration at the AfNOG 2005 meeting ( 25th April) and the AfriNIC meetings (26th - 27th April), including the midday meals included in registration for those meetings.

Participants should bring the equivalent of U.S. $30 for airport transfers. They may wish to budget approximately U.S.$50 for optional travel and other needs and activities (laundry, etc.) Saturday, 16 April, 2005 through Wednesday, 27th April 2005.

For some candidates, the AfNOG Workshop may provide financial assistance to cover a part of each participant's overall expenditures. If you request financial aid for the workshop, please be certain to provide the financial information that is requested in the application for admission. Financial aid may take the form of either pre- paid airline ticket for travel to and from Maputo or a partial coverage of the workshop fee.

The overall amount of aid available will be extremely limited. Please make all possible efforts to secure whatever funding is possible from sources known to you. If you are requesting financial aid from the Workshop, please tell us why it is necessary, how you expect to fund part of your expenses, and what efforts you have made and are making to obtain additional aid. Please note that aid from AfNOG may depend upon your ability to obtain partial financial support from other sources.

Payment of workshop fees may be made by funds transfer, certified check (bank draft) or in cash. Details will be provided in the admission letter.