Netconf 2020 edition
An unconference on the technical, economic and social aspects of network engineering and infrastructure
Accepting submissions till 27 Mar 2020, 09:00 AM
Not accepting submissions
For details about Netconf, see: https://hasgeek.com/rootconf/netconf-2020/#about
Netconf will cover the following topics, and more:
- Network engineering:
- Running office WiFi networks; running large-scale WiFi networks
- Setting up WiFi for conferences and large-scale community events
- DNS, TLS, IPv6
- Data loss, packet management
- Managing data centres
- Engineering practices at ISPs, telcos
- Routing security
- Network security; do ISPs keep you safe
- Network monitoring
- Accessing networks:
- Internet shutdowns, and how businesses access internet
- Communicating information during internet shutdowns; access for civil society networks
- Net Neutrality
- Internet censorship
- Using probes to monitor internet
- Interception laws in India and globally
- Access as right
Netconf is an unconference. Propose topics that you want to discuss at the conference. We also invite artists to put up installations of works related to Netconf.
Participant profile at Netconf: Speakers like to know who will be in their audience and therefore how to prepare talks. Below is a list of potential participants at Netconf:
- Network engineers
- ISPs and their representatives
- Providers of network solutions
- Senior leadership
- Civil society groups
- Tech and law researchers and activists
- Creators/providers of internet monitoring tools
Session formats and what you can propose - Netconf will have the following and more session formats:
- Full talks - 40 mins duration
- Crisp talks - 20 mins duration
- Flash talks - 5-10 mins
- Birds of Feather (BOF) session - 1 hour duration
- Round tables - 1-3 hours duration
- Hands-on workshops, where participants follow instructors on their laptops: 3-6 hours duration
- Suggest your own format
Selection process:
Proposals will be accepted based on the themes outlines for Netconf and topics which participants propose.
The schedule will be built and announced iteratively. There will be room for open sessions for participants to propose topics/ideas/sessions on the morning of the event itself.
We recommend that proposers do the following with/after submitting proposals:
- Add links to videos/slide decks if your talk is at an advanced stage of articulation.
- Explain problem statement and the key learnings in greater detail.
- Submit your proposal early for feedback and review.
Netconf’s policy is to showcase talks where the insights are free for participants to take back and apply to their work. If you are referring to a proprietary technology for solving a problem, consider picking up a sponsored session.
Important dates:
Last date for submissions: 27 March, 2020 - until the day of the conference.
Netconf date: 27 March, 2020
Schedule announcement: Work-in-progress
Passes for speakers:
Confirmed speakers get a pass to the conference. Speakers also receive a discount code which they can share with their colleagues, communities they are part of, and on social media channels. We do not provide free passes for speakers’ colleagues and relatives. Please do not ask us for this.
Travel grants for outstation speakers:
Travel grants are available for international and domestic speakers based on Netconf’s budget. If you require a grant, mention it in the field where you add your location.
Contact:
Write to rootconf.editorial@hasgeek.com if you have questions regarding talks/sessions at the conference.
Make a submission
Accepting submissions till 27 Mar 2020, 09:00 AM
Ashwin Murali Are you at least running Unbound on your laptops? DNSSEC as your first line of defence on a predatory internet.Everyone on the internet wants your data. There’s way too much tracking, there’s way too many ads. Blocking unwanted ads and unwanted websites is the first step toward a safer internet. We’ll look at the options present, why some are good, why some are bad and why DNSSEC is currently the safest GOTO in the DNS Space. more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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Swapneel Patnekar Measuring the internet using RIPE AtlasInternet measurements are important and userful for everybody and not limited to network engineers, developers, researchers etc The internet is a network of networks. The RIPE Atlas project provides a lens to view how the networks behave from various vantage points. Using the RIPE Atlas system, anyone can run internet measurements to troubleshoot, understand how the internet works & carry out res… more
Format of the session: Hands-on workshop (3 hours)
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Ashwin Murali DNS Deep Dive WorkshopDNS is the most basic building block of the internet - A protocol for computers and devices to discover the addresses of other computers and devices across the globe. Attend this workshop to build your DevOps-fu with a thorough understanding of DNS. Walk out knowing that your DNS queries are safe from tampering or profiling by running your own DNSCrypt resolver. more
Format of the session: Hands-on workshop (6 hours)
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srinivas kodali Proposing TRAI Cloud RegulationsTelecom Regulatory Authority of India has issued a consulation paper on cloud computing in 2016. The regulation for it are yet to be framed. But the imapct of these regulations are going to effect everyone who is maintaing internet networks as they all make the cloud. Which makes it important to understand what is happening with the regulations around it. The consultation paper and submissions fr… more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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srinivas kodali Proposing Effects of Personal Data Protection Bill on Internet NetworksThe Personal Data Protection Bill has been tabled in the parliament and will be enacted over the upcoming year. The bill has provisions stricting critical personal data flow of Indians limiting it to the boundaries of India. Various provisions of the bill will shape the way data flows over the Internet and also poses new challenges to the industry in adapting to the upcoming law. A talk to explai… more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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ML
Michael W Lucas SNMPThe Simple Network Management Protocol, SNMP, is one of network management’s less well understood tools. This talk takes you through where SNMP came from, how it has such longevity, how you should and should not use it, and what you can do with it. more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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ML
Michael W Lucas Large Scale SSHEverybody uses SSH, and everybody ducks the problems key management. This talk presents multiple ways to manage SSH keys at scale on OpenSSH systems. more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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Michael W Lucas I can't see GIFsThe network either works, or it doesn’t. The port’s open, or it’s not. more
Format of the session: Crisp talk (20 mins)
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Michael W Lucas Proposing Senior Network Administrators' PanelTake the people in the room who have been running networks longer than anyone else. Put them in front of the room. I’ll prepare a list of questions on careers and technology, and everyone gets two minutes to give their answers. Learn from those who’ve been there before! more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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chinmayi s k Contributing to OONI test listDue to bandwidth constraints, testing most websites on the internet is not practical.Censorship measurement projects like OONI rely on a global community of volunteers who run censorship measurement tests from local vantage points.The Citizen Lab hosts a GitHub repository that consists of multiple test lists that are meant to be measured for internet censorship. OONI and other project rely on thi… more
Format of the session: Suggest your own format
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Karan Saini  Circumventing Internet shutdownsThis flash talk provides a brief overview of a few practical methods that can be used to circumvent Internet censorship techniques. more
Format of the session: Flash talk (10 mins)
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chinmayi s k Proposing Communication and Documentation During ShutdownsIn the past month India witnessed a lot of frequent shutdowns in various parts of the country to “maintain law and order” situation. During these shutdowns the social media channels and solidarity groups shared various tools for communication and documentation. The conversations around these tools happened in the digital sphere and were shortlived. There is need for documentation that is specific… more
Format of the session: Birds of Feather (BOF) session (1 hour)
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CRUX CONCEPTION  Team Dynamics & Communication Skills (Team Project Productivity, Start Ups & Leadership)Attendees will discover the influence of communications places into action while using your everyday people skills, added with a unique style of active listening. more
Format of the session: Hands-on workshop (3 hours)
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DM
Devdutta Mukhopadhyay Personal Data Protection Bill 2019: Red Tape or Spring Cleaning?Data protection laws across the world have received flak for stifling innovation by imposing cumbersome obligations on businesses. Impact of such regulatory measures on small and medium sized businesses has been a subject of particular concern because these organizations do not have deep pockets to meet the cost of compliance. However, with scandals like Cambridge Analytica making headlines, the … more
Format of the session: Suggest your own format
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DI
DE-CIX India Proposing  Internet Ecosystem in India and Its 24 Year HistoryTalk discuss about Internet in India and how it evolved over last 25 years (1995-2020). This will also talk about how Internet happens, Submarine Cable Systems - Terrestrial Cables, Peering and Internet Exchange Ecosystem. briefly Data Localisation and Net Neutrality topics will be covered and how the industry find ways to solve the need of Gigabit connectivity at pricepoints. more
Format of the session: Crisp talk (20 mins)
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DM
Devdutta Mukhopadhyay Cloudy with a Chance of RegulationThrough virtualization and storage pooling, cloud computing enables optimal utilization of hardware and holds the promise of providing affordable access to technical resources to every individual. Government licensing of the industry would adversely impact the democratizing potential of cloud services for individual users and industry led regulation also runs the risk of entrenching the dominance… more
Format of the session: Birds of Feather (BOF) session (1 hour)
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Pulkit Vaishnav DNS Lookups in LinuxDNS ! Ahh pretty old boring topic for many of us, it indeed is an interesting story beyond the veil. Most of us would know an overview of how DNS works but dwelling in the depths of how DNS, Linux and its tools work together is an interesting journey as well. more
Format of the session: Crisp talk (20 mins)
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DJ
Divij Joshi Resist the Robo-Censors!Algorithmic content moderation tools are increasingly being embedded within online platforms in order to censor, filter, flag, promote or deter certain forms of information. The rise of predictive methods within ‘artificial intelligence’ or machine learning are increasingly being relied upon as robust mechanisms to ensure online content governance, often through legal instruments, including in th… more
Format of the session: Crisp talk (20 mins)
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Vivekanand Vishwakarma Network Engineer as a coderCoding is not my cup of tea!! Wait a moment it’s not that hard!! more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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Siva D What's the matter with DNS Subdomain Takeover?A talk on DNS subdomain takeover attack, emphasizing it’s implications and ways to tackle them! more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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DJ
Divij Joshi Platforms, Algorithmic Governance and Privatized CensorshipThe emergance of ‘platforms’ has been a defining element of contemporary networked societies. ‘Social Media’ platforms in particular play a critical role in shaping public spheres and redefining democratic participation in the networked sphere, through the algorithmic enforcement of privatized content censorship, filtration and other forms of content moderation practices. These practices are embe… more
Format of the session: Flash talk (10 mins)
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SR
Shyam Ramaswami  Port 53: The abused land of DNS tunneling by malware piratesMalwares are common,complex and so are malware authors. The vast world of internet’s policy of knowledge sharing and product trials have given researchers and malware authors equal rights when it comes to resource access. This is led to trail of malwares over security products and even abusing some of the key network features like DNS tunneling. The talk deals about how modern day malwares operat… more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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Swaminathan S Eye on InfrastructureAbstract: In this talk, I would be sharing my point of views on Network monitoring. more
Format of the session: Full talk (40 mins)
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Rohini Lakshané Testing the whitelist for Internet access in Jammu and KashmirA free-wheeling discussion about significant findings from a usability testing exercise conducted on the whitelist issued for Internet access in Jammu and Kashmir in January 2020 and related issues regarding Internet access. more
Format of the session: Suggest your own format
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