Dates: 9-10 April 2026
Format: 2 half days + informal dinner
Theme: Tools and services for the NOC
Location:
SURF Utrecht office
Located in: Offices Hoog Overborch (Hoog Catharijne)
Address: Moreelsepark 48, 3511 EP Utrecht, Netherlands
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Accommodation/recommended hotels:
Inntel Hotels Utrecht Centre
NH Utrecht
Hampton by Hilton Utrecht
Bunk Hotel Utrecht
Remote meeting link:
REGISTRATION LINK HERE
(both on-site and online participation is possible)
For any questions, please email nadelina.sandu@geant.org.
AGENDA (Times in CEST)
9th of April
12: |
00 - |
13: |
00 |
| Arrival & Lunch |
13: |
00 - |
13: |
15 | Welcome |
, Harold Teunissen, SURF | |
| Session 1 |
| - Chair |
The EuroHPC Network from the operations point of view, Keith Slater, GÉANT
Now that the EuroHPC tender has been awarded, collaboration between GÉANT and the NRENs is crucial. Together, we are responsible for delivering, monitoring, and managing the EuroHPC network. Our operational focus is on ensuring seamless performance, including comprehensive incident management and reporting, to provide reliable access to this critical infrastructure for Europe’s scientific community.Slides available on request.
Maat, Tomasz Szewczyk, PCSS
Maat is a Source of Truth application that ensures efficient management of infrastructure information in network service orchestration and automation systems. The approach used allows for easy definition of advanced resources and services and the creation of relationships between them. The application offers secure REST API, a nice UI, authentication and authorization features using the well-known open-source Identity and Access Management software Keycloak.Developed under the GN5-2 project and released under the open Apache v2 license, Maat has already proven its value in production within the Polish PIONIER network, where its adaptability and ease of modelling resources and services have earned the trust of network engineers.
Slides
| : Jonny Lundin, SUNET | |
| 13:15 - 13:45 | ASPA: The Next Frontier in Practical Inter-Domain Routing Security, Simon Leinen, Switch Over the past years, Route Origin Validation (ROV) based on the Resource We briefly present the ASPA publication and validation mechanisms, |
| 13:45 - 14:15 | AI Agent in the WorkFlow Orchestrator, Peter Boers, SURF This presentation will give some insights on the AI agent recently included into the Workflow Orchestrator (WFO). This software, which SURF is actively developing in collaboration with other international parties, has been enhanced with RAG functionality. This makes it possible to search the orchestrator’s database in a comprehensive manner and to extract all kinds of cross-sectional information from the orchestrator using natural language. |
| 14:15 - 14:45 | Multi-domain communication between teams on the EuroHPC Network, Keith Slater, Scott Campbell, GÉANT |
| 14:45 - 15:15 | Coffee break |
| Session 2 - Chair: Ivana Golub, PCSS | |
| 15:15 - 15:45 | AI in the NOC - Discussion , Jonny Lundin, SUNET How do we use the AI tools on the NOC? Are we sharing our confidential information with open AI tools? Are we aware of the risks? |
| 15:45 - 16:15 | SURF NOC and tooling landscape, Dennis Maat, SURF SURF has an outsourced NOC with Quanza. In this talk, we will see how they are working together to deliver services and the tools they use in the NOC. |
| 16:15 - 16:45 | Sustainable Working practices in Asiera, Andy Byrne, Asiera Andy will provide details on some of the network-related sustainability initiatives undertaken in HEAnet/Asiera. He will also share real-world examples of the practices Asiera has implemented to measure and reduce our CO₂ emissions |
| 16:45 - 17:00 | Wrap up |
End of Day 1 | |
| 19:00 | Informal group dinner at Humphrey's (kindly sponsored by SURF) Address: Stadhuisbrug 3, 3511 KP Utrecht (Google maps link) |
Flash talks
The Iberian power outage from the point of view of the Network, Maria Isabel Gandia, CSUCThis talk will summarize the incidents, points of view, success and horror stories that the massive power outage in the Iberian Peninsula brought in April at Anella Científica, the regional research and education network in Catalonia.
Slides
The GuardXP project: Strengthening cybersecurity through privacy, Pere Barlet, UPC
GuardXP is a project supported by the RIPE NCC Community Projects Fund 2024. It aims to develop a privacy-enhancing tool to combat web tracking and data exploitation. Unlike traditional blacklist-based solutions, GuardXP uses code analysis to detect and block tracking scripts without compromising website functionality. In this talk, we will share the project’s progress and review the tools currently under development.
Slides
Exercise: Do we only rely on US Cloud tools or do we have a European alternative?, Jonny Lundin, SUNET
Lunch
Recap from session 2 exercise, Jonny Lundin, SUNET
Flash talks - Configuration Management
Coffee break
Flash talks
- Flow data sharing with MetrANOVA, Andrew Lake, ESnet
MetrANOVA develops and shares open architectures, technical components, design patterns, best practices, and policy recommendations to create effective network measurement systems, looking at flow data visualisation and sharing. The talk will also touch on policy aspects of flow data sharing.
Slides - GREN Map, Gustavo Araujo, RNP
The idea of sharing research and education networks data in order to create a global map and see their network topology has been around for years. What prerequisites, pros and cons are there around the idea.
Slides - perfSONAR on-demand measurements UI, Ljubomir Hrboka, CARNET
perfSONAR is the performance Service-Oriented Network monitoring ARchitecture, a network measurement toolkit designed to provide federated coverage of paths and help to establish end-to-end usage expectations. Recently renewed UI for on-demand measurements will be presented and demoed.
Slides
Discussion: How much data would you like to see and share?, Ivana Golub, PCSS
Research and education institutions participate in many multi-domain project that require a resilient end-to-end network. But, what happens when there is a problem and we can not see the whole path? Are we willing to share our data? And, if so, up to how many data would we share? Following the example from Metranova, we will see the possibilities we have, examples, etc.
End of Day 1
Link to location
Link to location
10th of April
| 09:00 - 09:15 |
| Welcome | |
| Session |
|---|
| 3 - Chair: |
|---|
| Mick O'Donovan, Asiera |
|---|
9:15 - 9:45 |
Inside BSC's network: Connectivity and Marenostrum5, Maria Manco, BSC
The network architecture of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) must be robust, reliable, and secure, ensuring strong external connectivity and a well-defined security perimeter with advanced firewall protection. This infrastructure supports MareNostrum5, one of Europe’s leading supercomputers, which relies on a high-performance Ethernet network and a low-latency InfiniBand fabric to deliver the scalability and efficiency required for cutting-edge researchNetwork Development Tools and Services, Ivana Golub, PCSS This talk will give an overview of some of the tools and services available to the R&E community from the Network Development side: perfSONAR, Performance Measurement Platform, Argus, TimeMap, nmaas and Network eAcademy. |
| 9:45 - 10:15 |
Discussion: Flow Monitoring Tools, What do we use?, Joze Hanc, ARNES
Following the discussions in the mailing list, this open debate will focus on the tools we use to visualise raw flows from the network. From open-source to commercial tools, there are dozens of tools out there. What are they pros and they cons? What are we missing?Security Activities and Services, Scott Campbell, GÉANT This talk will give an overview of some of the tools and services available to the R&E community from the Security side. |
| 10:15 - 10:45 |
WorkFlow Orchestrator in 2025, Mick O'Donovan, HEANET
At the recent community hub sessions at TNC25 it was suggested to have a discussion on WFO and its use within the NREN community. Mick will present some updates on its use in HEAnet 2 years on from starting to use it as well as some updates from the inaugural Workflow Orchestrator Developer Days meet up in GÉANT's offices in Amsterdam in September.Slides
Discussion: Community-based NOC tools, Ivana Golub, PCSS and Jonny Lundin, SUNET What are the tools that we use? Are there tools that should be developed jointly? What kind of products, tools or services would be relevant and would be used in case they were developed in the GÉANT project? With this discussion, we would like to gather feedback from the community and share experiences with the tools we use. |
| 10:15 - 10:45 |
| Coffee break | |
| Session |
| 4 - Chair: |
| Jože Hanc, ARNES |
| 10:45 |
| - 11: |
The growing complexity of IP and optical infrastructures requires a new operational paradigm.
This session explores the evolution toward autonomous networks, enabled by Artificial Intelligence for Network Operations (AIOps) and advanced automation. AI-driven capabilities are transforming network operations, making processes more efficient, predictive, and resilient.
A key focus is the convergence of IP and optical domains, where unified monitoring and joint operation drive higher efficiency and innovation. Breaking down silos between layers unlocks end-to-end visibility and streamlined management. The result is a strategic shift toward networks that are more intelligent, adaptive, and ready for the future| 15 | Finding and onboarding people in the NOC, Mick O'Donovan, Asiera The landscape for hiring and retaining new technical staff to NREN or indeed any NOC nowadays is a difficult one to navigate. This talk will see how Asiera have dealt with this recently and what plans they have to try and retain their newly on-boarded colleagues. |
| 11: |
| 15 - |
| 11:45 | Flash talks |
- AI within the Security domain, Mick O'Donovan, HEANET, and Maria Isabel Gandia, CSUC
- Intelligent Networks: The Rise of Generative AI in Network Management, Ivana Golub, PCSS
Slides - RHnet NOC Flash Talk, Ingimar Jónsson, RHnet
Slides - NetBox developments in CESNET, Ladislav Loub, CESNET
Slides
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| 11:45 - 12:00 |
| Meeting Evaluation and future topics, volunteers for next host |
| 12:00 - |
| 13:00 | Lunch |