| North American Network Operators' Group | |
| Abbreviation: | NANOG |
| Location: | United States |
The North American Network Operators' Group (NANOG) is a forum for the coordination and dissemination of information to backbone/enterprise networking technologies and operational practices.[1] It runs meetings, talks, surveys,[2] and a mailing list for Internet service providers. The main method of communication is the NANOG mailing list (known informally as NANOG-l), a free mailing list to which anyone may subscribe or post.[3] [4]
NANOG evolved from the NSFNET "Regional-Techs" meetings, where technical staff from the regional networks met to discuss operational issues. At the February 1994 regional tech meeting in San Diego, the group revised its charter[5] to include a broader base of network service providers and subsequently adopted NANOG as its new name. NANOG was organized by Merit Network, a non-profit Michigan organization, from 1994 through 2011, when it was transferred to NewNOG.[6]
Funding for NANOG originally came from the National Science Foundation as part of two projects Merit undertook in partnership with NSF and other organizations: the NSFNET Backbone Service and the Routing Arbiter project. All NANOG funds came from conference registration fees and donations from vendors,[7] and starting in 2011, membership dues.[8]
NANOG meetings are held three times each year and include presentations, tutorials, and BOFs (Birds of a Feather meetings). There are also lightning talks, where speakers can submit brief presentations (no longer than 10 minutes) on a very short term. Conference participants typically include senior engineering staff from tier 1 and tier 2 ISPs. In addition to the conferences, NANOG On the Road events offer single-day networking events.[9]
NANOG meetings are organized by NewNOG, Inc.,[10] a Delaware non-profit organization, which took over responsibility for NANOG from the Merit Network in February 2011.[11] [12] Meetings are hosted by NewNOG and other organizations from the U.S. and Canada. Overall leadership is provided by the NANOG Steering Committee,[13] established in 2005, and a Program Committee.[14]