NANOG 95 + ARIN 56 Recap: October 2025

October’s NANOG came and went, followed immediately by the ARIN 56 policy meeting. It’s one of my favorite parts of the year since it brings the technical and policy sides of the Internet community together in one week.

Monday (NANOG 95)

As a NANOG Program Committee member, I moderated the final Monday session in the main room, my first time moderating on stage. It was a great experience. Earlier in the day, I attended the Newcomers Orientation, the conference opening, and the keynote from Len Bosack, co-founder of Cisco Systems and one of the original pioneers of modern networking.

That evening’s social event was held at Six Flags, a fun way to end the day. The smart attendees rode the coasters before eating and drinking. Those who didn’t quickly learned why that was the better plan.

Tuesday

The NANOG Members Meeting was quieter than usual. In past meetings, the room would fill with questions and discussions, but this time there were only a few. Hopefully future meetings see more participation and accountability from the community.

Later in the day, the NANOG Board Candidate Session gave attendees a chance to meet those running for election. Leif once again did a great job moderating the discussion. The session helped me finalize who I’d be voting for.

The evening closed with Beer n Gear, where vendors and attendees connected face-to-face. It was great to see so many of our partner vendors in person. Afterward, there was a gathering honoring long-time NANOG volunteer Fearghas McKay, who recently passed away. Many shared stories about his impact on the community.

Wednesday

Wednesday started with the Program Committee’s internal meeting where we reviewed what worked well and what could be improved. One highlight of the day was Geoff Huston’s talk, Triggering QUIC. His discussion on how Chrome and Safari trigger QUIC differently was fascinating. Chrome uses Alt-Svc headers, while Safari relies on DNS HTTPS records, and neither implements both methods. Safari even rolls out QUIC to only a portion of users at a time to avoid breaking connectivity across the Internet.

I had a NANOG Board meeting during lunch as a committee co-chair, so no customer lunch meetings that day, but it was productive and appreciated.

Thursday (ARIN 56 Day 1)

The ARIN 56 Meeting opened with policy discussions, and the liveliest one was ARIN-2025-1: Clarify ISP and LIR Definitions and References to Address Ambiguity in NRPM Text. The open-mic discussion was especially animated, with participants comparing ISP vs. LIR to Kleenex vs. facial tissue, everyone had an opinion. The community leaned toward aligning with global terminology and adopting LIR, which better reflects how today’s networks operate.

That evening’s ARIN social was hosted at AT&T Stadium, where attendees could walk the field and take photos with the cheerleaders after practice — a fun and memorable venue for closing out the first day.

Friday (ARIN 56 Day 2)

I attended most of the Friday sessions, missing only the closing open-mic. I plan to review what I missed through the webcast archive. ARIN’s elections were also underway, covering the Board of Trustees, Advisory Council, and NRO Number Council. Meeting the candidates in person helped shape my choices for this year’s vote.

Unfortunately, my return flight was delayed due to ATC issues tied to the recent government shutdown, and I ended up getting home early Saturday morning instead of Friday night.

Overall, it was a productive and meaningful week. Between NANOG and ARIN, I reconnected with familiar faces, met new peers, and contributed to both the operational and policy discussions that keep the Internet moving forward.

I’m already looking ahead to NANOG 96, taking place February 2-4, 2026.

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