Meet NetActuate at NANOG in Arlington, TX Oct 27-29!
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Meet NetActuate at NANOG in Arlington, TX Oct 27-29!
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This past week, I had the opportunity to attend two major conferences in Stockholm, Sweden: DNS-OARC and the NetNod Tech Meeting. Both events brought together some of the brightest people in our industry and reminded me how important it is to stay connected, learn from others, and occasionally step outside of my comfort zone.
The week began with DNS-OARC, which was fully packed from start to finish. The newcomers’ meet-up was held in a cozy basement venue at Trångsund 10, giving first-time attendees the chance to meet their mentors in a more personal setting. It helped set the tone for the rest of the conference, where collaboration and knowledge-sharing were at the forefront.
I opened the first session with my talk, “Using Anycast to Balance Local Regulatory Demands with Global Availability.” It was my first time speaking at a conference, and I was both nervous and excited. I received some great questions, including one about handling sinkhole issues caused by long-distance routing preferences. The positive feedback afterward meant a lot to me, especially as someone who tends to be overly self-critical. It gave me the confidence to want to do more talks in the future, hopefully with fewer nerves next time.
The rest of that session focused on Anycast as well. Thijs van den Hout presented “Autocast: automatic anycast site optimization,” which caught my attention immediately. I have already shared it with our engineering team to explore how we might integrate similar ideas.
Between sessions, there were plenty of opportunities to talk during coffee breaks and at the evening social on the hotel terrace. The networking was incredible. I met with existing customers, customers of customers, and potential new partners. It was especially rewarding to see how many already rely on our platform, sometimes without realizing it.
DNS-OARC was both deeply technical and collaborative. The discussions, presentations, and hallway conversations all reinforced how much expertise and cooperation drive the Internet forward. I had never given much thought to attending this workshop before, but now that I have, I truly understand its value and the importance of the DNS-OARC mission.
Thursday brought the NetNod Tech Meeting at Södra Teatern, Stockholm’s oldest active theater overlooking Mosebacke Square. The venue carried a sense of history and character that matched the energy of the event. The room was full and buzzing with conversation from start to finish. One of the first slides was a memorial to a friend and long-time member of our community who recently passed, which was a meaningful and emotional start to the day.
Among the talks, the one that stood out most for me was “Recursive DNS in Telia Company Sweden.” It was a great local perspective that I might never have seen outside of Sweden. Phil Regnauld’s “DNS Week Update” tied everything together, noting how DNS-OARC and NetNod happening in the same week turned Stockholm into the center of the DNS world.
The energy at NetNod was contagious. Everyone had something to talk about, which made for an incredibly social environment. Many of the people I met there were individuals I had only interacted with virtually before. With travel patterns changing globally, these international events are often the only chance to meet face to face. Conferences like this remind me that a truly successful event is one filled with conversation.
On a personal note, this trip taught me the importance of bookending travel with enough time to recover and adjust. When speaking, you want to be fully present, not exhausted. More importantly, this week gave me the confidence to write, speak, and connect in ways I had never pushed myself to do before. It also reinforced how much of the global Internet quietly runs on our shared efforts, and that is something I am proud to be a part of.
Next up, I will be attending NANOG 95 in Arlington, Texas from October 27–29 and ARIN 56 immediately after from October 30–31. If you will be there too, I hope we get a chance to talk.
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