Operations and Management
The primary technical areas covered by the Operations and Management Area include: Network Management, AAA, and operations.
Unlike most IETF areas, the Operations and Management Area is logically divided into two separate functions: Network Management and Operations. This year, the Network Management AD role is open, so specific expertise desired for the open position includes a strong understanding of Network Management and measurement, as well as the practical experience of Internet operations (covering both manageability and measurement).
To assist the ADs, there are active directorates (OPS directorate, AAA doctors, Performance Metrics directorate, MIB doctors, YANG doctors). Historically, specific expertise desired for this position includes a an understanding of technologies (e.g. IPFIX, SNMP, SMI, YANG, NETCONF/RESTCONF) and their use as well as autonomic networking as they have become much more important within the IETF the last couple of years. Some knowledge of AAA, RADIUS, and Diameter would also be helpful. Knowledge (or at least an interest) regarding the operational aspects of consumer devices/sensors/etc is also a plus.
A strong vendor-neutral architectural background is desirable since the evolution of the Internet management architecture is expected to be one of the principal subjects of interest and work for the Operations and Management Area in the coming years.
Another important role of the Management AD is to identify potential or actual management issues regarding IETF protocols and documents in all Areas, and to work with the other Areas to resolve those issues. This implies a strong understanding of how new and updated protocols should be managed, including aspects related to configuration, monitoring and alarms. It also implies a good understanding of the operational environment, a strong cross-area understanding of the Internet architecture, and an understanding of IETF protocols. Note that breadth of technical ability is more important than specific technical expertise esp when combined with manageability and serviceability.
In terms of future challenges, recent shifts to the increased use of encryption (for example, to counter Pervasive Monitoring) have serious implications for operation and management of networks. Consideration of the impact of this will be a substantial part of the role.
The Management portion of the Operations and Management Area intersects with all Areas, specifically in reviewing and assisting with documents related to management or AAA aspects, especially the shepherding and management of documents defining MIB and YANG modules and specifications that make use of RADIUS or Diameter. Thus, cross-area expertise in any Area would be useful. Security of network management is an important topic. The Operations and Management Area also interacts with the operations community, operator organizations (e.g. NANOG or RIPE), and other SDOs doing work in network management such as the IEEE 802.
The content of this page was last updated on 2020-08-18. It was migrated from the old Trac wiki on 2023-02-17.