Monday 9th Septemberand 10th October 2025

SIG-NGN is the Special Interest Group on Next Generation Networks.

SIG-AI explores the potential applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the context of Research and Education Networks (NRENs).

The 16th The 15th SIG-NGN, in collaboration with SIG-AI, will take place on 9 September 2024the 9th and 10th October 2025, co-located with the NORDUnet 2024 conference in Bergen, NorwayLHCOPN and LHCONE meeting at KIT in Karlsruhe, Germany.  This will be a full-day, an in-person meeting over two half-days with possibility for remote participation.  Part of the agenda will be shared with the newly established SIG-TFN (Time and Frequency). 

Theme: Building communities for committed network evolution activities

The evolution of the next generation of research and education networking happens largely through a number of dedicated activities of individual RENs, working alone or together in coalitions of the willing, developing the tools, technologies and architectures that may become the components of networks for the future.

To be successful, such efforts need commitment - time, money, people. To have impact on the wider community, they need a community of practice and a community of RENs with a joint commitment to the effort. 

In this meeting, we will hear presentations on and have discussion of four areas that have established commitment from one or more RENs, and where a community is emerging:

1. Optical fibre sensing: a number of NRENs and national agencies have committed to investigating and exploiting optical fibre sensing technology. A European community is emerging. 

2. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite communication; a long-established technology, independently exploited for remote locations by some NRENs, but also with ambitious effort by ESA and a desire for coordinated action by NRENs. 

3. Orchestrator - an open source network and service orchestration tool originally built by SURF, recently adopted by several RENs as the orchestrations engine of choice, driven by a core group of committed organisations.  

4. Time and frequency distribution in Europe: a long-standing topic with national infrastructure in some countries, Time and frequency distribution has been included in the European GN5 project and a GÉANT special interest group - SIG-TFN - has recently been established.  

In addition to the sharing of experience and insights and the technology discussion that are the mainstay of SIG NGN, we hope through this meeting to raise awareness of the activities in these four areas and to enable participation and eventually commitment by more NRENs. 

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Meeting location:

Networking for AI and AI for Networking.

One half-day will be spent exploring how we build networks for new upcoming demands, such as ‘AI,’ and we hope to include presentations on Ultra Ethernet, beyond 1T (or even 10T) networking, and “ultra large networks.”

The second half day will be spent looking at how AI (or machine learning) can help us build and operate the networks.  In this we hope to have a couple of (suitably prepared) vendor presentations, plus community presentations on how the technology might enable troubleshooting and workflow management.

Feel free to contact the NGN Steering Committee if you have suggestions for the programme.

More information on logistics (e.g. hotels, travel, shuttle bus to venue) can be found on the LHCONE/LHCOPN meeting page, from which this is copied:

KIT-CN is located north of Karlsruhe. Public transport is possible. You take S1 or S11 direction Hochstetten (or Linkenheim-Hochstetten) and exit Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Frankfurter Straße (appr. 30 min ride). From there you take bus no 195 towards Blankenloch and exit KIT Campus North, Suedtor. At the reception there you obtain you entry pass.

All departure times can be found at Karlsruhe public transportation system. Reliable information about public transport in Karlsruhe is also available on Google Maps.

However, bus-transport from the City Center to KIT-CN will be organized. 

Bus departure at Karlsruhe Leonardo hotel parking lot:

Meeting location: SCC Building 449 / Room 140, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, DE.

ZOOM LINK for remote participants.

Meeting ID: 97610360540

Password: 01233210Radisson Blu Royal Hotel
Dreggsallmenningen 1,
5003 Bergen, Norway

Socialising

Quick Links

All Presentations (currently past meeting presentations.)

Checkout the discussion on NREN.slack.com (sign up here)

Subscribe to the NGN mailing list or View the Archive

Contact the NGN Steering Committee

Registration is open

Agenda - (all times are in

CEST - UTC+2)

Thursday, 9

October 2025

Friday, 10 October 2025