Transcript ISP Needs
ISP Needs Kevin Thompson and Jambi Ganbar WorldCom June 13, 2001 What is an Internet Engineer? • “Internet engineers are the network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. Internet engineers work in the Internet infrastructure industry, consisting of telecommunications companies, Internet Service Providers, Internet backbone carriers, and the Internet equipment and software industry. In the future, the scope of internet engineering will increase as embedded systems technology integrates with the Internet.” – Jorg Liebeherr and John Stankovic, October 2000 Who Needs Internet Engineers • • • • • • • ISPs of all sizes Government, Military Corporations Enterprises Campuses Equipment and software vendors Anywhere an IP network exists or is needed Internet Eng Responsibilities • Keep the network running (availability) • Minimize packet loss and misrouting (reliability) • Keep the network ahead of the traffic growth curve • Test and deploy new hardware and software • Design and implement new features and services Skill Sets • • • • • Problem solving Communications Skills Open mind Some amount of rigor and discipline Applying concepts to implementation, realization • Adaptability, flexibility and creativity Key Technical Areas • • • • • • • IP fundamentals Layer 2 and transmission technologies User behavior and trends System administration Network Security Traffic analysis Advanced stuff (IPv6, multicast, MPLS) IP fundamentals – how the Internet works • • • • • • • • What’s an IP packet IP addressing TCP and UDP, reliability vs. best effort Routing, routing protocols Diagnostics like ping and traceroute Architectures of IP routers IP network topologies end-to-end Security Relevance of your Internet Teaching Labs • Lecture/Lab combination hits the bulls-eye • Fundamentals/concepts of how the Internet works can largely be covered by a series of labs and lectures • Homogenous hardware and software platforms ease adoption and allow students to focus on application, realization, and problem solving • Your labs take a large step toward graduating Internet Engineers The Larger Picture • How complex is the Internet? No one knows how many hosts are connected • IETF has – – – – 9 Areas of Working Groups 127 WG’s! Over 3100 RFC’s Many Internet drafts • Internet engineering is in fact a distinct engineering disciplining Labor Environment • UUNet alone had over 400 Internet eng openings last Fall • > 900,000 new IT jobs this year • And a shortfall of 425,000 workers ( data referenced from www.zdnet.com, May 21, 2001) Assertions • We (ISPs) need Internet engineers who have a fundamental knowledge base combined with experience and use of core Internet hardware and software • ISPs need Internet specialists too, focused on areas like routing, security, traffic engineering, etc. • ISPs need thinkers, designers, and innovators focused on core Internet technology • ISPs need universities and colleges to build an Internet Engineering curriculum and graduate Internet engineers