Several of Internet2's international partner organizations have expressed interest in holding hands-on IPv6 workshops like those offered by Internet2 over the past two years (see http://ipv6.internet2.edu/workshops/ for presentations, router configurations, and network diagrams from these workshops). In this document we've collected some insights gleaned from our experience holding these workshops — so far primarily within the United States for the Internet2 community, although we do share below some experiences from AARNET in Australia. The document is intended to be used with the presentations from the February 2003 workshop at Florida International University, available at http://ipv6.internet2.edu/fiu/presentations/. Both this document and the presentations are freely redistributable.
This document describes a workshop of 15-18 attendees. The principal qualification for attendees is that they be in a position to push forward the deployment of IPv6 at their home institutions. While attendees should have some hands-on experience with IPv4 router configuration in general and BGP configuration in particular, no knowledge of IPv6 is required.
Students are asked to bring a laptop capable of running an IPv6 stack. Linux or *BSD based systems will offer the most tools and applications, but Windows 2000 or XP are also suitable. We prefer that these stacks be installed prior to the workshop, but offer help with installation at the workshop in case this is not possible. A list of sites with information about setting up IPv6 is at http://ipv6.internet2.edu/workshops/setup-sites.shtml.
It's best to have at least two instructors. This allows slide presenters to specialize in the material they know best, as well as making it easier for students to get help when needed during the labs. If possible, it's best to have true experts presenting.
Internet2-run workshops in the U.S. are open to international partners. Having a prospective instructor attend one of these workshops to see how they're run may be a good idea.
Internet2 may be able to help provide an initial set of instructors for workshops, but this is dependent on demand and travel budget. If you would like to talk further about how we might work together to identify and develop potential instructors for these workshops, please contact Heather Boyles (heather@internet2.edu) or Ana Preston (apreston@internet2.edu).
Internet2 uses the following gear at its workshops. We are unable to ship gear internationally, so the list below is provided for reference only. The resources you have available will determine the details of how you do your workshop; we recommend that you start by taking inventory, and work outward from there. Opportunities do exist for low-cost loans of gear for R&E purposes — see for example the Network Startup Resource Center (http://www.nsrc.org/). Unix-based routing such as Zebra (http://www.zebra.org/) is another option, and has been used successfully for IPv6 workshops in Australia; contact Dale Finkelson (dmf@unl.edu) for more information. Whatever equipment you decide on, we strongly recommend assembling a standard equipment kit and shipping it from workshop to workshop, rather than configuring a new set of boxes each time. This greatly reduces the amount of work and the number of unforeseen problems.
Standard equipment kit for Internet2 IPv6 workshops
Power requirements
Estimated dissipation values are based upon
maximum power ratings for each device.
|
Device |
Quantity |
Dissipation
(watts) |
Total
Dissipation |
|
Cisco 4700 Router |
4 |
200 |
800 |
|
Cisco 7200 Router |
1 |
370 |
370 |
|
Juniper M-5 Router |
1 |
434 |
434 |
|
Laptop Computer |
24 |
72 |
1,728 |
|
Ethernet Switch |
8 |
5.25 |
42 |
|
Projection Unit |
1 |
250 |
250 |
|
Inkjet or Laser Printer |
1 |
500 |
500 |
|
Total Room Power |
|
|
4,124 |
It is important to have clarity about the division of tasks between the sponsoring organization and the hosting institution. In particular, it is recommended that the sponsoring organization handle the technical aspects and the hosting institution handle organizational tasks such as registration.
Internet2 has the hosting institution handle registration and fee collection. Internet2 publicizes the workshop and provides instructors and gear. The hosting institutions provide Internet2 with the following information:
Attendee fee. Internet2 charges attendees a $200 fee; of this, 80% goes to Internet2 and the remaining 20% goes to the hosting institution. While the attendee fees help defray expenses for both the hosting institution and Internet2, the fees generally do not cover all costs. The appropriate fee and division of funds for your workshops will likely be different than for Internet2's.
More details on the planning process Internet2 uses for its own workshops, including a detailed timeline, are at http://ipv6.internet2.edu/workshops/ipv6-workshop-logistics.shtml.
Network bandwidth requirements: IPv6 workshop lab traffic will be tunneled between the IPv6 workshop lab and the nearest IPv6 backbone router. Use of a native IPv6 connection may be attempted when and where available. Bandwidth requirements will be light, although one application occasionally presented at IPv6 workshops is the Digital Video Transport System, which can require up to 32Mbps IPv4/IPv6 bandwidth in each direction.
Addressing requirements: One static IPv4 address is needed in order to set up a tunnel between the workshop router lab and a core router on an IPv6 backbone network. On the IPv6 backbone, 3 /40 IPv6 blocks and a tunnel endpoint are required.
It is very helpful to have a static /25 IPv4 subnet. Configuring the router lab with routable IPv4 addresses (in addition to IPv6, which is configured as part of the workshop) allows attendees to access the IPv4 Internet to grab configuration files and presentations from within the router lab infrastructure.
Workshop meeting room. In the labs, two to four students work on each router. The room layout must allow for this.
Slide projection system. It is best if this can be set up to allow presenters to use their own laptops. If this is not possible, the presentation laptop provided should have both PowerPoint and Acrobat Reader.
Whiteboard or blackboard. Essential! The more writing space that is available, the better.
Network cabling. The length of cables required will depend on the
workshop room layout.
|
Use |
Quantity Required |
|
Cables to attendee laptop computers |
24 |
|
Cables between routers |
16 |
|
Cables to user switches |
6 |
Power strips and extension cords. There never seem to be enough of these, so bring more than you think you'll need.
Videoconferencing equipment. This should not be required, but it may make it possible to bring in experts who can't attend in person.
Printing and copying. It's helpful to have hard copies available, especially for lab materials and network diagrams. As instructors usually need to make last-minute changes, it's best to plan on printing on site.
Food and drink. Having plenty of snacks, soda, water, and (especially) coffee available throughout the workshop does a lot for mood, and therefore for productivity. Providing full meals can be a considerable time-saver, especially for lunch, and especially if the workshop location is not close to restaurants. Vegetarian options are recommended.
Allow one and a half to two days to cover the material. A noon-to-noon schedule extending over three days usually works best to allow for setup and teardown time, and for travel time for out-of-town participants.
Day One - Afternoon
Day Two - Morning
Day Two - Afternoon
Day Three - Morning
Suggested variations:
This document is a work in progress and is provided in the spirit of
sharing our experiences and gaining from yours. We are very interested in feedback on
this document and on the workshops themselves, both those run by Internet2
and any workshops that might be replicated by partners elsewhere. Send feedback to Heather Boyles (heather@internet2.edu) or
Ana Preston (apreston@internet2.edu).