The Network Operators Program Review Working Group has been actively reviewing the first – and still the largest – of the four MANRS programs. Originally created in 2014, with editorial updates in 2021, this new Working Group marks the first major review of the Network Operator Program Actions. 

Much has changed in 12 years. MANRS now has over 1,300 total participants across four programs, there is a Steering Committee elected by those participants, and a formal MANRS Development Process outlines how reviews like this happen. 

The Network Operators Program Review Working Group has over 20 members representing both a depth and breadth of experience from large and small commercial operators and representatives of research and education networks. Some members have been involved with MANRS for many years, while others have not yet formally joined. The group’s diverse backgrounds bring both practical expertise and fresh perspectives to this 12-year-old text. 

We’re evaluating the actions of the current program to see if any changes or updates should be proposed. Everything is on the table, from minor editorial changes to adding new requirements reflecting advances in routing security.

To give you an idea of what we’re considering, we’ve discussed:

• BGP session security (things like GTSM and TCP-AO)
• Autonomous System Provider Authorization (ASPA)
• Changing the language on route filtering
• The perennially difficult-to-implement source address validation (currently the recommended Action 2: Prevent traffic with spoofed source IP addresses – Filtering)

Our work will soon wrap up with a set of recommendations for the community to consider. But these are just recommendations; the next step in the MANRS Development Process is input from the community, and we look forward to your feedback and suggestions. 

Stay tuned to the manrs-community mailing list to follow along! The mailing list is open for anyone to join, so subscribe now if you haven’t already.