Bahrain to host Middle East Network Operators Group Meeting & Peering Forum

30 November, 2022 - The Middle East Network Operator Group Meeting & Peering Forum (MENOG) is the largest, non-commercial, technical, educational and community-oriented event in the Middle East. Set to take place from 4-8 December 2022 in Manama, Bahrain, the 22th edition of MENOG will bring together key Internet industry players from the region to discuss core operational issues, share knowledge and expertise, and facilitate regional cooperation. This will be the first in-person MENOG meeting since MENOG 19 held in Lebanon in 2019.

MENOG is an open event for the entire technical community including Internet service providers, mobile operators, content providers, cloud and infrastructure service providers, as well as government regulators, academics and key business decision makers. Plenary sessions will include presentations on IPv6 deployment, BGP security, peering and interconnection, DNS operations and many other topics.

Peering is the direct exchange of Internet traffic from one network to another. This bypasses costly and distant third parties, which can make a huge difference to the cost and performance of the Middle East Internet. But while everyone benefits from an Internet ecosystem in which peering is common, it requires a change in perspective from many networks that often benefit from a more restrictive stance. Peering is also facilitated by IXPs, which provide a physical location in which networks can interconnect their infrastructure to allow for traffic exchange.

The peering and interconnection landscape in the Middle East has significantly evolved and matured since the early days of the MENOG meetings. That being said, regional interconnection can still be optimised across the region, as highlighted in the RIPE NCC Gulf Region Country Report, published in 2020. To address this issue and encourage peering, there will be "Peering Personals " which are one-minute introductions for interested parties at the end of each session, as well as a dedicated session for peering bilaterals at the end of the first day to help participants start peering with each other.

Participants will also get more information on how to use and contribute to the development of RIPE NCC data measurement tools and platforms (RIPE Atlas, RIPEstat and RIS) to track changes over time and make the Internet more resilient. This will include a presentation of IPv6 deployment statistics in the region, as shown in RIPE Atlas.

Another issue facing the region is the need for better routing security, which will be the focus of one of the workshops at the meeting. There will also be a Route Origin Authorisation (ROA) signing party where network operators can certify their resources and help make routing more secure for everyone.

The RIPE NCC will be hosting the meeting at the Art Hotel & Resort in Bahrain. Bahrain is a regional leader and encourages digital transformation through the introduction of a number of policies like the region’s first nationwide Cloud First Policy and Regulatory Sandbox.

The event is sponsored by AMS-IX, Meta, AWS, ICANN, DE-CIX, LINX, Internet Society, Telecom Egypt, EG-IX, Alliance Networks, SK Consultancy, Batelco, Packet Clearing House and Kentik.

More information about the event is available at: menog.org/meetings/menog-22/.

You can also view this press release in Arabic.

ENDS