Day one - Tuesday 18 June - sponsored by Cisco

Registration and networking

Speaker: Joy Palmer, chief operating officer - Group CTO, JiscJoy Palmer welcomes you to Networkshop 2024.

Welcome to day one of Networkshop 2024

Speakers:<ul><li>Neil Shewry, director of networks, Jisc</li><li>Rob Evans, chief network architect, Jisc</li></ul>In this session, Neil Shewry will present the high-level strategy for Janet for the next five years (and beyond). Neil will talk through five key strategic areas of focus and will delve into specific activities and initiatives to illustrate some of the workstreams required to deliver on the strategy. Throughout he will highlight the benefits envisaged for Jisc, the UK research and education community, and research and education networking worldwide.Rob Evans will talk about what has been happening on the network over the last 12 months, some of the major events and traffic trends, and what Jisc is planning for the next year and slightly further ahead.

The strategy: 2024-2030 (and beyond)

Speaker: Michael Webb, director of technology and analytics, JiscWhat do we need to do to allow the whole institution to benefit from AI? In this session we’ll explore how AI is both challenging and transforming our universities and colleges. We’ll explore Jisc’s approach to AI maturity and our recommendations on what tasks need to be undertaken to help you move to being an AI-optimised organisation.

A whole institution approach to AI adoption

Morning break

Speaker: Peter Goodwin, global customer solution architect director, EfficientIPJoin us for an insightful session on Zero Trust as we explore the critical role of DNS as the first line of defense. Discover how to implement and secure application access control for universities and institutions alike using a DNS security solution. Learn strategies for controlling internal DNS queries and allocating access based on granular security policies. Gain insights into managing and restricting IoT/OT device access to external domains. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your security posture and empower your IT teams with DNS security to elevate your Zero Trust Network Access implementation.

Securing your institution: Zero Trust and DNS strategies for enhanced access control - sponsored by EfficientIP

Speaker: Jaspal Virdee, principal systems engineer, Extreme NetworksMost HE customers adopt a mixed vendor landscape Lan, WLan, Network Access Control, WAN, Firewall and DDI strategy due to existing investments or to get the best of breeds. Extreme Networks integrate with these vendors to provide a robust, secure, resilient architecture with automation. Third party integrations and interoperability are key in delivering a successful solution to help achieve Cyber Essentials(+).

Security, automation and integration best practices for HE - sponsored by Extreme Networks

Speakers:<ul><li>Alex Goffe, associate director technology, University of Manchester</li><li>Tony Curran, IT operations centre manager, University of Manchester</li><li>Craig Tyson, program director, University of Manchester</li></ul>A presentation on the new IT Operations Centre at the University of Manchester, the eyes, ears and heart of the IT service, monitoring IT clusters, network experience and how this service is enabling a better colleague and student experience.

24-hour ITOC people

Speakers:<ul><li>Paul Westmore, chief digital and information officer, Swansea University</li><li>Darren Griffiths, head of digital infrastructure, Swansea University</li></ul>This session will present Swansea University's three-year journey to a rock solid network infrastructure.

Laying digital foundations

Speakers:<ul><li>Katy Ellis, CMS / Tier 1 liaison, UKRI</li><li>Alessandra Forti, research fellow, Advance HE</li></ul>The Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (WLCG) has challenged its experiments to prepare for the vastly greater quantity of data expected from the High-Luminosity LHC, which is coming online in the next five years. This session discusses the motivation, method and results of 'Data Challenge 2024' as experienced by the ATLAS and CMS experiments.

WLCG Data Challenge 2024 - preparing for High-Luminosity LHC

Speaker: Simone Arena, distinguished engineer, Cisco SystemsIn this session, Simone Arena will share the latest innovations on both the Catalyst and Meraki wireless product portfolio to achieve two main goals: reducing IT operations complexity through AIOPs and building a flexible, secure and sustainable higher-ed wireless network for both on-prem, hybrid and cloud managed customers.

Cisco Wireless - when sophistication meets simplicity - sponsored by Cisco

Lunch break

Speaker: Deep Johal, systems engineer UK&I, RUCKUS NetworksIn this engaging and informative session, we'll explore the groundbreaking potential of Wi-Fi 7 in the educational sector. We'll delve into how this next-generation wireless technology can revolutionise campus networks, providing unprecedented speed, reliability, and capacity.

Empowering educational excellence with Wi-Fi 7: unleashing the future of campus networks  - sponsored by Ruckus

Speaker: Rob Price, networking business unit CTO, LogicalisIn the increasingly digital world in which we live, IT is becoming an increasingly important component in driving organisational sustainability. Firstly, supply chain sustainability - using IT asset disposal (ITAD) companies, we can ethically dispose of IT assets for which we no longer have any use. Refresh programs allow us to use second user, remanufactured equipment in support of the circular economy. Secondly, IT needs to ensure that it is “keeping its own house in order”. Taking measures to ensure that IT keeps its own energy consumption to a minimum is key. Finally, and perhaps most importantly IT has the capacity to drive “consequential” energy savings in other non-IT systems. In Logicalis’ recent CIO survey, 96% of respondents said that they are directly involved in driving overall organisational sustainability for their businesses.

How IT is becoming a key component to driving organisational sustainability in the digital world we live in today - sponsored by Logicalis UKI

Speaker: Matthew Landry, VP product, Meraki Networking and Cisco Wireless, CiscoManaging a hybrid network spanning cloud-managed and on-premises environments poses significant challenges in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape. This presentation will delve into how Cisco Networking Cloud simplifies the management of hybrid networks by providing a single, comprehensive platform to seamlessly integrate various network architectures. Attendees will learn about the key features of Cisco Networking Cloud, including its ability to automate processes, enhance security measures, and optimise network performance - empowering IT teams to focus more on strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance. Additionally, the talk will highlight the strategic advantages of adopting a converged network management approach, such as reduced operational costs, improved user experience, and increased agility in responding to new business needs. Join us to discover how transitioning from complexity to convergence with Cisco Networking Cloud can transform your IT infrastructure into a robust, efficient, and secure network, ready to meet the demands of modern business environments.

Complexity to convergence: unified management with Cisco Networking Cloud - sponsored by Cisco

Speaker: Amin Emami, telco specialist - systems and solutions architect, Bristol UniversityHybrid Cloud addresses latency concerns in Edge Computing and 5G/6G networks by strategically distributing computing tasks. By leveraging both local edge nodes and centralized cloud resources, Hybrid Cloud minimises data travel distances, reducing latency for critical applications. This approach optimises response times, ensuring real-time processing for emerging technologies like autonomous vehicles and augmented reality. Additionally, Hybrid Cloud's dynamic resource allocation enables seamless scalability, accommodating fluctuating demands in distributed environments. With its ability to balance local processing and cloud integration, Hybrid Cloud emerges as a pivotal solution, enhancing performance and unlocking the full potential of Edge Computing within advanced networking paradigms.

Hybrid Cloud - supporting Bristol University’s 5G ambitions and the generation beyond

Speakers:<ul><li>Robert Cleaves, lead network engineer, University of Bath</li><li>Gavin Edwards, chief data and technology officer, University of Bath</li><li>Matt Richards, senior network engineer, University of Bath</li></ul>The University of Bath has over the last number of years developed a space management platform. The platform uses technology to show utilisation of our campus down to room level. This is achieved via a variety of sources, including wi-fi, sensors, Zigbee, loraWAN, room bookings and more.

University of Bath space management

Speaker: James Hodgkinson, AI technologist, JiscJoin our interactive workshop to explore generative AI and how it can be used in your everyday work. We’ll look at the latest ways tools such as Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and ChatGPT can be used for common tasks and examine some of the more specialised generative AI tools used in education. We’ll also explore what might be coming over the next few years, including how smaller language models may open up new use cases.

Hands on with generative AI

Speaker: Cal Innes, subject specialist: sustainability, JiscAn exploration of key terms, concepts and emerging trends in digital sustainability with recommendations on how organisations can employ best practices. Topics will include:<ul><li>What is digital environmental sustainability?</li><li>Energy consumption and carbon footprint</li><li>E-waste generation</li><li>Positive digital impacts</li><li>Improving energy efficiency in the digital sphere</li><li>Minimising e-waste</li></ul>

Digital environmental sustainability: exploring the environmental impacts of ICT and empowering positive change

Afternoon break

Speaker: Ben Lavelle, smart building practice lead, BlockJoin us for a dynamic 10-minute quickfire Q&A session looking at the evolution towards smart campuses, where we'll:<ul><li>explore current smart campus trends, dissecting what estates teams demand from IT to innovate and optimise campus experiences</li><li>delve into the myriad opportunities presented by smart campuses, from enhanced student engagement to streamlined operations</li><li>discuss the critical challenges facing implementation, including connectivity and security issues that demand resolution before the smart campus vision can materialise fully</li><li>engage with industry experts as we navigate the intricate landscape of education technology, forging connections and insights vital for realising the potential of smart campuses in the digital age</li></ul>

Navigating the smart campus: unveiling opportunities and overcoming challenges in education technology - sponsored by Block

Speaker: Tom Whittle, solutions architect, TelentBased on a case study of a project for a major Russell Group University, this presentation will introduce the latest advances in wired and wireless networks for higher education and how these enable digital transformation projects and deliver secure, high performance IT networks. Additionally, it will explore the use of AI Ops to enhance the user experience, reduce the cost of support and improve the time to resolve issues, allowing IT teams to focus more on strategic projects by spending less time keeping the lights on.

The modern network - enabling digital transformation for higher education - sponsored by Telent

Speakers:<ul><li>Martin Johnson, digital innovation specialist, Bedford College Group</li><li>Sam Neate, voice solutions engineer – session border controller, Jisc</li></ul>Martin Johnson from The Bedford College Group takes us through their journey moving to Teams Telephony. Jisc's session border controller became a life raft when their telephony system failed on GCSE results day. This session will cover the benefits and unique challenges they faced while migrating to Jisc's session border controller.

Implementing Teams Telephony with Jisc's session border controller

Speakers:<ul><li>Trent Horn, principal systems engineer, Fortinet</li><li>Ellie Chambers, security sales manager, BT</li><li>Richard Jackson, lead cloud solutions architect - security, Jisc</li><li>Michael McFarlane, deputy director, network operations, Jisc</li></ul>With the beta launch of Jisc managed SD-WAN access, connectivity to the Janet Network has become easier and more flexible. Jisc presents the roadmap for the secure SD-WAN product and the features expected to land in the near future.

Extending Janet's reach - How Jisc's managed SD-WAN will provide greater access to Janet -  in partnership with BT and Fortinet

Speakers:<ul><li>Dave Tinkler, principal network engineer, Jisc</li><li>Tony Hacche, senior network engineer, Jisc</li></ul>Janet NOC engineers will host this drop-in session where they'll talk through the architecture of Janet and some of its key design and engineering principles. It will also be your chance to ask technical questions about Janet to support the design and configuration of your own campus networks.

Network engineering surgery

Drinks reception - sponsored by Ciena

Day one closes

Day two - Wednesday 19 June - sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking

Speaker: Liam Earney, MD - higher education and research, JiscLiam Earney welcomes you to day two of Networkshop 2024.

Welcome to day two of Networkshop 2024

Speaker: Gemma Honour, director of coaching, Bryter WorkEver found yourself in a leadership position where people aren't taking the initiative, making decisions or getting on with the work without significant handholding? This talk considers the psychology of teams and what impacts their ability to be 'empowered' to create, think and innovate for themselves. We will also look at how you as a leader have significant impact on those around you, and how your stance creates a shadow that has the power to shape the behaviour on those around you. From this talk you'll have a clearer idea of what communication traps you might find yourself falling into, how to recognise and change these, and some simple techniques to lead confident and empowered teams.

Your leadership shadow - how your leadership stance has an impact on teams

Speakers:<ul><li>Alex Owen, senior physicist programmer, Queen Mary University London</li><li>Jon Hayes, professor in physics, Queen Mary University London</li></ul>As the UK’s journey towards NetZero accelerates, we need robust information to inform both strategic and operational decisions, from policy development and funding allocation to hardware procurement, code optimisation and job scheduling. The UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure NetZero Scoping Project published its technical report and recommendations in August 2023 and funded the IRISCAST project which took a learning-by-doing approach to conduct a proof of concept 24-hour carbon audit snapshot across a multi-site heterogeneous research infrastructure. IRIS has gone on to fund a Carbon Mapping Project (IRIS-CMP) which builds on the IRISCAST work to build practical carbon models and to deliver an outline delivery roadmap. We present our key IRISCAST and IRIS-CMP findings, recommendations, and lessons learned, in the context of the UKRI Net Zero DRI journey.

Measuring carbon: IRIS and UKRI NetZero DRI

Speaker: Richard Jackson, lead cloud solutions architect - security, JiscThis talk will cover Defender 365, including Endpoint, Identitiy, O365 and Cloud apps. We will cover fundamental controls but also explore features which we do not commonly see deployed in the sector.

Optimising Defender: getting more out the platform

Speaker: Joe Neville, strategist, HPE Aruba NetworkingBuilding modern networks is driven by more than the need for simple connectivity; security is increasingly the primary motivation when considering network design and function. In this session we will look at these trends and how to embrace the journey towards a network fabric that secures and connects.

Building secure campus fabrics - sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking

Speakers:<ul><li>Kevin Panter, head of digital technologies, Bedford College Group</li><li>Mike Foster, technical operations specialist, The Bedford College Group </li><li>Martin Johnson, digital innovation specialist, The Bedford College Group</li><li>Jonathan Dews, senior IT technician, The Bedford College Group</li></ul>The Bedford College Group, like many other colleges, had for many years preferred to put new kit in the classrooms to provide the best possible student experience. Combined with mergers over time this had resulted in some tired equipment in multiple server rooms. A complete rethinking of the group digital provision was required covering everything from staffing to structure, from the number of data centres to a new digital strategy. Being empowered to make changes, the team set out on an ambitious plan to transform the backend server, firewall and inter-site infrastructure, while also continuing with BAU activities such as maintaining cyber essentials, refreshing a 1950s tower block containing over 500 desktops, introducing a new sixth form, merging with another college and introducing teams telephony. This is not how to do the work, nor is it entirely a warning to others to not attempt as much!

The Bedford College Group has been on a digital transformation journey over the past few years and it isn’t over yet!

Speaker: Mark Rosewell, solutions architect manager, LogicalisIn this session we will discuss the key attributes that the underlying digital platform needs to display to ensure the success of digital business outcomes. The network firstly needs to be agile. Too many IT teams spend their time “keeping the lights on”. If we can improve network agility, we reduce the operational overhead on IT and in doing so release capacity for them to support digital business outcomes. Secondly, the network needs to be secure by design. Cyber crime is becoming ever more of a problem. Building security directly into the fabric of the network is a mandatory component in combatting this issue. Finally, the network needs to be observable. As customers' reliance on digitally driven business outcomes increases, so does their dependence on the network. Being able to quickly identify problems and remediate them is essential.

How having an agile, secure and observable network underpins the success of digital business outcomes - sponsored by Logicalis UK

Speaker: Stuart Pass, chief technical officer, QolcomYour network is designed to connect students and staff to the resources they need, but what connects the campus, lecture halls and study spaces to the people that rely on an understanding of the physical environment? In the journey to a smart campus or digital twin of a physical environment, the collection and presentation of data is key. Where hundreds of physical and environmental events occur every day, how can these be easily captured and correlated to make sense? Let Qolcom take you on a journey and show how your network can be leveraged to provide this data to key stakeholders within the university. You may not know it, but the hard work you have put into implementing and supporting a state of art wireless network is about to pay off.

Connecting the 'physical' campus - sponsored by Qolcom

Speakers:<ul><li>Ross Hockey, director of sales, EMEA MSP, Cradlepoint</li><li>Jane Mooney, academic lead for digital skills and literacy, University of Manchester</li></ul>This session highlights the strengths in key partnerships to deliver a technical solution to combat the ever growing challenge of digital poverty.

Tackling digital equality - in partnership with Cradlepoint

Speaker: Nick Skelton, consultant in digital higher educationNetworking and other digital infrastructure has long been critical for the day-to-day operations of universities, but viewing ‘infrastructure as plumbing’ leads to underappreciated, downbeat and budget-starved infrastructure teams. Thankfully this is changing. Digital is increasingly recognised as part of institutional strategy. It overcomes constraints and enables entirely new ventures. Digital is a tool for growth. Nick will explore the eight fallacies of higher education digital infrastructure and reflect on how IT professionals and university leaders can better understand each other’s point of view.

What university leaders want from digital infrastructure and how to persuade them to pay for it!

Speakers: <ul><li>Neil Sayer, head of cloud services, Jisc</li><li>Dave Cook, senior cloud solutions architect - Azure Cloud solutions, Jisc</li><li>Adam Parrish, solutions architect - AWS, Jisc</li></ul>We will discuss the things to consider when planning your migration to the cloud, including strategy, migration planning, cost optimisation, best practice and management. Join us as we talk about the challenges the sector is facing with vendors like VMware changing their pricing structure and how public cloud can help to mitigate for it.

Optimising your migration to the cloud

Speaker: Renyk de’Vandre, network operations manager, University of BirminghamBirmingham University has re-architected its DDI (DNS, DHCP, IPAM) service, removing legacy and unnecessary operational dependencies to create a foundation for innovation, operational resilience and flexibility. The relationship between AD DNS and Infoblox DDI was an example of an operational challenge that caused unnecessary duplication of function and management. After analysing this relationship, our goal became clear: migrate AD DNS to the Infoblox DDI without interruption and realise the benefits of a consolidated platform. The project was a success, the world didn’t end! Now we feel the knowledge, benefits and experience we gained during the migration process is something from which our colleagues in other institutions would benefit. In this session we will bust some myths surrounding the use of non-Microsoft DNS in a Microsoft environment, discuss why you would want to migrate from Microsoft DNS, your option, some of the challenges faced, and how we at Birmingham University achieved it.

The operational and strategic benefits of migrating Active Directory DNS to Infoblox DDI and why the world didn’t end when we did!

Speaker: Alastair Fergus, regional business consultant-cybersecurity, HoneywellUniversities worldwide continue to face increasing threats from cyber criminals at an alarming rate. Join Alastair Fergus, consultant for the UK and Nordics at Honeywell, as he discusses closing the gap between IT and OT technology and building school resilience.

Closing the gap in IT and OT technology and building resilience for schools - sponsored by Honeywell

Speakers:<ul><li>Simon Wilson, field CTO, HPE Aruba Networking</li><li>Andy Powell, director of technology, Canterbury Christ Church University</li><li>Alex Goffe, associate director technology, University of Manchester</li><li>Mathew Bailey, head of network services, Keele University</li></ul>This session, hosted by HPE Aruba Networking UK&I CTO Simon Wilson, will be a panel discussion with member institutions including Keele University, Canterbury Christ Church University and University of Manchester discussing their real-world experience in delivering outcomes aligned with the conference theme. We will explore the realities of using data, telemetry, machine learning and AI to manage higher education networks. Topics we will explore will include:<ul><li>Addressing the cultural and skills challenges associated with the transition to a modern, automated network</li><li>The latest trends and innovations in cloud networking, AI automation, and how networks and security technologies are becoming intertwined to enable the journey to zero-trust</li><li>Are AI and machine learning really helping to tune and optimise networks in institutions or do the marketing claims not live up to the hype</li><li>How changing security demands and focus have shaped how the panel approach networking design and security.</li></ul>

The realities of using data, machine learning and AI to optimise higher education and research networks - sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking

Speaker: Mike Foster, technical operations specialist, The Bedford College Group Technical skills are critical but there's another equally important skillset that doesn't always come easily to those of us with technical skills. To quote "How to Win Friends and Influence People", "Even in such technical lines as engineering, about 15% of one's financial success is due to one's technical knowledge and about 85% is due to skill in human engineering”. With simple tips and tricks we can become more approachable and trusted, improving the perception of ourselves and our teams and increasing the chance colleagues come to us for advice next time that iffy looking email lands in their inbox!

Those pesky humans - a cheat sheet

Speakers:<ul><li>Iain McCracken, assistant director, IT infrastructure, University of Sussex</li><li>Seb Harrington, network replacement project - technical lead, University of Sussex</li></ul>Embark on the extraordinary journey of the University of Sussex's network replacement program, a testament to sustainability, artificial intelligence integration, and operational excellence. Discover how the strategic partnership with Juniper Networks revolutionised the institution's network infrastructure, paving the way for energy efficiency, AI-native automation, and enhanced student experiences. Explore the key milestones, innovative solutions, and profound outcomes that shape Sussex's future-ready digital landscape.

University of Sussex 's network transformation: Embracing sustainability, AI, and efficiency through Juniper Networks - sponsored by Juniper Networks Limited

Speakers:<ul><li>David Batho, director of security, Jisc</li><li>Mark Worthington, security centre operations manager, Jisc</li></ul>This session will delve into the specialised realm of threat hunting performed by Jisc’s security operations team across the Janet Network, focusing on how we operationalise threat intelligence to proactively protect, detect and respond to cyber threats targeting our members in the education and research sector. The discussion will include real-world examples of threats faced by our members, the proactive measures taken, and the outcomes.

Protecting the education and research sector - threat hunting across the Janet Network

Speakers:<ul><li>Ronny Scherf, product manager, Honeywell</li><li>Alastair Fergus, regional business consultant-cybersecurity, Honeywell</li><li>Chris Murray, senior infrastructure architect, Jisc</li></ul>The education sector currently represents 37% of public sector buildings' carbon dioxide emissions, with members across higher and further education seeking innovative ways to decarbonise estates. We hear first-hand the importance of reducing energy consumption and associated emissions through IoT infrastructure, optimising space utilisation and gaining real-time data insights from building management systems. With the increasing implementation of LPWAN technologies in the wider estate, OT cyber security plays an even greater strategic role.Join us for discussion and learn more about our proof-of-concept (PoC) with global technology vendor Honeywell and their Forge for Buildings smart analytics platform.

Support your sustainability goals with smart building management - in partnership with Honeywell

Speakers:<ul><li>Alex Goffe, associate director technology, University of Manchester</li><li>Warren Mittoo, IT network team lead, University of Manchester</li><li>Paul Westhead, network architect, University of Manchester</li></ul>Join University of Manchester as they give a view on the issues they face and the plans to move forward one of the largest academic networks in Europe. Showcasing the vision for the new network for the University of Manchester, they will showcase innovations and work with sector colleagues such as Jisc.

2030 - a network odyssey

Speaker: David Batho, director of security, JiscDavid Batho closes day two of Networkshop 2024.

Day two closing thoughts

Day two closes

Day three - Thursday 20 June (online) - sponsored by Juniper Networks Limited

Speaker: Joy Palmer, chief operating officer - Group CTO, JiscJoy Palmer welcomes you to day three of Networkshop 2024.

Welcome to day three of Networkshop 2024

Speakers:<ul><li>Bob Friday, chief AI officer, Juniper Networks Limited</li><li>Elliot Townsend, head of sales engineering, Juniper Networks Limited</li></ul>AI and digital twins, once futuristic concepts, are now integral to the evolution of networking cloud AIOps in higher education. Digital twins provides a virtualised pre connect and post connect user experience offering immense potential for optimizing network infrastructure, predicting maintenance needs, and enhancing cybersecurity measures. With the addition of digital twins to Marvis cloud AIOps, Marvis can now make sure the classroom is ready for the first class of the day. Proactively verifying the network preconnect and post connect student experience. identifying network vulnerabilities, streamlining operations, and personalising learning experiences. By embracing AI and digital twins responsibly, higher education institutions can empower network administrators with actionable insights, elevate teaching and learning experiences, and fortify network resilience against emerging threats. Thus, while these technologies hold immense promise, their ethical implementation remains crucial in ensuring they become true allies rather than adversaries for networks in higher education.

AI and digital twins – friend or foe for higher education - sponsored by Juniper Networks Limited

Speaker: Jen Linkova, TCP/IPv6 plumber, GoogleEnabling IPv6 on a large enterprise network sounds like a daunting task, but turning off IPv4 and migrating such a network to IPv6-only mode sounds like science fiction. This session tells a story of migrating Google's enterprise network to IPv6-mostly mode, where IPv6-only and IPv4-enabled devices co-exist on the same network.

Mission possible: turning off IPv4 in Google Enterprise Network

Speaker: Tom Micciche, cloud engineer - security, JiscJisc's Cloud WAF (Web Application Firewall) is a SaaS based security layer essential for any online service, acting as a gatekeeper that protects against a multitude of cyber threats to ensure that only legitimate traffic reaches your servers, maintaining service continuity and protecting sensitive data.

Securing your web applications using Cloud WAF

Speakers:<ul><li>Tim Chown, network development manager, Jisc</li><li>David Kelsey, group leader, particle physics computing,
UKRI</li></ul>In this session we'll begin by exploring the current business drivers, rationale and approaches for research and education sites to deploy IPv6. With nearly half of all Internet user traffic now IPv6, it's very timely for research and education organisations to consider their IPv6 strategy. We'll then focus on the example of the CERN experiment community, which perform more than 90% of their data transfers over the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure using IPv6. That network spans over 150 sites in 40 countries and handles 200PB of data annually. Since last year all the UK sites (known as the GridPP community) have dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 support on their storage. We'll look in detail at how the CERN community has deployed IPv6, the key lessons learnt, the differences in IPv6 thinking, and report on the current drive towards IPv6-only operation through analysis of the remaining IPv4 traffic.

IPv6 in 2024: the business drivers and rationale for deployment and how the CERN community is now heading towards IPv6-only operation

Speakers:<ul><li>Tom Cox, engineering manager, Jisc</li><li>Ian Carter, senior security solutions architect, Jisc</li></ul>Learn about how Jisc develops reactive threat detection with automation and infrastructure as code.

Engineering high quality cyber threat detection

Speaker: Nick Brown, senior cloud solutions architect - M365, JiscWork smarter, be more productive, boost creativity, and stay connected to the people and things in your life with Copilot—an AI companion that works everywhere you do and intelligently adapts to your needs. Find out how Copilot's use in education can assist teaching and learning and what to watch out for.

Microsoft Copilot

Speaker: Ben Chapman, head of architecture and engineering, JiscJisc's protective DNS, also known as Janet Network resolver service (JNRS), has immediate security benefits. It enables organisations to prevent access to millions of known malicious locations while also providing secure intelligence to the sector - further improving the service.

Protective DNS capabilities - how it helps, what it does, why you should use it

Speaker: Richard Northrop, lead data centre specialist, Juniper Networks LimitedThis session is poised to explore the transformative role of network automation in the data centre. Data centres always need to work and human error is the biggest source of outages. Human error can be caused by a shortage of skills and shortage of available resources. The next step in automation is to add AI for data centre automation to further reduce the human error and show how it can revolutionise data centre management. Juniper expert Richard will share insights on leveraging AI algorithms for predictive maintenance, optimising resource allocation, and enhancing security protocols. Attendees will gain invaluable strategies for harnessing AI's potential to navigate the evolving landscape of data centre challenges, ensuring their infrastructure remains agile, adaptive, and primed for the demands of the future.

Mastering automation: empowering data centres for tomorrow's challenges with AI - sponsored by Juniper Networks Limited

Speaker: Parmjit Dhugga, Warwick award manager, University of WarwickIn today’s dynamic landscape, recent university graduates find themselves navigating a transformed professional environment. The rapid deployment of machine learning and the evolving demands of employers necessitate a fresh approach to education. Now, more than ever, universities must produce interdisciplinary graduates equipped with the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviours to thrive in their early career roles.

Unlocking talent: navigating digital skills development across disciplines

Speaker: Craig Scott, director of IT, Tyne Coast CollegeThis session presents the trials and tribulations from our 12 month journey of migrating a 3,200 device network from being SCCM and Group Policy managed to Intune managed.

Migrating to Intune

Speakers:<ul><li>Sophie Wilkins, cyber outreach and engagement manager, Jisc</li><li>Mark Tysom, product manager, cyber security, Jisc</li></ul>We all have a responsibility to understand and complete cyber security mandatory training, covering topics such as malware, phishing and password security. But what is the real impact of something as simple as a successful phishing campaign? What impact does this have on our everyday practices if an entire digital estate is lost and what can we do to plan for such an event? In this scenario-led workshop, we will look at the current cyber landscape across the education sector and examine the damage that a threat actor can do with something as simple as a single successful phishing link click-through. We will present a scenario and ask teams to consider their reaction in the event of an outage, consider what plans/procedures are in place, where these are housed and what holes can we identify to improve our readiness as a whole organisation.

Cyber incident awareness

Speakers:<ul><li>Ollie Smith, Cloud solutions architect M365, Jisc</li><li>Nick Brown, senior cloud solutions architect - M365, Jisc</li></ul>Learn about data retention, archiving and backup within Microsoft 365 - and being DPA18/GDPR compliant. This session will cover Microsoft and Jisc best practice for keeping data (as long as it is necessary!), where to store data and backup/archiving within 365. With Microsoft's storage reductions, it is essential you are only keeping data for as long as you need to. Aside from being compliant, a properly implemented retention and archiving solution will also mean reducing your overall data footprint (and staying away from needing to purchase additional storage!).

M365 retention, archive, backup

Speaker: David Laverty, reader, Queen’s University BelfastDr Laverty is a reader with the School of EEECS at Queen’s University Belfast. His work is mainly focused on electrical power system metrology and time transfer technology with adjacent work in data systems, cyber security and machine learning. He is known as the founder of the open source project OpenPMU, a device which produces accurate time synchronised observations of electrical power system phenomena. Recently he has been working to address the vulnerability arising from reliance on 'space-based' time to synchronise power system apparatus. He has developed novel methods to detect GNSS spoofing attacks using commodity equipment. While protocols such as PTP and SyncE do not lend themselves to wide area distribution over public networks, NRENs provide an opportunity to investigate challenges and solutions towards creating national time transfer networks. Dr Laverty is working on terrestrial time transfer technologies (microwave/fibre) to provide resilient time transfer to critical national infrastructure.

Monitoring the Irish Electrical Power Grid Using PMUs at HEAnet/NREN POP Sites with Precision Time Protocol (PTP) synchronisation

Speaker: James Bisset, security specialist, JiscJames Bisset outlines how to support executive leaders in building a roadmap to deliver improvements in your cyber security posture, drawing on experience from Jisc’s cyber security assessment service.

Building a roadmap for cyber security: advice for executive leaders

Speakers:<ul><li>Ben Stott, azure engineer, Jisc</li><li>Marc Edwards, azure solutions architect, Jisc</li></ul>A session to discuss the new features available in Intune and how they can help you to reduce your IT workloads and meet Cyber Essentials controls.

New features of Intune and how they can reduce IT workloads and assist with Cyber Essentials

Speakers:<ul><li>Isobel Yeo, senior researcher, National Oceanography Centre</li><li>Michael Clare, principal researcher, National Oceanography Centre</li></ul>What would you do if your internet connection was cut for 18 months? This talk will share lessons learned about building resilient networks in the face of massive events. The 15th January 2022 Hunga volcanic eruption was the largest on Earth in more than a century. Here, we present findings from surveys performed acquired only months after a large eruption to show how powerful flows of volcanic material plunged into the ocean, scouring deep gullies, and causing extensive damage to international and domestic cables, cutting communication links to the Kingdom of Tonga at a critical time. These powerful flows travelled at high speeds (up to 122 km/hour) over 100 km - the fastest flows recorded under the sea. We will discuss how to increase resilience against seafloor hazards for subsea cables that carry more than 99% of all digital data traffic worldwide.

What happens when volcanoes meet the internet?

Speaker: Liam Earney, MD - higher education and research, JiscLiam Earney closes day three of Networkshop 2024.

Day three closing thoughts

Day three closes

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Networkshop's programme featured keynote speakers, panels and training sessions from education, research and the public sector to navigate the dynamic landscape of connectivity and develop practical strategies to power positive change.