AFRINIC is delighted to announce the launch of the 'Mastering IPv6 Transition Techniques' e-course.

As you know by now, IPv4 and IPv6 are incompatible. However, both protocols need to co-exist as networks transition to IPv6, hence the need for IPv6 transition techniques.

This course covers the three categories of IPv6 transition techniques;

1. Dual-stack,
2. Tunnelling,
3. Translation.

You can register for the course at >> https://academy.afrinic.net/courses/6trans

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

1. Evaluate scenarios that necessitate the use of transition techniques
2. Identify the dual-stack, tunnelling and translation components
3. Demonstrate how dual-stack, tunnelling and translation work
4. Configure and verify dual-stack
5. Configure and verify the specific tunnelling & translation transition techniques

PeeringDB wants input from network operators, exchange operators, facility providers, content distributors, and anyone who uses our interconnection database. We are running an anonymous satisfaction survey until 23:59 UTC on Friday, 8 October 2021, and would like your feedback to help us make PeeringDB more useful to everyone involved in connecting networks.

We had over 200 responses to last year’s survey and those responses helped guide our product development. We’ve made significant improvements to search based on user input, introduced a HOWTO documentation series [https://docs.peeringdb.com/howtos/], and are developing a documentation architecture directly as a result of your input. We’d like more input, in 2021, so we can keep up with the industry’s evolving needs.

Steve McManus, PeeringDB Product Committee Chair, says: "User comments in the 2020 survey helped us focus development where it was most needed. It directly influenced our roadmap and highlighted the need for specific expertise in documentation and user experience design to solve users’ most pressing needs. Thanks to everyone who gives a few moments of their time to help us make PeeringDB a better service!”

In addition to the questions we asked last year, we have three extra questions about documentation priorities, notifications, and user experience on mobile devices. We are particularly keen to improve our understanding of people’s needs for the website as this was the area with the most divided responses last year.

The survey is available in the six UN languages and Portuguese. We’re happy with people providing free text comments in whichever language they are happiest expressing themselves.

We’ll share the results and the new product roadmap early in 2022.

Go to [https://surveyhero.com/c/peeringdb2021usersurvey] and help guide PeeringDB’s future development.

If you have an idea to improve PeeringDB you can share it on our low-traffic mailing lists [https://docs.peeringdb.com/#mailing-lists] or create an issue [https://github.com/peeringdb/peeringdb/issues] directly on GitHub. If you find a data quality issue, please let us know at support@peeringdb.com.

About PeeringDB

PeeringDB is a freely available, user-maintained, database of networks, and the go-to location for interconnection data. The database facilitates the global interconnection of networks at Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), data centers, and other interconnection facilities, and is the first step in making interconnection decisions.

About the Author 

Leo Vegoda is developing PeeringDB’s product roadmap. He was previously responsible for organizational planning and improvement in ICANN’s Office of the COO, and Internet Number Resources in the IANA department, as well as running Registration Services at the RIPE NCC.

At the beginning of the year, a team of AFRINIC staff set out to explore ways to engage more with its members in Africa. This led to the birth of Project “Jenga”. Jenga, which means “Build” in Swahili, aims to build stronger relationships with the African resource holders by organising dedicated sessions to highlight the services offered by AFRINIC and collect feedback and recommendations from our members. This makes Jenga in line with the mission of "Serving the African Internet community by delivering efficient services in a global multi-stakeholder environment".

Over the past few days, the AFRINIC Team has conducted 25 Jenga sessions with Resource Members from 55 countries/economies in our service region. These Jenga sessions were attended by just under 400 participants, with sessions conducted in both English and French.

The main objective of this pilot edition of Jenga sessions was to update members on the ongoing activities. And provide detailed accounts on the external pressure that the organisation is currently facing, particularly the situation whereby AFRINIC found its bank accounts frozen. The Roundtable saw the AFRINIC team discuss this crisis with the members.

During the Jenga session, the team informed Resource Members that AFRINIC had done several things to ensure sustainability. These include:

• AFRINIC has negotiated with suppliers to grant a grace period for payments.
• Agreed internally to cut staff costs by 50% for this period if the situation goes on for a prolonged period than expected. 
• As a last resort, AFRINIC may consider activating the Joint RIR Stability Fund if we do not have any other option. Read more e on the Fund here >> https://www.nro.net/accountability/rir-accountability/joint-rir-stability-fund/ 

During the Jenga sessions, AFRINIC Resource Members engaged in discussions evaluating the operations’ impact and delved into possible scenarios on the way forward. The AFRINIC Resource Members shared different proposals on how AFRINIC can meet its financial obligations and sought clarifications on payments, continuity of core registry function of AFRINIC and explored the impact of the situation to Resource Members in the wake of ongoing misinformation around the crisis. 

The AFRINIC team promised to keep the Resource Members abreast of any new developments and assured the members that the Registry System stability was not at risk and all resource holders will continue to benefit from the registry services. This means that Members can still apply for new resources in the case a member is in need. Therefore, members can settle all their pending invoices as usual.

“Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve an uncommon result”
Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

We are happy with the outcome of the Pilot Jenga sessions that our Resource Members well received, evident in the rich discussions. We commit to doing more of these Jenga sessions in the future. Internally, this Project has helped AFRINIC staff to come together as a team and become stronger through collaboration and innovation even in the face of one of the toughest challenges AFRINIC has had to face and has helped AFRINIC staff members dive headfirst into in AGILE Transformation Journey. Read Avi’s Journey.

To stay updated on the latest developments, subscribe to AFRINIC mailing lists:

• To Subscribe to the AFRINIC Policies discussions mailing list >> https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/rpd
• Subscribe to the AFRINIC members-discuss mailing list >> https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/members-discuss
• To Subscribe to Other AFRINIC mailing lists here>> https://afrinic.net/email

We thank our Members and community for their continuous support.

AFRINIC en Avant!

Avi shares his experience on his AGILE Transformation journey. AFRINIC Teams had to be AGILE enough and achieve a milestone of meeting all the members in the service Region within a span of five days. He explains his role in this project and the lessons he learnt. This was published in internal staff communication and we thought we could share this with you.

Click to enlarge
Hi, I'm Avi, I do graphic design for AFRINIC - so all those designed images originate from my desk. I am passionate about branding and thankfully I have the opportunity to brand and creatively communicate the services AFRINIC offers.

We have been trying hard to implement an Agile culture here at AFRINIC by taking part in various workshops and training, primarily in a transactional way and most of the time I did not feel my responsibility for the success. Like most teammates, I have my core duties, and I was not convinced I could act as an Agile Leader myself. Little did I know that I misinterpreted the title and did not believe I could be part of this movement or even drive it.

" Recently in our VUCA world, calamity struck. It caught us completely off guard; it was not even on our recent VUCA exercise Jamboard! "

Our CEO inspired us to achieve a milestone in 2 weeks. He only shared his intent. There was no time to focus on the bits and pieces; there were no specifications or processes to follow. It was a blank canvas, and our survival depended on it. Here I learnt that leadership was not exercised through authority or expertise but rather through creating a culture of participation.

We were on a project with a common purpose, finally. It was a unity we had rarely experienced and which was well needed. We were on a mission where we could organise ourselves within a few days before launching it. We asked for more volunteers within the team and offered appropriate support for them to execute the service on their own. The initial group encouraged leadership at all levels, and the group grew big in just a few days. We experimented, failed and learned quickly various ways of doing the project correctly. It was a continuous iteration until we came up with something presentable.

I feel connected with the purpose; no matter how small my task is, I think I contribute to something much bigger. I mainly created a slack channel for the project and changed a few font and font sizes here and there. The little conversation I had with our CEO was relatively informal but addressed essential concerns. I have seen all of us working in a way that is not limited to our job description and felt we own our organisation and its success was our success. There was psychological ownership of the project. The common purpose was of more value than our gain.

It was, at times, exciting and disappointing, too.

We are all Agile Leaders through our actions right now. Thanks to this ongoing crisis, we are forced to cut down on the real purpose that was so hard to figure out.

It is time we recognise this leadership spirit at all levels and give ourselves kudos.

Two-factor authentication (2FA), sometimes referred to as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication, is a security process in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves. This process helps to protect better both the user's credentials and the user’s resources.

For MyAFRINIC portal users, the two authentication factors are:

1. The account password
2. A one-time six-digit security code.

The code is generated by a third-party Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) authenticator, defined as an open standard in RFC6238. Any application that supports TOTP can be used for two-factor authentication.

2FA implementation for the MyAFRINIC portal is an optional but highly recommended security feature, as it adds a layer of security to the authentication process. If enabled, you will be required to enter your password and the six-digit security code; generated by a TOTP authenticator on a device you control, typically a smartphone; whenever you sign in.

Prerequisite for two-factor authentication.

You must first install a TOTP application on your smartphone or tablet before enabling two-factor authentication in MyAFRINIC. Some examples are:

• Google Authenticator (Android, iOS, BlackBerry)
• Microsoft Authenticator (Android, iOS)
• Authy (iOS, Android, BlackBerry)
• FreeOTP (Android)
• HDE OTP Generator (iOS)

You may choose your own authenticator of choice other than the ones listed above.

How do I enable Two-Factor Authentication?

Enabling 2FA is a straightforward procedure; the following steps should get it enabled:

1. Log into Myafrinic Account
2. Click on “My Account”, then select Security
3. Select the "2-Factor Authentication" button.
4. Select setup. When setting up the authenticator app, you can either:
   • Scan the QR-code displayed, or
   • Enter the “Secret Key” manually.
5. Use the six-digit from the app to conclude the setup.
   • If your six-digit security code does not match, please check that your phone has an automatic time zone setting selected.
6. A demo guide can be found here.

Once 2FA is enabled, you will be required to supply both authentication factors every time you log in and access information from Myafrinic. You will be required to enter your NIC-HDL and password first, and then you will be asked to "enter the security code generated by your authenticator app".

In most cases, just launching the authenticator app will generate a new code. You should enter this code to gain access to your account. In most authenticator apps, the auto-generated code is valid for 30 seconds only. You should use the code within that time; otherwise, it will expire, and a new code will be generated. You may refer to your authenticator app's documentation for specific instructions.

What if I can't generate the six-digit code?

If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot access the authenticator app, you will need to use a backup security code to sign in to the Myafrinic portal. The backup code is a 10-character one-time code you can use in place of the OTP code to access your account.

When you have enabled the 2FA authentication, you will find the “Generate Backup Codes” button under the 2-Factor Authentication section. The backup codes will be generated when the button is clicked, and the system will give you 5 one-time use backup codes. Write these down or print out, and store them in a safe place. Each Backup Code can only be used once; however, you can generate a new set of codes at any time.

If you are locked out of your account and do not have the backup security code, please contact us.

What if I don't have or want to use a smartphone?

A smartphone with an authenticator app makes it very easy to use 2FA, but in principle, you can use any application capable of generating Time-based One-Time Passwords. For example, the OATH Toolkit allows you to generate security codes from the command line. The man page will give you details on how to use the application. The other option could be the OTP Manager, another simple application for managing One Time Password (OTP) tokens.

Can I disable 2-factor authentication after enabling it?

Yes. 2FA is optional but a highly recommended security feature. You can disable the functionality by navigating to the Security page of your “My Account” section, clicking the button "Disable” button".

 Important Note:

On 24 June 2021 during the scheduled maintenance to add the 2FA feature on MyAFRINIC, the change was rolled back as we encountered some issues. We provided the report on our status page at https://status.afrinic.net/#notice-121229

We are now expecting the deployment in the second week of July.

The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) in collaboration with the Africa Network Operators Group (AfNOG) have proudly concluded the second AIS’21 virtual conference.

The event took place from 31 May to 4 June 2021 and was attended by 378 delegates from 55 countries.

The conference was enriched by technical sessions from renowned experts who delivered insightful presentations on topics such as IPv6, Blockchain Governance, Internet Routing security, Digital Inclusion among others.

The conference saw over seventy presentations that spun over 5 days. The Last day of the conference was dedicated to the AFRINIC Annual General Members Meeting.

The agenda also consisted of other notable pre-event sessions that took place from 24 - 28 May and included several AfNOG tutorials, the AFRINIC Government Working Group Meeting, the newcomers’ session and a session dedicated to Inclusivity and Diversity in the AFRINIC ecosystem.

Presentations and Daily Recaps

1. We invite you to read all the session recaps: 31 May | 1 June | 2 June | 3 June | 4 June
2. The Meeting agenda and slides are available here.
3. Watch the videos for all the sessions here.
4. Meeting statistics are available here.

The Platform

We learnt a lot from our past experience as this was our second time using the Meetecho platform. The overall experience was better than last year. The Organising Team was prepared and took several actions that led to the smooth running of the programme such as organising daily tests with speakers, moderators and MCs who could get acquainted with the platform. The coordination among staff, speakers, moderators and MCs also was well orchestrated.

The Meetecho platform provided a feature for speakers to upload their slides which was an additional option to sharing their screen, and this proved useful.

This time, we introduced several innovations such as a quiz competition during the breaks and for the first time we held an online cocktail online on a dedicated platform ‘’Spatial Chat’’. Those events were well received by our delegates and have set the benchmark for our upcoming AFRINIC and AIS events.

Another novelty, the AIS '21 Online Opening Ceremony was set on a hybrid format with our Chief Guest, HE Mr Augustin Kibassa the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications & ICT giving the Opening Speech live from Kinshasa in DRC.

However, we faced some technical challenges with the hybrid format as well as a bug was reported on the slide share functionality on 28 May during the newcomer’s session. There were some concerns also raised with regards to privacy issues on filling our online survey form and with meeting tokens during the AGMM.

We take with us the lessons learned as we shall strive to get better at these aspects for our future events.

Technical Performance

The following graphs highlight how our infrastructure performed during our virtual meeting. As more people joined the meeting, the network usage started to peak on each day. On the first day, we got the highest network traffic.

Streaming also requires CPU power to process the video and audio, the highest CPU usage matches the first day where we saw the highest number of concurrent participants joining.

Meeting Partners and Sponsorship

It is important we acknowledge our AIS'21 Online Sponsors. This meeting was sponsored by ICANN, ISOC, dotAfrica, Flexoptix, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Topdog and Emtel. We appreciate your continuous support.

What’s Next

AIS’21 Online was a rich learning experience for the whole AIS team who displayed a great team spirit. We are thankful to everyone who made this event a success as we look ahead to our next AIS/AFRINIC Meeting.

We shall also be happy to share our experience gained over the two online AIS meetings held with anyone who is interested in organising similar online events. The AIS organising team may be contacted at meeting [at] afrinic.net or comms [at] afrinic.net