|
Call for Proposals
Hosting of AfNOG 2006 Event
Organisations interested in hosting Afnog 2006 Event are invited to submity Proposals no later than 15th December, 2005.Proposals should be sent via email to host-apply@afnog.org.
Information about AfNOG is available at http://www.afnog.org.
Several documents relating to the requirements for hosting the event are available below.
Hosting Requirements for AfNOG Workshop and Meeting
Organisations wishing to host the AfNOG workshop and meeting should be prepared to meet the following requirements:
1. Background Information
The African Network Operators Group (AfNOG) is a forum for the exchange of technical information, and aims to promote discussion of implementation issues that require community cooperation. The goal is for coordination and cooperation among network service providers to ensure the stability of service to end users.
The annual AfNOG event includes a week-long workshop, a day of technical tutorials, and one or two days for the annual AfNOG Conference. The venue also needs to be available during the week before the workshop (referred to as "setup week"), during which instructors lay cables, install equipment, and otherwise prepare for the workshop.
Please see http://www.afnog.org/ for further information about AfNOG,
and http://www.ws.afnog.org/ for information about previous workshops.
2. Overview Of Space Requirements For The Event
The following office, classroom and conference space will be required. Later sections of this document give more detailed information about each of the rooms.
Office: One large office for the AfNOG secretariat. Must be available from the beginning of setup week to the end of the entire event.
NOC: One small room for the network operations centre. Must be available from the beginning of setup week to the end of the entire event.
Classrooms: One medium to large classroom per track. Required during setup week and during the workshop. (It may be acceptable if some of the classrooms are not available for the first few days of setup week.) Some classrooms may be re-used for tutorials after the end of the workshop. Not needed during the conference.
Tutorial rooms: Classrooms for technical tutorials which will be given after the workshop, but before the conference. May re-use the workshop classrooms. Not needed during the conference.
Conference room: Large conference room. Should be available no later than the evening before the conference begins.
Terminal room: It would be useful to have additional space available for a "terminal room", where several computers would be set up to allow workshop students and conference attendees to access the Internet. This should be available during the tutorials and conference. It would be nice if it could also be available during the workshop, but this would significantly increase the space and equipment requirements.
3. Shared Infrastructure Requirements
The following infrastructure is shared between all the workshop tracks, and is also used during the conference.
3.1 Office (Secretariat)
The AfNOG secretariat will require a large office, with the following characteristics:
- desk space for 3 people;
- plenty of space for visitors, office equipment, and storage for items handed out to students (such as books, T-shirts, timetables, tourist maps of the city).
- at least one telephone with the ability to make outgoing international calls and the ability to receive calls;
- access to a fax machine with the ability to send and receive international fax messages;
- telephone numbers for the office voice and fax lines should be known at least a few days before the beginning of setup week; the lines themselves should be available from the start of setup week.
- a PostScript printer;
- Copying facilities: Access to a high-capacity copying machine, or a nearby copy shop that will be open at night. Collating, stapling and duplex printing facilities would be very useful; the most useful of these is collating.
- should be reasonably close to all the classrooms and conference rooms;
- it would be nice if the office could also be reasonably close to the hotel reception.
3.2 Network Operations Centre (NOC)
The NOC is a small room that will be the hub of the workshop and conference network. It should have the following characteristics:
- Must be close to the classrooms and the conference room;
- No smaller than 2m by 2m;
- Multiple electrical outlets;
- Stable power supply, with provision for backup generator/UPS;
- Space for several computers and specialised items of electronic equipment to be installed;
- A PostScript printer;
- A flat working surface for 2 people;
- Air conditioning is highly desirable in view of the amount of equipment that will be used in the NOC;
- There must be provision for network cables to connect the NOC to other rooms (see section on network cabling);
- The Internet connection should preferably be terminated in the NOC.
3.3 Internet Connectivity
- 128kbps of bandwidth to the Internet. More bandwidth would be nice.
- The Internet connection must not be subjected to any kind of firewalling or address translation (NAT or private address space);
- The workshop will require an IP address allocation of at least a "/22" in size. Workshop instructors can work with the host organisation to fill in the necessary application forms.
- The connectivity and address space should be available from the beginning of setup week.
- It may be useful to have more than one link to the Internet, and to use BGP routing. If anything like this is done, it will need careful planning with the assistance of workshop instructors.
3.4 Network Cabling
The NOC, the office, the classrooms, and the terminal room (if there is one), will need to be connected together in a computer network. Ideally, the conference room will also be included in the network. It may be possible to do this using network cables that are already installed. Failing that, AfNOG will install temporary cables during setup week, and remove them at the end of the event.
4. Workshop Requirements
The workshop is subdivided into several tracks, where each track has approximately 20 students and approximately 5 instructors. The plan for the 2004 event is to have three tracks: two in English and one in French.
In future (possibly starting with the 2005 event), we would like to have four tracks: two in English and two in French. However, the remainder of this document assumes only three tracks; quantities will need to be adjusted if there are more tracks.
4.1 Classrooms/Labs
Each workshop track requires one medium to large room with the following characteristics. That implies three (3) such rooms for the entire workshop.
- floor space of approximately 8 x 12 (100 square meters - this is a minimum, larger rooms will do just as well);
- multiple electrical outlets distributed throughout the room, preferably on separate circuits;
- overhead lighting, preferably fluorescent tubes;
- stable power supply, with provision for backup generator/UPS;
- air conditioning is highly desirable in view of the amount of equipment and the number of people in each classroom;
- Tables: Each classroom requires 14 or 15 tables for equipment, students, and instructors. 10 of the tables will be used for students (with two students per table), and and the remaining tables will be used for instructors and additional equipment. Each table should be about 2 metres long and 0.8 metres wide, so that it can provide space for two people, one or two PCs (depending on the track), and several other items of equipment. The tables should be stable enough to hold this expensive equipment safely.
- Enough chairs for all the students, instructors, and a few visitors.
4.2 Equipment
High end routing and switching equipment will normally be provided by AfNOG. The host will be required to make provision for:
4.3 Audio/Visual
Each of the three tracks will require the following audio/visual equipment.
- SVGA Projector, for projecting computer output onto a screen;
- Small public address system with support for at least 2 audio inputs and 4-6 speakers (depends on size/shape of room);
- Lapel or cordless microphone;
- 6' x 6' projection screen with stand;
- Medium size to large white board with stand and white board markers;
- Flip chart with stand and markers.
5. Tutorial Requirements
In most cases, the equipment and facilities used for the workshop can be re-used for the tutorials that take place on the day after the workshop ends.
6. AfNOG Meeting/Conference Requirements
The conference will require a meeting room with sufficient seating capacity and audio-visual equipment, as well as simultaneous translation between the English and French languages.
n most cases, the classrooms used for the workshop cannot be re-used as the conference meeting room, but some of the audio-visual equipment may be re-used.
6.1 Meeting/Conference Room
- Must comfortably seat 100 to 150 people;
- Public Address system;
- Translation booth;
- Entry, exits and access pathways;
- Ideally air-conditioned, especially in hotter climates;
- It would be nice if the conference room had plenty of electrical outlets, because many of the conference attendees will want to connect their laptop computers;
- If possible, we would like to provide wireless Internet coverage in the conference room. For this to be possible, the conference room will also have to be included in the network cabling that connects the NOC, office and classrooms.
6.2 Translation Facilities
- Translation booth;
- Translators capable of simultaneous translation of technical discussions in the English and French languages;
- Headsets to cater for 100 to 150 participants.
6.3 Audio/Visual
- SVGA Projector, for projecting computer output onto a screen;
- Public address system of sufficient power to cover entire hall;
- Lapel or cordless microphone (one for speaker);
- Cordless microphone (2-3 for audience);
- 6' x 6' projection screen with stand.
7. Terminal Room
If a terminal room is provided only after the workshop ends (that is, only during the tutorials and conference), then the space and PCs that were used for one of the workshop classrooms can be re-used for the terminal room. If the terminal room is also provided during the workshop, then it will require a separate room and additional equipment.
The terminal room requires:
- 10 to 20 PCs with Internet connectivity;
- 1 or 2 PostScript printers;
- several tables at which laptop users can obtain electrical power connections and ethernet network connections;
- at least one person on duty at all times the room is open, to assist users and to keep an eye on the equipment.
8. Security
All rooms (i.e. classrooms/labs, NOC and Office) must be lockable. Each room should have two keys available for use by instructors or AfNOG staff. Keys must be available from the beginning of setup week. In view of the value of the specialised equipment, it is desirable for the area to be patrolled by security guards.
9. Accomodation
It is preferred that the accommodation, the classroom facilities for the workshop and tutorials, and the meeting room for the conference, all be provided at the same location.
Hotel capacity must be sufficient to accommodate workshop participants, instructors and staff (a maximum of 85 people).
- Instructors and AfNOG staff will have single rooms;
- Workshop participants will share rooms (2 per room); the shared rooms must have separate beds.
Additional hotel capacity to accommodate conference attendees is desirable.
10. Travel
The local host will from time to time be required to provide local coordination for travel arrangements for participants. This may involve:
- Providing information regarding travel regulations to the host country, such as health restrictions, recommended vaccines, tips on pre-travel medication;
- Providing information regarding local visa requirements, this may include the facilitation of group visas etc.;
- Coordinating the reservation, booking and issuance of air tickets to AfNOG organisers, instructors and students.
11. Local Logistics
The local hosting organisation should also be prepared to:
- Visit hotels or conference centres in the selected city well in advance of the conference and recommend a meeting location to AfNOG.
- AfNOG staff will then consult or visit the hotel and make the final site selection.
- Provide logistical support during the meeting, including staffing for the registration desk, meeting room setup, interaction with hotel staff, etc.
- Handle Internet connectivity to the hotel or conference centre.
- Handle all terminal room operations (if there is a terminal room); obtain equipment, set up and tear down the room, and have staff available to answer attendees questions. Local hosts sometimes rent the needed workstations and routers, or borrow them from a local university or other organisation. Vendors may also help defray terminal room costs installation of Ethernet cabling, power strips, ensuring that the room has adequate power.
12. Financial
The local host is encouraged to provide financial support towards the costs of running the AfNOG workshop. This can be provided in cash or in kind. Besides direct financial assistance, the local host may be expected to provide budgetary figures for:
- Accommodation and facilities;
- Travel and visas;
- Rental of Computer, Audio and Video equipment;
- Local transportation; shuttle hire, vehicle rentals, fuel expenses, etc.
13. Publicity
The local host is also encouraged to provide local publicity for the event and to coordinate among others:
- Invitation of VIPs, such as Government officers and other Dignitaries;
- Press conferences;
- Press Releases;
- Media Kits;
- Advertising in local newspapers and magazines;
- Preparation of banners and posters;
- Printing of T-shirts, caps, pens and other "take away" items.
14. Commercial Interests
The AfNOG workshop and meeting are non-commercial, technical, education, collaboration and community oriented activities. It is therefore expected that the local host will refrain from using the hosting opportunity for commercial purposes. This also applies to supporting/sponsoring vendors.
Any use of the event for advertising or marketing by sponsors must be approved in advance by the AfNOG management council, and must not detract from the non-commercial atmosphere. For example, having a sponsor's logo on pens or writing pads would probably be permitted, while having an exhibition of a sponsor's equipment would probably not be permitted.
15. Final Selection of Host
The final selection of the host country/organisation will be made by the AfNOG Management Council, whose decision is final.
Preference will be given to countries where the impact of a local AfNOG workshop would be greatest.
Preference will also be given to regions other than the immediately previous hosting location.
Strong preference will be given to hosts that are familiar with the AfNOG workshop requirements (through having participated in previous AfNOG workshop events).
16. Memorandum of Understanding
It is expected that after assessment of the hosting proposal by the AfNOG Management Council, there will be signing of an MoU between AfNOG and the hosting organisations) which clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of each party.
Samples of the budget and Excell Worksheet are available.
|
