A Journey from Surathkal to the IETF

Our interest in computer networking was sparked through core and elective courses at NITK, where we were introduced to key concepts, RFCs, and Internet-Drafts (I-Ds). These courses laid a solid foundation for understanding the IETF’s standardisation process.

It was under the guidance of Professor Mohit P. Tahiliani, our mentor and instructor for many networking courses, that we began our IETF journey. He introduced us to the IETF ecosystem and encouraged us to implement I-Ds and RFCs as part of our coursework — an invaluable preparation for the IETF Hackathon and the week-long discussions that followed.

IETF Hackathon: From Drafts to Demos

At the Hackathon, we worked on two projects that allowed us to contribute directly to ongoing Internet-Drafts.

Project 1: FQ-PIE Evaluation

We evaluated the FQ-PIE (Flow Queue Proportional Integral Controller Enhanced) algorithm using ccperf and ns-3. This effort supported our Internet-Draft, and we presented our findings at the Hackathon showcase.

Team members: Y Supradha Bhat, Anuhya Murki, Mahati A Kalale, Shriya Anil, and Rati Preethi S

Project 2: HTTPS-Notif Implementation

In parallel, we worked on implementing the HTTPS-Notif draft in collaboration with its authors, Mahesh Jethanandani and Kent Watsen. Our team of four had initially taken up this project as a course assignment, and it came with a steep learning curve — from understanding NETCONF and YANG data models to building a testbed that simulated real-world network constraints using network namespaces, traffic control (tc) subsystem of Linux and Token Bucket Filter (TBF)qdiscs.

Team members: T. Vartika Rao, Bharadwaja Meherrushi Chittapragada, Siddharth Bhat and Hayyan Arshad

We:

• Built publisher and collector components
• Integrated Kafka and InfluxDB
• Simulated scalability using go-wrk
• Explored encoding schemes: JSON, XML, and CBOR, including comparing and contrasting performance using different encoding schemes.

Our extended work on CBOR even led to our first co-authored Internet-Draft, which we were able to present in the NETCONF working group (WG).

We presented this project twice — during the Hackathon and again at the Hackdemo Happy Hour — receiving invaluable feedback from the community, especially from Thomas Graf and his team.

New Participant Program: Finding Our Feet

As first-time attendees, the New Participant Program (NPP) was our anchor. It offered orientation, mentorship, and encouragement to engage confidently throughout the week.

A standout moment was Rich Salzs’ session, where we gained a clearer understanding of:

• RFC and I-D lifecycles
• Immutability and document formatting
• Community-driven publication processes

Rich’s talk made one thing clear: you don’t need to be an expert to contribute. You just need to be curious and ready to participate — a message that truly resonated with us.

Working Groups: Sharing and Learning

We had the opportunity to present our work in three working groups:

1. Congestion Control Working Group (CCWG)
   We showcased our FQ-CoDel vs FQ-PIE experiments using ccperf, analysing algorithm behavior under simulated network conditions. Besides, we highlighted ccperf and Network Stack Tester (NeST) as two new tools for testing congestion control and queue management algorithms.
2. Network Configuration (NETCONF)
   Here, we discussed our HTTPS-Notif and HTTPS-Notif-CBOR implementations, sharing results on encoding performance and system integration.
3. Network Management Operations (NMOPS)

An incredibly gratifying moment came when Benoit Claise invited us to present in NMOPS after seeing our work — a gesture that made us feel truly valued.

Reflections

Attending IETF 122 Bangkok was eye-opening, inspiring, and deeply rewarding. We walked in with curiosity and left with a strong sense of belonging with a clear idea of how we can be part of the IETF community. One of the most important take-aways is that there are multiple ways to contribute. It could be writing drafts, working on implementations, participating in hackathons, or just asking questions: every contribution matters. We were happy to see how open and welcoming the community is, especially towards students and first-time participants. The support we received — from working group chairs to fellow students — reinforced how welcoming the IETF can be.

We’re especially grateful to Prof. Mohit P. Tahiliani, whose encouragement to take up real-world problems transformed our classroom knowledge into global impact.

If you're a student reading this:

• Don’t wait to feel “ready.” Start now.
• Join a Hackathon. Read a draft. Ask a question.
• Contribute however you can — every step matters.

We look forward to staying connected with the IETF and continuing to contribute.

Y. Supradha Bhat
Mahati A. Kalale
Anuhya Murki
Shriya Anil
Rati Preethi S
T. Vartika Rao
Siddharth Bhat
Hayyan Arshad
Bharadwaja Meherrushi Chittapragada
Mohit P. Tahiliani