Participants in the APNIC 62 workshops.

More than 50 network engineers and operators took part in hands-on training at APNIC 62, developing practical skills in network security, automation, and next-generation service provider routing.

The two APNIC Academy workshops drew 55 participants, while the separately held INNOG routing workshop drew 27. Together, the workshops helped attendees strengthen their technical expertise and apply new skills to real-world operational challenges.

Improving network security capability

Topics included cryptography, infrastructure security, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) mitigation, packet analysis, intrusion detection, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) operational security, DNS security, routing security with RPKI, and IPsec virtual private networks (VPNs). Through hands-on exercises, participants learned to identify vulnerabilities, improve monitoring and detection, and implement security measures to protect networks against evolving threats.

The Network Security Workshop, led by me and local certified trainer Sourav Satpathy, provided practical knowledge and tools for securing modern network infrastructure.

One participant highlighted the value of the workshop's focus on open-source tools:

"My organization has many subsidiary companies, and most of them cannot afford commercial security solutions. The open-source tools covered in this workshop are therefore very valuable to us because they let us build real security capability within the budget constraints of a developing company."

Another participant said they planned to apply the lessons more broadly:

"I'll ask government network operators to deploy current security best practices to make their networks less vulnerable to attacks and also help conduct training workshops at a national level with the help of the APNIC team."

These responses showed how practical training can strengthen not only individual organizations, but also the broader operational capability of networks across the region.

Advancing network automation skills

The Network Automation Workshop (Train-the-trainer), delivered by Dave Phelan and Makito Lay, focused on helping participants build scalable and reliable approaches to network operations through automation.

Participants explored automation principles, the SALT framework, configuration management, YAML and Jinja templating, inventory management, event-driven automation, and validation workflows. Practical exercises allowed participants to apply these concepts using industry-relevant tools and methodologies.

The workshop was delivered in a Train-the-trainer (TTT) format, enabling participants to develop their own technical expertise and share their knowledge within their organizations and local communities.

One attendee described how the workshop would directly influence future projects:

"I gained skills in network automation with SaltStack. I was building automation to handle the repetitive parts of my SecOps work. Having attended this workshop, I now plan to extend it to a complete end-to-end incident response automation system."

Another participant noted the operational benefits of automation:

"This workshop can help improve network automation in Bhutan Telecom by reducing manual work and human errors. In the long term, I can use these skills to automate network configuration, monitoring, and other repetitive tasks. As it was a Train-the-trainer workshop, I can also share the knowledge with my team and help build more automation skills within our network operations."

The broader community impact was also evident:

"The workshop can help MMIX improve operational consistency, reduce configuration errors, and deploy network changes more safely. It can also strengthen network automation skills in Myanmar by allowing me to share this knowledge with local network engineers and the MMNOG community."

Exploring next-generation service provider routing

APNIC 62 also featured the Next-Gen Service Provider Routing Workshop, organized by INNOG and delivered by Paresh Khatri, Thomas Corre, and Bastien Claeys.

Designed for experienced service provider engineers, the three-day workshop examined technologies increasingly shaping modern carrier networks, including Segment Routing (SR), Ethernet VPN (EVPN), streaming telemetry, and Containerlab. These technologies help simplify network operations, improve visibility, and support modern service delivery requirements.

Combining theory with extensive hands-on exercises, the workshop explored how these technologies can be applied in operational environments. Participants gained practical experience deploying and operating advanced routing environments, including segment routing implementations, EVPN services, Flex-Algo traffic engineering, and telemetry-driven monitoring systems.

The workshop reflected ongoing changes in service provider networking, where segment routing architectures and streaming telemetry are becoming increasingly important tools for managing large-scale networks. Through realistic lab exercises, participants gained hands-on experience with technologies seeing growing deployment in production service provider environments.

Building regional capability

Participants gained practical skills in network security, operational automation, and advanced service provider routing that they can apply immediately within their organizations, helping to strengthen operational capability and support a more secure, resilient, and reliable Internet across the Asia Pacific region.

Feedback from the APNIC Academy workshops highlighted the value of training that combines theory with real-world operational experience. Equally important was the emphasis on knowledge sharing, with TTT participants planning to pass on what they learned to colleagues, local operator groups, and wider technical communities.

Ready to build your skills? Register now for upcoming APNIC Academy workshops across the region.

The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.