Session Date/Time: 20 Jul 2025 16:00

HotRFC Lightning Talks

Summary

The HotRFC Lightning Talks session featured 15 four-minute presentations covering diverse technical topics ranging from AI/LLM applications in networking, transport protocols, security frameworks, to novel networking architectures. Each presenter had strictly enforced four-minute slots to introduce their ideas and seek collaboration opportunities. The session served as a forum for starting conversations and enabling hallway discussions throughout the week.

Key Discussion Points

AI/LLM Applications in Networking

Framework for evaluating LM agents for network configuration: Comprehensive evaluation framework with task datasets, emulator environments, and metrics for reasoning ability, command accuracy, and functional correctness
Grounding high-level intents to low-level network configurations: Using LLMs to convert threat intelligence into actionable network configurations, demonstrated with HTTP rapid reset DDoS attack example
Automated network protocol testing with LLMs: Full pipeline automation from RFC specifications to executable test code, addressing time-intensive manual testing processes
AI assistant for IPv6 deployment: Addressing IPv6 engineer shortage by creating AI system to answer questions, help with address planning, and generate configurations

Transport and Network Protocols

Transport layer protocol optimization for satellite networks: Addressing challenges in LEO satellite networks including frequent handovers, weather impact, and RTT variations affecting TCP performance
Kira scalable zero-touch routing: Autonomous control plane providing highly resilient connectivity supporting hundreds of thousands of nodes without configuration requirements
Improving delay throughput trade-off with Codal++: Modified AQM algorithm addressing assumptions about TCP Reno senders, optimized for modern TCP variants like Cubic and BBR

Security and Trust

TLS secure element for asynchronous communication: Trusted communication using secure elements as embedded TLS servers for email, messaging, and IoT applications
Remote attestation with composite devices: Architecture for handling multiple verifiers in complex systems with hierarchical, cascade, and hybrid modes
Security considerations for confidential computing: Analysis of threat models and trust boundaries in cloud service provider environments
Secure hybrid network monitoring: Solutions for monitoring security properties in complex hybrid cloud/on-premise network configurations

Emerging Technologies

Distributed inference network and Internet of Agents: Architecture for handling concurrent AI agent interactions with low latency requirements
ICN Path to Africa: Information-centric networking vision for content caching and availability, particularly relevant for connectivity challenges
Ultra low latency cryptography with Arrayon: Performance improvements over AES-256-GCM and SHA-256 for real-time applications like e-sports and remote surgery

Decisions and Action Items

Multiple side meetings scheduled throughout the week for continued discussions:
- Kira routing: Wednesday 4 PM
- Distributed inference network: Wednesday early morning
- Confidential computing: Tuesday and Wednesday 11-13 hours
- Remote attestation: Various sessions scheduled
- Transport optimization for satellites: Tuesday morning

Next Steps

Presenters actively seeking collaborators across multiple domains including operators, AI experts, security researchers, and implementers
Several projects have open source implementations available for testing and contribution
Draft submissions planned for various working groups including RATS, TLS, and potential new working groups
Follow-up discussions to continue in hallway conversations and scheduled side meetings throughout IETF 123