What are SwiNOG meetings like and how often do they happen?

SwiNOG meetings are single-track, operator-focused events held roughly once or twice a year, mostly in Berne and sometimes elsewhere in Switzerland. They are open to everyone, with no membership fee, and combine a day of talks with a hallway track and long social events. The next one, SwiNOG #42, is planned for October 20–21, 2026 at Enter Technikmuseum.

How often do SwiNOG meetings take place?

The site lists a cadence of about one to two meetings per year, and 41 meetings have been held since the first one in Berne on 18 October 2000. That works out to a steady, roughly twice-a-year rhythm over more than two decades.

The next scheduled meeting is SwiNOG #42, planned for October 20–21, 2026, at Enter Technikmuseum. A call for help and a call for talks (CFP) for #42 are already open, so the program is still being assembled.

What is a SwiNOG meeting actually like?

According to the site, a meeting is:

• A single-track day of operator talks — one stream, so you don't have to choose between parallel sessions.
• A hallway track — the informal conversations between and around talks.
• Long social events — the meeting deliberately makes room for people to talk outside the program.

The audience is people who design and operate the Swiss Internet: network operators, engineers, and others working on Swiss networks. SwiNOG describes itself as non-political, not a lobby, and without membership fees.

Where are meetings held?

Mostly in Berne, with some meetings in other places in Switzerland. The first meeting was in Berne, and the site describes the pattern as "twice a year. In Berne. And elsewhere." SwiNOG #42 is set for Enter Technikmuseum.

What kinds of talks are on the program?

Recent talks from SwiNOG #41 (28 April 2026) give a sense of the range:

The topics cluster around routing, peering, automation, testing, and operational practice — consistent with an operator audience.

Is it worth attending?

If you work on Swiss networks and want to meet peers, the format is built for that: one track so you don't miss talks, a hallway track, and social events that run long. It is open to everyone and has no membership fee, so there is no gatekeeping barrier to showing up.

If you cannot attend in person, the archive is a substitute for the talks: every meeting since SwiNOG #1 has slides, and most have recordings. The mailing list covers the time between meetings.

What happens between meetings?

The mailing list, [email protected], is where the community operates between meetings. The site describes it as low traffic, high signal, covering outages, peering, MTU, and fibre cuts. Subscribing to the list is what "membership" means in practice here. It runs on Mailman 3 and is archived publicly on Hyperkitty, with related lists for anti-spam and job postings.

How do you take part?

• Attend a meeting — watch for the next one, SwiNOG #42 on October 20–21, 2026 at Enter Technikmuseum.
• Submit a talk — the CFP for #42 is open if you have something to present.
• Join the mailing list — subscribe to [email protected] to follow and take part between meetings.
• Dig through the archive — 41 meetings of slides and recordings are public if you want to see what the talks are like before attending.