Internet
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The Internet Engineering Task Force is a loosely self-organized group
of people who contribute to the engineering and evolution of Internet ...
... Internet Engineering Task Force is a loosely self-organized group
of people who contribute to the engineering and evolution of Internet
technologies. It is the principal body engaged in the development of
...
... technologies. It is the principal body engaged in the development of
new Internet standard specifications. The IETF is unusual in that it
exists as a collection of happenings, but is not a corporation and
...
... Identifying, and proposing solutions to, pressing operational and
technical problems in the Internet;
...
... Specifying the development or usage of protocols and the near-term
architecture to solve such technical problems for the Internet;
...
... Making recommendations to the Internet Engineering Steering Group
(IESG) regarding the standardization of protocols and protocol
...
... Facilitating technology transfer from the Internet Research Task
Force (IRTF) to the wider Internet community; and
...
... Facilitating technology transfer from the Internet Research Task
Force (IRTF) to the wider Internet community; and
...
... Providing a forum for the exchange of information within the
Internet community between vendors, users, researchers, agency
...
... IETF universe. The
IAB (then Internet Activities Board, now Internet Architecture
Board), which until that time oversaw many "task forces," changed its
...
... IAB (then Internet Activities Board, now Internet Architecture
Board), which until that time oversaw many "task forces," changed its
structure to leave only two: the IETF ...
... IRTF. The IRTF is
tasked to consider long-term research problems in the Internet. The
IETF also changed at that time.
...
... ISOC that the IAB's activities should take place
under the auspices of the Internet Society. During INET92 in Kobe,
Japan, the ISOC Trustees approved a new charter for the IAB ...
... ISOC (Internet Society) ...
...
The Internet Society is an international, non-profit, membership
organization that fosters the expansion of the Internet. One of the
...
... The Internet Society is an international, non-profit, membership
organization that fosters the expansion of the Internet. One of the
ways that ISOC does this is through financial and legal support of
...
... wants to say something to the press. The ISOC is one of the major
unsung (and under-funded) heroes of the Internet.
...
... IESG (Internet Engineering Steering Group) ...
... technical management of IETF activities
and the Internet standards process. It administers the process
according to the rules and procedures that have been ratified by the
ISOC ...
... WGs that don't fit in other
areas (which is very few)
- Internet (INT) Different ways of moving IP packets and DNS
...
...
Because the IESG has a great deal of influence on whether Internet
Drafts become RFCs, many people look at the ADs as somewhat godlike
creatures. IETF participants sometimes reverently ask an Area
Director ...
... WGs in that area than anyone else. On the other
hand, the entire IESG discusses each Internet Draft that is proposed
to become an RFC. At least two IESG members must express concerns
...
... moves in a reactive fashion. It approves most WG requests for
Internet Drafts to become RFCs, and usually only steps in when
something has gone very wrong. Another way to think about this is
that the ADs are selected to think, not to just run the process. The
...
... IAB (Internet Architecture Board) ...
... The IAB is responsible for keeping an eye on the "big picture" of the
Internet, and focuses on long-range planning and coordination among
the various areas of IETF ...
... IETF activity. The IAB stays informed about
important long-term issues in the Internet, and brings these topics
to the attention of people they think should know about them.
...
...
The IAB also sponsors and organizes the Internet Research Task Force,
and convenes invitational workshops that provide in-depth reviews of
specific Internet ...
... Internet Research Task Force,
and convenes invitational workshops that provide in-depth reviews of
specific Internet architectural issues. Typically, the workshop
reports make recommendations to the IETF community and to the IESG ...
... IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) ...
... IETF's activities is the IANA. Many
Internet protocols require that someone keep track of protocol items
that were added after the protocol came out. Typical examples of the
kinds of registries ...
... IANA's activities are financially supported by ICANN, the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
...
... IETF
participants will testify to how important IANA has been for the
Internet. Having a stable, long-term repository run by careful and
conservative operators makes it much easier for people to experiment
without worrying about messing things up. IANA ...
... IANA's founder, Jon
Postel, was heavily relied upon to keep things in order while the
Internet kept growing by leaps and bounds, and he did a fine job of
it until his untimely death in 1998.
...
...
The RFC Editor edits, formats, and publishes Internet Drafts as RFCs,
working in conjunction with the IESG ...
... WG mailing lists). The
Secretariat is also responsible for keeping the official Internet
Drafts directory up to date and orderly, maintaining the IETF Web
site, and for helping the IESG ...
... mailing list, "ietf-announce@ietf.org". This is where
all of the meeting information, Internet Draft and RFC announcements,
and IESG Protocol Actions and Last Calls are posted. People who
...
... IETF discussion list is unmoderated. This means that anyone can
express their opinions about issues affecting the Internet. However,
it is not a place for companies or individuals to solicit or
...
... IETF meetings is
the use of wireless Internet connections throughout the meeting
space. It is common to see half the people in a WG ...
... important files available online, and hard copies of the slides of
the "IETF Structure and Internet Standards Process" presentation.
These very useful slides are also available online at www.ietf.org
under "Additional Information".
...
... One of the most important (depending on your point of view) things
the host does is provide Internet access for the meeting attendees.
In general, wired and wireless connectivity is excellent. This is
...
... bad places to go if your intention is to find out what will be hot in
the Internet industry next year. You can safely assume that going to
Working Group meetings will confuse you more than it will help you
...
... specific people who are responsible for technologies that are under
development in the IETF. As these people read the current Internet
Drafts and the traffic on the relevant Working Group lists, they will
...
... completely appropriate for vendors to attend. If you create Internet
hardware or software, and no one from your company ...
... at the meeting. Similarly, it isn't required, or likely useful, for
everyone from a technical department to go, particularly if they are
not all reading the Internet Drafts and following the Working Group
mailing lists ...
... One important role of the chair is to decide which Internet Drafts
get published as "official" Working Group drafts, and which don't.
...
... also discuss independent drafts (at the discretion of the WG chair).
Procedures for Internet Drafts are covered in much more detail later
in this document.
...
... The most important thing that everyone (newcomers and seasoned
experts) should do before coming to a face-to-face meeting is to read
the Internet Drafts and RFCs beforehand. WG meetings are explicitly
not for education: they are for developing the group ...
... to do the work needed in order to create standards. Some BOFs have
Internet Drafts already in process, while others start from scratch.
...
... RFCs and Internet Drafts ...
... If you're a new IETF participant and are looking for a particular RFC
or Internet Draft, go to the RFC Editor's Web pages, http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc.html. That site also has links to other RFC
...
... IETF RFC pages,
http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html. For Internet Drafts, the best resource
is the IETF web site ...
... but everyone just calls them RFCs), and every RFC starts out as an
Internet Draft (often called an "I-D"). The basic steps for getting
something published as an IETF standard are:
...
... Publish the document as an Internet Draft ...
... BCP
9(RFC-2026), "The Internet Standards Process." Anyone who writes a draft that
they hope will become an IETF standard must read BCP ...
... Internet standards (sometimes called "full standards") ...
... Services Area. Best Current Practice documents describe
the application of various technologies in the Internet. The STD RFC
sub-series was created ...
... sub-series was created to identify RFCs that do in fact specify
Internet standards. Some STDs are actually sets of more than one
RFC, and the "standard" designation applies to the whole set of
...
...
Incidentally, the change control on Internet standards doesn't end
when the protocol is put on the standards track. The protocol itself
can be changed later for a number of reasons, the most common of
...
...
IETF standards exist so that people will use them to write Internet
programs that interoperate. They don't exist to document the
(possibly wonderful) ideas of their authors, nor do they exist so
...
... Internet Drafts ...
... First things first. Every document that ends up in the RFC
repository starts life as an Internet Draft. Internet Drafts are
tentative documents -- they're meant for readers to comment on, so
...
... repository starts life as an Internet Draft. Internet Drafts are
tentative documents -- they're meant for readers to comment on, so
authors can mull over those comments and decide which ones to
...
... authors can mull over those comments and decide which ones to
incorporate in the draft. In order to remind folks of their
tentativeness, Internet Drafts are automatically removed from the
online directories after six months. They are most definitely not
...
...
An Internet Draft is NOT a means of "publishing" a specification;
specifications are published through the RFC mechanism ...
Internet Drafts ...
... Internet Draft is NOT a means of "publishing" a specification;
specifications are published through the RFC mechanism ...
Internet Drafts have no formal status, and are subject to change
or removal at any time. Under no circumstances should an Internet
Draft ...
... Internet Drafts have no formal status, and are subject to change
or removal at any time. Under no circumstances should an Internet
Draft be referenced by any paper, report, or Request-for-Proposal,
nor should a vendor claim compliance with an Internet Draft ...
... Internet
Draft be referenced by any paper, report, or Request-for-Proposal,
nor should a vendor claim compliance with an Internet Draft.
...
... IETF (or is
intentionally trying to fool people) when they brag about having
published an Internet Draft; it takes no significant effort.
...
...
An Internet Draft can be either a Working Group draft or an
individual submission. Working Group ...
...
Before you create the first draft of your Internet Draft, you should
read four documents:
...
... More important than just explaining formatting, RFC 2223 also
explains what needs to be in an Internet Draft before it can
become an RFC. This document describes all the sections and
notices that will need to be in your document, and it's good to
...
... BCP 22 (RFC-2365), "Guide for Internet Standards Writers," provides tips
that will help you write a standard that leads to
interoperability ...
... The online "Guidelines to Authors of Internet Drafts,"
http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-guidelines.txt, has up-to-date
...
... http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-guidelines.txt, has up-to-date
information about the process for turning in Internet Drafts, as
well as the most current boilerplate information that has to be
included in each Internet Draft ...
... Internet Drafts, as
well as the most current boilerplate information that has to be
included in each Internet Draft.
...
... When you think you are finished with the draft process and are
ready to request that the draft become an RFC, you should
definitely read "Considerations for Internet Drafts,"
http://www.ietf.org/ID-nits.html, a list of common "nits" that
...
...
When you're ready to turn in your Internet Draft, send it to the
Internet Drafts editor at internet-drafts ...
... When you're ready to turn in your Internet Draft, send it to the
Internet Drafts editor at internet-drafts@ietf.org. There is a real
person at the other end of this mail address ...
... Internet Draft, send it to the
Internet Drafts editor at internet-drafts@ietf.org. There is a real
person at the other end of this mail address -- their job is to make
...
... person at the other end of this mail address -- their job is to make
sure you've included the minimum items you need for the Internet
Draft to be published. When you submit the first version of the
draft, the draft editor supplies the filename for the draft. If the
...
... working group, such
as "draft-smith-smime-keying-00.txt". You are welcome to suggest
names; however, it is up to the Internet Drafts editor (and, if it is
an official WG draft, the WG chair ...
... BCP 9(RFC-2026). After an Internet Draft has been sufficiently discussed and
there is rough consensus that what it says would be a useful
...
...
If the IESG approves the draft to become an Internet Standard, they
ask the RFC Editor to publish it as a Proposed Standard. After it
...
... A few years after a document has been a Draft Standard, it can become
an Internet Standard, also known as "full standard." This doesn't
happen often, and is usually reserved for protocols that are
...
... full standard." This doesn't
happen often, and is usually reserved for protocols that are
absolutely required for the Internet to function. The IESG goes over
the document with a fine-tooth comb before making a Draft Standard ...
... the document with a fine-tooth comb before making a Draft Standard an
Internet Standard.
...
... RFC 1123std3, "Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Application and
Support," written way back in 1989, had a short list of words that
...
... for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels," which is widely
referenced in current Internet standards. BCP 14(RFC-2119) also specifically
...
... discussion in many WGs. When
reviewing an Internet Draft, the question is often raised, "should
that sentence have a MUST or a SHOULD in it?" This is, indeed, a
very good question, because specifications shouldn't have gratuitous
...
... "same level or higher" rule means that before a standard can move
from Proposed to Draft, all of the RFCs for which there is a
normative reference must also be at Draft or Internet Standard. This
rule gives implementors assurance that everything in a Draft Standard ...
... implementors assurance that everything in a Draft Standard
or Internet Standard is quite stable, even the things referenced
outside the standard. This can also delay the publication of the
Draft or Internet Standard ...
... Internet Standard is quite stable, even the things referenced
outside the standard. This can also delay the publication of the
Draft or Internet Standard by many months (sometimes even years)
while the other documents catch up.
...
...
If you are writing an Internet Draft and you know of a patent that
applies to the technology you're writing about, don't list the patent
in the document. Instead, send a note to the IETF Secretariat ...
... removed due
to lack of current use, or that more recent thinking indicates the
technology is actually harmful to the Internet.)
...
...
Read -- Review the Internet Drafts in your area of expertise,
and comment on them in the Working Groups.
...
... Participate in the discussion in a friendly, helpful
fashion, with the goal being the best Internet
standards possible. Listen much more than you speak.
Implement -- Write programs that use the current Internet
standards ...
... Internet
standards possible. Listen much more than you speak.
Implement -- Write programs that use the current Internet
standards. The standards aren't worth much unless
they are available to Internet users. Implement even
...
... Implement -- Write programs that use the current Internet
standards. The standards aren't worth much unless
they are available to Internet users. Implement even
the "minor" standards, since they will become less
minor if they appear in more software. Report any
...
... running code.
Write -- Edit or co-author Internet Drafts in your area of
expertise. Do this for the benefit of the Internet
community, not to get your name (or, even worse, your
...
... Write -- Edit or co-author Internet Drafts in your area of
expertise. Do this for the benefit of the Internet
community, not to get your name (or, even worse, your
company's name) on a document. Draft authors are
...
... available at no cost to everyone who is implementing
the standard. In the past few years, patents have
caused a lot of serious problems for Internet
standards because they prevent some companies from
being able to freely implement the standards.
...
... ISOC. More importantly, urge any
company that has benefited from the Internet to become
a corporate member of ISOC, since this has the
...
... greatest financial benefit for the group. It will, of
course, also benefit the Internet as a whole.
...
... IETF does not exist in a standards vacuum. There are many (perhaps
too many) other standards organizations whose decisions affect the
Internet. There are also a fair number of standards bodies who
ignored the Internet for a long time and now want to get a piece of
...
... Internet. There are also a fair number of standards bodies who
ignored the Internet for a long time and now want to get a piece of
the action.
...
... Given that the IETF is one of the best-known bodies that is helping
move the Internet forward, it's natural for the computer press (and
even the trade press) to want to cover its actions. In recent years,
a small number of magazines have assigned reporters and editors to
...
... IETF in depth over a long period of time. These reporters
have ample scars from articles that they got wrong, incorrect
statements about the status of Internet Drafts, quotes from people
who are unrelated to the IETF work, and so on.
...
... Major press errors fall into two categories: saying that the IETF is
considering something when in fact there is just an Internet Draft in
a Working Group, and saying that the IETF ...
... year can be a good thing. However, it is the rare reporter who can
resist over-hyping a nascent protocol as the next savior for the
Internet. Such stories do much more harm than good, both for the
readers of the article and for the IETF.
...
... ietf-secretariat@ietf.org Questions for the Secretariat
ietf-web@ietf.org Web questions/comments
internet-drafts@ietf.org Internet Draft submissions and queries
...
... ietf-web@ietf.org Web questions/comments
internet-drafts@ietf.org Internet Draft submissions and queries
minutes@ietf.org Where to send Working Group ...
... proceedings@ietf.org IETF Proceedings Coordinator
iana@iana.org Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
rfc-ed@rfc-editor.org RFC Editor
...
... http://www.ietf.org, is the best source for
information about meetings, Working Groups, Internet Drafts, RFCs,
IETF e-mail addresses ...
... e-mail addresses, and much more. Click on "Additional
Information" to find a variety of helpful links. Internet Drafts and
other documents are also available in the "ietf" directory on
anonymous FTP ...
... FYI For Your Information (RFC)
IAB Internet Architecture Board
IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority ...
... Internet Architecture Board
IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ...
... Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers,
http://www.icann.org/
...
... http://www.ietf.org/iesg.html
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force, http://www.ietf.org/
INET Internet Society ...
... Internet Engineering Task Force, http://www.ietf.org/
INET Internet Society Conference,
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/conferences/inet/
...
... http://www.isoc.org/isoc/conferences/inet/
IRTF Internet Research Task Force, http://www.irtf.org/
ISO ...
... 2223 "Instructions to RFC Authors"
"Considerations for Internet Drafts,"
http://www.ietf.org/ID-nits.html
...
... http://www.ietf.org/ID-nits.html
"Guidelines to Authors of Internet-Drafts,"
ftp://ftp.ietf.org/ietf/1id-guidelines.txt
...
... Security
Considerations section, and gives some idea of what it should and
should not contain. Other than that information, this document does
not touch on Internet security.
...
...
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved
...
... document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
...
... the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
...
... Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
...
... developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
...
...
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
...
... This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
...
... "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION ...
...
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
...