TCP Maintenance and Minor Extensions
charter-ietf-tcpm-09-00

TCP is currently the Internet's predominant transport protocol. TCPM
is the working group within the IETF that handles small TCP changes,
i.e., minor extensions to TCP algorithms and protocol mechanisms.
The TCPM WG serves several purposes:

• The WG mostly focuses on maintenance issues (e.g., bug fixes) and
  modest changes to the protocol, algorithms, and interfaces that
  maintain TCP's utility.

• The WG is a venue for moving current TCP specifications along the
  standards track (as community energy is available for such efforts).

• The WG maintains Multipath TCP (MPTCP) and is a home for minor
  MPTCP enhancements including updates to the existing multipath
  congestion control.

• The focus of the working group is TCP. In cases where small
  changes are directly applicable to other transports (e.g., SCTP or
  DCCP), the mappings to other transports may be specified alongside
  that for TCP, but other significant additions and changes to other
  transports are not in scope.

The preferred venue for Congestion control work is generally CCWG or ICCRG. However, TCPM can take on such work in coordination with those groups, especially if it relies on TCP-specific protocol elements.

New TCPM milestones that fall within the scope specified within the
charter can be added after consensus on acceptance in the working
group and approval by the responsible Area Director.