Network Working Group L. Daigle
Internet-Draft H. Alvestrand
Expires: August 8, 2004 February 8, 2004
A Proposal for IETF Administrative Restructuring
draft-daigle-adminrest-00.txt
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Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document outlines a proposal for an administrative oversight
entity for the collection of activities that allow the IETF to carry
out its work. The current description of the IETF's work can be
found in [2]. The proposal is based on the observations and
recommendations outlined in the IAB Advisory Committee report ([1]).
The motivation for this proposal is described separately ([3]).
These 4 documents must be read together for completeness.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Proposal Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. IETF Administration Group (AG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1 AG Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.1 Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1.2 Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 AG Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3 AG Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. Board of the Administration Group (BAG) . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1 BAG Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 BAG Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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1. Introduction
This document outlines a proposal for an administrative oversight
entity for the collection of activities that allow the IETF to carry
out the work described in [2]. The specific motivation for the
proposal can be found in [3], and these were prepared in response to
the outcome of the IAB Advisory Committee, published in [1]. All 4
documents must be read for completeness.
This purpose of this proposal is to present the concepts and
structural relationship to existing IETF activities. It deliberately
remains agnostic about the specific implementation form of any
eventual organizational structure. Details and more formal
procedural guidelines implementing the structure outlined in this
document will be set out in subsequent formal documents such as
bylaws and/or constitutional documents, as appropriate to the formal
structure chosen for implementation.
Specific goals of this restructuring are to recognize and preserve
the community-driven nature of the IETF's work, and to continue to
support it through the formalization of a single administrative
umbrella that is openly accountable to that same community.
2. Proposal Overview
This proposal preserves the existing IETF standardization process
structure, led by the IESG and IAB in their respective roles, and
introduces a new Administration Group (AG) to carry out the formal
administration processes of IETF organization. Like the IAB and the
IESG, the AG (through its Board) is accountable to the IETF community
as a whole.
In short, the responsibilities for the different IETF bodies can be
characterized as:
IAB: architecture and longterm technical overview; sponsorship
and organization of the IRTF; appeals; confirmation of IESG
appointments; oversight of standards process
IESG: management of standards work (working groups, documents, and
process)
AG: administrative arm of IETF organization; establishes and
manages contracts; proposes and executes budget plans; does NOT
change or influence the standards process
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3. IETF Administration Group (AG)
An IETF Administration Group (AG) is proposed to provide the unified
administrative management of all IETF supporting functions. This
group is ultimately accountable to IETF participants, as described
below.
The AG will not replace any existing IETF support structure although
it subsumes some tasks that have been handled on an ad hoc basis by
IAB or IESG members or others. It will rather complement the
existing work (RFC-Editor, Secretariat, IANA protocol parameter
assignments), and take on the role of overall coordination and
management of the administration. This will permit unification of
fund-raising activities, flexibility in balancing budget allocations,
and coherence in management across the functions.
3.1 AG Activities
3.1.1 Administration
The AG is responsible for the administrative activities associated
with the IETF organization. Today, most of the operational work that
permits the IETF to continue creating and managing standards is done
by a disparate group of organizations dedicated to the ongoing health
of the Internet. It is expected that those organizations will
continue to do the work as they do today, but the AG will provide
administrative oversight for the IETF operational process, and will
give those organizations a clear anchor. The AG will negotiate and
formalize contracts with the organizations that provide support for
IETF functions, and will be responsible for ensuring their timely
payment and performance review.
3.1.2 Operations
As part of this activity, the AG will exercise financial control for
the whole IETF activity -- either handling the funds directly, or
providing executive oversight for the bodies that do. The AG will be
responsible for developing viable financial plans to support the IETF
activity, to better match revenue and costs across the board of IETF
support activities.
3.2 AG Composition
There will be one person designated as the manager of the AG. This
person will be selected by and serve at the pleasure of the Board of
the AG.
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3.3 AG Committees
The expectation is that the manager of the AG will constitute
special-purpose, chartered committees to bring in expertise (e.g.,
financial) or differing perspectives when and as necessary. These
committees may consist of subsets of the IAB and/or IESG, selected
IETF participants, or external experts, depending on the need.
These committees are advisory in nature -- the manager of the AG is
responsible for the outcome, including presenting and supporting any
material to the Board, as and when appropriate.
4. Board of the Administration Group (BAG)
The BAG provides oversight of the AG's activities, ensuring that they
are carried out in accordance with the IETF mission, and that
appropriate operational support is provided for the IAB, IESG,
working groups, etc, to carry out their chartered work.
4.1 BAG Activities
Election of Chair and Secretary of the BAG
Selection of manager of the AG
Budget approval
Financial review
Approval of major contracts and funding proposals
Publication of audited IETF financials
4.2 BAG Composition
At a minimum, the BAG will have 5 voting members:
IETF Chair
IAB Chair
3 appointed members with staggered 3 year renewable terms; these
members are selected by (though not necessarily members of) ISOC,
the IAB, the IESG.
The BAG also has, at a minimum, 3 non-voting members:
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manager of the AG
a representative of the IETF's legal counsel
a treasurer (if necessary; appointment process TBD)
The BAG will organize itself to elect a Secretary and a Chair for
one-year, renewable appointments. The Secretary may be any BAG
member; the Chair must be a voting member of the BAG.
Although appointed by ISOC, the IAB and IESG, the BAG is accountable
directly to the IETF community. At any time, a recall against an
appointed BAG member may be proposed by members of the IETF community
(procedure to be defined). Once a BAG member has been recalled, they
are ineligible to be re-appointed (for a period analogous to that
outlined in [4]).
5. Security Considerations
This document does not discuss Internet protocols, and thereby
introduces no security issues for their operation.
References
[1] AdvComm, AdvComm., "The IETF in the Large: Administration and
Execution", draft-iab-advcomm-01 (work in progress), December
2003.
[2] Alvestrand, H., "IETF Mission Statement", February 2004.
[3] Alvestrand, H. and L. Daigle, "IETF Administration
Restructuring: Motivation", February 2004.
[4] Galvin, J., "IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall
Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees",
draft-ietf-nomcom-rfc2727bis-08 (work in progress), October
2002.
Authors' Addresses
Leslie Daigle
EMail: leslie@thinkingcat.com, leslie@verisignlabs.com
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Harald Alvestrand
EMail: harald@alvestrand.no
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