Network Working Group Richard Hovey
Internet Draft Digital Equipment Corporation
Scott Bradner
Harvard University
February 1996
The Organizations Involved in the IETF Standards Process
<draft-ietf-poised95-ietf-orgs-00.txt>
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Abstract
This document describes the organizations involved in the IETF. This
includes descriptions of the IESG and Working Groups and the
relationship with the Internet Society.
1. Internet Standards Organizations and Roles
The following organizations and organizational roles are involved in
the Internet standards process. Contact information is contained in
Appendix A.
1.1 Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an open international
community of network designers, operators, vendors and researchers
concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the
smooth operation of the Internet. It is the principal body engaged
in the development of new Internet Standard specifications.
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1.2 IETF Working Groups
The technical work of the IETF is done in its Working Groups, which
are organized by topics into several Areas (e.g., routing, network
management, security, etc.) under the coordination of Area Directors.
Working Groups typically have a narrow focus and a lifetime bounded
by completion of a specific task.
IETF Working Groups display a spirit of cooperation as well as a high
degree of technical maturity because IETF participants recognize that
the greatest benefit for all members of the Internet community
results from cooperative development of technically superior
protocols and services.
For all purposes relevant to the Internet Standards development
process, membership in the IETF and its Working Groups is defined to
be established solely and entirely by individual participation in
IETF and Working Group activities. Participation in the IETF and its
Working Groups is by individual technical contributors rather than by
formal representatives of organizations.
Anyone with the time and interest to do so is entitled and urged to
participate actively in one or more IETF Working Groups and to attend
IETF meetings which are held three times a year. In most cases
active Working Group participation is possible through electronic
mail alone. Internet video conferencing is also being used to allow
for remote participation.
To ensure a fair and open process, a participant in the IETF and its
Working Groups must be able to disclose, and must disclose to the
Working Group chair, any current or pending intellectual property or
other rights which are relevant to the technical specifications under
development by the Working Group. Such disclosures are restricted to
intellectual property rights which are reasonably and personally
known to the participant.
A Working Group is managed by one or more Working Group chairs (see
section 1.9) and may also include editors of documents that record
the group's work (see section 1.10). New Working Groups are
established within the IETF by explicit charter. The guidelines and
procedures for the formation and operation of IETF working groups are
described in more detail in [A].
1.3 IETF Secretariat
The administrative functions necessary to support the activities of
the IETF are performed by a Secretariat consisting of the IESG
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Secretary and his or her staff. The IESG Secretary is the formal
point of contact for matters concerning any and all aspects of the
Internet standards process, and is responsible for maintaining the
formal public record of the Internet standards process [B].
1.4 Internet Society
The Internet Society (ISOC) is an international organization
concerned with the growth and evolution of the worldwide Internet and
with the social, political, and technical issues that arise from its
use. The ISOC is an organization with individual and organizational
members. The ISOC is managed by a Board of Trustees elected by the
worldwide individual membership.
The ISOC exercises oversight of Internet standardization though the
Board of Trustees, which is responsible for ratifying the procedures
and rules of the Internet standards process.
The way in which the members of the ISOC Board of Trustees are
selected, and other matters concerning the operation of the Internet
Society, are described in the ISOC By Laws [C].
1.5 Internet Engineering Steering Group
The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) is chartered by the
Internet Society with responsiblty for the management of the IETF
technical activities. It administers the Internet Standards process
according to the rules and procedures defined in [B]. The IESG is
responsible for the actions associated with the progression of
technical specification along the "standards track" including the
initial approval of new Working Groups and the final approval of
specifications as Internet Standards. The IESG is composed of the
IETF Area Directors and the chair of the IETF, who also serves as the
chair of the IESG.
The members of the IESG are nominated by a nominations committee (the
Nomcom) and are approved by the IAB. See [E] for a detailed
description of the Nomcom procedures. Other matters concerning the
IESG organization and operation are described in the IESG charter
[does not yet exist].
1.6 Internet Architecture Board
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is chartered by the Internet
Society to provide oversight of the architecture of the Internet and
its protocols.
The IAB approves the IETF chair and is responsible for approving
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other IESG candidates put forward by the Nomcom. The IAB assists in
the IESG review of the charters of new Working Groups that are
proposed for the IETF. The IAB oversees the creation of Internet
Standards and serves as an appeal board for complaints of improper
execution of the standards process [B]. In general it acts as source
of advice to the IETF, the ISOC and the ISOC Board of Trustees
concerning technical, architectural, procedural, and policy matters
pertaining to the Internet and its enabling technologies.
The membership of the IAB consists of members selected by the Nomcom
process [A] and the IETF chair sitting as an ex-officio member. The
members of the IAB are approved by the ISOC Board of Trustees. Other
matters concerning IAB organization and operation are described in
the IAB charter [D].
1.7 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
Many protocol specifications include numbers, keywords, and other
parameters that must be uniquely assigned. Examples include version
numbers, protocol numbers, port numbers, and MIB numbers. The
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for
assigning the values of these protocol parameters for the Internet.
The IANA publishes tables of all currently assigned numbers and
parameters in RFCs entitled "Assigned Numbers" [E]. The IANA
functions as the "top of the pyramid" for DNS and Internet Address
assignment establishing policies for these functions.
The functions of the IANA are performed by one or more individuals or
organizations selected in accordance with the procedures defined by
the IANA charter [F].
1.8 Request for Comments Editor
The RFC publication series [B] is managed by an Editor (which may in
practice be one or more individuals) responsible both for the
mechanics of RFC publication and for upholding the traditionally high
technical and editorial standards of the RFC series.
The functions of the RFC Editor are performed by one or more
individuals or organizations selected in accordance with the
procedures defined by the RFC Editor charter [G].
1.9 Working Group Chair
Each IETF Working Group is headed by a chair (or by co-chairs if a WG
so decides) with the responsibility for directing the group's
activities, presiding over the group's meetings, and ensuring that
the commitments of the group with respect to its role in the Internet
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standards process are met. In particular, the WG chair is the formal
point of contact between the WG and the IESG, via the Area Director
of the area to which the WG is assigned.
The proposed chair(s) of a new Working Group is (are) identified in
the proposed WG charter when it is submitted to the IESG for review.
The IESG, with advice from the IAB, is responsible for approving the
appointment of the WG chair(s) in conjunction with its approval of
the proposed WG charter. The IESG may remove a WG chair if and when
the IESG determines that the Working Group would benefit
significantly from the appointment of a different chair (or chairs).
1.10 Document Editor Most IETF Working Groups focus their efforts on a
document, or set of documents, that capture the results of the
group's work. A Working Group generally designates a person or
persons to serve as the Editor for a particular document. The
Document Editor is responsible for ensuring that the contents of the
document accurately reflect the decisions that have been made by the
working group.
As a general practice, the Working Group Chair and Document Editor
positions are filled by different individuals to help ensure that the
resulting documents accurately reflect the consensus of the Working
Group and that all processes are followed.
1.11 Internet Research Task Force The Internet Research Task Force
(IRTF) is not directly involved in the Internet standards process.
It investigates topics considered to be too uncertain, too advanced,
or insufficiently well-understood to be the subject of Internet
standardization. When an IRTF activity generates a specification
that is sufficiently stable to be considered for Internet
standardization, the specification is processed through the IETF
using the rules in this document.
The IRTF is composed of individual Working Groups, but its structure
and mode of operation is much less formal than that of the IETF, due
in part to the fact that it does not participate directly in the
Internet standards process. The organization and program of work of
the IRTF is overseen by the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG),
which consists of the chairs of the IRTF Working Groups.
1.12. Nominations Committee (Nomcom)
The members of the IESG and IAB are nominated by a nominations
committee (the Nomcom) and are approved by the IAB and ISOC Board of
Trustees respectively. See [E] for a detailed description of the
Nomcom procedures.
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2. The IETF Standards Process
The process used by the Internet community for the standardization of
protocols and procedures are described in [B]. That document defines
the stages in the standardization process, the requirements for
moving a document between stages and the types of documents used
during this process. It also addresses the intellectual property
rights and copyright issues associated with the standards process.
3. Security Considerations
Security is not addressed in this memo
4. References
[A] Huizer, E., D. Crocker, "IETF Working Group Guidelines and
Procedures", RFC 1603, March 1994
[B] Bradner, S. (Ed.), "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision
3", RFC 1602bis (in prep)
[C] ISOC By Laws
[D] Huitema, C., and IAB, "Charter of the Internet Architecture Board
(IAB)", RFC1601, March 1994
[E] nomcom RFC - in prep
5. Author's Addresses:
Richard Hovey
Digital Equipment Corporation
1401 H Street NW
Washington DC 20005
email: hovey@wnpv01.enet.dec.com
phone: +1 202 383 5615
Scott Bradner
Harvard University
1350 Mass Ave. Rm 813
Cambridge MA 02138
email: sob@harvard.edu
phone: +1 617 495 3864
Appendix A - contact information
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IETF - ietf@cnri.reston.va.us
IESG - iesg@cnri.reston.va.us
IAB - iab@isi.edu
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