Internet Architecture Board (iab)

The Internet Architecture Board provides long-range technical direction for Internet development, ensuring the Internet continues to grow and evolve as a platform for global communication and innovation.

In its work, the IAB strives to:

• Ensure that the Internet is a trusted medium of communication that provides a solid technical foundation for privacy and security, especially in light of pervasive surveillance,
• Establish the technical direction for an Internet that will enable billions more people to connect, support the vision for an Internet of Things, and allow mobile networks to flourish, while keeping the core capabilities that have been a foundation of the Internet’s success, and
• Promote the technical evolution of an open Internet without special controls, especially those which hinder trust in the network.

The IAB is responsible for:

• Providing architectural oversight of Internet protocols and procedures
• Liaising with other organizations on behalf of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• Reviewing appeals of the Internet standards process
• Managing Internet standards documents (the RFC series) and protocol parameter value assignment
• Confirming the Chair of the IETF and the IETF Area Directors
• Selecting the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) Chair
• Acting as source of advice and guidance to the Internet Society

The IAB convenes workshops of specialists, initiates and executes specific work programs, and writes documents that lead to comprehensive technical analyses of matters of interest. While its work may influence the industry broadly, the IAB does not operate from a grand-architecture blueprint of, or vision for, the Internet. Rather, the IAB’s efforts are guided by fundamental design principles—the Internet’s building blocks and their interactions—that make the global open Internet what it is. The IAB also helps connect different fields of expertise when this is needed to understand the full situation affecting the evolution of the Internet. For instance technology, policy and other considerations often impact each other.

The IAB is comprised of 13 members who serve as individuals, and not as representatives of any company, agency, or other organization. The IAB is chartered both as a committee of the IETF and an advisory body of the Internet Society. Further details about the IAB are documented in RFC 2850.