rfc1160.txt

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Network Working Group                                            V. Cerf
Request for Comments:  1160                                          NRI
Obsoletes: RFC 1120                                             May 1990


                     The Internet Activities Board

Status of this Memo

   This RFC provides a history and description of the Internet
   Activities Board (IAB) and its subsidiary organizations.  This memo
   is for informational use and does not constitute a standard.  This is
   a revision of RFC 1120.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

1. Introduction

   In 1968, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
   initiated an effort to develop a technology which is now known as
   packet switching.  This technology had its roots in message switching
   methods, but was strongly influenced by the development of low-cost
   minicomputers and digital telecommunications techniques during the
   mid-1960's [BARAN 64, ROBERTS 70, HEART 70, ROBERTS 78].  A very
   useful survey of this technology can be found in [IEEE 78].

   During the early 1970's, DARPA initiated a number of programs to
   explore the use of packet switching methods in alternative media
   including mobile radio, satellite and cable [IEEE 78].  Concurrently,
   Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) began an exploration of packet
   switching on coaxial cable which ultimately led to the development of
   Ethernet local area networks [METCALFE 76].

   The successful implementation of packet radio and packet satellite
   technology raised the question of interconnecting ARPANET with other
   types of packet nets.  A possible solution to this problem was
   proposed by Cerf and Kahn [CERF 74] in the form of an internetwork
   protocol and a set of gateways to connect the different networks.
   This solution was further developed as part of a research program in
   internetting sponsored by DARPA and resulted in a collection of
   computer communications protocols based on the original Transmission
   Control Protocol (TCP) and its lower level counterpart, Internet
   Protocol (IP).  Together, these protocols, along with many others
   developed during the course of the research, are referred to as the
   TCP/IP Protocol Suite [RFC 1140, LEINER 85, POSTEL 85, CERF 82, CLARK
   86].

   In the early stages of the Internet research program, only a few
   researchers worked to develop and test versions of the internet
   protocols.  Over time, the size of this activity increased until, in



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   1979, it was necessary to form an informal committee to guide the
   technical evolution of the protocol suite.  This group was called the
   Internet Configuration Control Board (ICCB) and was established by
   Dr. Vinton Cerf who was then the DARPA program manager for the
   effort. Dr. David C. Clark of the Laboratory for Computer Science at
   Massachusetts Institute of Technology was named the chairman of this
   committee.

   In January, 1983, the Defense Communications Agency, then responsible
   for the operation of the ARPANET, declared the TCP/IP protocol suite
   to be standard for the ARPANET and all systems on the network
   converted from the earlier Network Control Program (NCP) to TCP/IP.
   Late that year, the ICCB was reorganized by Dr. Barry Leiner, Cerf's
   successor at DARPA, around a series of task forces considering
   different technical aspects of internetting.  The re-organized group
   was named the Internet Activities Board.

   As the Internet expanded, it drew support from U.S. Government
   organizations including DARPA, the National Science Foundation (NSF),
   the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space
   Administration (NASA).  Key managers in these organizations,
   responsible for computer networking research and development, formed
   an informal Federal Research Internet Coordinating Committee (FRICC)
   to coordinate U.S. Government support for and development and use of
   the Internet system.  The FRICC sponsored most of the U.S. research
   on internetting, including support for the Internet Activities Board
   and its subsidiary organizations.

   In 1990, the FRICC was reorganized as part of a larger initiative
   sponsored by the networking subcommittee of the Federal Coordinating
   Committee on Science, Engineering and Technology (FCCSET).  The
   reorganization created the Federal Networking Council (FNC) and its
   Working Groups.  The membership of the FNC included all the former
   FRICC members and many other U.S. Government representatives.  The
   first chairman of the FNC is Dr. Charles Brownstein of the National
   Science Foundation.  The FNC is the Federal Government's body for
   coordinating the agencies that support the Internet.  It provides
   liaison to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (headed by the
   President's Science Advisor) which is responsible for setting science
   and technology policy affecting the Internet.  It endorses and
   employs the existing planning and operational activities of the
   community-based bodies that have grown up to manage the Internet in
   the United States.  The FNC plans to involve user and supplier
   communities through creation of an external advisory board and will
   coordinate Internet activities with other Federal initiatives ranging
   from the Human Genome and Global Change programs to educational
   applications.  The FNC has also participated in planning for the
   creation of a National Research and Education Network in the United



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   States.

   At the international level, a Coordinating Committee for
   Intercontinental Research Networks (CCIRN) has been formed which
   includes the U.S. FNC and its counterparts in North America and
   Europe.  Co-chaired by the executive directors of the FNC and the
   European Association of Research Networks (RARE), the CCIRN provides
   a forum for cooperative planning among the principal North American
   and European research networking bodies.

2. Internet Activities Board

   The Internet Activities Board (IAB) is the coordinating committee for
   Internet design, engineering and management.  The Internet is a
   collection of over two thousand of packet switched networks located
   principally in the U.S., but also in many other parts of the world,
   all interlinked and operating using the protocols of the TCP/IP
   protocol suite.  The IAB is an independent committee of researchers
   and professionals with a technical interest in the health and
   evolution of the Internet system.  Membership changes with time to
   adjust to the current realities of the research interests of the
   participants, the needs of the Internet system and the concerns of
   constituent members of the Internet.

   IAB members are deeply committed to making the Internet function
   effectively and evolve to meet a large scale, high speed future.  New
   members are appointed by the chairman of the IAB, with the advice and
   consent of the remaining members.  The chairman serves a term of two
   years and is elected by the members of the IAB.  The IAB focuses on
   the TCP/IP protocol suite, and extensions to the Internet system to
   support multiple protocol suites.

   The IAB has two principal subsidiary task forces:

      1)  Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

      2)  Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)

   Each of these Task Forces is led by a chairman and guided by a
   Steering Group which reports to the IAB through its chairman.  Each
   task force is organized, by the chairman, as required, to carry out
   its charter.  For the most part, a collection of Working Groups
   carries out the work program of each Task Force.

   All decisions of the IAB are made public.  The principal vehicle by
   which IAB decisions are propagated to the parties interested in the
   Internet and its TCP/IP protocol suite is the Request for Comment
   (RFC) note series.  The archival RFC series was initiated in 1969 by



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   Dr. Stephen D. Crocker as a means of documenting the development of
   the original ARPANET protocol suite [RFC 1000].  The editor-in-chief
   of this series, Dr. Jonathan B. Postel, has maintained the quality of
   and managed the archiving of this series since its inception.  A
   small proportion of the RFCs document Internet standards.  Most of
   them are intended to stimulate comment and discussion.  The small
   number which document standards are especially marked in a "status"
   section to indicate the special status of the document.  An RFC
   summarizing the status of all standard RFCs is published regularly
   [RFC 1140].

   RFCs describing experimental protocols, along with other submissions
   whose intent is merely to inform, are typically submitted directly to
   the RFC editor.  A Standard Protocol starts out as a Proposed
   Standard and may be promoted to Draft Standard and finally Standard
   after suitable review, comment, implementation and testing.

   Prior to publication of a Proposed Standard RFC, it is made available
   for comment through an on-line Internet-Draft directory.  Typically,
   these Internet-Drafts are working documents of the IAB or of the
   working groups of the Internet Engineering and Research Task Forces.
   Internet-Drafts are either submitted to the RFC editor for
   publication or discarded within 3-6 months.  Prior to promotion to
   Draft Standard or Standard, an Internet-Draft publication and review
   cycle may be initiated if significant changes to the RFC are
   contemplated.

   The IAB performs the following functions:

      1)   Sets Internet Standards,

      2)   Manages the RFC publication process,

      3)   Reviews the operation of the IETF and IRTF,

      4)   Performs strategic planning for the Internet, identifying
           long-range problems and opportunities,

      5)   Acts as an international technical policy liaison and
           representative for the Internet community, and

      6)   Resolves technical issues which cannot be treated within
           the IETF or IRTF frameworks.

   To supplement its work via electronic mail, the IAB meets quarterly
   to review the condition of the Internet, to review and approve
   proposed changes or additions to the TCP/IP suite of protocols, to
   set technical development priorities, to discuss policy matters which



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   may need the attention of the Internet sponsors, and to agree on the
   addition or retirement of IAB members and on the addition or
   retirement of task forces reporting to the IAB.  Typically, two of
   the quarterly meetings are by means of video teleconferencing
   (provided, when possible, through the experimental Internet packet
   video-conferencing system).  The minutes of the IAB meetings are
   published in the Internet Monthly on-line report.

   The IAB membership is currently as follows:

            Vinton Cerf/CNRI              Chairman
            Robert Braden/USC-ISI         Executive Director
            David Clark/MIT-LCS           IRTF Chairman
            Phillip Gross/CNRI            IETF Chairman
            Jonathan Postel/USC-ISI       RFC Editor
            Hans-Werner Braun/Merit       Member
            Lyman Chapin/DG               Member
            Stephen Kent/BBN              Member
            Anthony Lauck/Digital         Member
            Barry Leiner/RIACS            Member
            Daniel Lynch/Interop, Inc.    Member

3.  The Internet Engineering Task Force

   The Internet has grown to encompass a large number of widely
   geographically dispersed networks in academic and research
   communities.  It now provides an infrastructure for a broad community
   with various interests.  Moreover, the family of Internet protocols
   and system components has moved from experimental to commercial
   development.  To help coordinate the operation, management and
   evolution of the Internet, the IAB established the Internet
   Engineering Task Force (IETF).  The IETF is chaired by Mr. Phillip
   Gross and managed by its Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).
   The IAB has delegated to the IESG the general responsibility for
   making the Internet work and for the resolution of all short- and
   mid-range protocol and architectural issues required to make the
   Internet function effectively.

   The charter of the IETF includes:

      1) Responsibility for specifying the short and mid-term
         Internet protocols and architecture and recommending
         standards for IAB approval.

      2) Provision of a forum for the exchange of information within
         the Internet community.

      3) Identification of pressing and relevant short- to mid-range



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         operational and technical problem areas and convening of
         Working Groups to explore solutions.

   The Internet Engineering Task Force is a large open community of
   network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with
   the Internet and the Internet protocol suite.  It is organized around
   a set of eight technical areas, each managed by a technical area
   director.  In addition to the IETF Chairman, the area directors make
   up the IESG membership.  Each area director has primary
   responsibility for one area of Internet engineering activity, and
   hence for a subset of the IETF Working Groups.  The area directors
   have jobs of critical importance and difficulty and are selected not
   only for their technical expertise but also for their managerial
   skills and judgment.  At present, the eight technical areas and
   chairs are:

            1) Applications             -  Russ Hobby/UC-Davis
            2) Host and User Services   -  Craig Partridge/BBN
            3) Internet Services        -  Noel Chiappa/Consultant
            4) Routing                  -  Robert Hinden/BBN
            5) Network Management       -  David Crocker/DEC
            6) OSI Integration          -  Ross Callon/DEC and
                                           Robert Hagens/UWisc.
            7) Operations               -  Phill Gross/CNRI (Acting)