ISOC and IETF
Internet Standardization
Ole Jacobsen, Editor and Publisher
The Internet Protocol Journal
http://cisco.com/ipj
w w w.isoc.org
y Founded in 1992 by Internet Pioneers:
International non-profit organization
y 90+ organizational members
y 28,000+ individual members
y 90+ chapters worldwide
y Regional Bureaus: Africa, Latin America & Caribbean,
South & South East Asia
y Operates the Public Interest Registry (PIR)
y ISOC is an international cause-related organization that works for the
open development and evolution of the Internet for all people. Does so
through work across the areas of technical standards, education and
capacity-building as well as public policy.
What Makes ISOC Unique?
y Focus is the Internet: Education, Standards, Policy
y Organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF), Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and related
bodies
y Enable capacity and technical community building
throughout the world
y Key player in Internet Policy
Particularly in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
ISOC’s Principles
y ISOC’s principles and activities are based upon a fundamental
belief that:
“The Internet is for Everyone”
y Envisions a future in which people everywhere can use the
Internet to improve quality of life
y Possible when standards, technologies, business practices, and
government policies sustain an open and universally accessible platform
for innovation, creativity, and economic opportunity
y Core beliefs
y http://ww w.isoc.org/pubpolpillar/principles.shtml
ISOC and Standards
y Partial funding of IETF process
y Funding of RFC Editor
y Organizational home for IETF and IAB:
y
y
y
y
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Legal umbrella
Insurance
IAOC home
Appoints chair of IETF nominations committee
Part of the process appeal chain
Internet Architecture Board
(IAB)
y Provides overall Architectural Advice & Oversight to IESG, IETF & ISOC
y Approves IESG slate from nomcom
y Step in appeals chain
y Provides “oversight” of IETF standards process
y Deals with IETF external liaisons
y Appoints IRTF chair
y Selects IETF–IANA liaison
y Appoints & Oversees RFC Editor
y Chartered by ISOC
More about the IAB
y Reviews BOF requests
y Provides input to IESG on WG formation & charters
y Sponsors & organize Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)
y Convenes topic-specific workshops (mostly invitation only)
y Organizes ad-hoc expert groups to adjudicate technical disputes
y Write IDs/RFCs stating IAB opinion
y Participates in IETF WG discussions
Internet Engineering
Task Force (1)
w w w.ietf.org
y Open for participation from anyone including YOU
y No membership fees, just meeting fees
y Much of its work takes place on mailing lists
y Face-to-face meetings 3 times per year
y Meets in North America, Europe, Asia
y IETF 76 will be held in Hiroshima, November 2009
IETF (2)
y Produces technical documents, some of which may
become standards, published as RFCs
y Scope: “Above the wire and below the application”
y Organized into several Areas (each with several Working Groups):
y General
y Applications
y Internet
y Operations and Management
y Real-time Applications and Infrastructure
y Routing
y Security
y Transport
What is an RFC?
y RFC used to stand for “Request for Comments”
y now just a (brand) name
y now tend to be more formal documents than early RFCs
y IETF document publication series
y RFC 1: “Host Software” – April, 1969
y Now over 5,000 RFCs
y Not all RFCs are standards!
y see RFC 1796
y though some vendors imply otherwise
y Many types of RFCs
Types of RFCs
y Standards track: OSPF, IPv6, IPsec ...
y Obsolete Standards: RIPv1
y Requirements: Host Requirements
y Policies: Classless InterDomain Routing
y April Fool’s Day jokes
y White Papers
y Process Documents (See RFC 3777, RFC 2026)
y Experimental History
RFC Editor
y IETF Publication Arm
y rfc-editor@rfc-editor.org
y Semi-independent
y Gets requests to publish IETF IDs from IESG
y Also gets requests to publish independent IDs for informational or
experimental RFCs
y Asks IESG for advice on publishing independent RFCs but can
exercise own discretion
y Presumption is to publish technically competent IDs
You can get involved!
y Join IETF mailing list(s)
y Visit http://ietf.org
y Attend Meetings, especially Hiroshima 2009!
y Attend Newcomers Orientation
y Talk to colleagues
y Read IETF Journal (and Internet Protocol Journal)
y Work in local setting (Japan)
Thanks to:
y Scott Bradner: IETF Newcomers Presentation
y Gerard Ross: ISOC Overview
y The audience: ありがとうございました
ole@cisco.com