Chapter 1


IETF Overview



The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is the protocol engineering,
development, and standardization arm of the Internet Architecture Board
(IAB). The IETF began in January 1986 as a forum for technical
coordination by contractors for the then US Defense Advanced Projects
Agency (DARPA), working on the ARPANET, US Defense Data Network (DDN),
and the Internet core gateway system.  Since that time, the IETF has
grown into a large open international community of network designers,
operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the
Internet protocol architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.

The IETF mission includes:


  1. Identifying and proposing solutions to pressing operational and
     technical problems in the Internet;

  2. Specifying the development (or usage) of protocols and the
     near-term architecture to solve such technical problems for the
     Internet;

  3. Facilitating technology transfer from the Internet Research Task
     Force (IRTF) to the wider Internet community; and

  4. Providing a forum for the exchange of relevant information within
     the Internet community between vendors, users, researchers, agency
     contractors, and network managers.


Technical activity on any specific topic in the IETF is addressed within
working groups.  All working groups are organized roughly by function
into ten technical areas.  Each is led by one or more area director who
has primary responsibility for that one area of IETF activity.  Together
with the Chair of the IETF, these technical directors (plus, the
Director for Standards Procedures) compose the Internet Engineering
Steering Group (IESG).


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The current areas and directors, which compose the IESG are:


       IETF and IESG Chair               Phill Gross/MCI
       Applications                     Erik Huizer/SURFnet
                                        John Klensin/UNU
       Internet                         Stev Knowles/FTP Software
                                        Dave Piscitello/Core Competence
       IP: Next Generation               Scott Bradner/Harvard
                                        Allison Mankin/NRL
       Network Management                Marshall Rose/DBC
       Operational Requirements          Scott Bradner/Harvard
       Routing                          Robert Hinden/Sun
       Security                         Steve Crocker/TIS
       Service Applications              Dave Crocker/SGI
       Transport                        Allison Mankin/NRL
       User Services                     Joyce K. Reynolds/ISI
       Standards Management              A. Lyman Chapin/BBN



The IETF has a Secretariat, headquartered at the Corporation for
National Research Initiatives in Reston, Virginia, with the following
staff:


       IETF Executive Director              Steve Coya
       IESG Secretary                      John Stewart
       IETF Meeting Coordinator             Megan Walnut
       IETF Meeting Registrar               Debra Legare
       IETF Internet-Drafts Administrator   Cynthia Clark
       IETF Administrative Support          Lois Keiper



The working groups conduct business during plenary meetings of the IETF,
during meetings outside of the IETF, and via electronic mail on mailing
lists established for each group.  The IETF holds 4.5 day meetings three
times a year.  These plenary sessions are composed of working group
sessions, technical presentations, network status reports, working group
reporting, and an open IESG meeting.  A Proceedings of each IETF plenary
is published, which includes reports from each area, each working group,
and each Technical Presentation.  The Proceedings include a summary of
all current standardization activities.

Meeting reports, charters (which include the working group mailing
lists), and general information on current IETF activities are available
on-line for anonymous FTP from several Internet hosts including
ds.internic.net.



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Mailing Lists

Much of the daily work of the IETF is conducted on electronic mailing
lists.  There are mailing lists for each of the working groups, as well
as an IETF general discussion list and an IETF announcement list.  Mail
on the working group mailing lists is expected to be technically
relevant to the working groups supported by that list.

To join the IETF announcement list, send a request to:


     ietf-announce-request@cnri.reston.va.us


To join the IETF general discussion list, send a request to:


     ietf-request@cnri.reston.va.us


To join other mailing lists, send a request to the associated request
list.  All internet mailing lists have a companion ``-request'' list.
Send requests to join a list to <listname>-request@<listhost>.

Information and logistics about upcoming meetings of the IETF are
distributed on the IETF announcement mailing list.  For general
inquiries about the IETF, requests should be sent to
ietf-info@cnri.reston.va.us.  An archive of mail sent to the IETF list
is available for anonymous FTP from the directory
/ietf-mail-archive/ietf on cnri.reston.va.us.



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