Internet Engineering Task Force

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is charged with developing and promoting Internet standards, in particular, those of the TCP/IP protocol suite. It is an open, all-volunteer organization, with no formal membership or membership requirements.

Related Topics:
Internet - TCP/IP - Protocol suite

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is organized into a large number of working groups, each dealing with a specific topic, and intended to complete work on that topic and then shut down. Each working group has an appointed chair (or sometimes several co-chairs), along with a charter that describes its focus, and what and when it is expected to produce.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The working groups are organized into areas by subject matter; each area is overseen by an area director (AD) (most areas have 2 co-AD's); the ADs appoint working group chairs. The area directors, together with the IETF Chair, form the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), which is responsible for the overall operation of the IETF.

Related Topics:
Area director - Internet Engineering Steering Group

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The IETF is formally an activity under the umbrella of the Internet Society. The IETF is overseen by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), which oversees its external relationships, and relations with the RFC Editor. The IAB is also jointly responsible for the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee (IAOC), which oversees the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA), which provides logistical, etc support for the IETF. The IAB also manages the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF), with which the IETF has a number of cross-group relations.

Related Topics:
Internet Society - Internet Architecture Board - RFC Editor - IETF Administrative Oversight Committee - IETF Administrative Support Activity - Internet Research Task Force

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~