Entitities Involved in the IETF Standards Process

3.1. The Document Editor or Author

Most Working Groups focus their efforts on one or more documents that capture the results of the group's work. A Working Group generally designates a person to serve as the Editor for a particular document. The Document Editor is responsible for ensuring that the contents of the document accurately reflect the decisions that have been made by the Working Group.¶

When a document is composed and edited mainly by an individual, they may be referred to as the Document Author. The distinction is not significant. This document will use the term Document Editor.¶

When a Document Editor is a Chair of the same Working Group, a co-chair should manage the process around the document. If a co-chair is not available, the process must be monitored carefully to ensure that the resulting documents accurately reflect the consensus of the Working Group and that all processes are followed. This can be the collective obligation of all parties involved in the document.¶

3.2. The Working Group Chair

Each Working Group is headed by a chair with the responsibility for directing the group's activities, presiding over the group's meetings, and ensuring that the commitments of the group with respect to its role in the Internet standards process are met. In particular, the WG chair is the formal point of contact between the WG and the IESG, via the Area Director of the area to which the WG is assigned.¶

The details on the selection and responsibilites of a Working Group chair can be found in [WGPROCS].¶

3.3. The Area Director

The Area Director assigned as the "Reponsible Area Director" for the Working Group will review the document after the Working Group has approved its last call, and when satisfied will request it to be put on the IESG agenda.¶

3.4. The Request for Comments Editor

The RFC publication series [IETFPROCS] is managed by an Editor responsible both for the mechanics of RFC publication and for upholding the technical and editorial standards of the RFC series.¶

4.1. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

The IETF is an open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, researchers, and other interested parties who are concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is the principal body engaged in the development of new Internet Standard specifications.¶

4.2. Working Groups

The technical work of the IETF is done in its Working Groups, which are organized by topics into several Areas, each one under the coordination of the Area Director. Working Groups typically have a narrow focus and a lifetime bounded by completion of specific tasks as defined in their charter and milestones.¶

For all purposes relevant to the Internet Standards development process, membership in the IETF and its Working Groups is defined to be established solely and entirely by individuals who participate in IETF and Working Group activities. These individuals do not formally represent their organizations, if any, although affiliations are often used for identification.¶

Anyone with the time and interest to do so is entitled and urged to participate actively in one or more Working Groups and to attend IETF meetings which are usually held three times a year [MEETINGS]. Active Working Group participation is possible without attending any in-person meeting.¶

Participants in the IETF and its Working Groups must disclose any relevant current or pending intellectual property rights that are reasonably and personally known to the participant if they participate in discussions about a specific technology. The full intellectual property policy is defined in [IPRRIGHTS1] and [IPRRIGHTS2].¶

New Working Groups are established by the IESG and almost always have a specific and explicit charter. The charter can be modified as the Working Group progresses. The guidelines and procedures for the formation and operation of Working Groups are described in detail in [WGPROCS].¶

A Working Group is managed by a Working Group chair, as described at Section 3.2. Documents produced by the group will have an Editor, as described at Section 3.1. Further details of Working Group operation can also be found in [WGPROCS].¶

Working Groups ideally display a spirit of cooperation as well as a high degree of technical maturity; IETF participants recognize that the greatest benefit for all members of the Internet community results from cooperative development of technically superior protocols and services.¶

4.3. Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)

The IESG is responsible for the management of the IETF technical activities. It administers the Internet Standards process according to the rules and procedures defined in [IETFPROCS]. The IESG is responsible for the actions associated with the progression of technical specification along the "standards track" including the initial approval of new Working Groups and the final approval of specifications as Internet Standards. The IESG is composed of the IETF Area Directors and the IETF Chair, who also chairs the IESG and is the Area Director for the General Area. The IAB Chair is an ex-officio member of the IESG.¶

All members of the IESG are nominated by a nominations committee (colloquially, NomCom), and are confirmed by the IAB. See [NOMCOM] for a detailed description of the NomCom procedures. Other matters concerning its organization and operation, are described in the IESG charter [IESG].¶

4.4. Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

The IAB provides oversight of the architecture of the Internet and its protocols. The IAB must approve all IESG candidates put forward by the NomCom.¶

The IAB provides oversight of the process used to create Internet Standards and serves as an appeal board for complaints of improper execution of the standards process [IETFPROCS]. In general, it acts as source of advice to the IETF and other entities mentioned here about technical, architectural, procedural, and policy matters pertaining to the Internet and its enabling technologies.¶

The members of the IAB are nominated by NomCom, and are confirmed by the Internet Society Board. The IETF Chair is also a member of the IAB, and the IRTF Chair is an ex-officio member. See [NOMCOM] for a detailed description of the NomCom procedures. Other matters concerning its organization and operation, are described in the IAB charter [IAB].¶

4.5. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)

Many protocol specifications include parameters that must be uniquely assigned. Examples of this include port numbers, option identifiers within a protocol, and so on. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for assigning the values of these protocol parameters for the Internet. These registries used to be published as RFCs entitled "Assigned Numbers," but are now maintained online. Assignments are coordinated by writing an "IANA Considerations" section in a draft, as documented in [IANADOCS]. The IETF's relationship with IANA is defined by formal agreements, including [IANAMOU].¶

IANA also is responsible for operating and maintaining several aspects of DNS and coordination of IP address assignment.¶

4.6. Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)

The IRTF focuses on longer-term research issues related to the Internet while the parallel organization, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), focuses on the shorter term issues of engineering and standards making.¶

The products of IRTF research groups are typically research results that are published in scholarly conferences and journals. Research groups also sometimes develop experimental protocols or technologies, some of which may be suitable for possible standardisation in IETF. Similarly, IETF working groups sometimes ask research groups for advice or other input. Contributions from research groups, however, carry no more weight than other community input, and go through the same standards setting process as any other proposal.¶

The IRTF is managed by the IRTF Chair in consultation with the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG). The IRSG membership includes the IRTF Chair, the chairs of the various Research Group and possibly other individuals ("members at large") from the community. Details of the organization and operation of the IRTF, the ISRG, and its Research Groups may be found in [IRTF], [IABIRTF], [IRTFPRIMER], and [IRTFCHAIR].¶

4.7. The IETF Trust

The IETF Trust is the legal owner of a number of intellectual properties for the IETF and others (such as IANA). This includes the IETF trademarks, the copyright licenses for IETF contributions including Internet Drafts. The principles for the copyright licenses are described in [IPRRIGHTS1] and [COPYRIGHT], and the licenses themselves are online in the Trust Legal Provisions.¶

The trustees that govern the Trust are selected from the IETF community as described in [TRUSTEES].¶

4.8. IETF Administration LLC (IETF LLC)

The IETF Administration Limited Liability Corporation (colloquially, the LLC) provides the corporate legal home for the IETF, the IAB, and the IRTF.¶

The IETF LLC is responsible for supporting the ongoing operations of the IETF, managing its finances and budget, and raising money. It regularly reports to the community. The LLC is the legal entity who signs contracts, including the Secretariat, meeting hotels, tools development contractors, and so on. The LLC also responds to legal requests; these are often subpoenas in patent suits.¶

Selection of the LLC Board of Directors is defined in [NOMCOM].¶

The IETF Executive Director handles the daily tasks and management, and is overseen by the LLC Board of Directors.¶

[ISOCIETF], Section 6 describes the legal relationship between the LLC and the Internet Society.¶

4.9. IETF Secretariat

The administrative functions necessary to support the activities of the IETF are performed by a Secretariat hired by the IETF LLC. The Secretariat handles much of the logistics of running the in-person meetings, and is responsible for maintaining the formal public record of the Internet standards process [IETFPROCS].¶

4.10. Internet Society

Internet standardization is an organized activity of the Internet Society, with the Board of Trustees being responsible for ratifying the procedures and rules of the Internet standards process [ISOCIETF].¶

The Internet Society also plays an important role in the standards process. It appoints the NomCom Chair, confirms IAB candidates, and acts as the last resort in the appeals process.¶

The way in which the members of the Internet Society Board of Trustees are selected, and other matters concerning the operation of the Internet Society, are described in their By-Laws [ISOC].¶