Contained herein are the Internet RFCs and FYIs current up to February 29, 1996 (now up to rfc1918). Robert Keller put this interface page together. We gratefully acknowledge his work and blessings to include it here.
You can choose to view Internet RFCs and FYIs from the "lenses" below,
or simply view the directory itself.
- Internet RFC index.
- Internet RFC by author index.
- Internet RFC by title index.
- Internet RFC by number index.
- Internet FYI index.
- Internet FYI by author index.
- Internet FYI by title index.
- Internet FYI by number index.
Request For Comment files -- containing a complete history of the Internet
What's an Internet RFC?
RFC stands for Request for Comments. Internet RFCs are texts that document problems, test results, protocols, jokes, and just about every aspect of the Internet, since its inception. Starting with rfc3.txt this collection details a technical (and to some extent political) history of what has become a global communication infrastructure, currently present in over thirty countries in all continents.
Aside from their historical significance, RFCs provide the current set of open standards used on the Internet, today. To both ensure interoperability with other products and prevent re-invention of wheels, developers of network applications will find it useful to be familiar with, and to the extent possible conform to, applicable standards. Examples of available standards are the Simple Network Monitoring Protocol (SNMP), Internet Protocol (IP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Simple Message Transfer Protocol (SMTP), all of which are supported by SGI. Thus, if you were to write a network management tool, since numerous network devices use SNMP, you could manage each one by reading about its interface to SNMP, which is likely documented in an RFC.
Protocol specifications explain both the theory of operation and the proper transmission and interpretation of information from one computer to at least one other. Usually they will include examples of how a protocol and its functionality will be used.
There are currently several types of RFCs:
Standards are further delineated as being proposed, draft, or standard. They are also categorized as being required, recommended, not recommended, or historical. Standards go through a rigorous peer review cycle, requiring deployment and testing of independent implementations. The actual standardization process itself is an RFC.
Experimental protocols are those that have not gone through the rigorous review, and are not meant to be widely deployed.
Informational texts are used to discuss current events or problems relating to the Internet. An informational text may outline concerns over a particular practice or protocol, or it may simply be a note documenting some sort of operational experience with the Internet or an internet application (note the lower case `i').
Historical documents are any of the above types of RFCs deprecated for one reason or another. For example, at the time of this writing, the current standard for the Internet Protocol is RFC-791. As time goes by it may be necessary to replace IP with a better version. Each RFC may have a notation at the beginning, listing it as either obsoleting an older document, or being obsoleted by a newer document.
It is traditional that on April 1 of every year a humorous and fictional RFC may be issued. For example, one year someone wrote an option to the Telnet protocol called the Subliminal Message Option. Poetry of various luminaries also can also be reviewed.
Each RFC is named rfcN.txt, where N is the number (starting with 3, going to 1870, currently). Some RFCs are not present. These include many of the earlier documents, which may have been simple E-Mails between Network Working Group members. In addition a small number of RFCs have been assigned numbers, but have not been released.
Several indices are provided. See the file rfc-index.txt. One can search in an editor based on the expanded name or author of a protocol. In addition, most RFCs contain bibliographical information.
RFCs are almost always ASCII text documents that can be read with an editor such as Jot or vi. Some RFCs are written in Postscript, and may be read with tools such as xpsview.
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