Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/isoc/pub/isoc_news/1-4/n-1-4-900.05a

Text File | 1994-03-26 | 5KB | 93 lines

Subject: n-1-4-040.10

Internet Architecture Board
A. Lyman Chapin* <[e-mail]>

The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is the principal technical advisory group of the
Internet Society.  Historically named the Internet Activities Board, it was chartered
under the new (albeit very similar!) name as a component of the Internet Society in
June of 1992.  Its responsibilities under this charter include:

(1)  Expert and experienced oversight of the architecture of the worldwide
multiprotocol Internet.

(2)  The editorial management and publication of the Request for Comments (RFC)
document series, which constitutes the archival publication series for Internet
Standards and related contributions by the Internet research and engineering
community.

(3)  The development, review, and approval of Internet Standards, according to
a well-defined and documented set of "Procedures for Internet Standardization".
Internet Standards are published in the form of specifications as part of the RFC series.

(4)  The provision of advice and guidance to the Board of Trustees and Officers of the
Internet Society concerning technical, architectural, procedural, and (where
appropriate) policy matters pertaining to the Internet and its enabling technologies.

(5)  Representation of the interests of the Internet Society in liaison relatio
nships with other organizations.

As a result of discussions within the Internet community during the six months
that have elapsed since the IAB charter was accepted by the Internet Society Board of
Trustees, a proposal for reorganizing the responsibilities of the IAB and its task
forces (the Internet Engineering Task Force, or IETF, and the Internet Research Task
Force, or IRTF) was presented at the IETF meeting in Washington, DC on 19 November
1992 and to the Internet Society Board of Trustees on 10 December.  This
proposal deals with two pressing issues:  how to streamline the increasingly
cumbersome Internet standards process (and modify it so that the IAB's
"architectural oversight" is exercised at the beginning of the process, rather
than at the end);  and how to introduce "accountability" into the way in which the IAB
and the Internet Engineering Steering Group (the IESG, which consists of the Area Directors
responsible for the technical areas into which IETF working groups are organized)
exercise their mandate to act as the governing bodies of the Internet standards
process.

If this proposal were to be accepted by the Internet community and ratified by the
Internet Society Trustees, the results would include:

(1) Devolution of the formal responsibility for final decisions on Internet standards
from the IAB to the IESG.  The IESG, which currently recommends standards-
progression actions to the IAB (which must then independently ratify them), would
have the authority to take those actions itself (without IAB ratification), in
accordance with the "Procedures for Internet Standards" defined in RFC 1310.  The
IAB would take on a new responsibility to review and approve the charter for new
IETF working groups, and would also be available to adjudicate disputes (including
appeals of standards-progression decisions made by the IESG).

(2) Candidates for open IAB and IESG seats would be selected by a "nominating
committee" composed of 7 people chosen at random from a pool of volunteers who
have met certain criteria and have agreed to be in the pool, assisted by three non-
voting "advisory" members (one each from the IAB, the IESG, and the IRTF).  From the
list of candidates (at least one for each open seat), the Internet Society Trustees
would select IAB members, and the IAB would select IESG members, who would then
serve two-year terms (with no limit on the number of terms).  This would be a
significant departure from the current system, in which the IESG and the IAB select
their own members for indefinite terms  The process would begin as soon as the
proposal was ratified, with each board making half of its seats available for
nominations (or renomination of incumbents);  the remaining seats would be made
available a year later.

The Internet Society trustees agreed with the overall direction suggested
by this proposal (while reserving judgement on some of its details, particularly
with respect to legal liability), and adopted a resolution to that effect
at the conclusion of their meeting in December.  In particular, the trustees
agreed that the IAB, IESG,
and IETF could proceed immediately with their plans to move the "final decision"
authority for Internet standards progression from the IAB to the IESG,
and to form a nominating committee to select candidates for half of the
positions on the IAB and IESG.

The likelihood that the
proposal will be accepted by all segments of the community is now very high,
and presents the encouraging prospect of an Internet
leadership that is much more closely accountable (and responsive) to its consituents,
and an Internet standards process that emphasizes timeliness and quality over
bureaucracy.

If you would like to follow the discussion that is taking place
concerning the details of this proposal, subscribe to the "poised" electronic mail
list by sending a message to <[e-mail]>.  I will report the out
come of the discussion in the next issue of the Internet Society News.

*Chairman, Internet Architecture Board