IETF WORKING GROUPS

IETF WORKING GROUPS
The IETF is currently divided into eight functional areas; applications, internet, networks management, operational requirements, routing, security, transport, and user services. Each area has one or two area directors. When it considers a problem important enough to merit concern, the IETF sets up a working group (a group of people who work under a charter to achieve a certain goal) for further investigation.
The actual technical work of the IETF is done in its working groups, which are recognized by topic into several areas (routing, network management, security). Their goal may be the creation of an informational document, the creation of a protocol specification, or the resolution of problems in the internet. Most working groups have a finite lifetime and are disbanded after the initial goal is achieved. As in the IETF, there is no official membership for a working group.
Each area has several working groups and may also have birds of a feather (BOF) session. BOF generally have the same goals as working groups, except that they have no charter and usually meet only once or twice. BFOs are often held to determine whether there is enough interest to form a work group. The purpose of BFOs is to provide an informal forum for discussing the latest trends in the marketplace that may necessitate a working group for more detailed inquiry. This process is outlined in Fig .3.10.
Output of the IETF working groups is usually a request for comments (RFC) that is floated in the internet community for comments and criticism. The early RFCs were meeting minutes and message between the ARPANET architects about how to resolve certain problems. Two special subseries of the RFCs exist; FYIs and STDs. The for your information (FYI) RFC subseries was created to present








Figure 3.10 Process of working group creation that culminates in an internet standard document
overviews and introductory topics. Often, FYIs are Created by groups within the IETF user service area. The standard (STD) RFC subseries was created to identify internet standards.
There is another category called internet-Drafts. These are working documents of the IETF. Any group or individual may submit a document for distribution as an internet-draft. These documents are valid six months and may be updated, replaced, or made obsolete at any time. Guidelines required that an expiration date appear on every page of an internet-draft. It is not appropriate to use internet-drafts as reference material or to cite them, other than as “working drafts” or “works in progress”. Figure 3.11 details the process of draft creation and standardization.
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