1.3 IETF Overview

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) provides a forum for working groups to coordinate technical developments of new protocols. Its most important function is the development and selection of standards within the Internet protocol suite.

The IETF began in January 1986 as a forum for technical coordination by contractors for the then US Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA), working on the ARPANET, US Defense Data Network (DDN), and the Internet core gateway system. Since that time, the IETF has grown into a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.

The IETF mission includes:

Technical activity on any specific topic in the IETF is addressed within working groups. All working groups are organized roughly by function into seven areas. Each is led by one or more area directors who have primary responsibility for that one area of IETF activity. Together with the Chair of the IETF/IESG, these technical directors compose the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).

Name

Area

Email

     

Harald Alvestrand

IETF Chair

<chair@ietf.org>

Steven Bellovin

Security

<smb+iesg@research.att.com>

Randy Bush

Operations & Mgmt

<randy@psg.com>

Bill Fenner

Routing

<fenner@research.att.com>

Ned Freed

Applications

<ned.freed@innosoft.com>

Ted Hardie

Applications

<hardie@qualcomm.com>

Russ Housley

Security

<housley@vigilsec.com>

Allison Mankin

Transport

<mankin@isi.edu>

Thomas Narten

Internet

<narten@raleigh.ibm.com>

Erik Nordmark

Internet

<nordmark@eng.sun.com>

Jon Peterson

Transport

<jon.peterson@neustar.biz>

Bert Wijnen

Operations & Mgmt, Sub-IP

<bwijnen@lucent.com>

Alex Zinin

Operations & Mgmt, Routing

<zinin@psg.com>

The IETF has a limited number of liaison relationships with other organizations. Liaisons are appointed by the IAB when the IAB feels that conditions warrent appointing a specific person to such a task.

Leslie Daigle

IAB Chair

<leslie@thinkingcat.com>

Rob Austein

IAB Liaison

<sra@hactrn.net>

Michelle Cotton

IANA Liaison

<cotton@icann.org>

Joyce Reynolds

RFC Editor Liaison

<jkrey@isi.edu>

The IETF has a Secretariat, headquartered at the Corporation for National Research Initiatives in Reston, Virginia, with the following staff:

IETF Executive Director

Barbara Fuller

<Exec-Director@ietf.org>

IETF Assistant Director

Jacqueline Hargest

<Asst-Director@ietf.org>

IETF Internet-Drafts Administrator

Natalia Syracuse

<Internet-Drafts@ietf.org>

IETF Proceedings Administrator

Jacob Muñoz

<Proceedings@ietf.org>


Other Foretec personnel providing services on an as needed basis:

Senior Meeting Planner

Marcia Beaulieu

<Meeting-Planning@ietf.org>

Junior Meeting Planner

Dinara Suleymanova

<Meeting-Planning@ietf.org>

Meeting Registrar

Julie Kirchhoff

<Registrar@ietf.org>

Database Developer

Michael Lee

<Developers@ietf.org>

UNIX/Network Administrator

Brett Thorson

<IETF-Action@ietf.org>

System Administrator

Gregory Cunningham

<IETF-Action@ietf.org>

System/Network Engineer

Stanley Weilnau

<IETF-Action@ietf.org>

Web Administrator

Amy Vezza

<Webadmin@ietf.org>

Manager Finance/Administration

Dawn Thomas

<Finance@foretec.com>

Administrative Support

Rebecca Bunch

<Admin@foretec.com>

The working groups conduct business during plenary meetings of the IETF, during meetings outside of the IETF, and via electronic mail on mailing lists established for each group. The IETF holds 4.5 day meetings three times a year. These meetings are composed of working group sessions, technical presentations, network status reports, working group reporting, and an open IESG meeting. A Proceedings of each IETF plenary is published, which includes reports from each area, each working group, and each technical presentation. The Proceedings include a summary of all current standardization activities.

Meeting minutes, working group charters (which include the working group mailing lists), and general information on current IETF activities are available on-line for anonymous FTP from several IETF shadow sites hosts, including ftp.ietf.org.