Internet Architecture Board
Encyclopedia
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is the committee charged with oversight of the technical and engineering
development of the Internet
by the Internet Society
(ISOC).
It oversees a number of Task Forces, of which the most important are the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) and the Internet Research Task Force
(IRTF).
The body which eventually became the IAB was created originally by the United States Department of Defense
's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
with the name Internet Configuration Control Board during 1979; it eventually became the Internet Advisory Board during September, 1984, and then the Internet Activities Board during May, 1986 (the name was changed, while keeping the same acronym). It finally became the Internet Architecture Board, under ISOC
, during January, 1992, as part of the Internet's transition from a U.S.-government entity to an international, public entity.
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
development of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
by the Internet Society
Internet Society
The Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy...
(ISOC).
It oversees a number of Task Forces, of which the most important are the Internet Engineering Task Force
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite...
(IETF) and the Internet Research Task Force
Internet Research Task Force
The Internet Research Task Force focuses on longer term research issues related to the Internet while the parallel organization, the Internet Engineering Task Force , focuses on the shorter term issues of engineering and standards making...
(IRTF).
The body which eventually became the IAB was created originally by the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military...
with the name Internet Configuration Control Board during 1979; it eventually became the Internet Advisory Board during September, 1984, and then the Internet Activities Board during May, 1986 (the name was changed, while keeping the same acronym). It finally became the Internet Architecture Board, under ISOC
Internet Society
The Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy...
, during January, 1992, as part of the Internet's transition from a U.S.-government entity to an international, public entity.
Activities
The IAB's current responsibilities include-- Architectural Oversight: The IAB provides oversight of, and occasional commentary on, aspects of the architecture for the network protocols and procedures used by the Internet.
- Standards Process Oversight and Appeal: The IAB provides oversight of the process used to create Internet Standards. The IAB serves as an appeal board for complaints of improper execution of the standards process, through acting as an appeal body in respect of an Internet Engineering Steering GroupInternet Engineering Steering GroupThe Internet Engineering Steering Group is a body composed of the Internet Engineering Task Force chair and area directors.It provides the final technical review of Internet standards and is responsible for day-to-day management of the IETF...
(IESG) standards decision.
- Request for CommentsRequest for CommentsIn computer network engineering, a Request for Comments is a memorandum published by the Internet Engineering Task Force describing methods, behaviors, research, or innovations applicable to the working of the Internet and Internet-connected systems.Through the Internet Society, engineers and...
series: The IAB is responsible for editorial management and publication of the Request for Comments (RFC) document series.
- Internet Assigned Numbers AuthorityInternet Assigned Numbers AuthorityThe Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
: In conjunction with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the IAB is responsible for administration of the assignment of IETF protocol parameter values by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
- External Liaison: The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the IETF in liaison relationships with other organizations concerned with standards and other technical and organizational issues relevant to the worldwide Internet.
- Advice to the Internet Society: The IAB acts as a source of advice and guidance to the Board of Trustees and Officers of ISOC concerning technical, architectural, procedural, and (where appropriate) policy matters pertaining to the Internet and its enabling technologies.
- Internet Engineering Steering Group Confirmation: The IAB confirms the IETF Chair and IESG Area Directors, from nominations provided by the IETF Nominating Committee.
- Internet Research Task Force Chair: The IAB selects a chair of the IRTF for a renewable two year term.
RFC1087 - Ethics and the Internet
The IAB's 1989 RFC "Ethics and the Internet" strongly endorses the view of the Division Advisory Panel of the National Science Foundation Division of Network, Communications, Research and Infrastructure which, in paraphrase, characterized as unethical and unacceptable any activity which purposely:- seeks to gain unauthorized access to the resources of the Internet,
- disrupts the intended use of the Internet,
- wastes resources (people, capacity, computer) through such actions,
- destroys the integrity of computer-based information
- compromises the privacy of users.
Chairs
The following people have served as chair of the IAB:- David D. ClarkDavid D. ClarkDavid Dana Clark is an American computer scientist. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 1966. In 1968, he received his Master's and Engineer's degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked on the I/O architecture of Multics under Jerry...
- 1981 to 7/1989 - Vint CerfVint CerfVinton Gray "Vint" Cerf is an American computer scientist, who is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with American computer scientist Bob Kahn...
- 7/1989 to 7/1991 - Lyman Chapin - 7/1991 to 3/1993
- Christian Huitema - 3/1993 to 7/1995
- Brian Carpenter - 7/1995 to 3/2000
- John KlensinJohn KlensinDr. John C. Klensin is a computer science professional who is active in Internet-related issues.His career includes 30 years as a Principal Research Scientist at MIT, a stint as INFOODS Project Coordinator for the United Nations University, Distinguished Engineering Fellow at MCI WorldCom, and...
- 3/2000 to 3/2002 - Leslie Daigle - 3/2002 to 3/2007
- Olaf Kolkman - 3/2007 to 3/2011
- Bernard Aboba - 3/2011 to present
Further reading
- Carpenter, Brian (editor), Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (RFC 2850, May 2000)