RFC 2850

Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

📅 published May 2000, from ietf

RFC 2850: Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) 🦋

Part 1 of 2 ✨

Okay bestie, so this is RFC 2850 🎀, and it's a Best Current Practice (that's BCP 39 if you're keeping score 💅). It came out in May 2000, the editor is B. Carpenter, and it's from the Internet Architecture Board in the Network Working Group. It obsoletes RFC 1601, so 1601 is retired and this is the new drop 💖.

Status of this Memo 📜

This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practice for the Internet Community, and it's asking for discussion and suggestions for improvements 🫶. Distribution of this memo is unlimited 🌈.

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved. 💜

Abstract 🌸

This memo documents the composition, selection, roles, and organization of the Internet Architecture Board. It replaces RFC 1601, so if you're still reading 1601 you're living in the past 🙈.

Table of Contents 📚

   1. IAB Membership...............................................2
   1.1  Selection of full IAB members..............................2
   1.2 Ex-Officio and Liaison members..............................2
   2.  The Role of the IAB.........................................3
   2.1 Architectural oversight in more detail......................4
   3. IAB Organization.............................................5
   3.1 IAB chair...................................................5
   3.2 Executive Director..........................................5
   3.3 Selection of the IRTF chair.................................5
   3.4 Liaisons within the IETF....................................5
   3.5 Decision taking.............................................6
   3.6 Openness and confidentiality................................6
   Security Considerations.........................................6
   Summary of Changes from RFC 1601................................6
   References......................................................7
   Author's Address................................................7
   Full Copyright Statement........................................8

1. IAB Membership ✨

So the IAB is gonna have thirteen full members, made up of the IETF chair plus twelve sitting members 👑. The IETF chair is also the chair of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), and they can take part in all official IAB actions, except approving IESG members and hearing appeals against IESG decisions. Ex-officio and liaison members can come to IAB meetings too, but they SHALL NOT take part in deciding official actions 🙈.

Members of the IAB SHALL serve as individuals, not as reps of any company, agency, or other organization 💅. They SHALL owe no fiduciary duty of loyalty or care to the IAB, IETF, IRTF, or IESG. Main character energy, but make it independent 😤.

1.1 Selection of full IAB members 🎀

Full IAB members, including the IETF chair, get selected and appointed by the procedures in [BCP 10] . Normally six sitting members get appointed each year to serve for two years, and the IETF chair gets appointed every two years 📅.

There's no limit on how many terms an IAB member can serve, as long as they follow the process in [BCP 10] 💖.

Mid-term vacancies get filled as defined in [BCP 10], and they don't affect the IAB's power to make decisions 🌸.

1.2 Ex-Officio and Liaison members 🌸

Ex-officio and liaison members have no standing to take part in IAB decisions, but they're expected to join IAB discussions where it makes sense for their roles 🫶. However, an ex-officio position can be held by a full member, and that person doesn't lose their standing to take part in decisions. Two hats, one head 🎩.

The chair of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) is an ex-officio member of the IAB. The IAB also has an Executive Director who is an ex-officio member 🧚.

The Internet Society, the RFC Editor, the IANA, and the IESG each appoint a liaison member to the IAB. These liaison positions MAY not be held by a full member of the IAB, so no double-dipping 🙅‍♀️.

Vacancies in the liaison and ex-officio positions don't affect the IAB's power to make decisions 🦋.

2. The Role of the IAB 👑

The IAB is chartered both as a committee of the IETF and as an advisory body of the Internet Society. Its responsibilities include the following 💅:

(a) IESG Appointment ✨

The IETF nominating committee, set up under [BCP 10], gives a list of candidates every year for vacant IESG seats and for the IETF Chair if that seat is empty. The IAB reviews the candidates and consents to some, all, or none of them. Picky, but in a good way 😌.

(b) Architectural Oversight 🦋

The IAB oversees the architecture of the protocols and procedures the Internet uses. This point gets expanded in Section 2.1 below 🌈.

(c) Standards Process Oversight and Appeal ⭐

The IAB oversees the process used to create Internet Standards [BCP 9] 📏.

The IAB serves as an appeal board for complaints about improper execution of the standards process, with powers defined in [BCP 9]. So if the process went sideways, this is where it gets sorted 🔥.

(d) RFC Series and IANA 🍓

The RFC Editor handles editorial management and publication of the IETF "Request for Comment" (RFC) document series. It's the permanent document repository of the IETF, which is literally iconic 📚. The RFC series is the archival publication channel for Internet Standards and for other contributions from the Internet research and engineering community. RFCs are free for anyone to read over the Internet 🆓. The IAB MUST approve the appointment of an organization to act as RFC Editor, and it MUST approve the general policy the RFC Editor follows 💖.

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) administers various protocol parameters used by IETF protocols, and it delegates that administration as appropriate 🧾. The IAB MUST approve the appointment of an organization to act as IANA on behalf of the IETF. The IANA takes technical direction on IETF protocols from the IESG 🫶.

(e) ISOC Liaison 💖

The IAB acts as a source of advice and guidance for the Board of Trustees and Officers of the Internet Society. That covers technical, architectural, procedural, and (where it's appropriate) policy matters about the Internet and the technologies that enable it 🌐. If necessary, the IAB MAY convene panels of knowledgeable people, hold hearings, and otherwise dig into specific questions or topics the Internet Society brings to it 🔍.

(f) External Liaison 🌈

The IAB acts as the representative of the interests of the IETF and the Internet Society in technical liaison relationships with other organizations. Those orgs care about standards and other technical and organizational issues relevant to the world-wide Internet 🌍. Liaisons are kept as informal as possible, and they MUST be of demonstrable value in improving the quality of IETF specifications. Individual IETF members get appointed as liaisons to other organizations by the IAB or the IESG, as appropriate 🧚.

2.1 Architectural oversight in more detail 🔥

A major job for the IAB is long-range planning and coordination between the different areas of IETF activity 🗺️. The IAB, both as a group and on an individual basis, is expected to keep an eye on important long-term issues in the Internet and to make sure those issues reach the group(s) that can actually address them. It's also expected to help make sure the people evolving the Internet and its technology know the essential elements of the Internet architecture. Big brain stuff 🧠.

IAB members pay special attention to emerging activities in the IETF and to "Birds of a Feather" sessions at IETF meetings 👀. The IAB helps the IESG evaluate those activities and decide whether an IETF or an IRTF group is the better fit. When a new IETF working group is proposed, the IESG will forward a preliminary version of the charter to the IAB for a review of architectural consistency and integrity. The IAB SHALL review these proposed charters and give feedback to the IESG as appropriate 📝.

As part of its architectural oversight function, the IAB sponsors and organizes the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) [BCP 8]. The IAB reviews proposed IRTF groups 🦋.

The IAB will convene invitational workshops to do in-depth reviews of particular architectural issues. Such reviews MAY include consideration of relevant IETF and IRTF activities, and of work in other organizations. For that purpose, the workshop MAY invite presentations from qualified parties on the design goals and decisions, technology choices, and other pertinent aspects of those activities 🎤. The result of such a review will be a report, which MAY give advice to the IETF community and the IESG 📄.

The IAB MAY organize ad hoc bodies of independent technical experts to adjudicate technical disputes. Basically, when things get messy, the IAB can call in the experts 🧑‍🔬✨.

Summary of Changes from RFC 1601 📝✨

okay so this document replaces [RFC 1601] 🎀 The biggest glow-up is that it removes all the material now covered in [BCP 8], [BCP 9] and [BCP 10] 💅 which means a ton of editorial cleanup too.

Here are the other changes:

  • decision making when unanimity can't be achieved (we finally have a plan for it 🙌)
  • a note on openness and confidentiality 🫶
  • new liaison seats for the Internet Society and the IANA 🌸
  • revised text about the IANA and the RFC Editor 🧚
  • clarifications after legal review ⚖️

References 📚

[RFC 1601] Huitema, C., "Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)", RFC 1601, March 1994. 🎀

[BCP 8] Weinrib, A., and J. Postel, "IRTF Research Group Guidelines and Procedures", BCP 8, RFC 2014, October 1996. 🦋

[BCP 9] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996. 💜

[BCP 10] Galvin, J., "IAB and IESG Selection, Confirmation, and Recall Process: Operation of the Nominating and Recall Committees", BCP 10, RFC 2282, February 1998. 🌈

Author's Address 🖊️

Brian E. Carpenter 💖 IBM c/o iCAIR Suite 150 1890 Maple Avenue Evanston IL 60201 USA

EMail: brian@icair.org

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved. 💖

okay so the vibe here is: you can copy and share this document, and you can make derivative works that comment on or explain it or help with implementing it, as long as the copyright notice and this paragraph stay on all copies and derivative works. ✨ Translations are fine too 🌍

BUT the document itself can't be modified in any way, like removing the copyright notice or the references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations 🙅‍♀️ The one exception is when you need to develop Internet standards, and then the copyright procedures in the Internet Standards process must be followed. You're also allowed to translate it into languages other than English. 🫶

The permissions above are perpetual and won't be revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. 🦋

This document and the information in it are provided on an "AS IS" basis, and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 💀

Acknowledgement 🌷

Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society. 💜✨

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