SCIENCE

IETF participants define the standards for the global network that connects more than 2 billion people

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Society (ISOC) today commemorated the upcoming 25th anniversary of the IETF, the Internet's premier technical standards body. The IETF gathers a large open international community of network designers, engineers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet.

The IETF has enabled the development of standards that have supported every aspect of the Internet's phenomenal growth. The IETF pioneered a unique, open process for standards development open to all, and based on principles such as "rough consensus and running code". While the work of the IETF takes place online, largely through email lists, to reduce barriers to participation and to maximize contributions from around the world, its in-person meetings have gathered more than 80,000 participants over the past 25 years.

"The IETF is unique," said Russ Housley, chair of the IETF. "Unlike other standards bodies, the IETF avoids formal hierarchy where possible, and there are no membership requirements or fees. All interested parties are invited to participate in the technical evolution and stability of the Internet. The IETF's standards are available online, without charge, providing a platform for the continued growth and evolution of the Internet."

Since the first meeting was held on the afternoon of January 16, 1986 in San Diego, California, the IETF has published more than 4500 documents that describe standards for the fundamental technologies and widely used services on today's global Internet. These include email people use every day around the world, and the TCP/IP protocol suite, which is the foundation for Internet communications.

Technologies such as IPv6 and DNSSEC defined by the past work of the IETF are currently at the forefront of efforts to ensure the Internet's continued growth as a trusted platform of communications and innovation for billions of people around the world. Current challenges being addressed by the IETF include the increasing importance of mobile Internet access and privacy.

"The success of the IETF has largely been due to a pragmatic, consensus-based approach to technical standards development," noted Lynn St.Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC). "Many of the principles underlying the Internet Model of cooperation and collaboration were developed in the IETF. These have set the foundation for approaches across the ecosystem of institutions and organizations that have evolved to work together to manage, operate, and guide the global Internet."

The IETF's 25th anniversary will be celebrated at its upcoming meeting in Pragueon 27 March to 1 April. For registration and additional information, see:

http://www.ietf.org/meeting/80/index.html

For more information about the IETF's 25th anniversary, see:

http://www.ietf.org/25years