Internet Core Protocols: The Definitive Guide

The Internet Authorities

There are a variety of interrelated organizations that work to develop, promote, and standardize the protocols and services used on the Internet. The most visible of these organizations is the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). In a nutshell, the protocols and services used on the Internet are developed by volunteers, who work within a collaborative development environment sponsored by the IETF.

The IETF has a sister organization called the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), which is the body that ratifies specifications as standards. All of the voting members of the IESG are also participants within the IETF. In addition, a related organization—called the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)—provides think-tank services on behalf of the IETF, examining the broader technology issues that are affecting the usage and adoption of Internet standards (such as support for international character sets).

As part of this service, the IAB also has a dedicated research organization, called the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF), which delves into particularly thorny and complex issues. The IAB also has two administrative organizations that facilitate the usage of the standards that get developed. These groups are the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and the RFC Editor.

You can find more information on each of these organizations in the following sections.