TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview - IBM Redbooks

without requiring implementations. Internet protocols use a less formal
engineering approach, where anybody can propose and comment on Request
for Comments, known as RFC, and implementations are required to verify
feasibility. The OSI protocols developed slowly, and because running the full
protocol stack is resource intensive, they have not been widely deployed,
especially in the desktop and small computer market. In the meantime, TCP/IP
and the Internet were developing rapidly, with deployment occurring at a very
high rate.
1.3 TCP/IP standards
TCP/IP has been popular with developers and users alike because of its inherent
openness and perpetual renewal. The same holds true for the Internet as an
open communications network. However, this openness could easily turn into
something that can help you and hurt you if it were not controlled in some way.
Although there is no overall governing body to issue directives and regulations
for the Internet—control is mostly based on mutual cooperation—the Internet
Society (ISOC) serves as the standardizing body for the Internet community. It is
organized and managed by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
The IAB itself relies on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for issuing
new standards, and on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for
coordinating values shared among multiple protocols. The RFC Editor is
responsible for reviewing and publishing new standards documents.
The IETF itself is governed by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
and is further organized in the form of Areas and Working Groups where new
specifications are discussed and new standards are propsoed.
The Internet Standards Process, described in RFC 2026, The Internet Standards
Process, Revision 3, is concerned with all protocols, procedures, and
conventions that are used in or by the Internet, whether or not they are part of the
TCP/IP protocol suite.
The overall goals of the Internet Standards Process are:
► Technical excellence
► Prior implementation and testing
► Clear, concise, and easily understood documentation
► Openness and fairness
► Timeliness
Chapter 1. Architecture, history, standards, and trends 21