Making standards the IETF way

n The Internet began as a research activity by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and has developed into a global data communications service, operated as a loose confederation of many different organizations. At the core of this service is a collection of networking technologies that were originated by the DARPA-funded researchers but that now benefit from Improvements and additions by an equally loose international confederation drawn from research, academia, and industry. The Internet currently Is estimated to Include about 40,000 networks and 20 million users. It Is doubling approximately every year, so its technology Is reaching further into the general population. iven the variety of other activities and groups pursuing development of communication standards, the success of the Internet and its technology is remarkable. This paper discusses the style of technical development that is used within the Internet and suggests the reasons for its success. Some comparisons with other standards effort are offered, as well as an attempt to gaze into the future for the Internet's technology development. An extensive discussion of this topic can also be found in Cracker 119921. The formal description of the In-ternet standards process is documented in Chapin ll$J!921. However, it is useful first to discuss the realm of standardization in which the Internet developers play. Called open systems, the term has come to have very different meanings. what's la a stalaml? In data communications, a standard specifies a set of procedures. A specification typically pertains to computer-to-computer interaction but might be more limited, such as describing only the format of data, rather than all of the rules for passing that data back and forth. Although mildly controversial, it also is legitimate to specify characteristics of information that is exchanged among humans, such as for electronic mail address strings that should be placed on business cards. Standardizing such strings greatly facilitates the " out of band " passing of information that eventually winds up as input data to a computer. A standard might also specify the procedures to use when operating a system. Typically, Internet standards shy away from such dictates, since there is a strong desire to leave network operators free to conduct business as they see fit. However, guidelines occasionally are published, when conformance to them will be highly beneficial for the overall health of the Internet. Still, such guidelines are not formal standards.