IETF in the Large: Administration and Execution
RFC 3716

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Network Working Group                             IAB Advisory Committee
Request for Comments: 3716                                          IETF
Category: Informational                                       March 2004

          The IETF in the Large:  Administration and Execution

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   In the fall of 2003, the IETF Chair and the IAB Chair formed an IAB
   Advisory Committee (AdvComm), with a mandate to review the existing
   IETF administrative structure and relationships (RFC Editor, IETF
   Secretariat, IANA) and to propose changes to the IETF management
   process or structure to improve the overall functioning of the IETF.
   The AdvComm mandate did not include the standards process itself.

   This memo documents the AdvComm's findings and proposals.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
       1.1.  Overview of the AdvComm Work Process and Output. . . .  3
       1.2.  Scope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       1.3.  Next Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   2.  Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
       2.1.  Current IETF Support Structure . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
             2.1.1.  What the Term IETF Includes in this Document .  4
             2.1.2.  Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
             2.1.3.  Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
       2.2.  Observed Stress Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
             2.2.1.  Stress Points Observed by IETF Leadership. . .  8
             2.2.2.  Stress Points Observed by Organizations
                     Supporting the IETF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
       2.3.  A final Observation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
   3.  Stand Facing the Future:  Requirements for a Successful
       IETF Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
       3.1.  Resource Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
             3.1.1.  Uniform Budgetary Responsibility . . . . . . . 10

IAB Advisory Committee       Informational                      [Page 1]
RFC 3716        The IETF:  Administration and Execution       March 2004

             3.1.2.  Revenue Source Equivalence . . . . . . . . . . 11
             3.1.3.  Clarity in Relationship with Supporting
                     Organizations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
             3.1.4.  Flexibility in Service Provisioning. . . . . . 11
             3.1.5.  Administrative Efficiency. . . . . . . . . . . 11
       3.2.  Stewardship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
             3.2.1.  Accountability for Change. . . . . . . . . . . 12
             3.2.2.  Persistence and Accessibility of Records . . . 12
       3.3.  Working Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
             3.3.1.  Service Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
             3.3.2.  Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
   4.  Advisory Committee Advice  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
       4.1.  Proposed:  (Single) Formalized IETF Organizational
             Entity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
             4.1.1.  Comments on the Necessity of this
                     Formalization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
       4.2.  Possible Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
             4.2.1.  ISOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
             4.2.2.  ISOC Subsidiary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
             4.2.3.  Completely Autonomous Organizational Entity. . 16
       4.3.  Who Can Decide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
   5.  Security Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
   6.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
   7.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
   A.  IAB Advisory Committee Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
   B.  Input from the current IETF and IAB Chairs . . . . . . . . . 20
   C.  Consultation with ISI:  RFC Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
   D.  Consultation with Foretec/CNRI:  Secretariat and Meeting
       Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
   E.  Consultation with ICANN:  IANA Protocol Parameter
       Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
       Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
       Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

1.  Introduction

   In the fall of 2003, the IETF Chair and the IAB Chair formed an IAB
   Advisory Committee (AdvComm), with a mandate to review the existing
   IETF administrative structure and relationships (RFC Editor, IETF