Most people might agree that it is hard to grasp the size and scope of the Internet. The massive public, and often deeply private, network has evolved and expanded at an immense rate and one can only imagine where it will be in five years time, let alone ten years or more. This rapid evolution was one of the driving forces behind why the Internet Engineering Task Force, otherwise known as the IETF for short, came into being and it remains one of the most important drivers of the Internet as we know it today.

The Internet Needed Standards

The IETF began life back in January 1986, and its main purpose was (and still is) to develop standards on the Internet. It also then promotes these standards as widely as possible, so the internet hopefully develops in a way that is uniform and understandable to all. The IETF is a purely voluntary organisation, and whilst well-known companies are frequently a part of the process any individual is welcome to join. A good example might be a network designer, whose job it is to create efficient and well thought out computer networks. Such a person could contribute greatly to the work of the IETF as this is one area they are particularly interested in providing uniform standards for.

The role of the Internet Engineering Task Force is ongoing and in-depth. It meets three times during the year and everyone is welcome to go along and find out more about what the organisation does. But perhaps suitably, for an organisation such as the IETF, it is mainly based online.

Request For Comments

Part of the work undertaken by the IETF is represented by the RFC system. This is otherwise referred to as the Request For Comments, or RFC, system for short. Each RFC focuses on a specific method or idea for how an aspect of the Internet should work, or alternatively for refining some current method. A common mistake many people make when looking at an RFC is to assume each one points to a specific way things should be done – this is not the case. The RFC is a discussion forum where ideas are expressed and concepts analysed until everyone, more or less, agrees. Even then, this still does not lead directly to the adoption of a new standard.

One of the roles the IETF takes is the act of checking through these RFC documents. They then decide which of them should become accepted widespread standards on the Internet. Furthermore, once an RFC has been published it remains as such. Sometimes it may happen that an error or omission has been spotted in an RFC, but in this case the original would still exist. A brand new RFC would be made which would override the original one.

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