IAB B. Carpenter Internet Draft January 2000 Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) Copyright Notice Placeholder for ISOC copyright Abstract draft-iab-rfc1601bis-02.txt This memo documents the composition, selection, roles, and organization of the Internet Architecture Board. It replaces RFC 1601. Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet- Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 1] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 Table of Contents: Status of this Memo.............................................1 1. IAB Membership...............................................3 1.1 Selection of voting IAB members............................3 1.2 Ex-Officio and Liaison members..............................3 2. The Role of the IAB.........................................3 2.1 Architectural oversight in more detail......................5 3. IAB Organization.............................................5 3.1 IAB chair...................................................5 3.2 Executive Director..........................................6 3.3 Selection of the IRTF chair.................................6 3.4 Liaisons within the IETF....................................6 3.5 Voting rule.................................................6 3.6 Openness and confidentiality................................7 Security Considerations.........................................7 Summary of Changes from RFC 1601................................7 References......................................................7 Full Copyright Statement........................................7 Author's Address................................................8 Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 2] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 1. IAB Membership The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) shall consist of thirteen voting members, composed of the chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and of twelve full members. The IETF chair, who is also the chair of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), may vote on all official IAB actions except the approval of IESG members and appeals against IESG decisions. Ex-officio and liaison members of the IAB may also attend IAB meetings but shall have no vote on official actions. In the event that the number of voting members temporarily falls below thirteen for any reason, the IAB may function as normal subject to the voting rule of Section 3.5. Members of the IAB shall serve as individuals, and not as representatives of any company, agency, or other organization. Members of the IAB shall owe no fiduciary duty of loyalty or care to IAB, IETF, IRTF or IESG. 1.1 Selection of voting IAB members Voting IAB members, including the IETF chair, are selected and appointed according to the procedures defined in [BCP 10] . Normally, six full members are appointed each year to sit for two years, and the IETF chair is appointed every two years. There is no limit to the number of terms that a member of the IAB may serve, subject to the process defined by [BCP 10]. 1.2 Ex-Officio and Liaison members Ex-officio and liaison members of the IAB have no vote but participate in IAB discussions. However, an ex-officio position may be held by a voting member, who does not thereby lose his or her vote. Liaison positions may not be held by a voting member. The chair of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) is an ex-officio member of the IAB. The IAB has an Executive Director who is an ex- officio member of the IAB. The Internet Society, the RFC Editor, the IANA and the IESG each appoints a liaison member to the IAB. 2. The Role of the IAB The IAB is chartered both as a committee of the IETF and as an advisory body of the Internet Society. Its responsibilities include: Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 3] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 (a) IESG Appointment The IAB appoints a new IETF chair and all other IESG candidates, from a list provided by the IETF nominating committee established under [BCP 10]. (b) Architectural Oversight The IAB provides oversight of the architecture for the protocols and procedures used by the Internet. This point is expanded in Section 2.1 below. (c) Standards Process Oversight and Appeal The IAB provides oversight of the process used to create Internet Standards [BCP 9]. The IAB serves as an appeal board for complaints of improper execution of the standards process, with powers defined in [BCP 9]. (d) RFC Series and IANA The RFC Editor executes editorial management and publication of the IETF "Request for Comment" (RFC) document series, which is the permanent document repository of the IETF. The RFC series constitutes the archival publication channel for Internet Standards and for other contributions by the Internet research and engineering community. RFCs are available free of charge to anyone via the Internet. The RFC Editor operates under the responsibility of the IAB. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) administers various protocol parameters used by IETF protocols, delegating this administration as appropriate. The IANA operates with the advice and consent of the IAB on IETF technical matters, taking technical direction from the IESG. (e) ISOC Liaison The IAB acts as a source of advice and guidance to the Board of Trustees and Officers of the Internet Society concerning technical, architectural, procedural, and (where appropriate) policy matters pertaining to the Internet and its enabling technologies. If necessary the IAB may convene panels of knowledgeable people, hold hearings, and otherwise pursue the investigation of specific questions or topics presented to it by the Internet Society. (f) External Liaison The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the IETF and the Internet Society in technical liaison relationships with other organizations concerned with standards and other technical and organizational issues relevant to the world-wide Internet. Liaisons are kept as informal as possible and must be of demonstrable value in improving the quality of IETF specifications. Individual members of Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 4] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 the IETF are appointed as liaisons to other organizations by the IAB or IESG as appropriate. 2.1 Architectural oversight in more detail A major role of the IAB is long range planning and coordination between different areas of IETF activity. The IAB, both collectively and on an individual basis, is expected to pay attention to important long-term issues in the Internet, and to make sure that these issues are brought to the attention of the group(s) that are in a position to address them. It is also expected to play a role in assuring that the people responsible for evolving the Internet and its technology are aware of the essential elements of the Internet architecture. IAB members pay special attention to emerging activities in the IETF and to "Birds of a Feather" sessions at IETF meetings. The IAB assists the IESG in evaluating such activities and in determining whether an IETF or an IRTF group is more appropriate. When a new IETF working group is proposed, the IESG will forward a preliminary version of the charter to the IAB for review of architectural consistency and integrity. The IAB shall review these proposed charters and give feedback to the IESG as appropriate. Pursuant to the architectural oversight function, the IAB sponsors and organizes the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) [BCP 8]. The IAB reviews proposed IRTF groups. The IAB will convene invitational workshops to perform in-depth reviews of particular architectural issues. Such reviews may include consideration of relevant IETF and IRTF activities, and of work in other organizations, and for this purpose the workshop may invite presentations by qualified parties on the design goals and decisions, technology choices, and other pertinent aspects of these activities. The results of such a review will be a report which may give advice to the IETF community and the IESG. The IAB may organize ad hoc bodies of independent technical experts to adjudicate technical disputes. 3. IAB Organization 3.1 IAB chair The members of the IAB shall select one of its full members to serve as the chair of the IAB, with all of the duties and responsibilities normally associated with such a position. The term of the IAB chair shall be one year, with no restriction on renewal. The chair of the IAB may be removed at any time by the affirmative vote of two-thirds Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 5] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 of the members of the IAB, or as a result of his or her departure from the IAB. The chair of the IAB shall have the authority to manage the activities and meetings of the IAB. 3.2 Executive Director The chair of the IAB shall have the authority to appoint an honorary Executive Director (ExecD) for a one-year renewable term, and to remove him or her. The ExecD shall administer the internal operation of the IAB, e.g., organization of meetings and reporting of their results. The ExecD is an ex-officio member as defined in Section 1.2. 3.3 Selection of the IRTF chair The IAB shall have the authority to appoint the chair of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) for a two-year renewable term, and to remove him or her. The IRTF chair shall be responsible for the management and organization of the IRTF according to [BCP 8]. The IRTF chair is an ex-officio member as defined in Section 1.2. 3.4 Liaisons within the IETF The chair of the IAB and another voting IAB member (other than the IETF chair), to be selected by the IAB, shall serve as liaisons to the IESG. In addition, the IESG will appoint one of its members (other than the IETF chair) to serve as a liaison to the IAB. The IESG liaison may attend IAB meetings but shall have no vote. 3.5 Voting rule The IAB attempts to reach all decisions by unanimous consensus. In the event that a vote is required, a motion passes if there are not fewer than seven votes in favour and not more than two against. IAB votes may be taken by face to face meeting, teleconference, Internet communication, or any combination of the above. Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 6] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 3.6 Openness and confidentiality The IAB publishes minutes of all its meetings on the Internet, and conducts an open meeting at every IETF meeting. It publishes all its findings as RFCs, Internet Drafts or messages to the IETF mailing list. However, discussion of personnel matters and possibly legal and financial matters may sometimes be required to be kept confidential. Specifically, the IAB makes use of the second level domain iab.org and the URL http://www.iab.org to publish information. Security Considerations This memo does not raise any known security threats. Summary of Changes from RFC 1601 This document replaces [RFC 1601]. The principal change is the removal of material now covered in [BCP 8], [BCP 9] and [BCP 10], with many consequent editorial changes. Additional changes are: - description of a voting rule - note on openness and confidentiality - addition of liaison seats for the Internet Society and the IANA - revised text concerning the IANA and the RFC Editor - clarifications following legal review References [RFC 1601] [BCP 8] RFC 2014 or its replacement [BCP 9] RFC 2026 or its replacement [BCP 10] RFC 2282 or its replacement Full Copyright Statement PLACEHOLDER for full ISOC Copyright Statement if needed. Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 7] Internet Draft IAB Charter January 2000 Author's Address Brian E. Carpenter IBM c/o iCAIR Suite 150 1890 Maple Avenue Evanston IL 60201 USA email: brian@icair.org Carpenter Expires July 2000 [Page 8]