Network Working Group                                         C. Huitema
Request for Comments: 1601                   Internet Architecture Board
Obsoletes: 1358                                               March 1994
Category: Informational


            Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

Status of this Memo

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

Abstract

   This memo documents the composition, selection, roles, and
   organization of the Internet Architecture Board and its subsidiary
   organizations.

1.  IAB Membership

   The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) shall consist of 13 voting
   members, composed of the IETF chair and 12 full members.  The IETF
   chair, who is also the chair of the IESG, may vote on all official
   IAB actions except the approval of IESG members.  Ex-officio members
   and a liaison from the IESG may also attend IAB meetings but shall
   have no vote on official actions.

   Voting IAB members shall serve for a term of two years, but may serve
   any number of terms.

   Members of the IAB shall serve as individuals, and not as
   representatives of any company, agency, or other organization.

   1.1  Selection of voting IAB members

      Voting IAB members shall be nominated by the nominating committee
      of the IETF and appointed by an appropriate group.  The 12 full
      members shall be approved by vote of the Board of Trustees of the
      Internet Society (ISOC), while the IETF chair shall be approved by
      vote of the 12 full IAB members then sitting.  Normally, six new
      full members are nominated each year.

      The IETF nomination committee is formed every year and consists of
      a non-voting chair designated by the Internet Society and seven
      members picked at random from a pool of volunteers.  Any person
      who took part in two IETF meetings in the last two years may

      volunteer for this pool.  The nomination committee also includes
      four non-voting liaison members, one designated by each of the
      Board of Trustees of the Internet Society, the IAB, the IESG, and
      the IRSG.

      New IAB members shall be selected each year to replace those whose
      terms have expired or been vacated.  The nomination committee
      shall prepare a list containing at least one candidate for each
      open position, and present this list to the ISOC Board of
      Trustees.  The Board of Trustees will by a vote appoint IAB
      members from the list of nominees to fill the open positions.

      There is no limit to the number of terms that a member of the IAB
      may serve.  A member that wishes to be re-nominated at the end of
      a term simply notifies the nomination committee.  However, there
      is no obligation for renomination.

   1.2 Ex-Officio Members

      The IRSG chair and the RFC Editor shall be Ex-officio members of
      the IAB, with no vote in official actions.  An ex-officio position
      may be held by a voting member.

2.  The Role of the IAB:

   The IAB was chartered as a component of the Internet Society in June
   of 1992.  Its responsibilities under this charter include:

   (a) IESG Selection

      The IAB appoints a new IETF chair and all other IESG candidates,
      from a list provided by the IETF nominating committee.

   (b) Architectural Oversight

      The IAB provides oversight of the architecture for the protocols
      and procedures used by the Internet.

   (c) Standards Process Oversight and Appeal

      The IAB provides oversight of the process used to create Internet
      Standards.

      The IAB serves as an appeal board for complaints of improper
      execution of the standards process.

   (d) RFC Series and IANA

      The IAB is responsible for editorial management and publication of
      the Request for Comments (RFC) document series, and for
      administration of the various Internet assigned numbers.

   (e) External Liaison

      The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the Internet
      Society in liaison relationships with other organizations
      concerned with standards and other technical and organizational
      issues relevant to the world-wide Internet.

   (f) Advice to ISOC

      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.

   The following is an expanded discussion of these IAB functions.

   2.1 IESG Selection

      Members of the IESG are nominated for a period of two years by the
      IETF nomination committee, and are appointed by approval from the
      IAB.  The committee shall select at least one nominee for each
      vacant IESG position, i.e., chair of the IESG or chair of a
      specific area.  The nomination committee may present several
      candidates for an available position, in which case the IAB will
      select one of the nominees for that position.

      The nominating committee shall present the IESG nomination list to
      the IAB for approval.  Within two weeks of receiving the list, the
      IAB shall approve or disapprove of the nominations, by voting
      among the full members of the IAB.  At least 8 affirmative votes,
      and no more than one negative vote, are required to approve an
      IESG appointment.

      Should the IAB fail to approve a particular nomination, the
      nomination committee shall present a new nomination for that
      position.  Should this process fail to converge rapidly, the
      sitting IESG is permitted to make a temporary appointment to one
      of their own positions whenever there is no IAB-selected person
      with an unexpired term filling that slot.

   2.2 Architectural oversight

      A major role of the IAB is long range planning.  The IAB 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.

      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).

      On occasion, the IAB will convene panels to perform in-depth
      reviews of particular architectural issue.  Such reviews may
      include consideration of relevant IETF Working Group activities,
      and for this purpose the panel may invite presentations by
      qualified parties on the design goals and decisions, technology
      choices, and other pertinent aspects of these IETF activities.
      The results of such a review will be a report which may give
      advice to the community and the IESG.

      The IAB may organize ad hoc bodies of independent technical
      experts to adjudicate technical disputes.

   2.3 Standards Process Oversight and Appeal

      The development, review, and approval of Internet Standards is the
      responsibility of the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
      of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).  The standards
      process executed by the IESG is established and documented by the
      IAB, in consultation with the IESG and with the concurrence of the
      IETF.

   2.4 RFC Series and Assigned Numbers

      The RFC series constitutes the archival publication channel for
      Internet Standards and for other contributions by the Internet
      research and engineering community.  The IAB shall select an RFC
      Editor, who shall be responsible for the editorial management and
      publication of the RFC series.

      The IAB shall also designate an Internet Assigned Numbers
      Authority (IANA) to administer the assignment of Internet protocol
      numbers.

   2.5 External Liaison

      The IAB is responsible for relationships between the Internet
      technical groups working under the auspices of ISOC and other
      interested parties such as the US Federal Networking Council
      (FNC); various organs of the European Commission (EC); the
      Coordinating Committee for Intercontinental Research Networking
      (CCIRN); standards bodies such as the International Organization
      for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical
      Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union
      (ITU); and other professional societies such as the Institute of
      Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for
      Computing Machinery (ACM).

   2.6 Advice to ISOC

      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.

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 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 organize the IAB.

   3.2 Executive Director

      The chair of the IAB hall have the authority to appoint or remove
      an Executive Director (ExecD).  The ExecD shall administer the
      internal operation of the IAB, e.g., organization of conferences
      and meetings and reporting of their results.

      The ExecD may be chosen among the full IAB members with voting
      rights; otherwise, the ExecD shall be an ex-officio non-voting
      member.

   3.3 Selection of the IRSG chair

      The chair of the IAB shall have the authority to appoint or remove
      the chair of the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG).  The
      IRSG chair shall be responsible for the management and
      organization of the IRSG.

      The IRSG chair may be chosen among the full IAB member with voting
      rights; otherwise, the IRSG chair shall be an ex-officio non-
      voting member.

   3.4 Liaisons

      The chair of the IAB and another IAB member, to be selected by the
      chair, shall serve as liaisons to the IESG.  The selected liaison
      may be a full member or an ex-officio member.

      In addition, the IESG will appoint one of its members to serve as
      a liaison to the IAB.  The IESG liaison may attend IAB meetings
      but shall have no vote.

Security Considerations

   Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

Author's Address

   Christian Huitema
   INRIA
   2004 Route des Lucioles
   BP 93
   06092 SOPHIA-ANTIPOLIS Cedex
   France

   EMail: Christian.Huitema@sophia.inria.fr