RFC 1127 (rfc1127) - Page 1 of 20

Perspective on the Host Requirements RFCs

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Network Working Group                                       R. Braden
Request for Comments: 1127                                        ISI
                                                         October 1989


              A Perspective on the Host Requirements RFCs

Status of This Memo

   This RFC is for information only; it does not constitute a standard,
   draft standard, or proposed standard, and it does not define a
   protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Summary

   This RFC contains an informal summary of the discussions and
   conclusions of the IETF Working Group on Host Requirements while it
   was preparing the Host Requirements RFCs.  This summary has several
   purposes: (1) to inform the community of host protocol issues that
   need further work; (2) to preserve some history and context as a
   starting point for future revision efforts; and (3) to provide some
   insight into the results of the Host Requirements effort.

1.  INTRODUCTION

   A working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has
   recently completed and published a monumental standards document on
   software requirements for Internet hosts [RFC-1122, RFC-1123].  This
   document has been published as two RFC's: "Requirements for Internet
   Hosts -- Communication Layers", referred to here as "HR-CL", and
   "Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Application and Support",
   referred to here as "HR-AS".  Together, we refer to them as the Host
   Requirements RFCs, or "HR RFCs".

   Creation of the Host Requirements document required the dedicated
   efforts of about 20 Internet experts, with significant contributions
   from another 20.  The Host Requirements working group held 7 formal
   meetings over the past 20 months, and exchanged about 3 megabytes of
   electronic mail.  The HR RFCs went through approximate 20 distinct
   drafts.

   This group of people struggled with a broad range of issues in host
   implementations of the Internet protocols, attempting to reconcile
   theoretical and architectural concerns with the sometimes conflicting
   imperatives of the real world.  The present RFC recaps the results of
   this struggle, with the issues that were settled and those that
   remain for future work.  This exegesis has several goals:




Braden
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