RFC 1396 (rfc1396) - Page 1 of 10

The Process for Organization of Internet Standards Working Group (POISED)

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Network Working Group                                         S. Crocker
Request for Comments: 1396             Trusted Information Systems, Inc.
                                                            January 1993


           The Process for Organization of Internet Standards
                         Working Group (POISED)
                          Steve Crocker, Chair

Status of this Memo

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

Abstract

   This report provides a summary of the POISED Working Group (WG),
   starting from the events leading to the formation of the WG to the
   end of 1992.  Necessarily, this synopsis represents my own
   perception, particularly for the "prehistory" period.  Quite a few
   people hold strong views about both the overall sequence and specific
   events.  My intent here is to convey as neutral a point of view as
   possible.

Background and Formation of POISED Working Group

   The POISED WG resulted from two sequences of activity, both
   intimately related to the growth of the Internet.  During 1991, there
   was great concern that the IP address space was being depleted and
   that the routing tables were growing too large.  Some change in the
   IP addressing and routing mechanisms seemed inevitable, and it became
   urgent to explore and choose what those changes should be.  The ROAD
   Working Group was formed to study the issues and recommend changes.
   The ROAD group returned with a specific recommendation for the short
   term, but did not reach a conclusion on a long term plan.

   The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) then formulated a plan
   of action for further exploration of the issues and forwarded these
   recommendations to the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).  In June
   1992, after the INET '92 meeting in Kobe, Japan, the IAB met and
   considered the IESG's recommendations.  After considering the IESG's
   recommendations, the IAB felt that additional ideas were also
   important, particularly some of the addressing ideas in the CLNP
   protocol.  The IAB communicated its concerns, and there was immediate
   controversy along two dimensions.  One dimension was technical: What
   is the best course for evolving the IP protocol?  How important or
   useful are the ideas in the OSI protocol stack?  The other dimension



Crocker
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