RFC 1396 (rfc1396) - Page 1 of 10
The Process for Organization of Internet Standards Working Group (POISED)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
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