RFC 1160 (rfc1160) - Page 1 of 11

Internet Activities Board

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Network Working Group                                            V. Cerf
Request for Comments:  1160                                          NRI
Obsoletes: RFC 1120                                             May 1990


                     The Internet Activities Board

Status of this Memo

   This RFC provides a history and description of the Internet
   Activities Board (IAB) and its subsidiary organizations.  This memo
   is for informational use and does not constitute a standard.  This is
   a revision of RFC 1120.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

1. Introduction

   In 1968, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
   initiated an effort to develop a technology which is now known as
   packet switching.  This technology had its roots in message switching
   methods, but was strongly influenced by the development of low-cost
   minicomputers and digital telecommunications techniques during the
   mid-1960's [BARAN 64, ROBERTS 70, HEART 70, ROBERTS 78].  A very
   useful survey of this technology can be found in [IEEE 78].

   During the early 1970's, DARPA initiated a number of programs to
   explore the use of packet switching methods in alternative media
   including mobile radio, satellite and cable [IEEE 78].  Concurrently,
   Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) began an exploration of packet
   switching on coaxial cable which ultimately led to the development of
   Ethernet local area networks [METCALFE 76].

   The successful implementation of packet radio and packet satellite
   technology raised the question of interconnecting ARPANET with other
   types of packet nets.  A possible solution to this problem was
   proposed by Cerf and Kahn [CERF 74] in the form of an internetwork
   protocol and a set of gateways to connect the different networks.
   This solution was further developed as part of a research program in
   internetting sponsored by DARPA and resulted in a collection of
   computer communications protocols based on the original Transmission
   Control Protocol (TCP) and its lower level counterpart, Internet
   Protocol (IP).  Together, these protocols, along with many others
   developed during the course of the research, are referred to as the
   TCP/IP Protocol Suite [RFC 1140, LEINER 85, POSTEL 85, CERF 82, CLARK
   86].

   In the early stages of the Internet research program, only a few
   researchers worked to develop and test versions of the internet
   protocols.  Over time, the size of this activity increased until, in



Cerf
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