The Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) is an organization, overseen by the

Internet Architecture Board The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is "a committee of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and an advisory body of the Internet Society (ISOC). Its responsibilities include architectural oversight of IETF activities, Internet Standards ...

, that focuses on longer-term research issues related to the Internet. A parallel organization, the

Internet Engineering Task Force The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster or requirements and a ...

(IETF), focuses on the shorter term issues of engineering and standards making. The IRTF promotes research of importance to the evolution of the Internet by creating focused, long-term research groups working on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology. Unlike the IETF, the task force does not set standards{{Cite IETF, rfc=4440, sectionname=Differences between IRTF and IETF Groups, autolink=yes, section=2.1, title=IAB Thoughts on the Role of the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) and there is no explicit outcome expected of IRTF research groups.

Organization

The IRTF is composed of a number of focused and long-term research groups. These groups work on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology. Research groups have the stable long-term membership needed to promote the development of research collaboration and teamwork in exploring research issues. Participation is by individual contributors, rather than by representatives of organizations. Th
list of current groups
can be found on the IRTF'
homepage

Operations

The IRTF is managed by the IRTF chair in consultation with the

Internet Research Steering Group {{Unreferenced, date=December 2021 The Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) is managed by the IRTF chair in consultation with the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG). The IRSG membership includes the IRTF chair, the chairs of the various IRTF r ...

(IRSG). The IRSG membership includes the IRTF chair, the chairs of the various Research Groups and other individuals (''members at large'') from the research community selected by the IRTF chair. The chair of the IRTF is appointed by the

(IAB) for a two-year term. These individuals have chaired the IRTF: *

David D. Clark David Dana "Dave" Clark (born April 7, 1944) is an American computer scientist and Internet pioneer who has been involved with Internet developments since the mid-1970s. He currently works as a Senior Research Scientist at MIT's Computer Scienc ...

, 1989–1992 * Jon Postel, 1992–1995 * Abel Weinrib, 1995–1999 * Erik Huizer, 1999–2001 *

Vern Paxson Vern Edward Paxson is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He also leads the Networking and Security Group at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California. His interests range from t ...

, 2001–2005 *

Aaron Falk According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother o ...

, 2005–2011 *

Lars Eggert Lars is a common male name in Scandinavian countries. Origin ''Lars'' means "from the city of Laurentum". Lars is derived from the Latin name Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum" or "crowned with laurel". A homonymous Etruscan name was born ...

, 2011–2017 *

Allison Mankin Allison Mankin is an American computer scientist and prominent figure in the area of Internet governance. She previously served as the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) Chair and holds numerous leadership positions within the Internet Engineerin ...

, 2017–2019 *

Colin Perkins Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, 2019–Present The IRTF chair is responsible for ensuring that research groups produce coherent, coordinated, architecturally consistent and timely output as a contribution to the overall evolution of the Internet architecture. In addition to the detailed tasks related to research groups outlined below, the IRTF chair may also from time to time arrange for topical workshops attended by the IRSG and perhaps other experts in the field. The

RFC Editor A Request for Comments (RFC) is a publication in a series from the principal technical development and standards-setting bodies for the Internet, most prominently the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). An RFC is authored by individuals or g ...

publishes documents from the IRTF and its research groups on the IRTF stream. The detailed IRTF research group guidelines and procedures are described in RFC 2014. The procedures for publishing documents on the IRTF RFC stream are defined in RFC 5743. The concept of RFC streams is defined in RFC 4844.

References

External links

Internet Research Task Force
*RFC 2014 (BCP 8) describes more fully the guidelines and procedures of the IRTF Research Groups. Internet governance organizations Computer network organizations Internet Standard organizations Internet-related organizations Task forces

Organization

Operations

See also

References

External links