A best current practice, abbreviated as BCP, is a ''de facto'' level of performance in engineering and information technology. It is more flexible than a
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object ...
, since techniques and tools are continually evolving. The
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet standard, Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster ...
publishes Best Current Practice documents in a numbered document series. Each document in this series is paired with the currently valid
Request for Comments
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 ...
(RFC) document. BCP was introduced in RFC-1818.
[rfc:1818]
BCPs are document guidelines, processes, methods, and other matters not suitable for standardization. The
Internet standards process itself is defined in a series of BCPs, as is the formal organizational structure of the IETF,
Internet Engineering Steering Group
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and other groups involved in that process. IETF's separate
Standard Track (STD) document series defines the fully standardized network protocols of the Internet, such as the
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
IP ...
, the
Transmission Control Protocol
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main communications protocol, protocols of the Internet protocol suite. It originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, th ...
, and the
Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed name service that provides a naming system for computers, services, and other resources on the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information ...
.
Each RFC number refers to a specific version of a document Standard Track, but the BCP number refers to the most recent revision of the document. Thus, citations often reference both the BCP number and the RFC number. Example citations for BCPs are:
BCP 38,
RFC 2827.
Significant fields of application
BCP related to IPv6
BCP related to DNS
BCP related to security
BCP related to globalization
See also
*
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are Project management triangle, quality, time and cost.
Benchmarking is ...
*
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...
*
Gold standard (test)
In medicine and medical statistics, the gold standard, criterion standard, or reference standard is the diagnostic test or benchmark that is the best available under ''reasonable'' conditions. It is the test against which new tests are compared ...
*
Prior art
Prior art (also known as state of the art or background art) is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria f ...
References
External links
BCP Indexat the
RFC Editor
* {{cite web , url=https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/bcp , title=Best Current Practices , department=Documents , work=IETF Datatracker
Organizational performance management
Standards