UNIX System Administration Handbook - Evi Nemeth [160]
Anyone who has designed a software system and seen it obsoleted by the next generation of hardware or the next release of an operating system knows how amazing it is that our Internet is still alive and kicking, running basically the same TCP/IP protocol suite that was designed 25 years ago for a very different Internet. Our hats are off to Bob Kahn, Vint Cerf, Jon Postel, Van Jacobson, and all the other people who made it happen.
How the Internet is managed today
The development of the Internet has always been a cooperative and open effort. Now that it is a driving commercial force in the world economy, several sectors are worried that the Internet seems to be in the hands of a bunch of computer geeks, with perhaps a little direction from the U.S. government. Like it or not, Internet governance is coming.
Several organizations are involved:
• ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers: if anyone can be said to be in charge of the Internet, this group is it. (www.icann.org)
• IETF, the Internet Engineering Task Force: this group oversees the development and standardization of the technical aspects of the Internet. It is an open forum in which anyone can participate. (www.ietf.org)
• ISOC, the Internet Society: ISOC is a membership organization that represents Internet users. (www.isoc.org)
Of these groups, ICANN has the toughest job: establishing itself as the authority in charge of the Internet, undoing the mistakes of the past, and foreseeing the future.
Network standards and documentation
The technical activities of the Internet community are summarized in documents known as RFCs; an RFC is a Request for Comments. Protocol standards, proposed changes, and informational bulletins all usually end up as RFCs. Sometimes the name is accurate and anyone who has comments on a proposal is encouraged to reply. Other times, the RFC mechanism simply documents or explains something about existing practice.
RFCs are numbered sequentially; currently, there are about 3,000. RFCs also have descriptive titles (e.g., Algorithms for Synchronizing Network Clocks), but to forestall ambiguity they are usually cited by number. Once distributed, the contents of an RFC are never changed. Updates are distributed as new RFCs with their own reference numbers. By convention, updated RFCs contain all the material that remains relevant, so the new RFCs completely replace the old ones, at least in theory.
The process by which RFCs are published is itself documented in the RFC titled Internet Official Protocol Standards. This RFC also includes pointers to the most current RFCs for various protocol standards. Since the information changes frequently, this RFC is reissued every 100 RFCs: the current version is RFC2600, the next version will be RFC2700, and so on. The Internet standards process itself is described in RFC2026. Another useful meta-RFC is RFC2555, 30 Years of RFCs, which describes some of the cultural and technical context behind the RFC system.
Don’t be scared away by the wealth of technical detail found in RFCs. Most contain introductions, summaries, and rationales that are useful for system administrators. Some are specifically written as overviews or general introductions. RFCs may not be the gentlest way to learn about a topic, but they are authoritative, concise, and free.
Not all RFCs are dry and full of boring technical details. Some of our favorites on the lighter side (some written on April 1st) are RFCs 1118, 1149, 2324, and 2795:
• RFC1118 – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Internet
• RFC1149 – A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers
• RFC2324 – Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0)
• RFC2795 – The Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite (IMPS)
They are a good read and give a bit of insight into the people who are designing and building our Internet.
In addition to being assigned its own