Network Working Group L. Daigle Internet-Draft Editor Expires: August 15, 2004 Internet Architecture Board IAB February 15, 2004 IAB Processes for management of liaison relationships draft-iab-liaison-mgt-00 Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on August 15, 2004. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004). All Rights Reserved. Abstract This document discusses the procedures the IAB uses to select organizations to form and maintain liaison relationships with. It further discusses the expectations that the IAB has of such organizations and of the people assigned to manage those relationships. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 1] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 Table of Contents 1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1 Liaison Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2 Liaison Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.3 Liaison Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3. Summary of IETF Liaison Manager Responsibilities . . . . . . . 6 4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Full Copyright Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 2] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 1. Liaison Relationships and Personnel The IETF, as an organization, has the need to engage in direct communication or joint endeavors with various other formal organizations. For example, the IETF is one of several Standards Development Organizations, or SDOs, and all SDOs including the IETF find it increasingly necessary to communicate and coordinate their activities involving Internet-related technologies. This is useful in order to avoid overlap in work efforts and to manage interactions between their groups. In cases where there is formalization of a mutual effort to communicate and coordinate activities, these relationships are generically referred to as "liaison relationships". In such cases, a person from the IETF is designated to manage a given liaison relationship; that person is generally called the "IETF liaison" to the other organization. Often, the other organization will similarly designate their own liaison to the IETF. This document is chiefly concerned with: o the establishment and maintenance of liaison relationships, and o the appointment and responsibilities of IETF liaison managers. The management of other organizations' liaisons to the IETF, whether or not in the context of a liaison relationship, is outside the scope of this document. The IETF has chartered the Internet Architecture Board to manage liaison relationships. In its charter [2], the IAB states that The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the IETF and the Internet Society in technical liaison relationships with other organizations concerned with standards and other technical and organizational issues relevant to the world-wide Internet. Liaisons are kept as informal as possible and must be of demonstrable value in improving the quality of IETF specifications. Individual members of the IETF are appointed as liaisons to other organizations by the IAB or IESG as appropriate. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 3] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 2. Aspects of Liaisons and Liaison Management 2.1 Liaison Relationships A liaison relationship is set up when it is mutually agreeable and needed for some specific purpose, in the view of the other organization, the IAB, and the IETF participants conducting the work. There is no set process or form for this; the IETF participants and the peer organization approach the IAB, and after discussion come to an agreement to form the relationship. In some cases, the intended scope and guidelines for the collaboration are documented specifically (e.g., see [3], [4], and [5]). The IAB's expectation in setting up the relationship is that there will be a mutual exchange of views and discussion of the best approach to undertaking new standardization work items. Any work items resulting for the IETF will be undertaken in the usual IETF procedures, defined in [1]. The peer organization often has different organizational structure and different procedures than the IETF, which will require some flexibility on the part of both organizations to accommodate. The IAB expects that the peer organization will use the relationship carefully, allowing time for the processes it requests to occur and not making unreasonable demands. 2.2 Liaison Manager As described above, most work on mutually interesting topics will be carried out in the usual way within the IETF and the peer organization. Therefore, most communications will be informal in nature (e.g., working group, mailing list discussions, etc). An important function of the liaison manager is to ensure that communication is maintained, is productive, and is timely. He or she may use any businesslike approach to that necessary, from private communications to public communications, and bringing in other parties as needed. If a communication from a peer organization is addressed to an inappropriate party, such as being sent to the working group but not copying the AD or being sent to the wrong working group, the liaison manager will help redirect or otherwise augment the communication. Since the IAB is ultimately responsible for liaison relationships, anyone who has a problem with a relationship (whether an IETF participant or a person from the peer organization) should first consult the IAB's designated liaison manager, and if that does not result in a satisfactory outcome, the IAB itself. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 4] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 2.3 Liaison Communications Communications between organizations use a variety of formal and informal channels. The stated preference of the IETF, which is largely an informal organization, is to use informal channels, as these have historically worked well to expedite matters. In some cases, however, more formal communications are appropriate. In such cases, the established procedures of many organizations use a form known as a "liaison statement". Procedures for sending, managing, and responding to liaison statements are discussed in draft-baker- liaison-statements. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 5] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 3. Summary of IETF Liaison Manager Responsibilities While the requirements will certainly vary depending on the nature of the peer organization and the type of joint work being undertaken, the general expectations of a liaison appointed by the IAB are as follows: Attend relevant meetings of the peer organization as needed and report back to the appropriate IETF organization any material updates. Carry any messages from the IETF to the peer organization, when specifically instructed. Generally, these communications "represent the IETF", and due care (and consensus) must be applied in their construction. Prepare occasional updates -- e.g., to the IAB, an AD, a WG. The target of these updates will generally be identified upon appointment. Oversee delivery of liaison statements addressed to the IETF, ensuring that they reach the appropriate destination within the IETF, and work to ensure that whatever relevant response from the IETF is created and sent in a timely fashion. Work with the other organization to ensure that the IETF's liaisons are appropriately directed and responded to in a timely fashion. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 6] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 4. Security Considerations The security of the Internet is not threatened by these procedures. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 7] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 5. Acknowledgements This document was developed as part of a conversation regarding the management of draft-baker-liaison-statements, and the authors of that document contributed significantly to it. Also, this version of the document has been improved over its predecessor by several suggestions from Michael Patton, Bert Wijnen, and Scott Bradner. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 8] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 Normative References [1] Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996. [2] Internet Architecture Board and B. Carpenter, "Charter of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB)", BCP 39, RFC 2850, May 2000. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 9] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 Informative References [3] Rosenbrock, K., Sanmugam, R., Bradner, S. and J. Klensin, "3GPP- IETF Standardization Collaboration", RFC 3113, June 2001. [4] Bradner, S., Calhoun, P., Cuschieri, H., Dennett, S., Flynn, G., Lipford, M. and M. McPheters, "3GPP2-IETF Standardization Collaboration", RFC 3131, June 2001. [5] Fishman, G. and S. Bradner, "Internet Engineering Task Force and International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunications Standardization Sector Collaboration Guidelines", RFC 3356, August 2002. Authors' Addresses Leslie Daigle Editor Internet Architecture Board IAB EMail: iab@iab.org Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 10] Internet-Draft IAB Liaison Management February 2004 Full Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004). All Rights Reserved. This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than English. The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns. This document and the information contained herein is provided on an "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Acknowledgement Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the Internet Society. Daigle & Internet Architecture Board Expires August 15, 2004 [Page 11]