INTERNET DRAFT                                                   T.Li
                                                        cisco Systems
                                                           Y. Rekhter
                               T.J. Watson Research Center, IBM Corp.
                                                        December 1992


			 A RFC Subseries for IETF
			Statements Of Policy (SOPs)


Status of this Memo

   This document describes a new series of documents which are issued by
   the IETF.  This series of documents would carry the endorsement of
   the IETF, but would not be protocol standards.

   This document is an Internet Draft. 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. Internet Drafts may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by
   other documents at any time. It is not appropriate to use Internet
   Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as a "working
   draft" or "work in progress".

Introduction

   The current IETF process has two types of RFCs: standards track
   documents and informational RFCs [1].  The intent of the standards
   track documents is clear, and culminates in an official Internet
   Standard [2,3].  Informational RFCs can be published on an ersatz
   basis, subject to the reasonable constraints of the RFC editor.
   Informational RFCs are not subject to peer review and carry no
   significance whatsoever within the IETF process [4].

   The IETF currently has no other mechanism or means of publishing
   relevant technical information which it endorses.  This document
   creates a new subseries of RFCs, entitled IETF Statements Of Policy
   (SOPs).  The SOP process is similar to that of the normal standards
   track.  The SOP is submitted to the IESG for review, and the existing
   review process for standards track documents applies.  However, once
   the IESG has approved the document, the process ends and the document
   is published.  The IAB is not involved.  The resulting document is
   viewed as having the technical approval of the IETF, but it is not,
   and cannot become and offical Internet Standard.



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INTERNET DRAFT                                               August 1992


   Possible examples of technical information to which SOPs could be
   applied are "OSI NSAP Allocation" [5], "OSPF Applicability Statement"
   [6].

References


   [1] Chapin, A.L., "Internet standards process", RFC 1310, IAB, March
   1992

   [2] Postel, J.B., ed., "IAB official protocol standards", RFC 1360,
   IAB, September 1992

   [3] Hinden, R.M., "Internet Engineering Task Force internet routing
   protocol standardization criteria", RFC 1264, BBN, October 1991

   [4] Waitzman, D., "Standard for the transmission of IP datagrams on
   avian carriers", BBN, April 1990

   [5] Collela, R., Gardner, E., Callon, R., "Guidelines for OSI NSAP
   Allocation in the Internet", RFC1237, July 1991

   [6] Chapin, L., "Applicability Statement for OSPF", RFC1370, October
   1992

Security Considerations

   Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

Author's Addresses

   Yakov Rekhter
   T.J. Watson Research Center IBM Corporation
   P.O. Box 218
   Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
   Phone:  (914) 945-3896
   email:  yakov@watson.ibm.com

   Tony Li
   cisco Systems, Inc.
   1525 O'Brien Drive
   Menlo Park, CA 94025
   email: tli@cisco.com








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