Internet Architecture Board

The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is a chartered committee of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which first met in 1986. The IAB oversees the evolution of Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and supervises IETF research activities; in some respects, the IAB may be seen as the steward of TCP/IP, among other things. As Paul Hoffman and Susan Harris (2012) put it, “The IAB is responsible for keeping an eye on the ‘big picture’ of the Internet, and focuses on long-range planning and coordination among the various areas of IETF activity.” This entry discusses the role, history, and activities of the IAB.

The IAB’s primary aim is to make the Internet as open and functional as possible, institutionalizing the spirit that has infused Internet culture since ...