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Internet Architecture Board
What is the Internet Architecture Board?
The Internet Architecture Board is an international body operating under the Internet Society. It provides technical oversight for the architecture of the Internet. Its members are selected by the IETF Nominating Committee.
The board traces its lineage to the late 1970s and 1980s bodies that guided early Internet development. It has existed in its present “Internet Architecture Board” form since 1992.
The IAB has thirteen members. Twelve are selected through the IETF’s Nominating Committee process, and the IETF Chair serves as the thirteenth member. The board is globally distributed rather than headquartered in a single city, operating primarily through virtual collaboration and IETF meetings.
Concrete Missions
The IAB provides architectural guidance for the Internet protocol suite, articulates and defends broad design principles, and considers long-term technical directions. It confirms the IETF Chair and Area Directors, hears and decides process appeals, manages liaison relationships with other standards bodies, coordinates closely with the RFC Editor function, and selects the chair of the Internet Research Task Force. It also stewards relationships tied to IANA protocol parameters to help keep registries and standards aligned.
Links to other Organizations
The IAB sits at the intersection of several core institutions. It works inside the IETF framework, advises the Internet Society, partners with the Internet Engineering Steering Group and the Internet Research Task Force, and coordinates with the RFC Editor and IANA functions. Externally, it maintains liaisons with peer standards organizations such as the W3C and IEEE to keep the wider Internet architecture coherent.
Contact Info for IAB
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