The internal workings of the Internet are defined by a set
of documents called RFCs (Request for Comments). The general
process for creating an RFC is for someone wanting something
formalized to write a document describing the issue and mailing
it to Jon Postel (postel@isi.edu). He acts as a referee for
the proposal. It is then commented upon by all those wishing
to take part in the discussion (electronically of course).
It may go through multiple revisions. Should it be generally
accepted as a good idea, it will be assigned a number and
filed with the RFCs.
The RFCs can be divided into five groups: required, suggested,
directional, informational and obsolete. Required RFC's (e.g.
RFC-791, The Internet Protocol) must be implemented on any host
connected to the Internet. Suggested RFCs are generally
implemented by network hosts. Lack of them does not preclude
access to the Internet, but may impact its usability. RFC-793
(Transmission Control Protocol) is a suggested RFC. Directional
RFCs were discussed and agreed to, but their application has never
come into wide use. This may be due to the lack of wide need for
the specific application (RFC-937 The Post Office Protocol) or
that, although technically superior, ran against other pervasive
approaches (RFC-891 Hello). It is suggested that should the
facility be required by a particular site, animplementation
be done in accordance with the RFC. This insures that, should
the idea be one whose time has come, the implementation will be
in accordance with some standard and will be generally usable.
Informational RFCs contain factual information about the
Internet and its operation (RFC-990, Assigned Numbers).
Finally, as the Internet and technology have grown, some
RFCs have become unnecessary. These obsolete RFCs cannot
be ignored, however. Frequently when a change is made to
some RFC that causes a new one to be issued obsoleting others,
the new RFC only contains explanations and motivations for the
change. Understanding the model on which the whole facility
is based may involve reading the original and subsequent RFCs
on the topic.
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(Appendix B contains a list of what are considered to be the
major RFCs necessary for understanding the Internet).