Standard published by the Internet Engineering Task Force

Internet Standard

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Internet Standard

In <a href="/en/Computer_network" title="Computer network" class="wl">computer network</a> <a href="/en/Engineering" title="Engineering" class="wl">engineering</a>, an Internet Standard is a normative <a href="/en/Specification" title="Specification" class="mw-redirect wl">specification</a> of a technology or methodology applicable to the <a href="/en/Internet" title="Internet" class="wl">Internet</a>. Internet Standards are created and published by the <a href="/en/Internet_Engineering_Task_Force" title="Internet Engineering Task Force" class="wl">Internet Engineering Task Force</a> (IETF). They allow interoperation of hardware and software from different sources which allows internets to function.<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> As the Internet became global, Internet Standards became the lingua franca of worldwide communications.<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Standard published by the Internet Engineering Task Force</div>
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Engineering contributions to the IETF start as an <a href="/en/Internet_Draft" title="Internet Draft" class="wl">Internet Draft</a>, may be promoted to a <a href="/en/Request_for_Comments" title="Request for Comments" class="wl">Request for Comments</a>, and may eventually become an Internet Standard.

An Internet Standard is characterized by technical maturity and usefulness. The IETF also defines a Proposed Standard as a less mature but stable and well-reviewed specification. A Draft Standard was an intermediate level, discontinued in 2011.<a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> A Draft Standard was an intermediary step that occurred after a Proposed Standard but prior to an Internet Standard.

As put in <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2026" rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" class="external mw-magiclink" target="_blank">RFC 2026</a>: <blockquote>In general, an Internet Standard is a specification that is stable and well-understood, is technically competent, has multiple, independent, and interoperable implementations with substantial operational experience, enjoys significant public support, and is recognizably useful in some or all parts of the Internet.</blockquote>

In computer network engineering, an Internet Standard is a normative specification of a technology or methodology applicable to the Internet. Internet Standards are created and published by the Internet Engineering Task Force .  They allow interoperation of hardware and software from different sources which allows internets to function. Engineering contributions to the IETF start as an Internet Draft, may be promoted to a Request for Comments, and may eventually become an Internet Standard. An Internet Standard is characterized by technical maturity and usefulness. The IETF also defines a Proposed Standard as a less mature but stable and well-reviewed specification. A Draft Standard was an intermediate level, discontinued in 2011. A Draft Standard was an intermediary step that occurred after a Proposed Standard but prior to an Internet Standard. 