Data Networking Standards

Just as the ITU has been influential in the creation of standards in the telephony community,
the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has led the standardization efforts in the datanetworking
community. Its particular focus has recently been on IP standards.
New data-networking techniques go through a rigorous trial phase, consisting of study,
implementation, and review to verify their stability and robustness. Those that pass these
critical examinations are known by their RFC (Request For Comment) number, because the
RFC stage is the last step in the adoption of a draft standard as an approved standard.
Each of the components of the Internet Protocol that we discuss here – known by names
such as TCP, UDP, and RTP – have one or more corresponding RFCs that describe their
operation.