Computersight -

Having already discussed much about protocols from a generic perspective we will complete this overview and prepare ourselves to take a closer look at a number of select protocols. We have taken a quick look at protocol design and introduced ourselves to a class of protocols known as computer, communications and networking protocols.

Let us have a quick look at some other essential information about protocols and the standards organizations that ratify them.

Protocol Converter

A protocol converter is a device/program which translates between different protocols which serve similar functions (e.g., TCP and TP4). [Source: RFC1392]

Protocol Data Unit (PDU)

Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is the name that the International Standards Committee uses for packet. [Source: RFC1392]

Protocol Standards Organisations

Here is a brief summary of the various bodies that produce and ratify the various communications and networking standards that we have been discussing. If you want to learn more about them just go to their websites and encyclopedic volumes of information will be at your disposal. I have included the links (URL) for each of these standards organisations below.

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) – The IETF is an international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers working together to better facilitate the smooth operation of the Internet while advancing the evolution of its architecture.

Nearly all recent protocols for Internet communications have been assigned by the IETF with the IEEE and ISO handling the others.

IETF Mission Statement – The IETF Mission Statement is documented in RFC 3935

IETF Workgroups - Much of the work done by the IETF is carried out by different workgroups; with each focusing on their particular specialty. These workgroups are organised by topic (routing, transport, security etc.).

Communications - Mailing lists are used extensively by the IETF and its various sub-groups and committees.

Internet Architecture Board (IAB) – The purpose of the IAB is to oversee the architectural work of the various IETF working groups

URL: Ietf

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – Responsible for many other protocols including some Internet protocols. Their primary focus is on communications protocols from a networking perspective. This includes internetworking; meaning from one network to another. Hence the Internet gets in on the act.

The most widely know series of protocol standards that the IEEE has produced are the 802 DOTS (802.xx specifications). For example the 802.3 standard is all about Ethernet while the 802.11 specifications are standards concerning wireless networks.

URL Ieee

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)- The world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO is a non-governmental organisation comprised of a network of the national standards institutes of 157 countries. There is only one member per country and a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland coordinates the system.

URL: Iso

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) – W3C is an international consortium where member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop interoperable technologies such as: specifications, guidelines, software, tools and web standards.

Mission – The W3C have stated their mission to be: “To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines to ensure long-term growth for the Web.”

In order to achieve their goal of one Web, specifications for the Web’s formats and protocols must be compatible with one another and allow (any) hardware and software used to access the Web to work together.

W3C designs and promotes interoperable open (non-proprietary) formats and protocols to avoid the market fragmentation of the past.

URL: w3c

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) – IANA is the central coordinator for the assignment of unique parameter values for Internet protocols.

IANA is operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and is responsible for the global coordination of the DNS Root, IP addressing, and other Internet Protocol resources.

IANA is chartered by the Internet Society (ISOC) to act as the clearinghouse to assign and coordinate the use of numerous Internet protocol parameters.

URL: iana

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers.

To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet.

URL: icann

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) – ITUis the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technologies. As the global focal point for governments and the private sector, ITU’s role in helping the world communicate spans 3 core sectors

ITU-R – Managing the international radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources protocols and formats for is at the heart of the work of the ITU Radio Communications Sector (ITU-R).

ITU-T – The ITU-T handles telecommunications protocols and formats for the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

ITU TELECOM – ITU TELECOM brings together the top names from across the ICT industry as well as ministers and regulators and many more for a major exhibition, a high-level forum and a host of other opportunities

ITU-D – Established to help spread equitable, sustainable and affordable access to information and communication technologies (ICT).

URL: itu

The Internet Society (ISOC) – ISOC is a nonprofit organisation founded in 1992. The Internet Architecture Board (IAB), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) are all chartered by the Internet Society (ISOC)

URL: isoc

Request for Comment (RFC)

These are the documents in which the IETF formally documents in detail the various protocols, standards and specifications for Internet communications technologies and protocols.

No Rewrites or Modifications

Once an RFC that formerly details and documents any protocol or part thereof has been published there will be no further alterations, amendments or any other changes made to that document; period!

New RFC Documents

If the situation eventuates that for whatever reason a protocol needs to be changed, amended, enhanced, extended, etc. then a new document that formally recognizes this will be prepared and once ratified it will be published.

Acknowledgements

Documents that formally specify the standards for any given protocol will acknowledge any other protocols referencing the appropriate RFC documents and state that these protocols and specifications have now been superseded by this new protocol and standard.

Converging Standards

As the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), radio systems, and Internet converge, the different sets of standards are also being driven towards technological convergence. Unified communications is here to stay. So we might as well get used to the fact and make it work to our advantage.

Effective Communications

In order for effective communications to occur we all need to agree upon the protocols that we will use. We also need to be in agreement concerning how these protocols will be designed, built/structured and implemented.

It was for these reasons that a consensus needed to be reached before we could have a true global communications system such as the Internet as we know it today. Out of this need a number of different and for once not opposing protocol standardisation organisations were born.

These organisations quickly came to the realization that above all else the first and most pressing requirement was for some method or system that removed individual protocol peculiarity from impacting the performance of itself or any other protocol. What was needed was some form of reference model.

Their next big moment of enlightenment came when they realised that it was all too much for just one individual or individual organisation to handle. In fact it was all too much for one protocol to handle and so the idea of a processing stack (suite of protocols) was born.

This alone was a big step forward but what good is a processing stack model if nobody knows who it works or how to use it? The solution was simple. Make sure everybody could access whatever they wanted. The result of this momentous inspiration was the creation of an OPEN standard for protocol design, architecture and implementation called the Open Systems Interconnect Reference Model (OSI model).

In this series we have had a look at most of the underlying background processes and process formation methodologies. We have also inspected protocol design and implementation, regulation, standards; both open and proprietary, standardisation, standardisation organisations, standardisation process and procedures, communications and networking protocols and introduced the OSI Reference Model.

All of these will be discussed in greater detail in the future but for now this will suffice. The next dozen or so articles; in the “About Protocols” series, will take look at individual communications and networking protocols on a one-by-one basis. I have decided to base the order in which I tackle this topic is by starting with the most commonly implemented protocols.

In order to make them easy to access and reference I will be calling them “About XXXXX” rather than giving each a sequential reference number. For instance an article about the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) protocol will be called “About Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)” or “About ATM”.

I will also be compiling an index of the protocols covered which will also include the acronyms; if any, of the protocols that we discuss. I have decided to structure this index on an alphabetical ordering system where numbers; progressing from low to high as the list evolves, will come first. Then we will have the letters arranged in increasing alphabetical order.

Anyway this index will be named “About Protocols Index” for obvious reasons. I will also compiling a basic glossary that covers everything that we have or will be talking about. Guess what? I have decided to name this glossary the “About Protocols Glossary” also for obvious reasons.

Both the index and glossaries will be built on an “as-you-go” basis meaning that they will be regularly updated. I will also include a “what’s new” section for your greater convenience.

So until we meet again enjoy.