International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

An international organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates global telecommunications networks and services with governments and the private sector.

Overview

Known until 1993 as the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee, also known by its French name, Comitй Consultatif International Tйlйgraphique et Tйlйphonique (CCITT), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is responsible for a number of important international networking and communication standards, including the following X series and V series standards:

· V.35 serial interface standard

· V.90 56-Kbps modem standard

· X.25 packet-switching network standard

· X.400 message-handling system (MHS) standard

· X.435 standard for electronic data interchange (EDI) over X.400

· X.500 directory service recommendations

· X.509 digital certificate and authentication standard

· Standards for Standardized Generalized Markup Language (SGML), the precursor to Extensible Markup Language (XML)

The ITU also hosts important study groups, meetings, and conferences and is a leading publisher of information on telecommunications technology and standards. The section of the ITU that is concerned with developing international standards for telecommunications is called the ITU Telecommunications Standardization Sector, or ITU-T.

For More Information

Visit the ITU at www.itu.int.

See Also American National Standards Institute (ANSI) ,V.35 ,V.90 ,X.25 ,X.400 ,X.500

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

An international community of networking engineers, network administrators, researchers, and vendors whose goal is to ensure the smooth operation and evolution of the Internet.

Overview

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) receives its charter from the Internet Society (ISOC), and its daily operations are overseen by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). The work of the IETF is performed by a number of working groups who are dedicated to such aspects of the Internet as routing, operations and management, transport, security, applications, and user services. These working groups interact primarily through mailing lists and are managed by area directors who belong to the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Some working groups develop extensions and newer versions of familiar protocols such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP), Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Others develop new protocols such as the Common Indexing Protocol, Internet Open Trading Protocol, and the Internet Printing Protocol.

The working groups produce documents called Internet Drafts, which have a life span of six months, after which they must be deleted, updated, or established as a Request for Comments (RFC) document.

For More Information

Visit the IETF at www.ietf.org

See Also Internet Architecture Board (IAB) ,Internet Society (ISOC) Request for Comments (RFC)

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

A vendor-neutral organization created in 1994 that develops common, interoperable standards and protocols for the World Wide Web (WWW).

Overview

Represented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States and a number of international research centers, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides a variety of services to its member organizations, including the following:

· Discussion groups and meetings on issues relating to the evolution of the WWW

· Repositories of information, reference documents, and code relating to WWW protocols, services, and applications

· The creation and testing of applications that demonstrate new types of WWW technologies

The process by which the W3C develops new standards and protocols involves four steps:

1. Note:

An initial idea or comment is submitted as a document for discussion.

1. Working draft:

Presents work in progress toward a possible standard by the W3C working group involved.

1. Proposed recommendation:

Issued when a consensus has been reached within the working group.

1. Recommendation:

Receives the director's stamp of approval as a W3C recommendation.

The director of the W3C is Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the WWW. Membership in the W3C is tailored to organizations, but private individuals can also become affiliate members.

For More Information

Visit the W3C at www.w3c.org

See Also Internet , standards organizations ,