New work at IETF 100

Before each IETF meeting, the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) collects proposals for Birds of a Feather (BOF) sessions. These sessions are designed to help determine whether new working groups should be formed or to generate discussion about a topic within the IETF community. We decide which ones are ready for community discussion on the IETF meeting agenda, with input from the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). We did this last week in preparation for IETF 100 and I wanted to report the conclusions:

Firmware Update (FUD) will be having a working-group-forming BOF session at IETF 100. The FUD work is focused on developing a modern interoperable approach for securely updating the software in Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Security experts, researchers, and regulators recommend that all IoT devices be equipped with a secure firmware update mechanism, but current approaches are largely proprietary. The FUD BOF will discuss an architecture for IoT firmware updates and a manifest format for describing meta-data about firmware images. The FUD mailing list is here.

Trusted Execution Environment Provisioning (TEEP) will be reconvening for a second BOF after an initial session at IETF 98 and a tutorial at IETF 99. The goal of TEEP is to standardize protocol(s) for provisioning applications into secure areas now supported on some computer processors, known as Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). TEEs are currently found in home routers, set-top boxes, smart phones, tablets and wearables. Most of these systems use proprietary application layer protocols. TEEP aims to produce an interoperable application-layer security protocol that enables the configuration of security credentials and software running in a TEE. The TEEP mailing list is here.

Data Center Routing (DCROUTING) will be having a non-working-group-forming BOF. Over the last year, there have been discussions in a number of routing area working groups about proposals aimed at routing within a data center. Because of their topologies (traditional and emerging), traffic patterns, need for fast restoration, and need for low human intervention, among other things, data centers are driving a set of routing solutions specific to them. The intent of this BOF is to discuss the special circumstances that surround routing in the data center and potential new solutions. The objective is not to select a single solution, but to determine whether there is interest and energy in the community to work on any of the proposals. The mailing list is here.

IETF Administrative Support Activity 2.0 (IASA 2.0) will be having a non-working-group-forming BOF to continue discussions that have been taking place over the last year regarding refactoring the IETF Administrative Support Activity (IASA). The IASA 2.0 design team has been incorporating feedback from IETF 99 and further refining and expanding their documentation of the problem, requirements, and solution options. The goal of this session will be to determine the sense of the community about the direction for IASA 2.0. The mailing list is here.

We also received a proposal for a WG-forming BOF concerning Common Operation and Management on Network Slicing (COMS), focused on standardizing an information model to support network slicing in 5G. While the scope of this work has narrowed considerably since IETF 99 based on feedback received there, the new proposal was not approved for this meeting cycle. Further work is needed. The Operations and Management (OPS) area directors and interested IAB members will continue working with the proponents prior to IETF 100. The Operations and Management Area Working Group (OPSAWG) may serve as a venue for related discussions if that work bears fruit.

Finally, we’ll have two newly chartered working groups meeting for the first time at IETF 100: Email mailstore and eXtensions To Revise or Amend (EXTRA) and DNS over HTTPS (DOH). EXTRA is chartered to work on updates, extensions, and revisions to the email-related protocols IMAP, Sieve, and ManageSieve. DOH will be standardizing encodings for DNS queries and responses that are suitable for use in HTTPS, enabling the domain name system to function over certain paths where existing DNS methods experience problems. The mailing lists are here: extra, doh. A third new working group, IDentity Enabled Networks (IDEAS), was proposed but not chartered due to a number of concerns expressed during IETF community review of the charter.

Together with the rest of the IETF’s ongoing work, it will be exciting to see all of the new efforts kick off in Singapore.