Session Date/Time: 27 Jul 2022 21:30

IETF Plenary

Summary

The IETF Plenary session provided updates from various IETF bodies, including the IESG, IAB, IRTF, NomCom, LLC, and IETF Trust. Key discussions focused on meeting logistics and COVID-19 policy adherence, the future format of hybrid meetings, the progress of the NomCom selection process, and various technical and administrative initiatives across the organization. The session also included a poignant "In Memoriam" segment for two long-time community members, Ned Freed and Stephen Casner, followed by open mic Q&A for each body.

Key Discussion Points

Welcome and Logistics:
- Lars Eggert welcomed attendees and reinforced the IETF's COVID policy requiring masks in controlled rooms, with active speakers as the only exception. Free masks and sanitizers are available.
- Participants were reminded of the "Note Well" policy regarding IPR, code of conduct, and privacy.
- Remote participants were encouraged to use video when asking questions, and in-room participants were asked to use the MeetEcho queue.
Host Update (Jason Livingwood, Comcast/NBCUniversal):
- Welcome back to Philadelphia for the first time since IETF 71 (2008).
- Highlighted the success of the L4S (Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput) Hackathon, demonstrating multi-vendor interoperability for low-latency networking outside the lab.
IETF Chair Report (Lars Eggert):
- Participant Statistics: Over 1400 total participants (on-site and remote), significantly more on-site than IETF 113 Vienna (over double). 276 fee waivers granted, 234 used. 273 Hackathon registrations (223 on-site, 50 remote) for 25 projects, approaching pre-pandemic levels.
- Geographic Distribution: US heavily dominated on-site participation, with China primarily participating remotely due to travel and time zone challenges.
- COVID Cases: 9 reported cases as of the day of the plenary, approximately double Vienna's total, but proportionate to increased attendance. Secretariat heavily impacted. Free tests, masks, and sanitizer available. Attendees with symptoms or positive tests advised to contact [email protected].
- Future Meeting Format for Hybrid Meetings:
  - Due to increased session requests for IETF 114, the IESG limited all working groups to at most two hours, acknowledging this isn't ideal.
  - A post-meeting survey will gather community input on options:
    - Keep short days (current approach, requires cutting session requests).
    - Return to pre-pandemic longer days (better for in-person, worse for remote).
    - Add a track (causes scheduling conflicts, potentially fewer participants per session, hotel capacity issues).
    - Combination of approaches.
- Experiments:
  - Continuation of RFC 8989 NomCom eligibility requirements experiment, clarifying that online participation in hybrid meetings will count towards eligibility. A bug in data merging for IETF 113 participation stats was fixed.
  - Buff Schedule Experiment to allow more time for ADs to work with proponents.
- Announcements: RPC instructed to publicly archive all RFC 48 communications.
- Acknowledgements: Appreciation extended to the Secretariat, MeetEcho, NOC, LLC, Tools Team, and Hackathon Support Team for their extraordinary efforts, especially given current challenges.
IAB Chair Report (Mirja Kühlewind):
- New Administrative Support Groups: Formed for IETF/IEEE coordination (now with Data Tracker home) and IAB/ISOC policy coordination.
- Workshop Announcement: Call for position papers for a workshop on "Management Techniques and Encrypted Networks," focusing on actionable requirements and solutions for securing management in encrypted environments.
- Volunteer Selection: Thanked current volunteers and called for more diverse candidates for future positions, emphasizing the importance of community volunteering.
- Open Calls: Seeking feedback on two areas (details on IAB webpage) and a new Liaison Manager for a specific ISOC group.
- RFC Editor Model v3: Announced completion and operational status, with the RFC Series Working Group (RSS WG) and RFC Series Approval Board (RSAB) formed and active. Related IAB oversight groups have been closed.
IRTF Chair Report (Colin Perkins):
- Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP):
  - Awards presented to Tasha Swami (Torus: data plane architecture for line rate inference and machine learning) and Sam Kumar (optimizing TCP for low-power wireless networks).
  - Future awards for Gautam Akiwati, Koren Kaff, and Daniel Wagner at IETF 115 in London.
  - Nominations for 2023 awards will open in September.
- Applied Networking Research Workshop (ANRW): Took place, featuring research papers and invited talks. Planned for San Francisco co-locating with IETF 117 next year.
- Travel Grants: Thanks to Akamai, Comcast, Cloudflare, and Netflix for sponsoring travel grants for early career academics and PhD students from underrepresented groups; seeking additional sponsors.
NomCom Chair Report (Rich Salz):
- Over 270 volunteers for the NomCom, which is a high number.
- Timeline: Volunteering closed. Committee selection is planned for the following Wednesday, followed by a two-week challenge period. Numerous virtual meetings will occur over the next month to catch up.
- Acknowledged the crucial support from the Secretariat and Tools Team.
- Liaisons from IAB, IESG, LLC, IETF Trust, and past NomCom chair were introduced.
- Open positions and job descriptions will be published on IETF announce and NomCom Data Tracker pages.
LLC Report (Greg Wood & Jason Livingwood):
- Greg Wood (Meeting Logistics & Sponsorships):
  - Thanks to co-hosts Comcast and NBCUniversal, and other sponsors (Cisco, Juniper, Webex).
  - Highlighted Diversity Inclusion Sponsors (Akamai, Cisco) enabling new initiatives like childcare services for attendees.
  - Announced Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as the first Sustainability Sponsor, supporting efforts to understand and offset the IETF's carbon footprint.
  - Acknowledged individual contributors to the Code Sprint and NOC.
  - Future Meetings: IETF 115 in London (Nov 2022). Announced IETF 116 in Yokohama, Japan (July 2023).
  - IETF Endowment: The Internet Society pledged a matching contribution, providing a significant opportunity for donors.
- Jason Livingwood (LLC Board Activities & Budget):
  - Current Board Focus: Lessons learned from hybrid meetings, Executive Director's employment location shift (complicated by tax/legal), strategic planning retreat, fundraising progress, updated investment policy (benefited from market dips), and working with new auditors.
  - Budget Uncertainty: Operating model remains uncertain due to unpredictable attendance, rising travel costs, and investment losses, though the diversified investment strategy helped preserve capital.
IETF Trust Report (Joel Halpern):
- Role: Manages IETF's IP assets (copyrights for RFCs, trademarks), holds no patents. Also manages software licenses for the LLC.
- Trustee Changes: Victor Cursa appointed to the ISOC Board of Directors; John Levine stepping down after many years of service (recognized and thanked).
- Restructuring: Community consultation on restructuring the Trust from a Virginia trust to a Delaware nonprofit corporation has concluded; the Trust plans to proceed with the change after final legal review.
- IETF Supporter/Protocol Badges: Licensing terms have been made available for "IETF Supporter" and specific protocol badges (e.g., Quick, L4S) for use on web pages.
In Memoriam:
- A video tribute from Nathaniel Borenstein honored Ned Freed, recognizing his contributions to MIME, IETF leadership, and his demonstration that a great mind could lead from afar.
- Eve Schooler spoke about Stephen Casner, a long-time friend and mentor instrumental in IETF multimedia standards and protocols (e.g., RTP, Mbone). She highlighted his pioneering work in packet voice/video, leadership of the AVT WG, and his qualities of quiet leadership, humility, and kindness.
- A moment of silence was observed for both individuals.
Open Mic - IESG:
- Document Publication Timeline: Adrian Farrell asked about expected timelines for documents from publication request to IETF last call. IESG members acknowledged it's monitored but variable (weeks to longer), depending on AD review, last call duration, ballot discussions, and author revisions. Suggested adding notes to the Data Tracker history tab.
- Volunteer Recruitment: Rich Salz inquired about how the community could help find incoming AD volunteers. IESG members encouraged interested individuals to reach out to current ADs, emphasizing the role's rewards and supporting a leadership pipeline through initiatives like shepherding or co-chairing.
- Working Group Chair Overload: Tore Anderson raised concerns about individuals chairing multiple WGs. IESG confirmed this is being addressed by actively seeking new chairs, particularly for new WGs, and pairing experienced chairs with new talent.
- Shepherd Role: Barry Leiba emphasized that shepherds should remain active throughout a document's lifecycle to ensure progress and unclog any bottlenecks.
Open Mic - IAB:
- Report Balance: Andrew Campling queried the IAB report's heavy administrative content versus forward-looking technical discussions. IAB members clarified that the plenary report focuses on completed actions, while future-looking architectural discussions occur in IAB Open Meetings, workshops, and the architecture discuss list.
Open Mic - LLC:
- Endowment Levels: Stewart Cheshire (Apple) suggested that the IETF Endowment website should list the monetary amounts associated with donor recognition levels (e.g., Flagship, Benefactor) to encourage contributions more effectively.

Decisions and Action Items

IETF Chair:
- Decision: Online participation in hybrid meetings will count towards NomCom eligibility (clarification to RFC 8989 experiment).
- Decision: The RPC has been instructed to publicly archive all RFC 48 communications.
- Action Item: Post-meeting survey to be distributed to gather community input on future hybrid meeting formats (session length, number of tracks).
IAB:
- Decision: Created two new administrative support groups: IETF/IEEE coordination and IAB/ISOC policy coordination.
- Decision: Launched a workshop on "Management Techniques and Encrypted Networks" with a call for position papers.
- Decision: RFC Editor Model version 3 is now fully operational, with RSS WG and RSAB established.
LLC:
- Decision: IETF 116 will be held in Yokohama, Japan (July 2023).
- Action Item: LLC board to consider listing donation amounts for IETF Endowment recognition levels on the website.
IETF Trust:
- Decision: Proceeding with the restructuring of the IETF Trust to a Delaware nonprofit corporation, following community consultation.
- Action Item: Lawyers to file paperwork for Trust restructuring next week, unless major concerns are raised.
IESG:
- Action Item: IESG will internally discuss setting more concrete expectations for document publication timelines.
- Action Item: Individual ADs and the IESG to continue efforts in recruiting new working group chairs and fostering a leadership pipeline (e.g., through shepherding, co-chairing).
- Action Item: Shepherds are reminded to stay active throughout the entire document lifecycle, not just the initial write-up phase.

Next Steps

Community:
- Participate in the post-meeting survey on future hybrid meeting formats.
- Consider submitting a position paper for the IAB's "Management Techniques and Encrypted Networks" workshop.
- Look out for the call for nominations for the 2023 ANRP awards in September.
- Reach out to IESG Area Directors, IAB members, or LLC board members if interested in volunteering for leadership positions (AD, WG Chair, Shepherd, IAB/LLC roles) or to provide feedback.
- Consider sponsoring IETF activities, including travel grants, diversity initiatives (childcare), or sustainability efforts.
- Consider contributing to the IETF Endowment, especially during the ISOC matching period.
NomCom: Committee selection next Wednesday, followed by a 2-week challenge period and virtual meetings. Job descriptions for open positions to be announced post-IETF.
IETF Trust: Finalize legal paperwork for restructuring.
IRTF: ANRW will take place in San Francisco, co-locating with IETF 117.