The IETF

The IETF work is organized in working groups that are themselves clustered in areas. There are currently 7 areas.

• Internet Area (int) - dealing with IP packets and how to Internetwork
• Routing Area (rtg) - about how to route those packets.
• Web and Internet Transport (wit) - provides abstract end to end connections for applications to use.
• Operations and Management Area (ops) - works on managing and operating IP based networks
• Applications and Real-Time Area (art) - provides building blocks for applications
• Security Area (sec) - provides security building blocks for it all.
• General Area (gen) - is about organizing the IETF and its governance.

The descriptions above are quite informal, more information about Areas can be found on the IETF Areas webpage