Internet Draft

An Internet Draft (I-D) is a document published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) containing preliminary technical specifications, results of networking-related research, or other technical information. Often, Internet Drafts are intended to be work-in-progress documents for work that is eventually to be published as a Request for Comments (RFC), perhaps leading to become an Internet Standard. It is considered inappropriate to rely on Internet Drafts for reference purposes. I-D citations should indicate the I-D is a work in progress.[1]

An Internet Draft is expected to adhere to the basic requirements imposed on any RFC.[2] The IDnits Tool may be used to flag common document problems prior to submission to the IETF.[3]

An Internet Draft is only valid for six months, unless it is replaced by an updated version. The old version is removed from the I-D repository, unless it is under official review by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) when a request to publish it as an RFC has been submitted.

Numerous web sites mirror the IETF I-D repository. These mirrors often include features not found at the official I-D repository, such as hyperlinks for references and access to expired Internet Drafts.

Naming conventions

Internet Drafts produced by the IETF working groups follow the naming convention: draft-ietf-<wg>-<name>-<version number>.txt.

Internet Drafts produced by IRTF research groups following the naming convention: draft-irtf-<rg>-<name>-<version number>.txt.

Drafts produced by individuals following the naming convention: draft-<individual>-<name>-<version number>.txt

The IAB, RFC Editor, and other organizations associated with the IETF may also produce Internet Drafts. They follow the naming convention: draft-<org>-<name>-<version number>.txt.

The initial version number is represented as 00. The second version, i.e. the first revision is represented as 01, and incremented for all following revisions.

References

  1. ↑ "Internet Standards and the Request For Comment (RFC) Process", The TCP/IP Guide, p. 3, retrieved 2015-11-10
  2. ↑ "Guidelines to Authors of Internet-Drafts". Ietf.org. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
  3. ↑ "Idnits Tool". Tools.ietf.org. 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
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