StandardsDIS W4 RJK1 Distributed Information Systems Standards Bob Kummerfeld Department of Computer Science

Standards DIS W4 RJK2 Standards n agreed set of rules or specifications for products, processes, services etc n many to choose from! n critical for computer networking

Standards DIS W4 RJK3 n standards specify the rules to follow but don't specify how to implement the rules. n networks require standards at every layer and within layers –Architecture –Interfaces (physical and API) –Protocols, formats, codes –naming/addressing

Standards DIS W4 RJK4 Examples n ethernet frame format n ethernet protocol n IP packet format n TCP protocol n domain names n headers n graphics file formats n …and many others.

Standards DIS W4 RJK5 n Value of product in a networked environment depends on number of other adopters –One videophone isn’t very useful n Lock-in –Consumer: discouraged from moving to new product –Supplier: difficult to penetrate market –Industry: major advance required

Standards DIS W4 RJK6 Types of Standards n proprietary or de facto –Eg windows API n industry consortium –W3C n Voluntary standards body –IETF, OMG, IEEE, ATM forum n international standards –ISO n Common or best practice –Window GUIs (MS and others)

Standards DIS W4 RJK7 Open Standards n Reduce consumer lock-in –Competitive products can interoperate n Increase supplier lock-in –Innovation limited by need to conform –Backward compatibility

Standards DIS W4 RJK8 ISO: International Organisation for Standardisation

Standards DIS W4 RJK9 ISO n international federation of standards groups from 130 countries n Standards Australia is a member n develops standards in a wide range of fields. eg: –paper sizes, film speed, credit cards, freight containers, network protocols

Standards DIS W4 RJK10 ISO standard development n nearly 3000 technical committees and working groups n representatives of industry, government, consumer bodies meet regularly to develop standards n members of committees are sponsored by national standards groups

Standards DIS W4 RJK11 ISO Development process n design and consensus building n working groups n meetings n voting

Standards DIS W4 RJK12 OSI

Standards DIS W4 RJK13 Internet Standards n developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) –a supranational organisation –anyone can join and contribute to standards development n 125 working groups in 8 areas: –applications, internet, operations, routing, security, transport, user services, general

Standards DIS W4 RJK14 IETF Development process n working groups n design and consensus building n meetings n “Rough consensus and running code”

Standards DIS W4 RJK15 Internet

Standards DIS W4 RJK16 Ethernet IEEE 802

Standards DIS W4 RJK17

Standards DIS W4 RJK18 Novell

Standards DIS W4 RJK19 Conclusion n Standards are important for consumers and suppliers n Types of standards n Lock-in: consumer vs supplier n Examples: ISO, IETF