Session Date/Time: 06 Nov 2024 17:00

IETF 121 Plenary

Summary

The IETF 121 Plenary session covered a range of topics including opening remarks, awards presentations, financial updates, and reports from various IETF leadership bodies (IESG, IAB, IRTF, NOMCOM, and IETF Trust/IPMC). The session also included an open microphone period for community questions and feedback. Major discussion points included concerns about Datatracker reliability, the all-dispatch experiment, the frequency of IETF meetings, and diversity within the IETF.

Key Discussion Points

Awards and Recognition: The Internet Society presented Itogen and Postel Service Awards, honoring contributions to IPv6 and internet development, respectively. Aaron made a significant contribution to the IETF Endowment.
IESG Report: The IESG presented statistics on meeting participation, fee waivers, and document processing. They reiterated the importance of addressing comments and attributing contributions in the standards process. Concerns regarding document processing times and Friday sessions were raised.
IAB Report: The IAB highlighted upcoming workshops, including one on NEMOPs, and ongoing efforts related to AI control. They sought community feedback on ICANNOMCOM nominee and the IRTF chair candidate. Discussion around the IAB's liaison activities with other SDOs.
IRTF Report: The IRTF announced the Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP) winners and opened nominations for 2025. The Diversity Travel Grant program and the upcoming ANRW in Madrid were also discussed. A Code of Conduct is close to final approval.
NOMCOM Report: The NOMCOM urged community members to accept nominations and provide feedback on candidates, emphasizing it as a valuable learning experience.
IETF Trust/IPMC Report: The IETF Trust is restructuring to become the IETF Intellectual Property Management Corporation (IPMC). The name IETF Trust will be changing, but the intellectual property rules remain the same. Tools developers need to update boilerplate.
LLC Report: The LLC discussed logistical aspects of the meeting, future meeting locations, and ongoing challenges related to Datatracker reliability. Concerns were raised about San Francisco as a future meeting location. Issues of gender diversity at the IETF meetings and potential visa issues related to location choice were also mentioned.
Datatracker Reliability: Multiple attendees raised concerns about the reliability of the Datatracker tool. The LLC acknowledged the issues and outlined ongoing efforts to improve scalability and resilience.
All-Dispatch Experiment: The IESG is gathering community input on whether to continue the all-dispatch experiment.
Frequency of IETF Meetings: The community discussed the pros and cons of having three IETF meetings per year, particularly in light of increased remote participation and geopolitical constraints.

Decisions and Action Items

IESG: The IESG will gather formal community input on the all-dispatch experiment via the post-meeting survey.
LLC: The LLC will send the email from Jean-Francoise regarding participation statistics to the board to review.
LLC/Tools Team: Provide more detailed information and post mortem about Datatracker performance issues.
LLC: Will consider the possibility of lower priced hotel options at future IETF events but notes it comes with challenges related to contracts.
Community: Write an Internet Draft exploring reducing the number of IETF meetings per year to facilitate further discussion.

Next Steps

The IESG will review community input on the all-dispatch experiment.
The IAB will continue its work on liaisons and upcoming workshops.
The IRTF will finalize and approve the Code of Conduct.
The IETF Trust will continue the process of restructuring to the IPMC.
The LLC will address Datatracker reliability issues and explore alternative meeting locations.
The Community will continue to discuss the frequency of IETF meetings.