Session Date/Time: 23 Jul 2025 15:30

IETF Plenary

Summary

The IETF 123 Plenary was held in Madrid, Spain, hosted by Ericsson. This was the largest meeting since reconvening after COVID, with record participation including 63 hackathon projects and strong remote attendance utilizing fee waivers. The session included reports from all leadership bodies, recognition of community contributions, memorials for two community members, and open mic sessions addressing various policy and operational topics.

Key Discussion Points

Meeting Statistics and Participation

Record attendance with largest on-site presence since COVID
63 hackathon projects (previous record was in the 40s)
~50% of remote participants using fee waivers
~20% of participants attending their first IETF meeting
IPv6-mostly network deployment successful with 94% participation and 75% IPv6-only addresses

Leadership Updates

IESG: Issued new statement on ballot procedures, conducting cleanup of historical statements, implemented working group chair interest registration system
IAB: Handling increased appeal workload, hosting workshops on age-based content restrictions (October) and IP geolocation (December)
IRTF: 15 active research groups, offering diversity travel grants, holding workshops on space communications and AI networking challenges
NOMCOM: Process begins August 1st with slate finalization by October 11th, interviews starting October 20th
IETF Trust: Restructuring from Virginia trust to Delaware corporation, updating RFC 5378 and TLP documents

Technical and Process Issues

Appeals at decade-high levels with multiple cases proceeding to IAB
Working group count stable around 130 groups with dynamic birth/death rate
Three new general area working groups addressing IETF processes (moderation, considerations, procedures)
Remote participation improvements including exploration of remote room joining capabilities

Community Recognitions

Pete Resnick recognized for 9 years of Ombuds team service
Thanks to all meeting supporters, sponsors, and technical teams
Memorial recognition for Dave Taht (buffer bloat work) and Fred Baker (former IETF Chair)

Decisions and Action Items

NOMCOM Process

Timeline established: nominations open August 1st, slate finalized October 11th, interviews October 20th through Montreal meeting
Open positions: IETF Chair, 6 IESG positions, 2 IAB positions, 1 IETF LLC Board position, 1 Trust position

Trust Restructuring

Target completion: December 31, 2025
New boilerplate effective January 1, 2026
RFC 5378 replacement and TLP6 under review

Meeting Planning

Montreal (IETF 124) registration open
Shenzhen (IETF 125) and Vienna (IETF 126) confirmed
Potential swap of Asia/North America meetings for IETF 128/130 under consideration

Next Steps

Immediate Actions

NOMCOM call for nominations begins August 1st
IAB workshop paper submissions due August 8th (age restrictions) and October 3rd (IP geolocation)
IESG to publish email explaining venue selection decisions for controversial meetings

Ongoing Initiatives

Continue IPv6-mostly deployment improvements
Complete Trust restructuring process
Address community feedback on meeting venue selection policies
Implement Datatracker improvements for IESG statements management

Open Issues for Community Input

Venue selection criteria and geopolitical considerations
Meeting pricing structure for day passes
Inclusive language guidance document references
Author attribution practices for document updates