Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
Requests For Comments

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Requests For Comments

Requests For Comments Requests For Comments, or RFCs, form the basis of the Internet's technical documentation. Conceptionally, the Internet is best thought of as a layered series of protocols, each of which is documented by one or more RFCs.

Once issued, RFCs do not change. Protocol revisions are documented by issuing new RFCs. The older RFCs are still available, but are said to be obsoleted by the newer RFCs. Not all RFCs document protocols; some are simply for discussion or informational purposes, and a traditional series of April Fools' RFCs can be distinguished by their date.

There are more than 2000 RFCs in existence, dating back to the formative stages of the ARPANET in the 1970s. Every RFC ever issued is included on this website. Newly published RFCs are mirrored here within 24 hours of their appearance on ftp.isi.edu.

Most RFCs are available as large text files, with graphics made out of typewriter characters. Some RFCs presented here have been broken down into smaller sections and converted into an HTML format for presentation over the Web. Care has been taken to preserve the content of the RFCs throughout, and the original text version of each RFC is available via a hyperlink from its Table of Contents.

The on-line search engine provides a full text search of all RFCs.

The RFC index (544 KB) lists all the RFCs, with hyperlinks.

Some important RFCs include:

HTML formatted RFCs

RFC 768 - User Datagram Protocol
RFC 791 - Internet Protocol
RFC 792 - Internet Control Message Protocol
RFC 793 - Transmission Control Protocol
RFC 821 - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
RFC 822 - Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages
RFC 826 - An Ethernet Address Resolution Protocol
RFC 850 - Standard for interchange of USENET messages
RFC 854 - Telnet Protocol Specification
RFC 855 - Telnet Option Specifications
RFC 856 - Telnet Binary Transmission
RFC 857 - Telnet Echo Option
RFC 858 - Telnet Suppress Go Ahead Option
RFC 859 - Telnet Status Option
RFC 860 - Telnet Timing Mark Option
RFC 861 - Telnet Extended Options: List Option
RFC 894 - Standard for the transmission of IP datagrams over Ethernet networks
RFC 896 - Congestion control in IP/TCP internetworks
RFC 903 - Reverse Address Resolution Protocol
RFC 919 - Broadcasting Internet Datagrams
RFC 922 - Broadcasting Internet datagrams in the presence of subnets
RFC 950 - Internet Standard Subnetting Procedure
RFC 951 - Bootstrap Protocol
RFC 959 - File Transfer Protocol
RFC 974 - Mail routing and the domain system
RFC 977 - Network News Transfer Protocol
RFC 1034 - Domain names - concepts and facilities
RFC 1035 - Domain names - implementation and specification
RFC 1042 - Standard for the transmission of IP datagrams over IEEE 802 networks
RFC 1058 - Routing Information Protocol
RFC 1072 - TCP extensions for long-delay paths
RFC 1112 - Host extensions for IP multicasting
RFC 1122 - Requirements for Internet Hosts - Communication Layers
RFC 1123 - Requirements for Internet Hosts - Application and Support
RFC 1144 - Compressing TCP/IP headers for low-speed serial links
RFC 1155 - Structure and identification of management information for TCP/IP-based internets
RFC 1157 - Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
RFC 1212 - Concise MIB definitions
RFC 1213 - Management Information Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets:MIB-II
RFC 1321 - The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm
RFC 1323 - TCP Extensions for High Performance
RFC 1332 - The PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP)
RFC 1334 - PPP Authentication Protocols
RFC 1350 - The TFTP Protocol (Revision 2)
RFC 1421 - Privacy Enhancement for Internet Electronic Mail: Part I: Message Encryption and Authentication Procedures
RFC 1422 - Privacy Enhancement for Internet Electronic Mail: Part II: Certificate-Based Key Management
RFC 1423 - Privacy Enhancement for Internet Electronic Mail: Part III: Algorithms, Modes, and Identifiers
RFC 1424 - Privacy Enhancement for Internet Electronic Mail: Part IV: Key Certification and Related Services
RFC 1441 - Introduction to version 2 of the Internet-standard Network Management Framework
RFC 1445 - Administrative Model for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1446 - Security Protocols for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1447 - Party MIB for version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1451 - Manager-to-Manager Management Information Base
RFC 1452 - Coexistence between version 1 and version 2 of the Internet-standard Network Management Framework
RFC 1510 - The Kerberos Network Authentication Service (V5)
RFC 1519 - Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR): an Address Assignment and Aggregation Strategy
RFC 1521 - MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part One: Mechanisms for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies
RFC 1522 - MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part Two: Message Header Extensions for Non-ASCII Text
RFC 1583 - OSPF Version 2
RFC 1630 - Universal Resource Identifiers in WWW: A Unifying Syntax for the Expression of Names and Addresses of Objects on the Network as used in the World-Wide Web
RFC 1657 - Definitions of Managed Objects for the Fourth Version of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP-4) using SMIv2
RFC 1661 - The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
RFC 1700 - Assigned Numbers
RFC 1725 - Post Office Protocol - Version 3
RFC 1737 - Functional Requirements for Uniform Resource Names
RFC 1738 - Uniform Resource Locators (URL)
RFC 1771 - A Border Gateway Protocol 4 (BGP-4)
RFC 1772 - Application of the Border Gateway Protocol in the Internet
RFC 1773 - Experience with the BGP-4 protocol
RFC 1774 - BGP-4 Protocol Analysis
RFC 1808 - Relative Uniform Resource Locators
RFC 1812 - Requirements for IP Version 4 Routers
RFC 1813 - NFS Version 3 Protocol Specification
RFC 1831 - RPC: Remote Procedure Call Protocol Specification Version 2
RFC 1832 - XDR: External Data Representation Standard
RFC 1833 - Binding Protocols for ONC RPC Version 2
RFC 1850 - OSPF Version 2 Management Information Base
RFC 1866 - Hypertext Markup Language - 2.0
RFC 1877 - PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol Extensions for Name Server Addresses
RFC 1889 - RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications
RFC 1890 - RTP Profile for Audio and Video Conferences with Minimal Control
RFC 1902 - Structure of Management Information for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1903 - Textual Conventions for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1904 - Conformance Statements for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1905 - Protocol Operations for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1906 - Transport Mappings for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1907 - Management Information Base for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)
RFC 1942 - HTML Tables
RFC 1945 - Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.0
RFC 2065 - Domain Name System Security Extensions
RFC 2068 - Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1
RFC 2131 - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
RFC 2136 - Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System (DNS UPDATE)
RFC 2137 - Secure Domain Name System Dynamic Update
RFC 2205 - Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) -- Version 1 Functional Specification
RFC 2400 - Internet Official Protocol Standards


Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
Requests For Comments