Subject: WG ACTION: Schema Registration (schema)

From: Steve Coya <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 07:43:10 -0500

A new working group has been formed in the Applications Arer of the
IETF. Contact the WG Chair or the Area Directors for more
information.

Schema Registration (schema)
----------------------------
 
 Current Status: Active Working Group
 
 Chair(s):
     Chris Weider <[email-masked]>
 
 Applications Area Director(s): 
     Keith Moore  <[email-masked]>
     Harald Alvestrand  <[email-masked]>
 
 Applications Area Advisor: 
     Keith Moore  <[email-masked]>
 
 Editor(s):
     Chris Apple  <[email-masked]>
 
 Mailing Lists: 
     General Discussion:[email-masked]
     To Subscribe:      [email-masked]
         In Body:       subscribe
     Archive:           http://www.imc.org/ietf-schema-reg
 
Description of Working Group:
 
In order to achieve the goal of interoperable directory services,
implementors must agree on standard object classes and attribute types.
There are a growing number of places where schema for Internet Directory
Services and Internet Operations are being defined. This plethora of 
schemas makes interoperation difficult, but is unavoidable. A listing 
service providing a single point of discovery for white-pages schema 
will promote schema reuse, reduce duplication of effort, and thus 
promote directory service interoperability.

This working group will create the standards necessary to deploy a 
schema listing service. This service will be deployed by 1 January 1998. 
The standards will use the following design criteria:

- Schema are 'listed' rather than 'registered'.

- The process of listing schema will be centralized for the initial
  deployment.

- The database which provides the listing store will be centrally
  administered.

These criteria will reduce administrative overhead, reduce the number of
protocol and process elements which need to be defined, and do not 
preclude the provision of additional functionality if the community 
decides it is necessary.

To this end, the work items include:

Determining the minimum namespace for the listing service.

Determining which syntaxes are allowed for listing.

Finding a document editor.

Deciding whether and how to allow modifications and amendments to the 
listed schema.

Determining the functionality and operational requirements for the 
listing service.

Determining who has instruction authority over the listing database.
 
 Goals and Milestones: 
 
   Nov 97       Submit Listing Procedure document as Internet Draft            

   Jan 98       Submit Listing Procedure document as Informational RFC         

   Jan 98       Deploy listing service, close working group                    

   Jan 98       Submit Listing Requirements document as Informational RFC