ISOC - Internet Society
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet. While not a mainframe technology or component itself, ISOC influences the standards and policies that govern the global Internet, which z/OS systems connect to and utilize through their `TCP/IP` stacks.
Key Characteristics
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- Influences Internet standards: ISOC provides the organizational home for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which is responsible for developing and promoting Internet standards, known as Request for Comments (RFCs).
- Advocates for open Internet: Promotes policies and technologies that support a free, open, and globally connected Internet, including issues like net neutrality, privacy, and security.
- Global membership: Comprises a diverse global membership of individuals, corporations, and organizations across various sectors.
- No direct software or hardware component: ISOC does not provide specific software, hardware, or services that run directly on the z/OS platform or within the mainframe ecosystem.
Use Cases
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- Indirect influence on z/OS connectivity: The Internet standards developed by the IETF, under ISOC's organizational umbrella, are fundamental to the implementation of the
z/OS Communications ServerforTCP/IPnetworking, enabling mainframes to participate in the global Internet. - Policy advocacy affecting enterprise networks: ISOC's advocacy for Internet governance, security, and policy can indirectly affect how enterprise mainframe networks are designed to connect to and interact with the public Internet.
- Not a direct operational use case: Mainframe system programmers, developers, or operators do not directly "use" ISOC in their day-to-day tasks, unlike
JCL,CICS, orDB2.
- Indirect influence on z/OS connectivity: The Internet standards developed by the IETF, under ISOC's organizational umbrella, are fundamental to the implementation of the
Related Concepts
ISOC's primary relationship to mainframe concepts is through its influence on global Internet standards, particularly those implemented by the z/OS Communications Server for TCP/IP networking. It is a standards and advocacy body, not a technology component like VTAM, IMS, COBOL, or RACF. While z/OS systems are integral parts of enterprise networks that connect to the Internet, ISOC itself is external to the z/OS operating environment and its direct software/hardware