RFC
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Networking
| Stands for | Request for Comments |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
RFC stands for Request for Comments, a networking abbreviation.
A numbered document series that publishes internet standards, protocols and best practices, mostly through the IETF. Engineers cite RFC numbers, such as RFC 9110 for HTTP semantics or RFC 5322 for email format, as the authoritative specification.
Example: Per RFC 5321, the server must accept addresses with quoted local parts.
Usage notes
Steve Crocker wrote RFC 1 in April 1969 as an informal note among ARPANET researchers, and the modest name stuck even for binding standards. Published RFCs are never edited; corrections and revisions appear in new RFCs that obsolete earlier ones. April Fools' RFCs, such as RFC 1149 on carrying IP packets by pigeon, are a long tradition.
Related abbreviations
More networking abbreviations
- PSK – Pre-shared key
- PTR – Pointer (record)
- QoS – Quality of service
- QUIC – QUIC (originally Quick UDP Internet Connections)
- rDNS – Reverse DNS
- RDP – Remote Desktop Protocol
- RIP – Routing Information Protocol
- RIR – Regional internet registry
- RTT – Round-trip time
- SAN – Storage area network
- SD-WAN – Software-defined wide area network
- SDN – Software-defined networking