RFC 2068

RFC 2068
Title	RFC 2068
Type	Request for Comments
Published	1997-01-01
Authors	Tim Berners-Lee; Roy Fielding; Henrik Frystyk Nielsen
Status	Historic
Subject	Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1

RFC 2068 RFC 2068 is the 1997 specification that defined HTTP/1.1, a revision of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol used for World Wide Web communications. The document was produced by contributors associated with CERN, MIT, and the Internet Engineering Task Force, and it influenced implementations across organizations such as Netscape Communications Corporation, Microsoft, and Mozilla Foundation. RFC 2068 served as a basis for later standards work within the Internet Engineering Task Force and discussions at bodies including the Internet Architecture Board and the World Wide Web Consortium.

Background and Development

RFC 2068 emerged from efforts in the mid-1990s involving contributors affiliated with CERN, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, and the University of California, Irvine community. The work was informed by prior standards and proposals originating in groups such as the IETF HTTP Working Group, drawing on engineering practices from projects at National Center for Supercomputing Applications and commercial deployments at Netscape Communications Corporation and Microsoft Corporation. The specification process referenced operational experience from deployments tied to University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and feedback from vendors including Sun Microsystems and IBM. RFC 2068 was debated alongside related activities at the World Wide Web Consortium and sessions at conferences like USENIX and ACM SIGCOMM.

Technical Overview

RFC 2068 specified protocol elements such as message syntax, header fields, status codes, and connection management used by web servers and clients like Apache HTTP Server and Netscape Navigator. It defined the interaction model between user agents and origin servers in contexts influenced by implementations from Microsoft Internet Explorer and proxy architectures exemplified by Squid (software). The document introduced parsing rules that affected libraries such as libwww and projects at MIT, and it shaped interoperability with gateway systems used in environments run by NASA and National Institutes of Health.

HTTP/1.1 Features and Changes

The specification introduced persistent connections and pipelining, altering behavior compared to earlier implementations used by CERN httpd and influencing servers like Apache HTTP Server and IIS (Internet Information Services). RFC 2068 standardized cache control mechanisms that impacted caches implemented by Akamai Technologies and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications research. It expanded header fields and status codes building on the work of contributors from W3C and the IETF, affecting content negotiation used by systems at Library of Congress digital archives and media services at BBC and CNN.

Implementation and Interoperability

Implementations of RFC 2068 included commercial products from Microsoft and Netscape, open-source projects such as Apache HTTP Server and GNU libraries, and academic systems at MIT and Stanford University. Interoperability testing occurred at venues including IETF meetings and events hosted by USENIX, with participation from vendors like Sun Microsystems and Oracle Corporation. The protocol behavior influenced middleware and reverse proxy deployments by companies such as Akamai Technologies and research prototypes at Berkeley Software Distribution labs.

Security and Privacy Considerations

RFC 2068 discussed threats relevant to web interactions that were of concern to practitioners at institutions like CERT Coordination Center and SANS Institute. The specification’s treatment of authentication and privacy informed later work by groups including the Internet Engineering Task Force security area and standards bodies such as IETF TLS Working Group and IETF HTTP Working Group. Operational guidance affected deployments at government entities including U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology and influenced vendor advisories from Microsoft and Sun Microsystems.

Reception and Impact

RFC 2068 was widely implemented and debated in communities spanning commercial vendors like Netscape Communications Corporation and Microsoft Corporation, open-source projects such as Apache HTTP Server and Mozilla Foundation, and academic centers at MIT and Stanford University. The specification shaped web architecture discussions at World Wide Web Consortium and technical evolution influenced by contributors affiliated with CERN and the IETF. RFC 2068’s ideas informed content delivery strategies at Akamai Technologies and standards revisions discussed at IETF meetings and technical workshops organized by USENIX.

Deprecation and Obsolescence

RFC 2068 was later superseded by subsequent specifications developed within the IETF HTTP Working Group and archived by the Internet Engineering Task Force. Its provisions were revised and clarified in follow-up documents that addressed issues raised by implementers such as Apache Software Foundation and vendors including Microsoft and Netscape Communications Corporation. The deprecation process involved stakeholders from World Wide Web Consortium, academic labs at MIT and Berkeley, and industry participants like Sun Microsystems and Oracle Corporation.

Category:Internet standards