RFC 10014 on Guidelines for Characterizing the Term "OAM"

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        BCP 161
        RFC 10014

        Title:      Guidelines for Characterizing the Term "OAM"
        Author:     C. Pignataro,
                    A. Farrel,
                    T. Mizrahi
        Status:     Best Current Practice
        Stream:     IETF
        Date:       June 2026
        Mailbox:    cpignata@gmail.com,
                    adrian@olddog.co.uk,
                    tal.mizrahi.phd@gmail.com
        Pages:      12
        Updates:    RFC 6291

        I-D Tag:    draft-ietf-opsawg-oam-characterization-17

        URL:        https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc10014

        DOI:        10.17487/RFC10014

As the IETF continues to produce and standardize different Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) protocols and technologies, various qualifiers and modifiers are prepended to the OAM abbreviation. While, at first glance, the most used qualifiers appear to be well understood, the same qualifier may be interpreted differently in different contexts. A case in point is the qualifiers "in-band" and "out-of-band", which have their origins in the radio lexicon, and which have been extrapolated into other communication networks. This document recommends not to use these two terms when referring to OAM.

This document considers some common qualifiers and modifiers that are prepended, within the context of packet networks, to the OAM abbreviation and lays out guidelines for their use in IETF documents.

This document extends RFC 6291 by adding to the guidelines for the use of the term "OAM" with qualifiers. It does not modify any part of RFC 6291.

This document is a product of the Operations and Management Area Working Group Working Group of the IETF.

BCP: This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

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