Jonathan Bruce Postel (pronounced /pəˈstɛl/; August 6, 1943 – October 16, 1998) was an American computer scientist who played a key role in creating the Internet. He helped develop important rules and standards that made the Internet work well. He was the main editor of the Request for Comment (RFC) document series, worked on the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and managed the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) until his death.
During his life, Postel was sometimes called the "god of the Internet" because of his wide influence. He once said that this title had a hidden meaning, suggesting he should be replaced by a "professional." Postel responded in a humble and straightforward way: "Of course, there isn’t any 'God of the Internet.' The Internet works because many people work together to achieve common goals."
Career
Jon Postel attended Van Nuys High School with Steve Crocker and Vint Cerf. He then went to UCLA, where he earned his B.S. in 1966 and his M.S. in Engineering in 1968. At UCLA, he completed his Ph.D. in computer science in 1974, with Dave Farber as his thesis advisor.
Postel began working at UCLA on December 23, 1969, as a Postgraduate Research Engineer. He was involved in early projects related to the ARPANET. He helped develop the Internet domain system. At his request, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn created a second set of protocols for moving data between networks, now called the Internet protocol suite. Postel worked with Cerf and Steve Crocker to implement most of the ARPANET protocols. Cerf later became a key designer of the TCP/IP standard, which relies on a rule known as Postel's Law.
Postel worked with ARPANET until August 24, 1973, when he joined the MITRE Corporation. He helped with the Network Information Center, which was being set up at SRI by Elizabeth Feinler. In March 1977, he became a research scientist at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California.
From 1969 until his death, Postel was the RFC Editor. He wrote and edited many important RFCs, including RFC 791, RFC 792, and RFC 793, which define the basic protocols of the Internet protocol suite. He also wrote RFC 2223, which provides instructions for RFC authors. Between 1982 and 1984, Postel co-authored RFCs that became the foundation of today’s DNS (RFC 819, RFC 881, RFC 882, and RFC 920). In 1995, he co-wrote RFC 1591. In total, he wrote or co-authored more than 20 RFCs.
Postel served on the Internet Architecture Board and its earlier versions for many years. He was the Director of the names and number assignment clearinghouse, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), from its start. He was the first member of the Internet Society and served on its Board of Trustees. He was the original and long-time .us Top-Level Domain administrator. He also managed the Los Nettos Network.
All of these roles were part-time jobs he took on while working as Director of the Computer Networks Division, Division 7, at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California.
On January 28, 1998, Postel, as a test, sent an email to eight of the twelve operators of the Internet’s regional root name servers. He instructed them to change the root zone server from Network Solutions’ A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET to IANA’s DNSROOT.IANA.ORG. The operators followed his instructions, which split control of Internet naming between IANA and the remaining U.S. Government roots at NASA, DoD, and BRL with NSI. Although the Internet continued to function normally, Postel was warned by U.S. Presidential science advisor Ira Magaziner that he would never work on the Internet again and was ordered to stop the test. He complied. Within a week, the U.S. NTIA released a proposal to improve technical management of Internet names and addresses, including changes to control over the Internet DNS root zone. This proposal, which was controversial, increased U.S. control over the Internet.
Death
On October 16, 1998, Postel died from complications of heart surgery in Los Angeles. He was recovering from a surgery to replace a leaking heart valve.
Legacy
Jon Postel made important contributions to the development of the Internet, both in technical work and through his personal influence. A memorial tribute to his life and achievements, titled "I Remember IANA," was created as part of the Internet's technical history in RFC 2468. This document was written by Vint Cerf.
The Postel Center at the Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, is named in his honor. Additionally, the annual Postel Award is given in his memory. In 2012, Postel was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame. In 2016, a building belonging to the Channel Islands' Domain Registry was also named after him.
Another tribute, titled "Working with Jon," was written by Danny Cohen and published in RFC 2441. This document includes a speech delivered at UCLA on October 30, 1998.
One of Postel's most well-known contributions is found in RFC 760, which describes a rule often called Postel's law. This rule states that a system should be careful when sending data but flexible when receiving it. This idea was later reworded in RFC 1122 as: "Be liberal in what you accept, and conservative in what you send."
The Jonathan B. Postel Service Award is named after him. This award, created by Vint Cerf while he was chairman of the Internet Society, honors individuals who make significant contributions to the data communications community. The award has been given most years since 1999. Postel himself was the first recipient, honored posthumously. The award's creation was announced in "I Remember IANA."