{{short description|Level of performance in engineering and information technology}} {{distinguish|Best practice}} {{refimprove|date=September 2011}} {{use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} A '''best current practice''' ('''BCP''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1818|title=Best Current Practices |date=August 1995 |publisher=ietf.org |accessdate=2015-09-13|last1=Li |first1=Tony |last2=Postel |first2=Jon |last3=Rekhter |first3=Yakov }}</ref> is a ''de facto'' level of performance in engineering and information technology. It is more flexible than a standard, since techniques and tools are continually evolving. The Internet Engineering Task Force publishes Best Current Practice documents in a numbered document series. Each document in this series is paired with the currently valid Request for Comments (RFC) document. BCP was introduced in RFC-1818.<ref>rfc:1818</ref>
BCPs are document guidelines, processes, methods, and other matters not suitable for standardization. The Internet standards process itself is defined in a series of BCPs, as is the formal organizational structure of the IETF, Internet Engineering Steering Group, Internet Architecture Board, and other groups involved in that process. IETF's separate Standard Track (STD) document series defines the fully standardized network protocols of the Internet, such as the Internet Protocol, the Transmission Control Protocol, and the Domain Name System.
Each RFC number refers to a specific version of a document Standard Track, but the BCP number refers to the most recent revision of the document. Thus, citations often reference both the BCP number and the RFC number. Example citations for BCPs are: BCP 38, RFC 2827.
==Significant fields of application== ===BCP related to IPv6=== {|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |- !BCP number!!Title |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp157 BCP157]||style="width:400px"|IPv6 Address Assignment to End Sites |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp177 BCP177]||style="width:400px"|IPv6 Support Required for All IP-Capable Nodes |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp198 BCP198]||style="width:400px"|IPv6 Prefix Length Recommendation for Forwarding |- |}
===BCP related to DNS=== {|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |- !BCP number!!Title |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp16 BCP016]||style="width:400px"|Selection and Operation of Secondary DNS Servers |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp17 BCP017]||style="width:400px"|Use of DNS Aliases for Network Services |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp20 BCP020]||style="width:400px"|Classless IN-ADDR.ARPA delegation |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp32 BCP032]||style="width:400px"|Reserved Top Level DNS Names |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp42 BCP042]||style="width:400px"|Domain Name System (DNS) IANA Considerations |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp49 BCP049]||style="width:400px"|Delegation of IP6.ARPA |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp52 BCP052]||style="width:400px"|Management Guidelines & Operational Requirements for the Address and Routing Parameter Area Domain ("arpa") |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp65 BCP065]||style="width:400px"|Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Part Five: URI.ARPA Assignment Procedures |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp80 BCP080]||style="width:400px"|Delegation of E.F.F.3.IP6.ARPA |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp91 BCP091]||style="width:400px"|DNS IPv6 Transport Operational Guidelines |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp109 BCP109]||style="width:400px"|Deprecation of "ip6.int" |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp123 BCP123]||style="width:400px"|Observed DNS Resolution Misbehavior |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp152 BCP152]||style="width:400px"|DNS Proxy Implementation Guidelines |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp155 BCP155]||style="width:400px"|Nameservers for IPv4 and IPv6 Reverse Zones |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp163 BCP163]||style="width:400px"|Locally Served DNS Zones |- |}
===BCP related to security=== {|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |- !BCP number!!Title |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp21 BCP021]||style="width:400px"|Expectations for Computer Security Incident Response |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp38 BCP038]||style="width:400px"|Network Ingress Filtering: Defeating Denial of Service Attacks which employ IP Source Address Spoofing |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp46 BCP046]||style="width:400px"|Recommended Internet Service Provider Security Services and Procedures |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp61 BCP061]||style="width:400px"|Strong Security Requirements for Internet Engineering Task Force Standard Protocols |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp72 BCP072]||style="width:400px"|Guidelines for Writing RFC Text on Security Considerations |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp106 BCP106]||style="width:400px"|Randomness Requirements for Security |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp136 BCP136]||style="width:400px"|Secure Connectivity and Mobility Using Mobile IPv4 and IKEv2 Mobility and Multihoming (MOBIKE) |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp140 BCP140]||style="width:400px"|Preventing Use of Recursive Nameservers in Reflector Attacks |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp188 BCP188]||style="width:400px"|Pervasive Monitoring Is an Attack |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp194 BCP194]||style="width:400px"|BGP Operations and Security |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp195 BCP195]||style="width:400px"|Recommendations for Secure Use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp199 BCP199]||style="width:400px"|DHCPv6-Shield: Protecting against Rogue DHCPv6 Servers |- |}
===BCP related to globalization=== {|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |- !BCP number!!Title |- |[https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp47 BCP047]||style="width:400px"|Tags for Identifying Languages (IETF language tag) |- |}
==See also== * Benchmarking * Best practice * Gold standard (test) * Prior art
==References== <references />
==External links== * [https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/bcp/bcp-index.txt BCP Index] at the RFC Editor * {{cite web |url=https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/bcp |title=Best Current Practices |department=Documents |work=IETF Datatracker}}
Category:Organizational performance management Category:Standards