Etymology of "Agent" and "Proxy": IETF History

IETF (the Internet Engineering Task Force) creates Internet protocol specifications, particularly those related to TCP/IP protocols.

RFC (Request for Comment) is the designation for  the IETF's specifications/standards.

• Used twice in the 1970s at as part of network design (close to program).
• In 1980, with the arrival of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) established "agent" as a keyword in network protocol vernacular.
• By 1987, the Internet TCP/IP protocol had matured sufficiently that the larger issue of network architecture and management became a focus of work at the IETF. The concept of a gateway was central to three seminal RFCs:

  RFC1009 -- Requirements for Internet gateways.
  RFC1027 -- Using ARP to implement transparent subnet gateways.
  RFC1067 -- Simple Network Management Protocol.