Cisco Systems 186, 188 manual SIP Capabilities, Components of SIP

Chapter 1 Cisco Analog Telephone Adaptor Overview

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Overview

SIP Capabilities

SIP provides the following capabilities:

•Determines the availability of the target endpoint. If a call cannot be completed because the target endpoint is unavailable, SIP determines whether the called party is already on the phone or did not answer in the allotted number of rings. SIP then returns a message indicating why the target endpoint was unavailable.

•Determines the location of the target endpoint. SIP supports address resolution, name mapping, and call redirection.

•Determines the media capabilities of the target endpoint. Using the Session Description Protocol (SDP), SIP determines the lowest level of common services between endpoints. Conferences are established using only the media capabilities that are supported by all endpoints.

•Establishes a session between the originating and target endpoint. If the call can be completed, SIP establishes a session between the endpoints. SIP also supports mid-call changes, such as adding another endpoint to the conference or changing the media characteristic or codec.

•Handles the transfer and termination of calls. SIP supports the transfer of calls from one endpoint to another. During a call transfer, SIP establishes a session between the transferee and a new endpoint (specified by the transferring party) and terminates the session between the transferee and the transferring party. At the end of a call, SIP terminates the sessions between all parties. Conferences can consist of two or more users and can be established using multicast or multiple unicast sessions.

Components of SIP

SIP is a peer-to-peer protocol. The peers in a session are called User Agents (UAs). A user agent can function in one of the following roles:

•User agent client (UAC)—A client application that initiates the SIP request.

•User agent server (UAS)—A server application that contacts the user when a SIP request is received and returns a response on behalf of the user.

Typically, a SIP endpoint is capable of functioning as both a UAC and a UAS, but functions only as one or the other per transaction. Whether the endpoint functions as a UAC or a UAS depends on the UA that initiated the request.

From an architectural standpoint, the physical components of a SIP network can also be grouped into two categories—Clients and servers. Figure 1-4illustrates the architecture of a SIP network.

Note SIP servers can interact with other application services, such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers, a database application, or an extensible markup language (XML) application. These application services provide back-end services such as directory, authentication, and billable services.

Cisco ATA 186 and Cisco ATA 188 Analog Telephone Adaptor Administrator’s Guide (SIP)

OL-3410-01 1-3