Understanding the SIP Protocol

Understanding the SIP Protocol

You can use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), an application-layer control (signaling) protocol, to create, modify, and terminate sessions with one or more participants.

These sessions include internet telephone calls, multimedia distribution, and multimedia conferences. SIP invitations used to create sessions carry session descriptions that allow participants to agree on a set of compatible media types. SIP makes use of elements called proxy servers to help do the following:

„Route requests to the user's current location

„Authenticate and authorize users for services

„Implement provider call-routing policies

„Provide features to users.

SIP also provides a registration function that allows users to upload their current locations for use by proxy servers.

SIP runs on top of several different transport protocols.

This section has the following sections:

„Introduction to the SIP Protocol

„Overview of SIP Functionality

„SIP works with both IPv4 and IPv6.

Introduction to the SIP Protocol

There are many applications of the internet that require the creation and management of a session (a session is considered to be an exchange of data between an association of participants). The implementation of these applications is complicated by the practices of participants: users might move between endpoints, they might be addressable by multiple names, and they might communicate in several different media - sometimes simultaneously. (For copyright information on this section, see page 255.)

November 2009

244

Page 244
Image 244
Dialogic 6.2 manual Understanding the SIP Protocol, Introduction to the SIP Protocol, November 244