Network Working Group                                         C. Boulton
Internet-Draft                             Ubiquity Software Corporation
Expires: August 11, 2007                                    T. Melanchuk
                                                              BlankSpace
                                                            S. McGlashan
                                                         Hewlett-Packard
                                                            A. Shiratzky
                                                               Radvision
                                                        February 7, 2007


     A Control Framework for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
                 draft-boulton-sip-control-framework-05

Status of this Memo

   By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any
   applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware
   have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes
   aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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   Drafts.

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   This Internet-Draft will expire on August 11, 2007.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007).

Abstract

   This document describes a Framework and protocol for application
   deployment where the application logic and processing are
   distributed.  The framework uses the Session Initiation Protocol



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   (SIP) to establish an application-level control mechanism between
   application servers and associated external servers such as media
   servers.

   The motivation for the creation of this Framework is to provide an
   interface suitable to meet the requirements of a distributed,
   centralized conference system, as defined by the XCON work group of
   the IETF.  It is not, however, limited to this scope and it is
   envisioned that this generic Framework will be used for a wide
   variety of de-coupled control architectures between network entities.


Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   2.  Conventions and Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3.  Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
   4.  Locating External Server Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
   5.  Control Client SIP UAC Behavior - Control Channel Setup  . . . 10
     5.1.  Control Client SIP UAC Behavior - Media Dialogs  . . . . . 12
   6.  Control Server SIP UAS Behavior - Control Channel Setup  . . . 12
   7.  Control Channel Keep-Alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     7.1.  Timeout Negotiation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
     7.2.  Generating Keep-Alive Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
   8.  Control Framework Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
     8.1.  Constructing Requests  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
       8.1.1.  Sending CONTROL  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
       8.1.2.  Sending REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
     8.2.  Constructing Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
   9.  Response Code Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     9.1.  200 Response Code  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     9.2.  202 Response Code  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     9.3.  400 Response Code  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     9.4.  403 Response Code  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     9.5.  481 Response Code  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
     9.6.  500 Response Code  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
   10. Control Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
     10.1. Control Package Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
     10.2. Framework Message Usage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
     10.3. Common XML Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     10.4. CONTROL Message Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     10.5. REPORT Message Bodies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
       10.5.1. Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     10.6. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
   11. Network Address Translation (NAT)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
   12. Formal Syntax  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     12.1. SIP Formal Syntax  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
     12.2. Control Framework Formal Syntax  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24



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   13. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
   14. Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
   15. IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     15.1. IANA Registration of the 'escs' Option Tag . . . . . . . . 32
     15.2. Control Package Registration Information . . . . . . . . . 32
       15.2.1. Control Package Registration Template  . . . . . . . . 32
     15.3. SDP Transport Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
       15.3.1. TCP/ESCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
       15.3.2. TCP/TLS/ESCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     15.4. SDP Attribute Names  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     15.5. SIP Response Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
   16. Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
   17. Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
     17.1. Common Dialog/Multiparty Reference Schema  . . . . . . . . 32
   18. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
     18.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
     18.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
   Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
   Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . . . . 37
































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1.  Introduction

   Applications are often developed using an architecture where the
   application logic and processing activities are distributed.
   Commonly, the application logic runs on "application servers" whilst
   the processing runs on external servers, such as "media servers".
   This document focuses on the framework and protocol between the
   application server and external processing server.  The motivation
   for this framework comes from a set of requirements for Media Server
   Control, which can be found in the 'Media Control Protocol Framework'
   document[8].  While the Framework is not media server control
   specific, it is the primary driver and use case for this work.  It is
   intended that the framework contained in this document will be used
   for a plethora of appropriate device control scenarios.

   This document does not define a SIP based extension that can be used
   directly for the control of external components.  The framework
   mechanism must be extended by other documents that are known as
   "Control Packages".  A comprehensive set of guidelines for creating
   "Control Packages" is described in Section 10.

   Current IETF transport device control protocols, such as megaco [7],
   while excellent for controlling media gateways that bridge separate
   networks, are troublesome for supporting media-rich applications in
   SIP networks, because they duplicate many of the functions inherent
   in SIP.  Rather than relying on single protocol session
   establishment, application developers need to translate between two
   separate mechanisms.

   Application servers traditionally use SIP third party call control
   RFC 3725 [12] to establish media sessions from SIP user agents to a
   media server.  SIP, as defined in RFC 3261 [2], also provides the
   ideal rendezvous mechanism for establishing and maintaining control
   connections to external server components.  The control connections
   can then be used to exchange explicit command/response interactions
   that allow for media control and associated command response results.


2.  Conventions and Terminology

   In this document, BCP 14/RFC 2119 [1] defines the key words "MUST",
   "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT",
   "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL".  In
   addition, BCP 15 indicates requirement levels for compliant
   implementations.

   The following additional terms are defined for use in this document:




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   B2BUA:  A B2BUA is a Back-to-Back SIP User Agent.
   Control Server:  A Control Server is an entity that performs a
      service, such as media processing, on behalf of a Control Client.
      For example, a media server offers mixing, announcement, tone
      detection and generation, and play and record services.  The
      Control Server in this case, has a direct RTP [15] relationship
      with the source or sink of the media flow.  In this document, we
      often refer to the Control Server simply as "the Server".
   Control Client:  A Control Client is an entity that requests
      processing from a Control Server.  Note that the Control Client
      may not have any processing capabilities whatsoever.  For example,
      the Control Client may be an Application Server (B2BUA) or other
      endpoint requesting manipulation of a third-party's media stream,
      that terminates on a media server acting in the role of a Control
      Server.  In this document, we often refer to the Control Client
      simply as "the Client".
   Control Channel:  A Control Channel is a reliable connection between
      a Client and Server that is used to exchange Framework messages.
      The term "Connection" is used synonymously within this document.
   Framework Message:  A Framework Message is a message on a Control
      Channel that has a type corresponding to one of the Methods
      defined in this document.  A Framework message is often referred
      to by its method, such as a "CONTROL message".
   Method:  A Method is the type of a framework message.  Three Methods
      are defined in this document: SYNCH, CONTROL, REPORT, and K-ALIVE.
   Control Command:  A Control Command is an application level request
      from a Client to a Server.  Control Commands are carried in the
      body of CONTROL messages.  Control Commands are defined in
      separate specifications known as "Control Packages".
   framework transaction:  A framework transaction is defined as a
      sequence composed of a control framework message originated by
      either a Control Client or Control Server and responded to with a
      control Framework response code message.  Note that the control
      framework has no "provisional" responses.  A control framework
      transaction MUST complete within Transaction-Timeout time.
   extended framework transaction:  An extended framework transaction is
      used to extend the lifetime of a CONTROL method transaction when
      the Control Command it carries cannot be completed within Command-
      Timeout milliseconds.  A Server extends the lifetime of a CONTROL
      method transaction by sending a 202 response code followed by one
      or more REPORT transactions as specified in Section 8.1.2.
      Extended framework transactions allow command failures to be
      discovered at the transaction layer.
   Transaction-Timeout:  the maximum allowed time between a control
      Client or Server issuing a framework message and receiving a
      corresponding response.  The value for the timeout should be based
      on a multiple of the network RTT plus Command-Timeout milliseconds
      to allow for message parsing and processing.



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3.  Overview

   This document details mechanisms for establishing, using, and
   terminating a reliable channel using SIP for the purpose of
   controlling an external server.  The following text provides a non-
   normative overview of the mechanisms used.  Detailed, normative
   guidelines are provided later in the document.

   Control channels are negotiated using standard SIP mechanisms that
   would be used in a similar manner to creating a SIP voice session.
   Figure 1 illustrates a simplified view of the proposed mechanism.  It
   highlights a separation of the SIP signaling traffic and the
   associated control channel that is established as a result of the SIP
   interactions.

   The use of SIP for the specified mechanism provides many inherent
   capabilities which include:-
   o  Service location - Use SIP Proxies or Back-to-Back User Agents for
      discovering Control Servers.
   o  Security mechanisms - Leverage established security mechanisms
      such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Client Authentication.
   o  Connection maintenance - The ability to re-negotiate a connection,
      ensure it is active, audit parameters, and so forth.
   o  Agnostic - Generic protocol allows for easy extension.

   As mentioned in the previous list, one of the main benefits of using
   SIP as the session control protocol is the "Service Location"
   facilities provided.  This applies at both a routing level, where RFC
   3263 [4] provides the physical location of devices, and at the
   Service level, using Caller Preferences[13] and Callee
   Capabilities[14].  The ability to select a Control Server based on
   Service level capabilities is extremely powerful when considering a
   distributed, clustered architecture containing varying services (for
   example Voice, Video, IM).  More detail on locating Control Server
   resources using these techniques is outlined in Section 5 of this
   document.


          +--------------SIP Traffic--------------+
          |                                       |
          v                                       v
       +-----+                                 +--+--+
       | SIP |                                 | SIP |
       |Stack|                                 |Stack|
   +---+-----+---+                         +---+-----+---+
   |   Control   |                         |   Control   |
   |   Client    |<----Control Channel---->|   Server    |
   +-------------+                         +-------------+



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                       Figure 1: Basic Architecture

   The example from Figure 1 conveys a 1:1 connection between the
   Control Client and the Control Server.  It is possible, if required,
   for multiple control channels using separate SIP dialogs to be
   established between the Control Client and the Control Server
   entities.  Any of the connections created between the two entities
   can then be used for Server control interactions.  The control
   connections are agnostic to any media sessions.  Specific media
   session information can be incorporated in control interaction
   commands (which themselves are defined in external packages) using
   the XML schema defined in Section 17.  The ability to have multiple
   control channels allows for stronger redundancy and the ability to
   manage high volumes of traffic in busy systems.

   [Editors Note: Still under discussion.  How does an app server know,
   when there are multiple external servers, which specific server has
   any given media session?  Next version of the draft will discuss the
   correlation procedures.  The App server needs a control channel with
   the media server and needs to know which channel to use once the
   media session has been established.  Sounds like a GRUU usage?]

   Consider the following simple example for session establishment
   between a Client and a Server (Note: Some lines in the examples are
   removed for clarity and brevity).  Note that the roles discussed are
   logical and can change during a session, if the Control Package
   allows.

   The Client constructs and sends a SIP INVITE request to the external
   Server.  The request contains the SIP option tag "escs" in a SIP
   "Require" header for the purpose of forcing the use of the mechanism
   described in this document.  The SDP payload includes the required
   information for control channel negotiation.  The COMEDIA [6]
   specification for setting up and maintaining reliable connections is
   used (more detail available in later sections).

   The client MUST include details of control packages that are
   supported and, more specifically, that will be used within the
   control channel created.  This is achieved through the inclusion of a
   SIP "Control-Packages" header.  The "Control-Packages" header is
   defined and described later in this document.

   Client Sends to External Server:








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   INVITE sip:External-Server@example.com SIP/2.0
   To: <sip:External-Server@example.com>
   From: <sip:Client@example.com>;tag=64823746
   Require: escs
   Control-Packages: <example-package>
   Call-ID: 7823987HJHG6
   Content-Type: application/sdp

   v=0
   o=originator 2890844526 2890842808 IN IP4 controller.example,com
   s=-
   c=IN IP4 controller.example.com
   m=application 7575 TCP/ESCS
   a=setup:active
   a=connection:new


   On receiving the INVITE request, the external Server supporting this
   mechanism generates a 200 OK response containing appropriate SDP.

   External Server Sends to Client:


   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   To: <sip:External-Server@example.com>;tag=28943879
   From: <sip:Client@example.com>;tag=64823746
   Call-ID: 7823987HJHG6
   Content-Type: application/sdp

   v=0
   o=originator 2890844526 2890842808 IN IP4 controller.example,com
   s=-
   c=IN IP4 mserver.example.com
   m=application 7563 TCP/ESCS
   a=setup:passive
   a=connection:new


   The Control Client receives the SIP 200 OK response and extracts the
   relevant information (also sending a SIP ACK).  It creates an
   outgoing (as specified by the SDP 'setup:' attribute) TCP connection
   to the Control Server.  The connection address (taken from 'c=') and
   port (taken from 'm=')are used to identify the remote part in the new
   connection.

   Once established, the newly created connection can be used to
   exchange control language requests and responses.  If required, after
   the control channel has been setup, media sessions can be established



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   using standard SIP third party call control.

   [Editors Note: See previous note:this is where we may need to mention
   how an App Server knows which external Server is responsible for any
   given media session.]

   Figure 4 provides a simplified example where the proposed framework
   is used to control a User Agent's RTP session. (1) in brackets
   represents the SIP dialog and dedicated control channel previously
   described in this overview section.


                         +--------Control SIP Dialog(1)---------+
                         |                                      |
                         v                                      v
                      +-----+                                +--+--+
     +------(2)------>| SIP |---------------(2)------------->| SIP |
     |                |Stack|                                |Stack|
     |            +---+-----+---+                        +---+-----+---+
     |            |             |                        |             |
     |            |   Control   |<--Control Channel(1)-->|             |
     |            |   Client    |                        |   Control   |
     |            +-------------+                        |   Server    |
  +--+--+                                                |             |
  |User |                                                |             |
  |Agent|<=====================RTP(2)===================>|             |
  +-----+                                                +-------------+


                    Figure 4: Participant Architecture

   (2) from Figure 4 represents the User Agent SIP dialog interactions
   and associated media flow.  A User Agent would create a SIP dialog
   with the Control Client entity.  The Control Client entity will also
   create a related dialog to the Control Server (B2BUA type
   functionality).  Using the interaction illustrated by (2), the User
   Agent is able to negotiate media capabilities with the Control Server
   using standard SIP mechanisms as defined in RFC 3261 [2] and RFC 3264
   [5].

   If not present in the SDP received by the Control Client from the
   User Agent(2), a media label SDP attribute, which is defined in [10],
   should be inserted for every media description (identified as m= line
   as defined in [9]).  This provides flexibility for the Control
   Client, because it can generate control messages that specify a
   particular Media stream (between User Agent and Control Server)
   within a SIP media dialog.  If a Media label is not included in the
   control message, it applies to all media associated with the dialog.



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   A non 2xx class SIP response received for the INVITE request
   indicates that no SIP dialog has been created and is treated as
   specified RFC 3261 [2].  One exception to this is the "496" (TODO:
   need to pick an appropriate response code) response code whose
   operation is defined in Section 6.


4.  Locating External Server Resources

   Section will describe mechanisms for locating an external Server.


5.  Control Client SIP UAC Behavior - Control Channel Setup

   On creating a new SIP INVITE request, a UAC can insist on using the
   mechanisms defined in this document.  This is achieved by inserting a
   SIP Require header containing the option tag 'escs'.  A SIP Require
   header with the value 'escs' MUST NOT be present in any other SIP
   request type.

   If on creating a new SIP INVITE request, a UAC does not want to
   insist on the usage of the mechanisms defined in this document but
   merely that it supports them, a SIP Supported header MUST be included
   in the request with the option tag 'escs'.

   The SIP INVITE MUST include a SIP "Control-Packages" header which
   MUST contain at least one valid entry and can contain multiple
   control packages if required.

   If a reliable response is received (as defined RFC 3261 [2] and RFC
   3262 [3]) that contains a SIP Require header containing the option
   tag 'escs', the mechanisms defined in this document are applicable to
   the newly created dialog.

   Before the UAC can send a request, it MUST include a valid session
   description using the Session Description Protocol defined in [9].
   The following information defines the composition of some specific
   elements of the SDP payload that MUST be adhered to for compliancy to
   this specification.

   The Connection Data line in the SDP payload is constructed as
   specified in [9]:

   c=<nettype> <addrtype> <connection-address>

   The first sub-field, <nettype>, MUST equal the value "IN".  The
   second sub-field, <addrtype>, MUST equal either "IP4" or "IP6".  The
   third sub-field for Connection Data is <connection-address>.  This



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   supplies a representation of the SDP originators address, for example
   dns/IP representation.  The address will be the network address used
   for connections in this specification.

   Example:

   c=IN IP4 controller.example.com

   The SDP MUST contain a corresponding Media Description entry for
   compliance to this specification:

   m=<media> <port> <proto>

   The first "sub-field" <media> MUST equal the value "application".
   The second sub-field, <port>, MUST represent a port on which the
   constructing client can receive an incoming connection if required.
   The port is used in combination with the address specified in the
   'Connection Data line defined previously to supply connection
   details.  If the constructing client can't receive incoming
   connections it MUST still enter a valid port range entry.  The use of
   the port value '0' has the same meaning as defined in the SDP
   specification[9].  The third sub-field, <proto>, MUST equal the value
   "TCP/ESCS" as defined in Section 15.3.2 of this document.

   [Editors note: Need to cover other protocols so not TCP specific]

   The SDP MUST also contain a number of SDP media attributes(a=) that
   are specifically defined in the COMEDIA specification.  The
   attributes provide connection negotiation and maintenance parameters.
   A client conforming to this specification SHOULD support all the
   possible values defined for media attributes from the COMEDIA [6]
   specification but MAY choose not to support values if it can
   definitely determine they will never be used (for example will only
   ever initiate outgoing connections).  It is RECOMMENDED that a
   Controlling UAC initiate a connection to an external Server but that
   an external Server MAY negotiate and initiate a connection using
   COMEDIA, if network topology prohibits initiating connections in a
   certain direction.  An example of the attributes is:


                           a=setup:active
                           a=connection:new


   This example demonstrates a new connection that will be initiated
   from the owner of the SDP payload.  The connection details are
   contained in the SDP answer received from the UAS.  A full example of
   an SDP payload compliant to this specification can be viewed in



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   Section 3.  Once the SDP has been constructed along with the
   remainder of the SIP INVITE request (as defined in RFC 3261 [2]), it
   can be sent to the appropriate location.  The SIP dialog and
   appropriate control connection is then established.

5.1.  Control Client SIP UAC Behavior - Media Dialogs

   It is intended that the Control framework will be used within a
   variety of architectures for a wide range of functions.  One of the
   primary functions will be the use of the control channel to apply
   specific Control package commands to co-existing SIP dialogs that
   have been established with the same remote server, for example the
   manipulation of audio dialogs connected to a media server.

   Such co-existing dialogs will pass through the Control Client (see
   Figure 4) entity and may contain more than one Media Description (as
   defined by "m=" in the SDP).  The Control Client SHOULD include a
   media label attribute (B2BUA functionality), as defined in [10], for
   each "m=" definition.  A Control Client constructing the SDP MAY
   choose not to include the media label SDP attribute if it does not
   require direct control on a per media stream basis.

   This framework identifies the common re-use of referencing media
   dialogs and has specified a connection reference attribute that can
   optionally be imported into any Control Package.  It is intended that
   this will reduce repetitive specifying of dialog reference language.
   The schema can be found in Section 17.1 in Appendix A.

   Similarly, the ability to identify and apply commands to a group of
   media dialogs is also identified as a common structure that could be
   defined and re-used (for example playing a prompt to all participants
   in a Conference).  The schema for such operations can also be found
   in Section 17.1 in Appendix A.

   Support for both the common attributes described here is specified as
   part of each Control Package definition, as detailed in Section 10.


6.  Control Server SIP UAS Behavior - Control Channel Setup

   On receiving a SIP INVITE request, an external Server(UAS) inspects
   the message for indications of support for the mechanisms defined in
   this specification.  This is achieved through the presence of the SIP
   Supported and Require headers containing the option tag 'escs'.  If
   the external Server wishes to construct a reliable response that
   conveys support for the extension, it should follow the mechanisms
   defined in RFC 3261 [2] for responding to SIP supported and Require
   headers.  If support is conveyed in a reliable SIP provisional



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   response, the mechanisms in RFC 3262 [3] MUST also be used.

   When constructing a SIP success response, the SDP payload MUST be
   constructed using the semantics(Connection, Media and attribute)
   defined in Section 5 using valid local settings and also with full
   compliance to the COMEDIA[6] specification.  For example, the SDP
   attributes included in the answer constructed for the example offer
   provided in Section 5 would look as illustrated below:


                           a=setup:passive
                           a=connection:new


   Once the SIP success response has been constructed, it is sent using
   standard SIP mechanisms.  Depending on the contents of the SDP
   payloads that were negotiated using the Offer/Answer exchange, a
   reliable connection will be established between the Controlling UAC
   and external Server UAS entities.  The connection is now available to
   exchange commands, as defined in "Control Packages" and described in
   Section 10.  The state of the SIP Dialog and the associated Control
   channel are now explicitly linked.  If either party wishes to
   terminate a Control channel is simply issues a SIP termination
   request (SIP BYE request).  The Control Channel therefore lives for
   the duration of the SIP dialog.

   If the UAS does not support the extension contained in a SIP
   Supported or Require header it MUST respond as detailed in RFC 3261
   [2].  If the UAS does support the SIP extension contained in a SIP
   Require or Supported header but does not support one or more of the
   Control packages, as represented in the "Control-Packages" SIP
   header, it MUST respond with a SIP "496 Unknown Control Package"
   response code.  The error response MUST conform to RFC 3261 [2] and
   MUST also include a "Control-Packages" SIP header which lists the
   control packages from the request that the UAS does not support.
   This provides the Controlling UAC with an explicit reason for failure
   and allows for re-submission of the request without the un-supported
   control package.

   A SIP entity receiving a SIP OPTIONS request MUST respond
   appropriately as defined in RFC 3261 [2].  This involves providing
   information relating to supported SIP extensions in the 'Supported'
   message header.  For this extension a value of 'escs' MUST be
   included.  Additionally, a SIP entity MUST include all the additional
   control packages that are associated with the Control channel.  This
   is achieved by including a 'Control-Packages' SIP message header
   listing all relevant supported Control package tokens.




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7.  Control Channel Keep-Alive

   It is reasonable to expect this document to be used in various
   network architectures.  This will include a wide range of deployments
   where the clients could be co-located in a secured, private domain or
   spread across disparate domains that require traversal of devices
   such as Network Address Translators (NAT) and Firewalls (which is
   covered in Section 11).  It is important, therefore, that this
   document provides a 'keep-alive' mechanism that enables the control
   channel being created to firstly be kept active during times of
   inactivity (most Firewalls have a timeout period after which
   connections are closed) and also provide the ability for application
   level failure detection.  It should be noted at this point that the
   following procedures apply explicitly to the control channel being
   created and for details relating to a SIP keep-alive mechanism
   implementers should seek guidance from SIP Outbound [11].  The
   following 'keep-alive' procedures SHOULD be implemented by all
   entities but MAY NOT be implemented if it can be guaranteed that
   deployments will only occur with entities in a co-located domain.  It
   should be noted that choosing to not implement the 'keep-alive'
   mechanism in this section, even when in a co-located architecture,
   will reduce the ability to detect application level errors -
   especially during long periods of in-activity.

7.1.  Timeout Negotiation

   During the SIP dialog negotiation the clients will also negotiate a
   timeout period for the control channel 'keep-alive' mechanism.  The
   following rules MUST be obeyed in conjunction with COMEDIA[6]:
   o  If the Client initiating the SIP INVITE request has a COMEDIA
      'setup' attribute equal to 'active', the 'k-alive' 'Control-
      Packages' SIP header parameter MUST be included.  The value of the
      'k-alive' header parameter SHOULD be in the range of 95 and 120
      seconds (this is consistent with SIP Outbound[11]).  The client
      generating the subsequent answer ('passive' client) MUST copy the
      'k-alive' 'Control-Packages' header parameter into the response
      with the same value.
   o  If the Client initiating the SIP INVITE request has a COMEDIA
      'setup' attribute equal to 'passive', the 'k-alive' Control-
      Packages SIP header parameter MUST NOT be included.  The client
      generating the subsequent answer ('active' client) MUST include
      the 'k-alive' header parameter.  The value of the 'k-alive' header
      parameter SHOULD be in the range of 95 and 120 seconds.
   o  If the Client initiating the SIP INVITE request has a COMEDIA
      'setup' attribute equal to 'actpass', the 'k-alive' 'Control-
      Packages' header parameter MUST be included.  The value of the
      'k-alive' header parameter SHOULD be in the range of 95 to 120
      seconds.  If the client generating the subsequent answer places a



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      value of 'active' in the COMEDIA 'setup' attribute, It MUST
      include a 'k-alive' header parameter and MAY choose a value that
      is different from that received in the request.  The value SHOULD
      be in the range 95 to 120 seconds.  If the client generating the
      subsequent answer places a value of 'passive' in the COMDEDIA
      'setup' attribute, it MUST copy the 'k-alive' header and value
      from the request into the 'k-alive' 'Control-Packages' SIP header
      parameter.
   o  The 'Control-Packages' 'k-alive' header parameter MUST not be
      included when the COMEDIA 'setup' attribute is equal to
      'holdconn'.
   o  Following the previous steps ensures that the entity initiating
      the control channel connection is always the one specifying the
      keep-alive timeout period.  It will always be the initiator of the
      connection who generates the 'K-ALIVE' Control Framework level
      messages.  The following section describes in more detail how to
      generate the Control Framework 'K-ALIVE' message.

7.2.  Generating Keep-Alive Messages

   Once the SIP dialog has been established using the offer answer
   mechanism and the control channel has been established (including the
   initial identity handshake using SYNCH as discussed in section
   Section 8), both the 'active' and 'passive' (as defined in
   COMEDIA[6]) clients MUST start a keep-alive timer equal to the value
   negotiated during the offer/answer exchange (from the 'k-alive'
   'Control-Packages' SIP header parameter).

   When acting as an 'active' client, a 'K-ALIVE' Control Framework
   message MUST be generated before the local 'keep-alive' timer fires.
   An active client is free to send the K-ALIVE Control Framework
   message when ever it chooses.  A guideline of 80% of the local 'keep-
   alive' timer is suggested.  The 'passive' client MUST generate a 200
   OK Control Framework response to the K-ALIVE message and reset the
   local 'keep-alive' timer.  No other Control Framework response is
   valid.  On receiving the 200 OK Control Framework message, the
   'active' client MUST reset the local 'keep-alive' timer.  If no 200
   OK response is received to the K-ALIVE Control Framework message,
   before the local 'keep-alive' timer fires, the 'active' client SHOULD
   tear down the SIP dialog and recover the associated control channel
   resources.  The 'active' client MAY choose to try and recover the
   connection by renegotiation using COMEDIA.

   When acting as a 'passive' client, a 'K-ALIVE' Control Framework
   message MUST be received before the local 'keep-alive' timer fires.
   The 'passive' client MUST generate a 200 OK control framework
   response to the K-ALIVE Control Framework message.  On sending the
   200 OK response, the 'passive' client MUST reset the local 'keep-



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   alive' timer.  If no K-ALIVE message is received before the local
   'keep-alive' timer fires, the 'passive' client SHOULD tear down the
   SIP dialog and recover the associated control channel resources.  The
   'active' client MAY try to and recover the connection by
   renegotiating using COMEDIA.


8.  Control Framework Interactions

   The use of the COMEDIA specification in this document allows for a
   Control Channel to be set up in either direction as a result of the
   SIP INVITE transaction.  While providing a flexible negotiation
   mechanism, it does provide certain correlation problems between the
   channel and the overlying SIP dialog.  Remember that the two are
   implicitly linked and so need a robust correlation mechanism.  A
   Control Client receiving an incoming connection (whether it be acting
   in the role of UAC or UAS) has no way of identifying the associated
   SIP dialog as it could be simply listening for all incoming
   connections on a specific port.  As a consequence, some rules are
   applied to allow a connecting (defined as 'active' role in COMEDIA)
   client to identify the associated SIP dialog that triggered the
   connection.  The following steps provide an identification mechanism
   that MUST be carried out before any other signaling is carried out on
   the newly created Control channel.
   o  Once connected, the client initiating the connection (as
      determined by COMEDIA) MUST immediately send a Control Framework
      SYNCH request.  The SYNCH request will be constructed as defined
      in Section 12.2 and MUST only contain one message header,
      'dialog-id', which contains the SIP dialog information.
   o  The 'dialog-id' message header is constructed by concatenating the
      Local-tag, Call-ID and Remote-tag (as defined in Section 12.2)
      from the SIP dialog and separating with a '~'.  See syntax defined
      in Section 17.1 in Appendix A and examples in Section 10.6.  For
      example, if the SIP dialog had values of 'Local-tag=HKJDH',
      'Remote-tag=JJSUSHJ' and 'Call-ID=8shKUHSUKHW@example.com' - the
      'dialog-id' header would look like this:
      'dialog-id=HKJDH~8shKUHSUKHW@example.com~JJSUSHJ'.
   o  The client who initiated the connection MUST then send the SYNCH
      request.  It should then wait for a period of 5 seconds to receive
      a response.  It MAY choose a longer time to wait but it should not
      be shorter than 5 seconds.
   o  If no response is received for the SYNCH control message, a
      timeout occurs and the control channel is terminated along with
      the associated SIP dialog (issue a BYE request).
   o  If the client who initiated a connection receives a 481 response,
      this implies that the SYNCH request was received but no associated
      SIP dialog exists.  This also results in the control channel being
      terminated along with the associated SIP dialog (issue a BYE



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      request).
   o  All other error responses received for the SYNCH request are
      treated as detailed in this specification and also result in the
      termination of the control channel and the associated SIP dialog
      (issue a BYE request).
   o  The receipt of a 200 response to a SYNCH message implies that the
      SIP dialog and control connection have been successfully
      correlated.  The control channel can now be used for further
      interactions.

   Once a successful control channel has been established, as defined in
   Section 5 and Section 6 (and the connection has been correlated, as
   described in previous paragraph), the two entities are now in a
   position to exchange relevant control framework messages.  The
   remainder of this section provides details of the core set of methods
   and responses that MUST be supported for the core control framework.
   Future extensions to this document MAY define new methods and
   responses.

8.1.  Constructing Requests

   An entity acting as a Control Client is now able to construct and
   send new requests on a control channel and MUST adhere to the syntax
   defined in Section 12.  Control Commands MUST also adhere to the
   syntax defined by the Control Packages negotiated in Section 5 and
   Section 6 of this document.  A Control Client MUST create a unique
   transaction and associated identifier per request transaction.  The
   transaction identifier is then included in the first line of a
   control framework message along with the method type (as defined in
   the ABNF in Section 12).  The first line starts with the SCFW token
   for the purpose of easily extracting the transaction identifier.  The
   transaction identifier MUST be globally unique over space and time.
   All required mandatory and optional control framework headers are
   then inserted into the control message with appropriate values (see
   relevant individual header information for explicit detail).  A
   "Control-Package" header MUST also be inserted with the value
   indicating the Control Package to which this specific request applies
   (Multiple packages can be negotiated per control channel).

   Any framework message that contains an associated payload MUST also
   include a 'Content-Length' message header which represents the size
   of the message body in decimal number of octets.  If no associated
   payload is to be added to the message, a 'Content-Length' header with
   a value of '0' MUST be included.

   When all of the headers have been included in the framework message,
   it is sent down the control channel established in Section 5.




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   It is a requirement that a Server receiving such a request respond
   quickkly with an appropriate response (as defined in Section 8.2).  A
   Control Client entity needs to wait for Transaction-Time time for a
   response before considering the transaction a failure.

8.1.1.  Sending CONTROL

   A 'CONTROL' message is used by Control Client to invoke control
   commands on a Control Server.  The message is constructed in the same
   way as any standard Control Framework message, as discussed
   previously in Section 8.1 and defined in Section 12.  A CONTROL
   message MAY contain a message body.  The explicit control command(s)
   of the message payload contained in a CONTROL message are specified
   in separate Control Package specifications.  These specifications
   MUST conform to the format defined in Section 10.4.

8.1.2.  Sending REPORT

   A 'REPORT' message is used by a Control Server in two situations.
   The first situation occurs when processing of a Control Command
   extends beyond a Command-Timeout.  In this case a 202 response is
   returned.  Status updates and the final results of the command are
   then returned in subsequent REPORT messages.  The second situation
   allows REPORT to be used as an event notification mechanism where
   events are correlated with the original CONTROL message.  In this
   case, REPORT messages may be sent after the original transaction or
   extended transaction has completed.

   All REPORT messages MUST contain the same transaction ID in the
   request start line that was present in the original CONTROL
   transaction.  This allows both extended transactions and event
   notifications to be correlated with the original CONTROL transaction.

8.1.2.1.  Reporting the Status of Extended Transactions

   On receiving a CONTROL message, a Control Server MUST respond within
   Command-Timeout with a status code for the request, as specified in
   Section 8.2.  If the command completed within that time, a 200
   response code would have been sent.  If the command did not complete
   within that time, the response code 202 would have been sent
   indicating that the requested command is still being processed and
   the CONTROL transaction is being extended.  The REPORT method is used
   to update the status of the extended transaction.

   A Control Server issuing a 202 response MUST immediately issue a
   REPORT message.  The initial REPORT message MUST contain a 'Seq'
   (Sequence) message header with a value equal to '1' (It should be
   noted that the 'Seq' numbers at both Control Client Control Server



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   for framework messages are independent).  The initial REPORT message
   MUST also contain a 'Status' message header with a value of
   'pending'.  This initial REPORT message MUST NOT contain a message
   body and is primarily used to establish a subsequent message
   transaction based on the initial CONTROL message.

   All REPORT messages for an extended CONTROL transaction MUST contain
   a 'Timeout' message header.  This header will contain a value in
   delta seconds that represents the amount of time the recipient of the
   REPORT message must wait before assuming that there has been a
   problem and terminating the extended transaction and associated
   state.  On receiving a REPORT message with a 'Status' header of
   'pending' or 'update', the Control Client MUST reset the counter for
   the associated extended CONTROL transaction to the indicated timeout
   period.  If the timeout period approaches with no intended REPORT
   messages being generated, the entity acting as a Control Framework
   UAS for the interaction MUST generate a REPORT message containing, as
   defined in this paragraph, a 'Status' header of 'pending'.  Such a
   message acts as a timeout refresh and in no way impacts the extended
   transaction, because no message body or semantics are permitted.  It
   is RECOMMENDED that a minimum value of 10 and a maximum of ?? is used
   for the value of the 'Timeout' message header.  It is also
   RECOMMENDED that a Control Server refresh the timeout period of the
   CONTROL transaction at an interval that is not too close to the
   expiry time.  A value of 80% of the timeout period could be used, for
   example a timeout period of 10 seconds would be refreshed after 8
   seconds.

   Subsequent REPORT messages that provide additional information
   relating to the extended CONTROL transaction MUST also include and
   increment by 1 the 'Seq' header value.  They MUST also include a
   'Status' header with a value of 'update'.  These REPORT messages sent
   to update the extended CONTROL transaction status MAY contain a
   message body, as defined by individual Control Packages and specified
   in Section 9.5.  A REPORT message sent updating the extended
   transaction also acts as a timeout refresh, as described earlier in
   this section.  This will result in a transaction timeout period at
   the initiator of the request being reset to the interval contained in
   the 'Timeout' message header.

   When all processing for an extended CONTROL transaction has taken
   place, the entity acting as a Control Server MUST send a terminating
   REPORT message.  The terminating REPORT message MUST increment the
   value in the 'Seq' message header by the value of '1' from the
   previous REPORT message.  It MUST also include a 'Status' header with
   a value of 'terminate' and MAY contain a message body.  A Control
   Framework UAC can then clean up any pending state associated with the
   original control transaction.



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8.1.2.2.  Reporting Asynchronous Events

   Commands that are carried in CONTROL messages can request that the
   Server notify the Client about events that occur sometime in the
   future.  It is not desirable to use extended Control transactions for
   these types of commands for two reasons.  First, an event never
   occurring is often correct behavior.  Second, events may occur long
   after the original request for their notification.

   REPORT messages can be used to notify events.  REPORT messages that
   notify events MUST contain a 'Status' header of 'Notify'.  They MUST
   NOT contain either a 'Timeout' or 'Seq' header and any such headers
   MUST be ignored when the REPORT message has a 'Status' of 'notify'.
   The REPORT message MAY contain a message body.

8.2.  Constructing Responses

   A Control Client or Server, on receiving a request, MUST generate a
   response within Command-Time time.  The response MUST conform to the
   ABNF defined in Section 12.  The first line of the response MUST
   contain the transaction identifier used in first line of the request,
   as defined in Section 8.1.  Responses MUST NOT include the 'Status'
   or 'Timeout' message headers - if they are included they have no
   meaning or semantics.

   A Control Client or Server MUST then include a status code in the
   first line of the constructed response.  A CONTROL request that has
   been understood, and either the relevant actions for the control
   command have completed or a control command error is detected, uses
   the 200 status code as defined in Section 9.1.  A 200 response MAY
   include message bodies.  If a 200 response does contain a payload it
   MUST include a Content-Length header.  A 200 is the only response
   defined in this specification that allows a message body to be
   included.  A client receiving a 200 class response then considers the
   control command completed.  A CONTROL request that is received and
   understood but requires processing that extends beyond Command-Time
   time will return a 202 status code in the response.  This will be
   followed immediately by an initial REPORT message as defined in
   Section 8.1.2.  A Control Package SHOULD explicitly define the
   circumstances under which either 200 or 202 with subsequent
   processing takes place.

   If a Control Client or Server encounters problems with either a
   REPORT or CONTROL request, an appropriate error code should be used
   in the response, as listed in Section 9.  The generation of a non 2xx
   class response code to either a CONTROL or REPORT message will result
   in failure of the transaction, and all associated state and resources
   should be terminated.  The response code may provide an explicit



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   indication of why the transaction failed, which might result in a re-
   submission of the request.

   [timm]: how can an error response provide an explicit indication of
   the reason for the transaction failure when only a 200 response
   allows message bodies?


9.  Response Code Descriptions

   The following response codes are defined for transaction responses to
   methods defined in Section 8.1.  All response codes in this section
   MUST be supported and can be used in response to both CONTROL and
   REPORT messages except that a 202 MUST NOT be generated in response
   to a REPORT message.

   Note that these response codes apply to framework transactions only.
   Success or error indications for control commands MUST be treated as
   the result of a control command and returned in either a 200 response
   or REPORT message.

9.1.  200 Response Code

   The 200 code indicates the completion of a successful transaction.

9.2.  202 Response Code

   The 202 response code indicates the completion of a successful
   transaction with additional information to be provided at a later
   time through the REPORT mechanism defined in Section 8.1.2.

9.3.  400 Response Code

   The 400 response indicates that the request was syntactically
   incorrect.

9.4.  403 Response Code

   The 400 response indicates that the requested operation is illegal.

9.5.  481 Response Code

   The 481 response indicates that the intended target of the request
   does not exist.







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9.6.  500 Response Code

   The 500 response indicates that the recipient does not understand the
   request


10.  Control Packages

   "Control Packages" are intended to specify behavior that extends the
   the capability defined in this document.  "Control Packages" are not
   allowed to weaken "MUST" and "SHOULD" strength statements that are
   detailed in this document.  A "Control Package" may strengthen
   "SHOULD" to "MUST" if justified by the specific usage of the
   framework.

   In addition to normal sections expected in a standards-track RFC and
   SIP extension documents, authors of "Control Packages" need to
   address each of the issues detailed in the following subsections.
   The following sections MUST be used as a template and included
   appropriately in all Control-Packages.

10.1.  Control Package Name

   This section MUST be present in all extensions to this document and
   provides a token name for the Control Package.  The section MUST
   include information that appears in the IANA registration of the
   token.  Information on registering control package event tokens is
   contained in Section 15.  The package name MUST also register a
   version number for the package.  This enables updates to the package
   to be registered where appropriate.  An initial version of a package
   MUST start with the value '1.0'.  Subsequent versions MUST increment
   this number if the same package name is to be used.  The exact
   increment is left to the discretion of the package author.

10.2.  Framework Message Usage

   The Control Framework defines a number of message primitives that can
   be used to exchange commands and information.  There are no
   limitations restricting the directionality of messages passed down a
   control channel.  This section of a Control package document should
   explicitly detail the control messages that can be used as well as
   provide an indication of directionality between entities.  This will
   include which role type is allowed to initiate a request type.

   [Editors Note: Need to examine text.]






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10.3.  Common XML Support

   This optional section is only included in a Control Package if the
   attributes for media dialog or Conference reference are required.
   The Control Package will make strong statements (MUST strength) if
   the XML schema defined in Section 17.1 in Appendix A is to be
   supported.  If only part of the schema is required (for example just
   'connection-id' or just conf-id), the Control Package will make
   equally strong (MUST strength) statements.

10.4.  CONTROL Message Bodies

   This mandatory section of a Control Package defines the control body
   that can be contained within a CONTROL command request, as defined in
   Section 8 (or that no control package body is required).  This
   section should indicate the location of detailed syntax definitions
   and semantics for the appropriate body types.

10.5.  REPORT Message Bodies

   This mandatory section of a Control Package defines the REPORT body
   that can be contained within a REPORT command request, as defined in
   Section 8 (or that no report package body is required).  This section
   should indicate the location of detailed syntax definitions and
   semantics for the appropriate body types.  It should be noted that
   the Control Framework specification does allow for payloads to exist
   in 200 responses to CONTROL messages (as defined in this document).
   An entity that is prepared to receive a payload type in a REPORT
   message MUST also be prepared to receive the same payload in a 200
   response to a CONTROL message.

10.5.1.  Events

   A Control Package can optionally include one or more subscriptions
   that allow a controlling client to receive specific event updates in
   REPORT message bodies.  The mechanisms that installs/un-installs
   subscriptions is not specified in document and is considered out of
   scope.  Event notifications are always carried in REPORT messages
   MUST conform to the rules detailed in Section 8.1.2.2.  This section
   of a Control Package definition MUST specify details of the payload
   expected to be received from subscriptions that have been installed.

   [Editors Note: Ongoing discussions relating to a generic
   subscription/event mechanism across all packages.]







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10.6.  Examples

   It is strongly RECOMMENDED that Control Packages provide a range of
   message flows that represent common flows using the package and this
   framework document.


11.  Network Address Translation (NAT)

   [Editors Note: This section will look at geographically distributed
   systems where NAT traversal might be an issue.  It will look at both
   the SIP media dialog traversal and the control channel traversal.]


12.  Formal Syntax

12.1.  SIP Formal Syntax

   The ABNF for the "Control-Packages" SIP header is as follows:

Control-Packages = "Control-Packages" HCOLON control-package-value
                   *(COMMA control-package-value) *( SEMI package-params )
control-package-value = control-package-name "/" control-package-version
control-package-name = token
control-package-version = 1*DIGIT "." 1*DIGIT
package-params = k-alive-param *(SEMI extension-param)
k-alive-param = "keep-alive" EQUAL delta-seconds
delta-seconds = 1*DIGIT
extension-param = generic-param


12.2.  Control Framework Formal Syntax

   The Control Framework interactions use the UTF-8 transformation
   format as defined in RFC3629 [16].  The syntax in this section uses
   the Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) as defined in RFC2234 [17].


control-req-or-resp = control-request / control-response
control-request = control-req-start headers [control-content]
control-response = control-resp-start headers
control-req-start  = pSCFW SP transact-id SP method CRLF
control-resp-start = pSCFW SP transact-id SP status-code [SP comment] CRLF
comment = utf8text

pSCFW = %x53.43.46.57; SCFW in caps
transact-id = alpha-num-token
method = mCONTROL / mREPORT / mSYNCH / mK-ALIVE / other-method



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mCONTROL = %x43.4F.4E.54.52.4F.4C; CONTROL in caps
mREPORT = %x52.45.50.4F.52.54; REPORT in caps
mSYNCH = %x53.59.4E.43.48; SYNCH in caps
mK-ALIVE = %x4B.2D.41.4C.49.56.45;K-ALIVE in caps

other-method = 1*UPALPHA
status-code = 3DIGIT ; any code defined in this and other documents

headers = Content-Length
 /Control-Package
 /Status
 /Seq
 /Timeout
 /Dialog-id
 /ext-header

Content-Length = "Content-Length:" SP 1*DIGIT
Control-Package = "Control-Package:" SP 1*alpha-num-token
Status = "Status:" SP ("pending" / "update" / "terminate" )
Timeout = "Timeout:" SP 1*DIGIT
Seq = "Seq:" SP 1*DIGIT
Dialog-id = "Dialog-id:" SP dialog-id-string

dialog-id-string = alpha-num-token "~" alpha-num-token ["~" alpha-num-token]

alpha-num-token = alphanum  3*31alpha-num-tokent-char
alpha-num-tokent-char = alphanum / "." / "-" / "+" / "%" / "="

control-content = Content-Type 2CRLF data CRLF

Content-Type = "Content-Type:" SP media-type
media-type = type "/" subtype *( ";" gen-param )
type = token
subtype = token

gen-param = pname [ "=" pval ]
pname = token
pval  = token / quoted-string

token = 1*(%x21 / %x23-27 / %x2A-2B / %x2D-2E
           / %x30-39 / %x41-5A / %x5E-7E)
           ; token is compared case-insensitive

quoted-string = DQUOTE *(qdtext / qd-esc) DQUOTE
qdtext = SP / HTAB / %x21 / %x23-5B / %x5D-7E
            / UTF8-NONASCII
qd-esc = (BACKSLASH BACKSLASH) / (BACKSLASH DQUOTE)
BACKSLASH = "\"



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UPALPHA  = %x41-5A
ALPHANUM = ALPHA / DIGIT

data = *OCTET
ext-header = hname ":" SP hval CRLF

hname = ALPHA *token
hval = utf8text

utf8text = *(HTAB / %x20-7E / UTF8-NONASCII)

UTF8-NONASCII = %xC0-DF 1UTF8-CONT
              / %xE0-EF 2UTF8-CONT
              / %xF0-F7 3UTF8-CONT
              / %xF8-Fb 4UTF8-CONT
              / %xFC-FD 5UTF8-CONT
UTF8-CONT     = %x80-BF


   The following table details a summary of the headers that can be
   contained in Control Framework interactions.  The "where" columns
   details where headers can be used:

          R: header field may only appear in requests;

          r: header field may only appear in responses;

          2xx, 4xx, etc.: A numerical value or range indicates response
              codes with which the header field can be used;

          An empty entry in the "where" column indicates that the header
              field may be present in all requests and responses.

   The remaining columns list the specified methods and the presence of
   a specific header:


           m: The header field is mandatory.
           o: The header field is optional.












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         Header field        Where    CONTROL REPORT SYNCH
         ___________________________________________________
         Content-Length                  o      o      -
         Control-Package       R         m      -      -
         Seq                             -      m      -
         Status                R         -      m      -
         Timeout               R         -      m      -
         Dialog-id             R         -      -      m


                            Figure 11: Table 1


13.  Examples

   The following examples provide an abstracted flow of Control Channel
   establishment and Control Framework message exchange.  The SIP
   signaling is prefixed with the token 'SIP'.  All other messages are
   Control Framework interactions defined in this document.


            Control Client                                Control Server
                   |                                             |
                   |       (1) SIP INVITE                        |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (2) SIP 200                           |
                   |  <---------------------------------------   |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (3) SIP ACK                           |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |==>=======================================>==|
                   |         Control Channel Established         |
                   |==>=======================================>==|
                   |                                             |
                   |       (4) SYNCH                             |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (5) 200                               |
                   |  <---------------------------------------   |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (6) CONTROL                           |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (7) 202                               |
                   |  <---------------------------------------   |
                   |                                             |



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                   |       (8) REPORT (pending)                  |
                   |  <----------------------------------------  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (9) 200                               |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (10) REPORT (update)                  |
                   |  <----------------------------------------  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (11) 200                              |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (12) REPORT (terminate)               |
                   |  <----------------------------------------  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (13) 200                              |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (14) SIP BYE                          |
                   |  ---------------------------------------->  |
                   |                                             |
                   |       (15) SIP 200                          |
                   |  <---------------------------------------   |
                   |=============================================|
                   |         Control Channel Terminated          |
                   |=============================================|
                   |                                             |



   1.   Control Client->Control Server (SIP): INVITE
        sip:control-server@example.com



















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   INVITE sip:control-server@example.com SIP/2.0
   To: <sip:control-server@example.com>
   From: <sip:control-client@example.com>;tag=8937498
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP control-client.example.com;branch=z9hG412345678
   CSeq: 1 INVITE
   Require: escs
   Control-Packages: <example-package>
   Call-ID: 893jhoeihjr8392@example.com
   Contact: <sip:control-client@pc1.example.com>
   Content-Type: application/sdp

   v=0
   o=originator 2890844526 2890842808 IN IP4 controller.example,com
   s=-
   c=IN IP4 control-client.example.com
   m=application 7575 TCP/ESCS
   a=setup:active
   a=connection:new

   2.   Control Server->Control Client (SIP): 200 OK

   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   To: <sip:control-server@example.com>;tag=023983774
   From: <sip:control-client@example.com>;tag=8937498
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP control-client.example.com;branch=z9hG412345678
   CSeq: 1 INVITE
   Require: escs
   Control-Packages: <example-package>
   Call-ID: 893jhoeihjr8392@example.com
   Contact: <sip:control-client@pc2.example.com>
   Content-Type: application/sdp

   v=0
   o=originator 2890844526 2890842808 IN IP4 controller.example,com
   s=-
   c=IN IP4 control-server.example.com
   m=application 7575 TCP/ESCS
   a=setup:passive
   a=connection:new


   3.   Control Client->Control Server (SIP): ACK
   4.   Control Client opens a TCP connection to the Control Server.
        The connection can now be used to exchange control framework
        messages.  Control Client-->Control Server (Control Framework
        Message): SYNCH.

   SCFW 8djae7khauj SYNCH



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   Dialog-id: 8937498~893jhoeihjr8392@example.com~023983774

   5.   Control Server-->Control Client (Control Framework Message):
        200.

   SCFW 8djae7khauj 200


   6.   Control Client opens a TCP connection to the Control Server.
        The connection can now be used to exchange control framework
        messages.  Control Client-->Control Server (Control Framework
        Message): CONTROL.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq CONTROL
   Control-Package: <package-name>
   Content-Length: 11

   <XML BLOB/>

   7.   Control Server-->Control Client (Control Framework Message):
        202.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq 202


   8.   Control Server-->Control Client (Control Framework Message):
        REPORT.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq REPORT
   Seq: 1
   Status: pending
   Timeout: 10

   9.   Control Client-->Control Server (Control Framework Message):
        200.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq 200
   Seq: 1

   10.  Control Server-->Control Client (Control Framework Message):
        REPORT.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq REPORT
   Seq: 2
   Status: update
   Timeout: 10

   <XML BLOB/>



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   11.  Control Client-->Control Server (Control Framework Message):
        200.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq 200
   Seq: 2

   12.  Control Server-->Control Client (Control Framework Message):
        REPORT.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq REPORT
   Seq: 3
   Status: terminate
   Timeout: 10

   <XML BLOB/>

   13.  Control Client-->Control Server (Control Framework Message):
        200.

   SCFW i387yeiqyiq 200
   Seq: 3

   14.  Control Client->Control Server (SIP): BYE

   BYE sip:control-client@pc2.example.com SIP/2.0
   To: <sip:control-server@example.com>
   From: <sip:control-client@example.com>;tag=8937498
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP control-client.example.com;branch=z9hG423456789
   CSeq: 2 BYE
   Require: escs
   Control-Packages: <example-package>
   Call-ID: 893jhoeihjr8392@example.com

   15.  Control Server->Control Client (SIP): 200 OK

   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   To: <sip:control-server@example.com>;tag=023983774
   From: <sip:control-client@example.com>;tag=8937498
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP control-client.example.com;branch=z9hG423456789
   CSeq: 2 BYE
   Require: escs
   Control-Packages: <example-package>
   Call-ID: 893jhoeihjr8392@example.com








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14.  Security Considerations

   Security Considerations to be included in later versions of this
   document.


15.  IANA Considerations

15.1.  IANA Registration of the 'escs' Option Tag

15.2.  Control Package Registration Information

15.2.1.  Control Package Registration Template

15.3.  SDP Transport Protocol

15.3.1.  TCP/ESCS

15.3.2.  TCP/TLS/ESCS

15.4.  SDP Attribute Names

15.5.  SIP Response Codes


16.  Acknowledgments

   The authors would like to thank Ian Evans and Michael Bardzinski of
   Ubiquity Software, Adnan Saleem of Convedia, and Dave Morgan for
   useful review and input to this work.  Eric Burger contributed to the
   early phases of this work.


17.  Appendix A

   During the creation of the Control Framework it has become clear that
   there are number of components that are common across multiple
   packages.  It has become apparent that it would be useful to collect
   such re-usable components in a central location.  In the short term
   this appendix provides the place holder for the utilities and it is
   the intention that this section will eventually form the basis of an
   initial 'Utilities Document' that can be used by Control Packages.

17.1.  Common Dialog/Multiparty Reference Schema

   The following schema provides some common attributes for allowing
   Control Packages to apply specific commands to a particular SIP media
   dialog (also referred to as Connection) or conference.  If used



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   within a Control Package the Connection and multiparty attributes
   will be imported and used appropriately to specifically identify
   either a SIP dialog or a conference instance.  If used within a
   package, the value contained in the 'connection-id' attribute MUST be
   constructed by concatenating the 'Local' and 'Remote' SIP dialog
   identifier tags as defined in RFC3261 [2].  They MUST then be
   separated using the '~' character.  So the format would be:

               'Local Dialog tag' + '~' + 'Remote Dialog tag'

   As an example, for an entity that has a SIP Local dialog identifier
   of '7HDY839' and a Remote dialog identifier of 'HJKSkyHS', the
   'connection-id' attribute for a Control Framework command would be:

                 7HDY839~HJKSkyHS

   If a session description has more than one media description (as
   identified by 'm=' in [9]) it is possible to explicitly reference
   them individually.  When constructing the 'connection-id' attribute
   for a command that applies to a specific media ('m=') in an SDP
   description, an optional third component can be concatenated to the
   Connection reference key.  It is again separated using the '~'
   character and uses the 'label' attribute as specified in [10].  So
   the format would be:

'Local Dialog tag' + '~' + 'Remote Dialog tag' + '~' + 'Label Attribute'

   As an example, for an entity that has a SIP Local dialog identifier
   of '7HDY839', a Remote dialog identifier of 'HJKSkyHS' and an SDP
   label attribute of 'HUwkuh7ns', the 'connection-id' attribute for a
   Control Framework command would be:

                 7HDY839~HJKSkyHS~HUwkuh7ns

   It should be noted that Control Framework requests initiated in
   conjunction with a SIP dialog will produce a different
   'connection-id' value depending on the directionality of the request,
   for example Local and Remote tags are locally identifiable.

   As with the Connection attribute previously defined, it is also
   useful to have the ability to apply specific control framework
   commands to a number of related dialogs, such as a multiparty call.
   This typically consists of a number of media dialogs that are
   logically bound by a single identifier.  The following schema allows
   for control framework commands to explicitly reference such a
   grouping through a 'conf' XML container.  If used by a Control
   Package, any control XML referenced by the attribute applies to all
   related media dialogs.  Unlike the dialog attribute, the 'conf-id'



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   attribute does not need to be constructed based on the overlying SIP
   dialog.  The 'conf-id' attribute value is system specific and should
   be selected with relevant context and uniqueness.

   The full schema follows:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <xsd:schema targetNamespace="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:control:framework-attributes"
    xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
    xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns::control:framework-attributes"
    elementFormDefault="qualified" attributeFormDefault="unqualified">
    <!-- xs:include schemaLocation="common-schema.xsd"/ -->

    <xsd:attributeGroup name="framework-attributes">
      <xsd:annotation>
        <xsd:documentation>SIP Connection and Conf Identifiers</xsd:documentation>
      </xsd:annotation>

      <xsd:attribute name="connection-id" type="xsd:string"/>
      <xsd:attribute name="conf-id" type="xsd:string"/>

    </xsd:attributeGroup>
</xs:schema>




18.  References

18.1.  Normative References

   [1]   Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
         Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

18.2.  Informative References

   [2]   Rosenberg, J., Schulzrinne, H., Camarillo, G., Johnston, A.,
         Peterson, J., Sparks, R., Handley, M., and E. Schooler, "SIP:
         Session Initiation Protocol", RFC 3261, June 2002.

   [3]   Rosenberg, J. and H. Schulzrinne, "Reliability of Provisional
         Responses in Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)", RFC 3262,
         June 2002.

   [4]   Rosenberg, J. and H. Schulzrinne, "Session Initiation Protocol
         (SIP): Locating SIP Servers", RFC 3263, June 2002.




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   [5]   Rosenberg, J. and H. Schulzrinne, "An Offer/Answer Model with
         Session Description Protocol (SDP)", RFC 3264, June 2002.

   [6]   Yon, D. and G. Camarillo, "TCP-Based Media Transport in the
         Session Description Protocol (SDP)", RFC 4145, September 2005.

   [7]   Groves, C., Pantaleo, M., Anderson, T., and T. Taylor, "Gateway
         Control Protocol Version 1", RFC 3525, June 2003.

   [8]   Dolly, M., "Media Control Protocol Requirements",
         draft-dolly-xcon-mediacntrlframe-02 (work in progress),
         September 2006.

   [9]   Handley, M., "SDP: Session Description Protocol",
         draft-ietf-mmusic-sdp-new-26 (work in progress), January 2006.

   [10]  Levin, O. and G. Camarillo, "The SDP (Session Description
         Protocol) Label Attribute",
         draft-ietf-mmusic-sdp-media-label-01 (work in progress),
         January 2005.

   [11]  Jennings, C. and R. Mahy, "Managing Client Initiated
         Connections in the Session Initiation Protocol  (SIP)",
         draft-ietf-sip-outbound-07 (work in progress), January 2007.

   [12]  Rosenberg, J., Peterson, J., Schulzrinne, H., and G. Camarillo,
         "Best Current Practices for Third Party Call Control (3pcc) in
         the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)", BCP 85, RFC 3725,
         April 2004.

   [13]  Rosenberg, J., Schulzrinne, H., and P. Kyzivat, "Indicating
         User Agent Capabilities in the Session Initiation Protocol
         (SIP)", RFC 3840, August 2004.

   [14]  Rosenberg, J., Schulzrinne, H., and P. Kyzivat, "Caller
         Preferences for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)",
         RFC 3841, August 2004.

   [15]  Schulzrinne, H., Casner, S., Frederick, R., and V. Jacobson,
         "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications", STD 64,
         RFC 3550, July 2003.

   [16]  Yergeau, F., "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646",
         STD 63, RFC 3629, November 2003.

   [17]  Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
         Specifications: ABNF", RFC 2234, November 1997.




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Authors' Addresses

   Chris Boulton
   Ubiquity Software Corporation
   Building 3
   Wern Fawr Lane
   St Mellons
   Cardiff, South Wales  CF3 5EA

   Email: cboulton@ubiquitysoftware.com


   Tim Melanchuk
   BlankSpace

   Email: tim.melanchuk@gmail.com


   Scott McGlashan
   Hewlett-Packard
   Gustav III:s boulevard 36
   SE-16985 Stockholm, Sweden

   Email: scott.mcglashan@hp.com


   Asher Shiratzky
   Radvision
   24 Raoul Wallenberg st
   Tel-Aviv, Israel

   Email: ashers@radvision.com



















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Full Copyright Statement

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   This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions
   contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors
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Acknowledgment

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