Internet Engineering Task Force                               SIPPING WG
Internet Draft                                        Rosenberg,Mahy,Sen
draft-rosenberg-sipping-nat-scenarios-00.txt    dynamicsoft,Cisco,Nortel
November 14, 2001
Expires: March 2002


            NAT and Firewall Scenarios and Solutions for SIP

STATUS OF THIS MEMO

   This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
   all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that
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   Drafts.

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   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt

   To view the list Internet-Draft Shadow Directories, see
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.


Abstract

   The problem of firewall and nat traversal for SIP is a complex one,
   due, in part, to the large number of different scenarios and the
   multitude of solutions developed to solve them. In this draft, we
   enumerate the various scenarios which can arise, and for each, point
   to some of the existing solutions for that scenario, and present call
   flows and explanations for how it works.


1 Introduction

   The problem of firewall and NAT traversal is one that receives a very
   large amount of attention. It is particularly troublesome for
   interactive communications, such as those established and managed by
   SIP [1]. A host of solutions have been proposed and discussed,
   including the Simple Traversal of UDP Through NAT (STUN) protocol



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   [2], Traversal Using Relay NAT (TURN) [3], SIP ALGs [4] [5] [6], the
   MIDCOM protocol [7], SDP extensions for NAT [8], SIP extensions for
   NAT [9], RSIP [10] [11], MGCP controlled firewalls [12], tunnels of
   various flavors [13], and even an April Fools RFC, RFC 3093 [14],
   which many people have taken quite seriously.

   This is further complicated by the variety of scenarios that are
   frequently discussed, including service providers, enterprise,
   centrex, residential, nats alone, nats and firewalls, firewalls
   alone, and so on.

   All of this is the source of unending confusion. For the novice
   wishing to understand how to solve the "nat problem", it is a nearly
   insurmountable hurdle to sort through these drafts and scenarios, to
   put together a coherent view of the options at hand.

   This draft is a first attempt to resolve that problem. We enumerate
   what we believe is a comprehensive set of scenarios that have been
   discussed, and for each scenario, describe some of the solutions and
   the drafts that would be needed to make them work. Our solution sets
   are not complete, as they omit discussion of approaches such as RSIP
   and VPN. Those are coming in a future revision. We have also omitted
   a good comparison of the solutions, which will also be present in a
   future revision.

   The scenarios that are considered include (1) a user behind a
   residential NAT/FW using a public service provider's VoIP service
   (Section 2), (2) a user within an enterprise that wants to use the
   services of a VoIP provider on the public Internet, but whos
   enterprise is not supporting the service (Section 3), (3) a user
   within an enterprise that is deploying VoIP itself, and is not using
   any VoIP provider (Section 4), and (4) a user within an enterprise
   that is providing VoIP services, but is doing so by outsourcing the
   service to a public provider. This is effectively a Centrex approach.
   (Section 5).

2 Scenario I: Residence with single NAT

   In this scenario, a user has a broadband connection to the Internet,
   using a cable modem or DSL, for example. In order to provide
   security, or to run multiple machines, the user has purchased an
   off-the-shelf "DSL Router" as they are called. These devices,
   manufactured by companies such as Linksys, Netgear, 2wire, and
   Netopia, generally include a NAT, simple firewall, DHCP server and
   client, and a built in ethernet switch of some sort. The firewall
   generally allows all outgoing traffic, but disallows incoming traffic
   unless specific port forwarding or a DMZ host has been configured.
   The NAT treatment of UDP in these boxes varies. The most common types



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   appear to be full-cone and restricted cone. See [2] for a definition
   of these terms.

   The user in this scenario wishes to use a communications service from
   a retail provider, such as net2phone or deltathree, for example. The
   connection between the user and the provider is through the cable
   modem or DSL, through the public Internet. The user may have multiple
   PCs in their home accessing this service, but they are not related in
   any way. This scenario also includes the case where its not a PC, but
   a standalone SIP phone. In this case, the provider might be providing
   some kind of second line VoIP service.


   This scenario is depicted in Figure 1.

2.1 Solution I: Configuration

   The most simplistic solution for this case is to configure the NAT
   and the PC or softphone to allow for service.

   Most residential NATs allow the NAT to be configured with a DMZ host.
   This is a host that will receive all incoming packets that are not
   associated with some kind of outgoing connection established
   previously. The NAT also allows the user to find out the IP address
   that was assigned to them from their cable modem or DSL provider.

   The procedure is then simple:

        1.   Determine the IP address assigned to the user by the cable
             or DSL provider, by looking through the residential NAT
             configuration. Call this the "public address".

        2.   Determine the IP address assigned to the phone that the
             user wishes to use. This address is on the home LAN,
             assigned by the DHCP server running in the residential NAT.
             Call this the "phone address".

        3.   Enable the DMZ host configuration on the residential NAT.
             Set the DMZ host to be equal to the phone address. This
             means that the phone will receive all incoming traffic.

        4.   Configure the PC softphone or hardphone to use the public
             address in all SIP and SDP messages it builds. Many VoIP
             clients can be configured in this way.

   Thats it! This configuration effectively makes the NAT transparent;
   all packets in go to the phone without being natted, and the phone
   has the public address that will get routed to it.



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                          +--------+
                          |Provider|
                          | Proxy  |
                          |        |
                          +---+----+
                              |
                      --------+----------
               ///////                   \\\\\\\
            ///                                 \\\
          ||                                       ||
         |                Internet                   |
        |                                             |
         |                                           |
          ||                                       ||
            \\\                                 ///
               \\\\\\\                   ///////
                      ---------+---------
                               | DSL, Cable
                      +--------+-------+
                      |     Home NAT   |
                      +----------------+



                  +--------+       +----------+
                  |        |       |   /  \   |
                  |  PC    |          /SIP \
                  |        |         /Phone \
                  |        |        /        \
                  +--------+       ------------



   Figure 1: Residence with Single NAT



   A PC to phone call flow for this case is shown in Figure 2. Since the
   PC client is configured with the IP address on the public side of the
   NAT (1.2.3.4), that is the address inserted into the SDP of the
   INVITE (message 1). When the proxy sends the 200 OK response to the
   PC (message 4), it sends it to the source IP address where the
   request came from (1.2.3.4), but the port in the Via header (5060).



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   This is received by the NAT. Since there is no mapping for this, the
   IP address is rewritten to the DMZ host's address (10.0.1.1), and
   sent there. This is exactly what we want, since the PC is listening
   on 5060 for the responses. The media from the gateway to the PC works
   in a similar way (line 9). Its sent from the gateway to the IP
   address and port in the SDP (1.2.3.4:8876). The NAT receives this.
   Since there is no binding, the IP address is rewritten to the DMZ
   host (1.2.3.4) and the RTP packets forwarded there.

   Receiving calls will work in a similar way. The Contact header in the
   registrations from the PC client or hard phone will include the
   public address (1.2.3.4), and therefore incoming calls are routed
   there.

   The benefits of this solution are that it works without additional
   software changes. However, the drawbacks are many. It requires
   complex configuration which is certainly beyond the capabilities of
   most users. Secondly, it only works with a single phone at a time
   talking. If a different phone is used, the configuration would need
   to change. Third, it will open up the phone to a variety of DoS
   attacks, since all other kinds of traffic will be let in towards the
   phone.

2.2 Solution II: Stun in Client

   The second solution for this scenario is to upgrade the client phone
   or PC application to include support for the STUN protocol [2], and
   optionally the SDP extensions for NAT [8], SDP extensions for
   connection oriented media [15], and SIP extensions for NAT [9]. The
   latter three are all optional, as the solution can work without them.
   We discuss the pros and cons of having or not having these. This
   solution also requires the service provider to deploy the stun server
   described in [2].

   The stun protocol allows a client to discover whether it is behind a
   nat, and what type of nat it is behind. In the case of three of the
   four nat types described in [2] (all but the symmetric NAT), stun
   will provide the client with its public IP address.

   When the client first starts up, the first thing it will do is to use
   STUN to determine the type of NAT it is behind. This check need only
   be done on startup; the type of NAT will not generally change unless
   the user upgrades or replaces their NAT, in which case a boot of the
   phone or client would be needed. The procedure on startup is the
   discovery procedure that is described in Section 9.1 of the stun
   protocol. This involves messaging exchanges between the stun client
   and its stun server. The reader is referred to that document for
   details.



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    Phone Client            NAT             Provider           Provider
           (1) INVITE                         Proxy             Gateway
          | srcIP = 10.0.1.1 |                  |                  |
          | srcPort = 5060   |                  |                  |
          | SDP = 1.2.3.4:8876                  |                  |
          |----------------->|                  |                  |
          |                  |(2) INVITE        |                  |
          |                  | srcIP = 1.2.3.4  |                  |
          |                  | srcPort = 9357   |                  |
          |                  |----------------->|                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |(3) INVITE        |
          |                  |                  |----------------->|
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |(4) 200 OK        |
          |                  |                  |<-----------------|
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |Resp. to src IP   |
          |                  |                  | and port in via  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |(5) 200 OK        |                  |
          |                  | dstIP = 1.2.3.4  |                  |
          |                  | dstPort = 5060   |                  |
          |                  |<-----------------|                  |
          |(6) 200 OK        |                  |                  |
          | dstIP = 10.0.1.1 |                  |                  |
          | dstPort = 5060   |                  |                  |
          |<-----------------|                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |(7) ACK           |                  |                  |
          |----------------->|                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |(8) ACK           |                  |
          |                  |------------------------------------>|
          |                  |(9) RTP           |                  |
          |                  | destIP = 1.2.3.4 |                  |
          |                  | destPort = 8876  |                  |
          |                  |<------------------------------------|
          |(10) RTP          |                  |                  |
          | destIP = 10.0.1.1                   |                  |
          | destPort = 8876  |                  |                  |
          |<-----------------|                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |
          |                  |                  |                  |



   Figure 2: Configuration solution

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   Once the type of NAT is discovered, operation from there on depends
   on the result of the discovery. If the user discovers that they are
   not behind any NAT or firewall at all, then no special processing is
   required. If, however, they discover that they are behind a NAT, the
   processing depends on whether the NAT is symmetric or not.

2.2.1 Not Symmetric NAT

   In this scenario, the client has discovered that it is behind a full
   cone or restricted cone NAT. This includes the case where there are
   multiple NATs (its common for cable modem providers to NAT their
   entire networks, so this NAT might exist in addition to the NAT in
   the user's home), but the most restrictive type is full cone or
   restricted cone.

2.2.1.1 Registration

   The first step is for the client to register. The recommended
   procedure for that is to use the SIP extensions for NAT [9], along
   with STUN. The flow is shown in Figure 3.


   First, the client uses a STUN query to its provider's STUN server.
   This will provide it with an IP address and port on which it can
   receive messages. The client will use the address and port in the
   STUN response (message 4) to receive incoming SIP messages. In order
   to do that, it includes this address and port as the Contact header
   of a REGISTER message that it sends to its provider's proxy (message
   5), preferably over TCP. This REGISTER also optionally includes the
   Translate header defined in [9]. This header asks the server to
   ignore the Contact header, and instead send all requests on the TCP
   connection the register is being sent over. The Translate header
   contains the value of the Contact header which is to be ignored.

   If the proxy supports SIP extensions for NAT [9], the response to the
   REGISTER (message 7) will contain a Contact header different from the
   one provided in the request. In this case, the client knows that the
   address allocated through STUN will not be needed, and there is no
   need to refresh that address. If, on the other hand, the REGISTER
   response contains the same Contact provided in the request, the
   client knows that the Translate header was not supported. In this
   case, the client can close the TCP connection used to send the
   REGISTER. It will need to refresh the binding learned from STUN by
   re-sending the STUN query every minute or so. It will also need to
   listen for incoming SIP messages on this address and port.

   If the client elects not to implement the Translate header, it simply
   omits it from the request in the flow above. In that case, the client



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Client                  NAT                  Proxy                 STUN
                                                                   Server
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |(1) STUN Query       |                     |                     |
   |-------------------->|                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |(2) STUN Query       |                     |
   |                     |------------------------------------------>|
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |(3) STUN Response    |                     |
   |                     | addr = 1.2.3.4:5678 |                     |
   |                     |<------------------------------------------|
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |(4) STUN Response    |                     |                     |
   | addr = 1.2.3.4:5678 |                     |                     |
   |<--------------------|                     |                     |
   |(5) REGISTER         |                     |                     |
   | Contact: 1.2.3.4:5678                     |                     |
   | Translate: 1.2.3.4:5678                   |                     |
   |-------------------->|                     |                     |
   |                     |(6) REGISTER         |                     |
   |                     | Contact: 1.2.3.4:5678                     |
   |                     | Translate: 1.2.3.4:5678                   |
   |                     |-------------------->|                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |(7) 200 OK           |                     |
   |                     |<--------------------|                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |(8) 200 OK           |                     |                     |
   |<--------------------|                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |



   Figure 3: Register flow, not symmetric NAT


   will have to use the address obtained from STUN.

   The usage of the Translate header, along with a TCP connection to the



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   server, is preferred in order to improve overall scale. This solution
   requires the fewest elements to be involved, and requires the least
   amount of message traffic. Using STUN for incoming SIP requests will
   require continuously refreshing the binding learned through STUN,
   which is very intensive (a refresh at least every minute).

   However, if TCP is not available, the alternative is to use UDP
   registrations. In that case, the flow is identical, but the server
   has to support the rport parameter specified in [9], otherwise the
   SIP responses will not properly go through the NAT.

2.2.1.2 Initiating a Session


   The next operation to consider is how the client makes a call. The
   flow for this process is shown in Figure 4. We assume the simple case
   of a single audio stream. In that case, the client will require two
   IP addresses and ports - one to receive RTP, and the other, to
   receive RTP. As a result, it launches two STUN queries (messages 1-4
   and message 5-8), resulting in two address/port pairs. Unfortunately,
   the RTP and RTCP ports are no longer adjacent. This will require the
   SDP in the INVITE constructed by the client to include the address
   for RTCP as a separate element. An SDP extension for doing this is
   defined in [8]. If this extension is not supported by the client (or
   the called party), the result is that RTCP may not be transmitted for
   the session. This is bad, but not catastrophic, as the call can
   proceed without it.

   The client will also need to populate the IP address in the Contact
   header of the INVITE. This will generally be the same Contact address
   which was registered from the process in Section 2.2.1. This should
   always be the value from the Contact header in the response to the
   REGISTER request.

   The final component of the INVITE is the support for connection
   oriented media [15]. Connection oriented media are media that run
   over transports that have the notion of a connection that needs to be
   established. Normally, this means TCP. In the case of TCP, if two
   parties want to communicate, one needs to initiate the connection,
   and the other needs to receive it. Once established, both sides can
   send over the connection. To support that, the comedia draft [15]
   defines a new SDP attribute, the a=direction attribute. This
   attribute can take on the values of passive, active, or both. Passive
   means that the participant can only be on the receiving end of the
   connection. Active means it must be the initiating side. Both means
   that it can do either. Connection oriented operation can also be
   applied to RTP over UDP. We call this mode of operation "symmetric
   RTP". In symmetric RTP, the active side sends an RTP packet to the



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   passive side. When the passive side receives this, it sends RTP
   packets back to the source address of the RTP packet just received.
   Thats it.

   Symmetric RTP has the important property that one side (the active
   side) does not need to provide an IP address and port to the peer in
   its SDP, since no packet is sent there. Rather, its sent to the
   source address of the received RTP packet from the active side. This
   means that the active side can be behind a symmetric NAT, and still
   send media directly to its peer without use of some kind of network
   intermediary. This is good. However, for it to work, the peer needs
   to support symmetric RTP. So, even though in the case currently under
   consideration, the client is not behind a symmetric NAT, it should
   ideally support symmetric RTP just in case its peer is behind a
   symmetric NAT.

   Therefore, if the client supports the comedia extension applied to
   RTP, it should include the a=direction:both attribute in its SDP. If
   this extension is not supported, things will still work, but the call
   may be routed through an intermediary if the peer is behind a NAT.

   The Via header contains an IP address as well. This address will
   never be used, in fact, except for failure conditions at the proxy.
   Therefore, the address should contain the same address used in the
   contact header. The SDP o line also has an IP address, used for
   identification purposes only. Its value is arbitrary, but should be
   the contact address also, to prevent leakage of any private addresses
   outside the network.

   The outgoing INVITE (message 9) might look like:


   INVITE sip:user@domain SIP/2.0
   From: sip:user@school.edu;tag=88asd
   To: sip:user@domain
   Call-ID: 98asd6asd60099
   CSeq: 987769 INVITE
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 1.2.3.4
   Contact: sip:1.2.3.4:5678
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 1.2.3.4
   c=IN IP4 1.2.3.4
   t=0 0
   m=audio 5679 RTP/AVP 0
   a=rtcp:5688



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 Client                NAT                STUN                Proxy
                                          Server
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(1) STUN Query     |                   |                   |
    |src=10.0.1.1:5306  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(2) STUN Query     |                   |
    |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(3) STUN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=1.2.3.4:5679  |                   |
    |                   |dst=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(4) STUN Resp.     |                   |                   |
    |addr=1.2.3.4:5679  |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.0.1.1:5306  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(5) STUN Query     |                   |                   |
    |src=10.0.1.1:5307  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(6) STUN Query     |                   |
    |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5688   |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(7) STUN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=1.2.3.4:5688  |                   |
    |                   |dst=1.2.3.4:5688   |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(8) STUN Resp.     |                   |                   |
    |addr=1.2.3.4:5688  |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.0.1.1:5307  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |(9) INVITE         |                   |                   |
    |rtp=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |                   |
    |rtcp=1.2.3.4:5688  |                   |                   |
    |contact=1.2.3.4:5678                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |(10) INVITE        |                   |
    |                   |rtp=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
    |                   |rtcp=1.2.3.4:5688  |                   |
    |                   |contact=1.2.3.4:5678                   |
    |                   |-------------------------------------->|
    |                   |                   |                   |Proxy forwards
    |                   |                   |                   | INVITE,
    |                   |                   |                   |response
    |                   |                   |                   |comes
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(11) 200 OK        |                   |
    |                   |<--------------------------------------|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(12) 200 OK        |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(13) ACK           |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(14) ACK           |                   |
    |                   |-------------------------------------->|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |



   Figure 4: Initiating a session, not symmetric NAT

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   a=direction:both



   The INVITE goes through the NAT, and is received at the proxy
   (message 10). The proxy forwards it on, and receives a 2xx response.
   This response is passed through the nat (message 11) and arrives at
   the client (message 12).

   The proxy should have record-routed, in order to ensure that the
   messaging flows through it (as its holding the only signaling
   connection to the client). As a result, the ACK should be sent over
   that TCP connection to the proxy (the same for UDP; it would be sent
   from the same socket, to the same place the REGISTER was sent).

   If symmetric RTP is being used, the SDP in the response will contain
   an a=direction attribute, in which case the procedures of [15] would
   apply. If there is no symmetric RTP in use, the client sends media to
   the address(es) provided in the 200 OK. The media should be sent from
   the same socket that is being used to receive (the two learned
   through STUN), although this is not strictly needed.

2.2.1.3 Receiving an Invitation to a Session


   The call flow for receiving an invitation to a session is shown in
   Figure 5. The flow resembles the one for the outgoing INVITE in many
   ways. When the INVITE arrives at the client, it will need to perform
   two STUN queries for each media stream (messages 3-6 for the RTP
   address and messages 7-10 for the RTCP address in the case of a
   single media stream). This is to obtain the addresses to use for
   receiving media.

   The client also checks for the comedia a=direction attribute
   (assuming this extension is supported). If it is, the guidelines in
   [15] are followed to set the direction attribute in the 200 OK. If it
   was a=active in the INVITE, this means that the peer is likely behind
   a symmetric NAT. The direction attribute in the response will then be
   a=passive. If the client doesn't support comedia, the attribute is
   ignored and no direction attribute is placed in the response.

   As with the initiation case, the SDP extensions for RTCP [8] will
   need to be used to explicitly specify the RTCP address. The same
   guidlines for selecting the Contact, Via, and o line as described in
   the initiation case apply here as well. The result is a 200 OK
   response (assuming the call is accepted, of course), which looks like
   (message 11):




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   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   From: sip:user@school.edu;tag=88asd
   To: sip:user@domain;tag=99as8a
   Call-ID: 98asd6asd60099
   CSeq: 987769 INVITE
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 1.9.2.2
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 82.3.4.5
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 1.2.3.4
   Contact: sip:9.8.7.6:7766
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 9.8.7.6
   c=IN IP4 9.8.7.6
   t=0 0
   m=audio 9988 RTP/AVP 0
   a=rtcp:8877
   a=direction:passive



   The client will receive the ACK over the same connection it received
   the INVITE, since its proxy will record route.

2.2.1.4 Media Flow

   Finally, let us consider the actual flow of media in the examples
   above. The examples had a call placed from user@school, behind a NAT
   with public IP 1.2.3.4, calling user@domain, behind a NAT with public
   IP 9.8.7.6. user@school used the comedia extensions, with a direction
   attribute of both, and user@domain answered with a direction of
   passive. The result is that user@school will act as active, and send
   the first RTP (and RTCP) packet. This will flow through its NAT, the
   NAT of user@domain, and then to user@domain.


   The flow of the media for this case is shown in Figure 6. The RTCP is
   not shown, but would work in an identical fashion.

   This flow will work perfectly for full cone, but will not work as
   written for restricted cone. Thats because NAT 2, assuming its
   restricted cone, will not allow the RTP packet from user@school
   (message 2) in. Thats because user@domain has not yet sent a packet
   to 1.2.3.4 yet. Therefore, user@domain needs to "prime" its NAT by
   sending a packet to 1.2.3.4:5679 (it will know this address from the
   INVITE it received). Thus, it needs to send a packet even though it
   has indicated it wants to be the passive side of the symmetric RTP



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 Client                NAT                STUN                Proxy
                                          Server
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(1) INVITE         |                   |
    |                   |<--------------------------------------|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(2) INVITE         |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(3) STUN Query     |                   |                   |
    |src=10.1.2.3:1928  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(4) STUN Query     |                   |
    |                   |src=9.8.7.6:9988   |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(5) STUN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |
    |                   |dst=9.8.7.6:9988   |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(6) STUN Resp.     |                   |                   |
    |addr=9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.1.2.3:1928  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(7) STUN Query     |                   |                   |
    |src=10.1.2.3:1929  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(8) STUN Query     |                   |
    |                   |src=9.8.7.6:8877   |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(9) STUN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=9.8.7.6:8877  |                   |
    |                   |dst=9.8.7.6:8877   |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(10) STUN Resp.    |                   |                   |
    |addr=9.8.7.6:8877  |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.1.2.3:1929  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |(11) 200 OK        |                   |                   |
    |rtp=9.8.7.6:9988   |                   |                   |
    |rtcp=9.8.7.6:8877  |                   |                   |
    |contact=9.8.7.6:7766                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |(12) 200 OK        |                   |
    |                   |rtp=9.8.7.6:9988   |                   |
    |                   |rtcp=9.8.7.6:8877  |                   |
    |                   |contact=9.8.7.6:7766                   |
    |                   |-------------------------------------->|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |200 OK
    |                   |                   |                   |forwarded
    |                   |                   |                   |upstream
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(13) ACK           |                   |
    |                   |<--------------------------------------|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(14) ACK           |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |



   Figure 5: Incoming INVITE, not Symmetric NAT

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     user@school            NAT 1               NAT 2            user@domain
          |(1) RTP            |                   |                   |
          |src=10.0.1.1:5306  |                   |                   |
          |dest=9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |                   |
          |------------------>|                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |(2) RTP            |                   |
          |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
          |                   |dest=9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |
          |                   |------------------>|                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |(3) RTP            |
          |                   |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |
          |                   |                   |dest=10.1.2.3:1928 |
          |                   |                   |------------------>|
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |(4) RTP            |
          |                   |                   |src=10.1.2.3:1928  |
          |                   |                   |dest=1.2.3.4:5679  |
          |                   |                   |<------------------|
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |(5) RTP            |                   |
          |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
          |                   |dest=1.2.3.4:5679  |                   |
          |                   |<------------------|                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |(6) RTP            |                   |                   |
          |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |                   |
          |dest=10.0.1.1:5306 |                   |                   |
          |<------------------|                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |



   Figure 6: Media flow for residential case, not symmetric NAT


   connection. The most natural way to accomplish this is to actually
   have users behind restricted cone or port restricted cones respond to
   a=direction:both with a=direction:both. In that scenario, as
   described in [15], both sides send a packet to each other, and one of
   the "connections" is then used. Having both sides send packets to
   each other is exactly what is needed to allow operation in restricted



Rosenberg,Mahy,Sen                                           [Page 15]


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   cone and port restricted cone nats.


   The flow for this case (where both sides indicated a=direction:both)
   is shown in Figure 7. It is identical to the flow above, but with a
   reordering of messages. Now, both users send their first packet at
   the same time, causing the NATs to be "primed". In reality, the
   packets may not be sent at the same time, so the first few packets
   from the first sender will be lost until the other user primes their
   NAT.

   Its important to realize that with port restricted cone NAT, the
   priming will only work when the user sends from the same IP address
   and port they expect to receive from.

2.2.2 Symmetric NAT

   Section 2.2.1 handled the case where the user was in a residence
   behind a full cone or restricted cone NAT. In this section, we
   consider the case of a symmetric NAT.

   The operation is much like the non-symmetric case. However, instead
   of using STUN to determine the addresses, a TURN [3] server is used
   to obtain addresses. Like STUN, TURN will provide a publically
   routable IP address and port that can be used. However, unlike STUN,
   this address and port routes to the TURN server, which forwards the
   packets on the same socket the TURN request was received on. This
   allows it to operate through more restrictive symmetric NAT. The cost
   of this approach is routing of media through the service provider
   network, which can substantially increase latency and loss, and also
   increases the cost to the provider.

2.2.2.1 Registration

   The recommended registration mechanism parallels the procedure for
   STUN as described in Section 2.2.1. The client will allocate an
   address from the TURN server, and then include that in the Contact
   header in the REGISTER, along with the Translate header. In the case
   of TURN, it is recommended that a TCP address be allocated from the
   TURN server. This will avoid the need to constantly refresh the
   binding, as would be the case for UDP. The problem is worse with
   TURN, since once the client receives an incoming INVITE, refreshes of
   the binding would cause packets to be delivered to the proxy, and
   therefore they would need to be complete REGISTER messages themselves
   in order to be properly processed. This will result in a serious
   burden on the proxy server.





Rosenberg,Mahy,Sen                                           [Page 16]


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   Assuming TCP, the flow for registration is shown in Figure 8. Before
   message 1 is sent, there is a standard TCP handshake with the TURN
   server, not shown. Then, the client sends a TURN Allocate request
   (message 1) to its TURN server. The response (message 4) contains the
   address allocated to the client, in this case, 15.1.2.3:5678. So, it
   uses that address in a REGISTER message, also sent using TCP, to its
   proxy (message 5).

2.2.2.2 Initiating a Session

   The process for initiating a session parallels that for the non-
   symmetric case in Section 2.2.1. The client will use TURN to allocate
   two UDP addresses - one for the RTP, and another for the RTCP. The
   INVITE that is constructed will use the SDP extensions for RTCP [8]
   to contain the RTCP addresses. The construction of the Via, Contact,
   and origin lines in the SDP mirrors that for the non-symmetric case.

   The main difference is in the use of comedia. For the symmetric case,
   support for the comedia draft [15] is strongly recommended. If the
   other participant in the call is not behind a NAT, or is behind a
   full cone for restricted cone NAT, the use of the TURN server as
   relay can be avoided. This will improve the voice quality and reduce
   costs to the provider. In order for its usage to be avoided, the
   client includes an a=direction:active attribute in its SDP. Note that
   it still includes the addresses it obtained from the TURN server.
   These will end up being used if the peer doesn't support comedia, or
   is behind a symmetric or port restricted cone NAT.


        This usage of a=active differs from the current comedia
        draft, which says that if a=active is present, you MUSTNOT
        initiate a connection to it. This is not backwards
        compatible. The approach described here is. We should work
        to get this incorporated into comedia to add backwards
        compatibility.


   A flow for this case is shown in Figure 9.

   The resulting INVITE generated might look like:


   INVITE sip:user@domain SIP/2.0
   From: sip:user@school.edu;tag=88asd
   To: sip:user@domain
   Call-ID: 98asd6asd60099
   CSeq: 987769 INVITE
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 15.1.2.3



Rosenberg,Mahy,Sen                                           [Page 17]


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     user@school            NAT 1               NAT 2            user@domain
          |(1) RTP            |                   |                   |
          |src=10.0.1.1:5306  |                   |                   |
          |dest=9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |                   |
          |------------------>|                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |NAT1 primed        |                   |
          |                   |to receive         |                   |
          |                   |from 9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |(2) RTP            |
          |                   |                   |src=10.1.2.3:1928  |
          |                   |                   |dest=1.2.3.4:5679  |
          |                   |                   |<------------------|
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |NAT2 primed        |
          |                   |                   |to receive         |
          |                   |                   |from 1.2.3.4:5679  |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |(3) RTP            |                   |
          |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
          |                   |dest=9.8.7.6:9988  |                   |
          |                   |------------------>|                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |(4) RTP            |                   |
          |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |
          |                   |dest=1.2.3.4:5679  |                   |
          |                   |<------------------|                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |(5) RTP            |
          |                   |                   |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |
          |                   |                   |dest=10.1.2.3:1928 |
          |                   |                   |------------------>|
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |(6) RTP            |                   |                   |
          |src=1.2.3.4:5679   |                   |                   |
          |dest=10.0.1.1:5306 |                   |                   |
          |<------------------|                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |
          |                   |                   |                   |



   Figure 7: Media flow for residential case, priming the NAT

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Client                  NAT                  Proxy                 TURN
                                                                   Server
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |(1) TURN Allocate    |                     |                     |
   |-------------------->|                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |(2) TURN Allocate    |                     |
   |                     |------------------------------------------>|
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |(3) TURN Response    |                     |
   |                     | addr = 15.1.2.3:5678|                     |
   |                     |<------------------------------------------|
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |(4) TURN Response    |                     |                     |
   | addr = 15.1.2.3:5678|                     |                     |
   |<--------------------|                     |                     |
   |(5) REGISTER         |                     |                     |
   | Contact: 15.1.2.3:5678                    |                     |
   | Translate: 15.1.2.3:5678                  |                     |
   |-------------------->|                     |                     |
   |                     |(6) REGISTER         |                     |
   |                     | Contact: 15.1.2.3:5678                    |
   |                     | Translate: 15.1.2.3:5678                  |
   |                     |-------------------->|                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |(7) 200 OK           |                     |
   |                     |<--------------------|                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |(8) 200 OK           |                     |                     |
   |<--------------------|                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |
   |                     |                     |                     |



   Figure 8: Registration for Symmetric NAT


   Contact: sip:15.1.2.3:5678
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...



Rosenberg,Mahy,Sen                                           [Page 19]


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 Client                NAT                TURN                Proxy
                                          Server
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(1) TURN Allocate  |                   |                   |
    |src=10.0.1.1:5306  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(2) TURN Allocate  |                   |
    |                   |src=15.1.2.3:5679  |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(3) TURN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=15.1.2.3:5679 |                   |
    |                   |dst=15.1.2.3:5679  |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(4) TURN Resp.     |                   |                   |
    |addr=15.1.2.3:5679 |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.0.1.1:5306  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(5) TURN Allocate  |                   |                   |
    |src=10.0.1.1:5307  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(6) TURN Allocate  |                   |
    |                   |src=15.1.2.3:5688  |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(7) TURN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=15.1.2.3:5688 |                   |
    |                   |dst=15.1.2.3:5688  |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(8) TURN Resp.     |                   |                   |
    |addr=15.1.2.3:5688 |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.0.1.1:5307  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |(9) INVITE         |                   |                   |
    |rtp=15.1.2.3:5679  |                   |                   |
    |rtcp=15.1.2.3:5688 |                   |                   |
    |contact=15.1.2.3:5678                  |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |(10) INVITE        |                   |
    |                   |rtp=15.1.2.3:5679  |                   |
    |                   |rtcp=15.1.2.3:5688 |                   |
    |                   |contact=15.1.2.3:5678                  |
    |                   |-------------------------------------->|
    |                   |                   |                   |Proxy forwards
    |                   |                   |                   | INVITE,
    |                   |                   |                   |response
    |                   |                   |                   |comes
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(11) 200 OK        |                   |
    |                   |<--------------------------------------|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(12) 200 OK        |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(13) ACK           |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(14) ACK           |                   |
    |                   |-------------------------------------->|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |



   Figure 9: STUN Symmetric, Outgoing INVITE

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   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 15.1.2.3
   c=IN IP4 15.1.2.3
   t=0 0
   m=audio 5679 RTP/AVP 0
   a=rtcp:5688
   a=direction:active



2.2.2.3 Answering an Invitation to a Session

   The procedure for answering an INVITE mirrors that for the non-
   symmetric case described in Section 2.2.1. However, the RTP and RTCP
   ports are obtained from a TURN server, not a STUN server, and the
   client should indicate a=direction:active in the response if the
   INVITE request indicated passive or both (assuming it supports
   symmetric RTP.)

   Another difference is the path of the INVITE itself. If the proxy
   doesn't support the SIP extensions for NAT [9], the Translate header
   in the REGISTER will be ignored, and the address in the Contact
   header will be used. This address was obtained through the TURN
   server, so that the incoming INVITE will flow from the proxy, through
   the TURN server, towards the client.


   The call flow for this case is shown in Figure 10. Note that the
   incoming INVITE, its 200 OK, and the ACK, now all flow through the
   TURN server. The initial INVITE from the proxy to the TURN server
   (message 1) will actually cause a TCP connection to be first opened
   from the proxy to the turn server. From this point forward, the
   client should re-register over this TCP connection (rather than the
   other one it used to send the initial REGISTER, which goes directly
   to the proxy), without the Translate header. Using this connection
   for re-registrations is needed to keep the connection alive.

   The 200 OK response sent by the client might look like:


   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   From: sip:user@school.edu;tag=88asd
   To: sip:user@domain;tag=99as8a
   Call-ID: 98asd6asd60099
   CSeq: 987769 INVITE
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 1.9.2.2
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 82.3.4.5
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 15.1.2.3



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   Contact: sip:15.4.5.6:7766
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 15.4.5.6
   c=IN IP4 15.4.5.6
   t=0 0
   m=audio 9988 RTP/AVP 0
   a=rtcp:8877
   a=direction:active



2.2.2.4 Media Flows

   The media flow scenarios depend on the type of NAT each side is
   behind.

   Consider the case where the caller is behind a full cone NAT, and the
   callee is behind a symmetric NAT. In this case, the SDP in the INVITE
   from the caller will have an a=direction:both attribute. The SDP in
   the 200 OK from the callee will have a=direction:active. The callee
   will send media to the caller, using a socket different than the one
   used to allocate the address from the TURN server. The caller sends
   media back to the source address where media from the callee came
   from. In this case, even though a TURN address was allocated by the
   callee, that address is never used, and the binding will expire at
   the TURN server.


        TODO: flow for this case

   Consider the case where the caller is behind a restricted cone NAT,
   and the callee is behind a symmetric NAT. The caller includes an
   a=direction:active attribute in its INVITE. The callee responds with
   an a=direction:passive attribute. The caller will send to the address
   provided by the callee in the 200 OK. This address is on the TURN
   server. This data is received by the callee, which sends data back.
   This is forwarded to the TURN server, and then onwards towards the
   caller. Thus, an intermediary is included in this case.


        TODO: flow for this case


        TODO: not sure all these cases are completely sorted out.
        Setting of active/passive for restricted cone requires more



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 Client                NAT                TURN                Proxy
                                          Server
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |(1) INVITE         |
    |                   |                   |<------------------|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(2) INVITE         |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(3) INVITE         |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(4) TURN Query     |                   |                   |
    |src=10.1.2.3:1928  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(5) TURN Query     |                   |
    |                   |src=15.4.5.6:9988  |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(6) TURN Resp.     |                   |
    |                   |addr=15.4.5.6:9988 |                   |
    |                   |dst=15.4.5.6:9988  |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(7) TURN Resp.     |                   |                   |
    |addr=15.4.5.6:9988 |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.1.2.3:1928  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(8) TURN Query     |                   |                   |
    |src=10.1.2.3:1929  |                   |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(9) TURN Query     |                   |
    |                   |src=15.4.5.6:8877  |                   |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(10) TURN Resp.    |                   |
    |                   |addr=15.4.5.6:8877 |                   |
    |                   |dst=15.4.5.6:8877  |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(11) TURN Resp.    |                   |                   |
    |addr=15.4.5.6:8877 |                   |                   |
    |dst=10.1.2.3:1929  |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |(12) 200 OK        |                   |                   |
    |rtp=15.4.5.6:9988  |                   |                   |
    |rtcp=15.4.5.6:8877 |                   |                   |
    |contact=15.4.5.6:7766                  |                   |
    |------------------>|                   |                   |
    |                   |(13) 200 OK        |                   |
    |                   |rtp=15.4.5.6:9988  |                   |
    |                   |rtcp=15.4.5.6:8877 |                   |
    |                   |contact=15.4.5.6:7766                  |
    |                   |------------------>|                   |
    |                   |                   |(14) 200 OK        |
    |                   |                   |rtp=15.4.5.6:9988  |
    |                   |                   |rtcp=15.4.5.6:8877 |
    |                   |                   |contact=15.4.5.6:7766
    |                   |                   |------------------>|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |200 OK
    |                   |                   |                   |forwarded
    |                   |                   |                   |upstream
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |(15) ACK           |
    |                   |                   |<------------------|
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |(16) ACK           |                   |
    |                   |<------------------|                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |(17) ACK           |                   |                   |
    |<------------------|                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |
    |                   |                   |                   |



   Figure 10: Incoming INVITE, Symmetric NAT

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        consideration.

2.3 Solution III: STUN in B2BUA

   The solution of Section 2.2 assumed that the client would need to be
   upgraded to support at least STUN, and additionally several other SIP
   extensions. In many cases, this will not be feasible. It is possible
   to deploy the STUN solution in an intermediary, typically run as a
   piece of software that would be run within the residence. It can run
   on the same machine as the client, or on a separate PC. In SIP
   terminology, this additional server is a "B2BUA", or Back to back
   User Agent. It receives requests from the clients, acts as a STUN
   client, obtains addresses for media, modifies the SDP in the INVITEs,
   and forwards the requests onwards. Both SIP traffic, and media
   traffic, would be routed through it. Unlike the use of an
   intermediary in the service provider network (like a TURN server),
   the use of an intermediary in the home does not introduce any real
   latency or voice quality problems, and there is no cost to the
   service provider. There could be cost to the consumer, but we
   anticipate that these intermediaries would be given away for free as
   part of the service.

   We call the B2BUA in the home network that acts as a STUN client a
   "STUN Agent", just for the sake of having a simple name. Note that
   the STUN agent may also need to implement TURN, in the case that the
   agent is behind a symmetric NAT. However, in the flows below, we do
   specifically consider this case. The flows from Section 2.2.2 can be
   directly applied to the flows below to show this scenario.


   The configuration using the STUN Agent is shown in Figure 11. The
   clients (PC phones, hardphones) are configured to talk to the STUN
   agent as their SIP local outbound proxy server, sending it both
   registrations and invitations.

   When the STUN agent starts up, it discovers whether there is a NAT or
   not, and what type of NAT, using the STUN discovery mechanisms [2].
   In the event that there is no NAT, the STUN agent merely acts as a
   stateless proxy, relaying packets in and out. We consider, from here
   on, the case where it has discovered that it is behind a full cone or
   restricted cone NAT.

2.3.1 Registration


   The first step is for the clients to REGISTER. The flow for this
   scenario is shown in Figure 12. First, the client sends a REGISTER
   (message 1). This is a normal UDP REGISTER, and therefore the Contact



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                          +--------+
                          |Provider|
                          | Proxy  |
                          |        |
                          +---+----+
                              |
                      --------+----------
               ///////                   \\\\\\\
            ///                                 \\\
          ||                                       ||
         |                Internet                   |
        |                                             |
         |                                           |
          ||                                       ||
            \\\                                 ///
               \\\\\\\                   ///////
                      ---------+---------
                               | DSL, Cable
                      +--------+-------+
                      |     Home NAT   |
                      +----------------+

                           +--------+
                           | STUN   |
                           | Agent  |
                           |        |
                           +--------+

                 +--------+       +----------+
                 |        |       |   /  \   |
                 |  PC    |          /SIP \
                 |        |         /Phone \
                 |        |        /        \
                 +--------+       ------------



   Figure 11: STUN Agent Configuration


   is likely to reflect an IP address within the home network:





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       Client           STUN             NAT            Proxy           STUN
                        Agent                                          Server
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |(1) REGISTER   |               |               |               |
          |-------------->|               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |(2) STUN Query |               |               |
          |               |src=10.0.1.2:10|               |               |
          |               |-------------->|               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |(3) STUN Query |               |
          |               |               |src=1.2.3.4:5678               |
          |               |               |------------------------------>|
          |               |               |(4) STUN Response              |
          |               |               |addr = 1.2.3.4:5678            |
          |               |               |dst=1.2.3.4:5678               |
          |               |               |<------------------------------|
          |               |(5) STUN Response              |               |
          |               |addr = 1.2.3.4:5678            |               |
          |               |dst=10.0.1.2:10|               |               |
          |               |<--------------|               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |Contact        |               |               |
          |               |rewritten      |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |(6) REGISTER   |               |               |
          |               |-------------->|               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |(7) REGISTER   |               |
          |               |               |-------------->|               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |(8) 200 OK     |               |
          |               |               |<--------------|               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |(9) 200 OK     |               |               |
          |               |<--------------|               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |(10) 200 OK    |               |               |               |
          |<--------------|               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |               |



   Figure 12: STUN Agent Registration

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   REGISTER sip:provider.com SIP/2.0
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@provider.com
   Call-ID: 99asdasd98hnn
   Contact: sip:user@10.0.1.1:5060
   CSeq: 88790 REGISTER



   Since the client is using a local outbound proxy, this REGISTER is
   sent to the STUN agent. The STUN agent recognizes that this is a
   registration, and determines that it needs to obtain an IP address
   and port to use in the Contact which can route to it. So, it follows
   the procedures that the client itself would have followed from
   Section 2.2.1. Specifically, it acts as a STUN client, and sends a
   Query request (message 2) to the provider.com STUN server. This goes
   through the NAT (message 3), and is reflected off of the STUN server
   (message 4) providing the STUN agent with a external IP address and
   port that routes to it (message 5). This address is inserted as the
   Contact header in a rewritten REGISTER message (message 6) that is
   sent to the proxy. This outgoing REGISTER might look like:


   REGISTER sip:provider.com SIP/2.0
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 1.2.3.4:5678
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@provider.com
   Call-ID: 88sdasdlasd0
   Contact: sip:user@1.2.3.4:5678
   Translate: sip:user@1.2.3.4:5678
   CSeq: 88790 REGISTER



   This REGISTER is forwarded through the NAT (message 7), and the 200
   OK response from the proxy/registar (message 8) is sent through the
   NAT to the STUN agent (message 9). From this 200 OK, the STUN agent
   knows whether or not the Translate header was used or not.

   Its important to note that the STUN query need only be done for the
   first REGISTER request. For subsequent ones, the STUN agent can reuse
   the same binding. The binding must be refreshed (if it was used), of
   course, but a new one need not be selected for each registration. The
   Contact header in each registration from a different client would
   have to contain a unique user name in order to disambiguate the
   incoming requests from the proxy.




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   The final step is for the STUN agent to respond to the REGISTER
   received from the client. The response contains the original Contact
   sent in the REGISTER. The STUN agent also remembers this contact,
   effectively acting as a registrar itself. This contact will be used
   for incoming INVITE requests. The response sent to the client might
   look like:


   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@provider.com
   Call-ID: 99asdasd98hnn
   Contact: sip:user@10.0.1.1:5060
   Expires:3600
   CSeq: 88790 REGISTER



   In this way, when the STUN agent receives an incoming INVITE with a
   request URI of sip:user@1.2.3.4:5678, it knows to rewrite it to
   sip:user@10.0.1.1:5060 and proxy the request there.

2.3.2 Initiating a Session


   The call flow for initiating a session is shown in Figure 13. The
   client formulates a normal INVITE (message 1), without SIP extensions
   for NAT [9] or SDP extensions for RTCP [8]. It it is sent to the STUN
   Agent as a local outbound proxy. This INVITE might look like:


   INVITE sip:user@school.edu SIP/2.0
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@school.edu
   Call-ID: 99asdas88shnn
   Contact: sip:user@10.0.1.1:5060
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 10.0.1.1
   c=IN IP4 10.0.1.1
   t=0 0
   m=audio 9988 RTP/AVP 0





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   The STUN Agent needs to do several things. First, it must rewrite the
   Contact header to reference the signaling address bound to
   sip:user@10.0.1.1:5060 from the previous registration process (in
   this case, sip:user@1.2.3.4:5678). Secondly, it rewrites the SDP to
   include addresses learned from STUN, in much the same way the client
   learned them in Section 2.2.1 (messages 2-5 and message 6-9). It also
   adds its own Via address to the outgoing INVITE (message 10), which
   might look like:


   INVITE sip:user@school.edu SIP/2.0
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 1.2.3.4:5678
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@school.edu
   Call-ID: 99asdas88shnn
   Contact: sip:user@1.2.3.4
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 1.2.3.4
   c=IN IP4 1.2.3.4
   t=0 0
   m=audio 5679 RTP/AVP 0
   a=rtcp:5688
   a=direction:both




        There is a subtle error here, in that 1.2.3.4:5678 is the
        UDP address learnt from STUN. This can't be used in the Via
        header sent over a TCP connection.

   The 200 OK to this INVITE will be received by the STUN Agent (message
   13). This 200 OK need not be rewritten if it does not contain a
   direction or rtcp attribute. In that case, media flows out from the
   client directly towards the address in the 2xx, and media flows in
   first through the intermediary, and then towards the client. Let us
   consider the case where the 200 OK does include an a=rtcp attribute:


   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   Via: SIP/2.0/TCP 1.2.3.4:5678
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@school.edu;tag=909asd



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 Client        STUN Agent          NAT            STUN            Proxy
                                                  Server
    |               |               |               |               |
    |(1) INVITE     |               |               |               |
    |rtp=10.0.1.1:7460              |               |               |
    |-------------->|               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(2) STUN Query |               |               |
    |               |src=10.0.1.2:5306              |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(3) STUN Query |               |
    |               |               |src=1.2.3.4:5679               |
    |               |               |-------------->|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(4) STUN Resp. |               |
    |               |               |addr=1.2.3.4:5679              |
    |               |               |dst=1.2.3.4:5679               |
    |               |               |<--------------|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(5) STUN Resp. |               |               |
    |               |addr=1.2.3.4:5679              |               |
    |               |dst=10.0.1.2:5306              |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(6) STUN Query |               |               |
    |               |src=10.0.1.2:5307              |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(7) STUN Query |               |
    |               |               |src=1.2.3.4:5688               |
    |               |               |-------------->|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(8) STUN Resp. |               |
    |               |               |addr=1.2.3.4:5688              |
    |               |               |dst=1.2.3.4:5688               |
    |               |               |<--------------|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(9) STUN Resp. |               |               |
    |               |addr=1.2.3.4:5688              |               |
    |               |dst=10.0.1.2:5307              |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |(10) INVITE    |               |               |
    |               |rtp=1.2.3.4:5679               |               |
    |               |rtcp=1.2.3.4:5688              |               |
    |               |contact=1.2.3.4:5678           |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |(11) INVITE    |               |
    |               |               |rtp=1.2.3.4:5679               |
    |               |               |rtcp=1.2.3.4:5688              |
    |               |               |contact=1.2.3.4:5678           |
    |               |               |------------------------------>|Proxy
    |               |               |               |               |forwards
    |               |               |               |               |INVITE,
    |               |               |               |               |response
    |               |               |               |               |comes
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(12) 200 OK    |               |
    |               |               |<------------------------------|
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(13) 200 OK    |               |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |(14) 200 OK    |               |               |               |
    |<--------------|               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |(15) ACK       |               |               |               |
    |-------------->|               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(16) ACK       |               |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(17) ACK       |               |
    |               |               |------------------------------>|
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |



   Figure 13: Initiating a session with a STUN Agent

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   Call-ID: 99asdas88shnn
   Contact: sip:user@56.66.77.88
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN 56.66.77.88
   c=IN IP4 56.66.77.88
   t=0 0
   m=audio 56496 RTP/AVP 0
   a=rtcp:36485



   Since the client doesn't support the RTCP extensions for SDP, the
   STUN Agent needs to allocate a port pair on the host which it can
   rewrite into this 200 OK before forwarding. No STUN requests are
   needed to allocate this port pair; its local on the STUN Agent. The
   forwarded 200 OK might look like:


   SIP/2.0 200 OK
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   From: sip:user@provider.com
   To: sip:user@school.edu;tag=909asd
   Call-ID: 99asdas88shnn
   Contact: sip:user@56.66.77.88
   Content-Type: application/sdp
   Content-Length: ...

   v=0
   o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN 56.66.77.88
   c=IN IP4 10.0.1.2
   t=0 0
   m=audio 4372 RTP/AVP 0




   The media flow for this case is shown in Figure 14. As the flow
   shows, both RTP and RTCP in and out flow through the STUN Agent. In
   the case of outgoing RTP and RTCP, the media is sent on the sockets
   used to send the STUN queries, and addressed to the addresses and
   ports from the 200 OK. For incoming RTP and RTCP, its received on the
   sockets used for the stun queries, and from there, forwarded out to
   the address in the original INVITE from the client. Notice how the
   STUN Agent can guarantee that media sent to and from the client has
   adjacent RTP and RTCP ports.



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2.3.3 Receiving an Invitation to a Session


   The call flow for handling an incoming INVITE is shown in Figure 15.
   As expected, this is a mirror image of the outgoing INVITE case 13.
   We have simplified this flow, however, and assumed that the incoming
   INVITE (message 2) did not require the usage of SDP attributes for
   RTCP or connection oriented media. As a result, the INVITE can be
   passed directly to the client (message 3). The 200 OK returned by the
   client (message 4) contains an SDP media address that needs to be
   rewritten by the agent.

   Media from the caller to the callee will flow first through the STUN
   Agent. From there it is forwarded to the callee (using adjacent
   RTP/RTCP ports on this leg). However, media from the callee flows
   directly to the caller at the address specified in the incoming
   INVITE.

2.4 Solution IV: ALG

   Another solution for the residential case is to throw away your NAT,
   and buy one with an embedded ALG inside. This will allow SIP to work
   transparently through it without any additional infrastructure on the
   service provider or residence side. It will not require any changes
   to the clients either.

   The primary drawback to this approach is its impracticality. At the
   time of writing, there is only one residential NAT product available
   with SIP support. This product is not from a maintstream vendor, and
   at the time of writing, it is still missing features that are
   generally baseline requirements for such a device. Whilst this will
   certainly be corrected in a future product release, its symptomatic
   of the bigger problem - the manufacturer of a residential NAT cannot,
   and won't, be the expert in all application protocols that would need
   ALG support. Similarly, a vendor that specializes in a NAT supporting
   a particular ALG, won't be the expert in other general purpose NAT
   features, or in other protocols.

   Protocols also evolve, so that even if SIP support were added today,
   its not clear that this would support the extensions being developed
   tomorrow.

   A further problem is that there is a large, installed based of
   residential NATs that are not SIP aware. It is unlikely that users
   would be willing to pay money to buy a new box to support a
   particular application. Most users would expect that the provider
   would simply "make it work". Asking the user to purchase a new, SIP
   enabled ALG is putting the responsibility for making it work into the



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  user@provider.com  STUN Agent          NAT       user@school.edu
          |(1) RTP        |               |               |
          |src=10.0.1.1:9988              |               |
          |dst=10.0.1.2:4372              |               |
          |-------------->|               |               |
          |               |(2) RTP        |               |
          |               |src=10.0.1.2:5306              |
          |               |dst=56.66.77.88:56496          |
          |               |-------------->|               |
          |               |               |(3) RTP        |
          |               |               |src=1.2.3.4:5679
          |               |               |dst=56.66.77.88:56496
          |               |               |-------------->|
          |(4) RTCP       |               |               |
          |src=10.0.1.1:9989              |               |
          |dst=10.0.1.2:4373              |               |
          |-------------->|               |               |
          |               |(5) RTCP       |               |
          |               |src=10.0.1.2:5307              |
          |               |dst=56.66.77.88:36485          |
          |               |-------------->|               |
          |               |               |(6) RTCP       |
          |               |               |src=1.2.3.4:5688
          |               |               |dst=56.66.77.88:36485
          |               |               |-------------->|
          |               |               |(7) RTP        |
          |               |               |src=56.66.77.88:56496
          |               |               |dst=1.2.3.4:5679
          |               |               |<--------------|
          |               |(8) RTP        |               |
          |               |src=56.66.77.88:56496          |
          |               |dst=10.0.1.2:4372              |
          |               |<--------------|               |
          |(9) RTP        |               |               |
          |src=10.0.1.2:4372              |               |
          |dst=10.0.1.1:9988              |               |
          |<--------------|               |               |
          |               |               |(10) RTCP      |
          |               |               |src=56.66.77.88:36485
          |               |               |dst=1.2.3.4:5688
          |               |               |<--------------|
          |               |(11) RTCP      |               |
          |               |src=56.66.77.88:36485          |
          |               |dst=10.0.1.2:5307              |
          |               |<--------------|               |
          |(12) RTCP      |               |               |
          |src=10.0.1.2:4373              |               |
          |dst=10.0.1.1:9989              |               |
          |<--------------|               |               |
          |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |
          |               |               |               |



   Figure 14: Media flow for STUN Agent

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 Client        STUN Agent          NAT            STUN            Proxy
                                                  Server
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(1) INVITE     |               |
    |               |               |<------------------------------|
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(2) INVITE     |               |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |(3) INVITE     |               |               |               |
    |<--------------|               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |(4) 200 OK     |               |               |               |
    |rtp=10.0.1.1:7612              |               |               |
    |-------------->|               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(5) STUN Query |               |               |
    |               |src=10.1.2.3:1928              |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(6) STUN Query |               |
    |               |               |src=9.8.7.6:9988               |
    |               |               |-------------->|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(7) STUN Resp. |               |
    |               |               |addr=9.8.7.6:9988              |
    |               |               |dst=9.8.7.6:9988               |
    |               |               |<--------------|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(8) STUN Resp. |               |               |
    |               |addr=9.8.7.6:9988              |               |
    |               |dst=10.1.2.3:1928              |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(9) STUN Query |               |               |
    |               |src=10.1.2.3:1929              |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(10) STUN Query                |
    |               |               |src=9.8.7.6:8877               |
    |               |               |-------------->|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(11) STUN Resp.                |
    |               |               |addr=9.8.7.6:8877              |
    |               |               |dst=9.8.7.6:8877               |
    |               |               |<--------------|               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(12) STUN Resp.                |               |
    |               |addr=9.8.7.6:8877              |               |
    |               |dst=10.1.2.3:1929              |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |(13) 200 OK    |               |               |
    |               |rtp=9.8.7.6:9988               |               |
    |               |rtcp=9.8.7.6:8877              |               |
    |               |contact=9.8.7.6:7766           |               |
    |               |-------------->|               |               |
    |               |               |(14) 200 OK    |               |
    |               |               |rtp=9.8.7.6:9988               |
    |               |               |rtcp=9.8.7.6:8877              |
    |               |               |contact=9.8.7.6:7766           |
    |               |               |------------------------------>|
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |200 OK
    |               |               |               |               |forwarded
    |               |               |               |               |upstream
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |(15) ACK       |               |
    |               |               |<------------------------------|
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |(16) ACK       |               |               |
    |               |<--------------|               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |(17) ACK       |               |               |               |
    |<--------------|               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |
    |               |               |               |               |



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   Figure 15: Incoming INVITE, STUN Agent


   wrong hands. This is coupled with the fact that consumers are
   generally ignorant of technology, and would not be able to identify
   and purchase a NAT that had SIP "ALG" support in it. Certainly, most
   providers in existence today are not willing to wait for this massive
   upgrade to happen. They need a way to provide service now. Providers
   are motivated to change or upgrade equipment that they control (their
   own servers, the client software, hardphones) in order to provide
   service, but users are not generally motivated to change equipment
   for a new application. Therefore, we believe that waiting for SIP ALG
   support in residential NATs is an untenable proposition from a
   business perspective.

3 Uncooperative Enterprise

   The "uncooperative enterprise" case arises when there are users
   within an enterprise that wish to access service from a provider on
   the public Internet. However, the enterprise uses a firewall or NAT.
   The enterprise has not deployed VoIP, and has not added any explicit
   configuration to support SIP, nor is there desire to do so.

   This case is actually identical to the residential case for the most
   part. Nearly all of the solutions for that environment can be used
   here, but there are some differences.

   First, the configuration trick of Section 2.1 does not work. That
   trick required that the user of the VoIP application had
   administrative control over the NAT. This is true in the residential
   case, but not in the enterprise case.

   Secondly, enterprise NATs often include firewall functionality and
   are more restrictive than the general NAT. At the extreme, they may
   even block all UDP traffic in and out. In these cases, there are few
   elegant or good solutions. The only workable approaches are the
   tunneling and VPN solutions. However, these are risky since they can
   introduce security weaknesses into the enterprise, and go against the
   enterprise policy that the firewall/NAT is trying to enforce in the
   first place.

   If the enterprise firewall/NAT is not any more restrictive than the
   typical residential NAT (will allow outgoing UDP and TCP), the
   residential solutions all work fine.

4 Cooperative Enterprise

   In this scenario, there is an enterprise which wishes to deploy SIP



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   services. There is no public provider involved at all; the enterprise
   takes full control. In this case, the enterprise firewall
   administrators do have the ability to manipulate the configuration of
   the firewall/NAT if neeeded, or to add and deploy additional elements
   inside of the network.

4.1 Solution I: ALG

   With this solution, the enterprise upgrades their firewall, or
   purchases a new firewall, to run software with an integrated SIP ALG.
   The NAT/Firewall examines each SIP request, and modifies the Contact,
   session description, and Vias as appropriate. Note that this approach
   does not work if the SIP messages are hop-by-hop encrypted (using for
   example TLS) unless the NAT/Firewall also acts as a SIP proxy server.

   Call flows for SIP ALGs have been documented in [6].

   In addition, the enterprise deploys proxies internal to the
   enterprise. The NAT is configured with a static mapping or "conduit"
   for each of these internal SIP servers from public IP addresses
   (typically on the well-know SIP port--5060) to their internal IP
   addresses. The Enterprise can then advertise these public addresses
   in DNS A or SRV records. This configuration is shown in Figure 16.


   Registration is performed entirely inside the enterprise network. SIP
   UAs inside the network can communicate with each other directly. SIP
   UAs wishing to communicate with the outside world need to go through
   the enterprise SIP proxy.

   When initiating a session outside the enterprise, the NAT/FW rewrites
   portions of the SIP INVITE and offered session description to contain
   public IP addresses. The NAT/Firewall also assigns a pairs of public
   ports for RTP and RTCP as needed, maps these to the private addresses
   and ports included in the original session description, and allows
   incoming traffic to these ports from the public internet.

   For example, the following INVITE might be rewritten as shown in the
   next example.


      INVITE sip:user@domain SIP/2.0
      From: sip:user@work.com;tag=88asd
      To: sip:user@domain
      Call-ID: 98asd6asd60099
      CSeq: 987769 INVITE
      Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.1.1.5
      Via: SIP/2.0/UDP proxy1.work.com;maddr=10.1.1.1



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              ----------
          ////          \\\\
        ||     Public       ||
       |       Internet       |
       |                      |
        ||                  ||
          \\\\          ////
              ----------
                 | |
                 | |
    1.2.3.4:5060 | | 1.2.3.5:5060
           +-----=-=------+
           |     =  =     |
           |     =   =    | Enterprise NAT
           |     =    =   |
           +-----=-----=--+
                 |      \
                 |       |
              +----+  +----+
              |    |  |    |
              |    |  |    |
              +----+  +----+
             Proxy 1  Proxy 2
            10.1.1.1  10.1.1.2
             :5060     :5060



   Figure 16: Enterprise ALG Configuration


      Record-Route: proxy1.work.com
      Contact: sip:10.1.1.5:5060
      Content-Type: application/sdp
      Content-Length: ...

      v=0
      o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 10.1.1.5
      c=IN IP4 10.1.1.5
      t=0 0
      m=audio 17832 RTP/AVP 0



   The same example INVITE shown rewritten.





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      INVITE sip:user@domain SIP/2.0
      From: sip:user@work.com;tag=88asd
      To: sip:user@domain
      Call-ID: 98asd6asd60099
      CSeq: 987769 INVITE
      Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.1.1.5
      Via: SIP/2.0/UDP proxy1.work.com;maddr=1.2.3.4:5060
      Record-Route: proxy1.work.com
      Contact: sip:1.2.3.6:7843
      Content-Type: application/sdp
      Content-Length: ...

      v=0
      o=aa 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 10.1.1.5
      c=IN IP4 1.2.3.4
      t=0 0
      m=audio 5678 RTP/AVP 0



   Likwise, when receiving sessions, the NAT/FW rewrites the answered
   session description. Note that the NAT/FW should be prepared to
   rewrite an offer in a 200, and an answer in an ACK.

4.2 Solution II: MIDCOM Firewall and Proxy

   In this approach, the enterprise purchases a firewall/NAT which uses
   some type of firewall control protocol such as the protocol being
   developed in the MIDCOM Working Group. A SIP proxy inside the network
   performs the stateful inspection and ALG rewriting logic that was
   imbedded in the firewall in scenario 5.1. The proxy then opens and
   closes pinholes in the firewall or creates and destroys NAT mappings
   as needed to allow SIP and session media to flow through the
   middlebox. This approach is being discussed in depth in the MIDCOM
   WG, so we will not elaborate here.

4.3 Solution III: Internal B2BUAWM

   In this solution, the enterprise does not need to change their NAT or
   firewall to get one with ALG support. Instead, they add an additional
   element inside the enterprise, which we call a "Back to Back User
   Agent With Media" or B2BUAWM. This element terminates all media and
   all SIP traffic in and out of the enterprise. As a result, the
   administrator of the firewall can configure the firewall to allow all
   traffic in and out from the B2BUAWM. Similarly, if NAT is used, a
   static mapping of a single public address to the private address of
   the B2BUAWM can be configured (i.e., using basic NAT, not NAPT), or,
   a range of ports can be allocated to the B2BUAWM. The media relay



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   component of the B2BUAWM can also be physically separated, using a
   control protocol, like MGCP [16] or MEGACO [17], between them.

   Effectively, the B2BUAWM acts as a "DMZ host" for the SIP and media
   traffic.



                -------------
           /////             \\\\\
         //                       \\
        |       Public Internet     |
       |                             |
        |                           |
         \\                       //
           \\\\\             /////
                -------------

      1.2.3.4
          +------::---=-=-=-=-=------+
          |  SIP ::   = = = = = RTP  |
          | 5060 ::   = = = = = 4000-| NAT
          |      ::   = = = = = 4009 |
          +------::---=-=-=-=-=------+
      10.1.1.1   ::   = = = = =
                 ::   = = = = =
                 ::   = = = = =
                 ::   = = = = =
                +---------------+
       10.1.1.2 |               |
                | B2BUA w/Media |
                |               |
                +---------------+
                / :   : |    : \
               / :    : |     : \
              / :     : |      : \
          +----+    +----+    +----+
          |    |    |    |    |    |
          |    |    |    |    |    |
          +----+    +----+    +----+

           UA 1      UA 2      UA 3
         10.1.1.5   10.1.1.6  10.1.1.7



   Figure 17: B2BUAWM for the Enterprise





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   In the example of Figure 17, an enterprise NAT is configured to map
   ports 4000 through 4009 from 1.2.3.4 (the public address of the NAT)
   to 10.1.1.2 (the private address of the media relay). The NAT is
   likewise configured to forward public SIP traffic on port 5060 to the
   B2BUA.

   The B2BUA will rewrite all Contact and Via headers to appear as if
   they are coming from the public or private address of the B2BUA. This
   process is pretty much identical to the process that a SIP ALG inside
   of a NAT would use.


   The B2BUA will allocate pairs of RTP/RTCP ports from its statically
   mapped pool, and rewrite the session description and each message, so
   that private addresses are translated to public addresses and vice
   versa. Figure 18 shows the call flow for an outgoing INVITE, and
   Figure 19 shows the call flow for an incoming INVITE.


5 Outsourced Service: Centrex

   In the outsourced service scenario (also known as Centrex), the
   enterprise wishes to deploy the SIP service, but does so by
   outsourcing it to a provider in the public Internet.

5.1 Solution I: ALG

   In this solution, the enterprise upgrades their firewall/NAT to
   include SIP ALG support. Unlike the cooperative enterprise case
   above, there is no need to deploy any proxies or additional elements
   inside the network (that is the point of Centrex). Clients within the
   enterprise register directly with the proxies owned and provided by
   the Centrex provider. This means that the ALG needs to rewrite
   REGISTER messages, in addition to INVITE/200/ACK messages. This is in
   contrast to an ALG deployed to support a cooperative enterprise. In
   that scenario, registrations are confined to the enterprise and never
   traverse the firewall/NAT.


   This configuration is shown in Figure 20. The enterprise only has
   clients. These clients are configured with the IP address of the
   proxy in the provider's network that they will be using. The
   enterprise configures its DNS so that SRV lookups on its domain names
   for SIP service (i.e., _sip._udp.enterprise.com) route to the
   provider's proxies.


   A call flow for a registration, followed by an incoming call, is



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                                                   Proxy/
 UA             B2BUA               NAT            Far UA
 |                |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |--INVITE------->|                  |                 |
 |  c=10.1.1.7    |---INVITE-------->|---------------->|
 |  m=audio 8238  |   c=1.2.3.4      |                 |
 |                |   m=audio 4002   |  200 OK         |
 |                |                  |  c=6.7.8.9      |
 |                |                  |  m=audio 17242  |
 |                |<-----------------|<----------------|
 |<-200 OK--------|                  |                 |
 |  c=10.1.1.2    |                  |                 |
 |  m=audio 4002  |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |--ACK---------->|                  |                 |
 |                |----ACK---------->|---------------->|
 |                |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |==RTP / RTCP===>|====RTP / RTCP===>|==RTP / RTCP====>|
 |  src=10.1.1.7  |    src=10.1.1.2  |  src=1.2.3.4    |
 |  dst=10.1.1.2  |    dst=6.7.8.9   |  dst=6.7.8.9    |
 |   :4002/3      |     :17242/3     |   :17242/3      |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |<=RTP / RTCP====|<===RTP / RTCP====|<=RTP / RTCP=====|
 |  src=10.1.1.2  |    src=6.7.8.9   |  src=6.7.8.9    |
 |  dst=10.1.1.7  |    dst=10.1.1.2  |  dst=1.2.3.4    |
 |   :8238/9      |      :4002/3     |   :4002/3       |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |--BYE---------->|----------------->|---------------->|
 |----------------|------------------|<-200 OK---------|



   Figure 18: Enterprise with B2BUAWM: Outgoing Invite


   shown in Figure 21.

   When the clients start up, they send REGISTER requests to this proxy
   (message 1). The ALG is responsible for rewriting the Contact in the
   registrations. The bindings allocated for the Contact headers are set
   with a long lifetime, generally equal to the lifetime of the Expires
   header in the request (this lifetime could be modified by a different
   expiration in the response).



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                                                   Proxy/
 UA             B2BUA               NAT            Far UA

 |                |<-----------------|<-INVITE---------|
 |<-INVITE--------|                  |  c=6.7.8.9      |
 |  c=10.1.1.2    |                  |  m=audio 17242  |
 |  m=audio 4002  |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |--200 OK------->|                  |                 |
 |  c=10.1.1.7    |---200 OK-------->|---------------->|
 |  m=audio 8238  |   c=1.2.3.4      |                 |
 |                |   m=audio 4002   |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |                |<-----------------|<-ACK------------|
 |<-ACK-----------|                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |==RTP / RTCP===>|====RTP / RTCP===>|==RTP / RTCP====>|
 |  src=10.1.1.7  |    src=10.1.1.2  |  src=1.2.3.4    |
 |  dst=10.1.1.2  |    dst=6.7.8.9   |  dst=6.7.8.9    |
 |   :4002/3      |     :17242/3     |   :17242/3      |
 |                |                  |                 |
 |<=RTP / RTCP====|<===RTP / RTCP====|<=RTP / RTCP=====|
 |  src=10.1.1.2  |    src=6.7.8.9   |  src=6.7.8.9    |
 |  dst=10.1.1.7  |    dst=10.1.1.2  |  dst=1.2.3.4    |
 |   :8238/9      |      :4002/3     |   :4002/3       |
 |                |                  |                 |



   Figure 19: Enterprise with B2BUAWM: Incoming Invite


   So, for example, the REGISTER sent by a client (message 1) might look
   like:


   REGISTER sip:enterprise.com SIP/2.0
   From: sip:user12@enterprise.com
   To: sip:user12@enterprise.com
   Contact: sip:user12@10.0.1.1:5060
   CSeq: 86590 REGISTER
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 10.0.1.1
   Call-ID: 9adjasd88






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        ...................................................
        .                                                 .
        .                 +------+   Centrex              .
        .                 |      |  Provider              .
        .               +------+ |  Proxy Farm            .
        .               |      | |                        .
        .               |      | |                        .
        .               |      |-+                        .
        .               +------+                          .
        .                                                 .
        .                                                 .
        .Provider               |                         .
        ........................|..........................
                                |
                                |Provider Access (Internet,
                           +---------+    private connection)
                           |Enterpris|
         ..................|. FW/NAT |.....................
         .                 | w/ ALG  |        Enterprise  .
         .                 +---------+                    .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                 /\                     /\      .
         .     /\         /  \         /\        /  \     .
         .    /  \       /    \       /  \      /    \    .
         .   /    \     /Client\     /    \    /Client\   .
         .  /Client\   ----------   /Client\  ----------  .
         . ----------              ----------             .
         ..................................................



   Figure 20: Centrex ALG Configuration


   The ALG would rewrite this, and the resulting registration (message
   2) might look like:


   REGISTER sip:enterprise.com SIP/2.0
   From: sip:user12@enterprise.com



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       Client              Enterprise               Proxy
                               NAT
          |                     |                     |
          |(1) REGISTER         |                     |
          |contact=10.0.1.1     |                     |
          |-------------------->|                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |(2) REGISTER         |
          |                     |contact=1.2.3.4:8875 |
          |                     |-------------------->|
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |(3) 200 OK           |
          |                     |<--------------------|
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |(4) 200 OK           |                     |
          |<--------------------|                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |Call received
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |(5) INVITE           |
          |                     |sip:user12@1.2.3.4:8875
          |                     |<--------------------|
          |                     |                     |
          |(6) INVITE           |                     |
          |sip:user12@10.0.1.1  |                     |
          |<--------------------|                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |(7) 200 OK           |                     |
          |-------------------->|                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |(8) 200 OK           |
          |                     |-------------------->|
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |(9) ACK              |
          |                     |<--------------------|
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |(10) ACK             |                     |
          |<--------------------|                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |
          |                     |                     |



   Figure 21: Incoming Call, Centrex ALG

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   To: sip:user12@enterprise.com
   Contact: sip:user12@1.2.3.4:8875
   CSeq: 86590 REGISTER
   Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 1.2.3.4:8875
   Call-ID: 9adjasd88



   The ALG would remember the association (1.2.3.4:8875, 10.0.1.1:5060)
   for one hour (the default registration expiration). This REGISTER
   would arrive at the provider proxy, and the registration stored
   there.

   When an INVITE arrives at the provider proxy for
   sip:user12@enterprise.com, the proxy translates this to
   sip:user12@1.2.3.4:8875 (message 5), and forwards the INVITE. This
   arrives at the ALG. The ALG rewrites the request URI to the
   translated address, sip:user12@10.0.1.1, and forwards it to the
   client (message 6). The ALG will also need to rewrite the SDP and
   Contact in the 2xx (message 7).

5.2 Solution II: External B2BUAWM

   In this solution, the service provider uses a "Back to Back User
   Agent with Media" instead of a proxy. This can be viewed as an
   integration of the proxy and the TURN server into an application
   specific solution.

   With this solution, there is no need for the enterprise to deploy an
   ALG.

   There are two main components of the solution - one addressing the
   control/signaling path issues, and the other, the media path. The
   signaling path component consists of a stateful Signaling Proxy
   server exhibiting some distinct behavior to be discussed later. The
   media path component consists of a Media Proxy server. In the context
   of SIP and RTP, the signaling path component will be a SIP Proxy
   server called Back-to-Back-User-Agent (BBUA) and the media path
   component is an RTP Proxy, as shown in Figure 22. The signaling and
   media proxies interact using some control protocol, which is
   transparent to the end users.


5.2.1 Signaling Path

   The following prerequisites must be met in order for the solution to
   work:




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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Service Provider

              +-------+                 +-------+
              | SIP   |                 | SIP   |
              | Proxy |+ + + + + + + + +| Proxy |
              |  X'   |                 |   Y'  |
              |       |\                |       |
              +-------+ \               +-------+
             +           \+---------+         +
           +              |         |          +
          +               |RTP Proxy|           +
         +          ^ ^ ^ |         |^ ^ ^       +
        +        ^        +---------+      ^      +
  . . . + . .   ^ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^   . + . . .
        +      ^                                 ^   +
        +     ^                                    ^  +
        +---------+                             +---------+
........|Symmetric|...........         .........|Symmetric|........
.       | NAT/FW  |          .         .        | NAT/FW  |       .
.       +---------+          .         .        +---------+       .
.         +  ^               .         .             ^  +         .
.         +  ^               .         .             ^  +         .
.         +  ^               .         .             ^  +         .
.         +  ^               .         .             ^  +         .
.       +-------+            .         .          +-------+       .
.       | SIP UA|            .         .          | SIP UA|       .
.       |   X   |            .         .          |   Y   |       .
.       +-------+            .         .          +-------+       .
..............................         ............................

        Enterprise                           Enterprise

                                   ++++  Control path for media
                                   ^^^^  Media path
                                   ----  Control path between
                                         Signaling and Media Proxies



   Figure 22: B2BUAWM Configuration


        o The solution described here, relies on the principle that
          connections from within the Enterprise are allowed out and
          that the corresponding responses to those connections are
          allowed back in (as in case of Traditional NAT's). This



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          enables the end points inside the enterprise to maintain a
          connection to the Signaling server via a "keep-alive"
          mechanism.

        o All signaling messages must travel via the Signaling Proxy.
          The SIP Signaling Proxy server with whom the UA registered
          must be the one through which all incoming (outgoing) calls
          are routed to (from) the UA.

        o The SIP Signaling Proxy server must be one hop away from the
          UA.

        o The destination port of the requests at the Signaling Proxy
          server is the same as the source port of the corresponding
          responses.

   In the example configuration shown in Figure 22, the signaling path
   is established when the SIP UA's register with the corresponding
   Proxy/Register (Signaling server). The SIP REGISTER message contains
   an extension tag carried in the Proxy-Require header, indicating to
   the Proxy that the client is behind a NAT (Note: the client or the
   Proxy does not care about the type of NAT, as the same solution
   applies to all types). This packet is NAT-ed by the Enterprise NAT
   with a new source IP address and port. If the Proxy supports the
   extension tag, it creates an association between the IP address and
   port from which the packet arrived and the actual address of the
   user. The response to the Registration message is sent to this IP
   address and port (not to the Contact address in the REGISTER).

   Once the signaling path is established, this can be used to send
   subsequent requests and responses to the user using the above
   association stored at the Proxy, i.e., the request is sent (as above)
   to the address/port assigned by the NAT instead of to the actual
   address of the user. All requests and responses must be routed via
   this Signaling Proxy. All requests from the user should carry the
   Proxy-require header with the special tag indicating that it is
   behind NAT/FW.

   The signaling path is always kept open through the NAT using a keep-
   alive mechanism. This can be done using REGISTER refreshes as
   proposed in [9]. One disadvantage of using the REGISTER method for
   this purpose is it forces frequent (at least once every minute),
   unnecessary involvement on the part of the Registrar. In this
   solution, "keep-alive" is achieved by periodically sending a new
   lightweight SIP method from the UA to the Server designed
   specifically for this purpose. The new SIP method is called PING and
   contains the following mandatory SIP headers: From, To, Via, Proxy-
   require, Contact, Call-id, Cseq. The Proxy Server responds to the



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   PING method with a 200 OK final response. The timeout values in
   Firewalls and NAT's are observed to be between 1 to 3 mins and the
   "keep-alive" frequency must be higher than this. This keep-alive
   mechanism must continue during the call.

   The public IP address/port allocated by the NAT is returned to the
   Client in the Contact header of 200 OK sent by the Proxy server. This
   allows the UA to perform NAT/FW failure detection by - (a) not
   receiving 200 OK over a prolonged period of time, and (b) detecting
   that the NAT IP address has changed in a received 200 OK. The second
   event can serve as an indication that the UA needs to re-register
   with the Proxy server to maintain the signaling path open. The NAT
   address/port, although sent to the registered UA, is never carried in
   SIP messages towards the remote callee. This provides certain amount
   of security through IP address hiding.

5.2.2 Media Path: The Case for RTP (Media) Proxy

   RTP Proxy, as the name suggests, terminates an RTP session on one
   side and originates the same session on the other. The UA always
   sends (and receives) media to (and from) an assigned address and port
   of the RTP proxy. The RTP Proxy can perform NAPT function both on the
   source and destination address/port of packets. For a solution using
   an RTP Proxy to work, the requirement is that any media stream
   traversing the NAT from the private side (e.g., Enterprise) must
   always go through the RTP Proxy (and any intra-Enterprise traffic
   should be able to bypass the RTP Proxy). Since incoming packets are
   received from the same address and port as the outgoing packets are
   sent to, a Symmetric NAT will always allow the packets from the RTP
   proxy inside the Enterprise for the duration of the session. This
   implies that a Full Cone NAT (or any restricted version of it) will
   also allow flows to and from the RTP Proxy. This principle can be
   generalized to be applicable to any type of application session, not
   just RTP/RTCP sessions.

   The following are the prerequisites for this solution to work:

        o Any media stream that traverses the NAT from private side to
          the public will pass through the RTP Proxy.

        o The addresses and ports in the RTP Proxy are assigned either
          during the call set-up or before it.

        o The RTP Proxy should know where to send the received media.
          For example, if it is acting as a bridge between two private
          endpoints X and Y (X and Y are behind different NAT's), this
          implies that the Proxy should be aware of the X's external
          address/port before (or at least, as soon as) it starts



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          receiving media from Y, and vice-versa.

        o The send and receive ports of the media in the UA's are
          configured to be the same.


   Reverting back to our example configuration in Figure 22, let us
   illustrate using a call flow, how resource allocation in the RTP
   Proxy will take place when UA X wants to establish a SIP session with
   UA Y (only relevant parts of the call flow is shown). It is assumed
   that the signaling paths between the UA's and the Proxy are already
   established by the method described in Section 5.2.1. Please refer to
   Figure 23 for the address/port allocations at various devices and the
   call flow.

        1.   UA X sends a SIP INVITE message towards UA Y through the
             Proxy X' specifying that it wishes to receive media at
             (private) IP address, PXA and port, px, i.e., PXA:px.

        2.   Proxy X' instructs the RTP Proxy to reserve a pair of IP
             address/port, one representing each end of the connection.
             To UA Y, the remote end of the connection is perceived to
             be A:px*, whereas to UA X, this is perceived to be A:py*.
             Note 1: Due to the presence of the NAT's, the source IP
             address/port of the media packets from the UA's are yet
             unknown to the RTP Proxy. Note 2: Consecutive port binds
             are also created for RTCP sessions corresponding to RTP.

        3.   Proxy X' forwards the INVITE towards UA Y (perhaps through
             Proxy Y') specifying that Y should send media to the RTP
             Proxy at A:px* (by modifying the SDP).

        4.   UA Y responds with a 200 OK specifying that it wishes to
             receive media at (private) IP address, PYA and port, py,
             i.e., PYA:py.

        5.   When Proxy X' receives the 200 OK, it changes these IP
             address and port parameters in SDP specifying X should
             transmit media to the RTP Proxy at A:py*, and forwards the
             200 OK towards UA X (Note: Proxy X' actually forwards the
             message to the external NAT-ed address/port of UA X).

        6.   When UA X receives the 200 OK, it starts transmitting media
             (e.g., background noise) towards the RTP Proxy. When the
             first of these NAT- ed RTP packets reach the RTP Proxy, the
             Proxy remembers the source address/port (say, NX, px') of
             that packet as the external representation for the media
             end point of UA X. Any media received from Y to X should be



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   Legends:-
     <><> : bi-directional flow
     ---- : signaling
     ==== : media
     px, px', py*, px*, py', py : ports
            PXA, NX, A, NY, PYA : IP addresses

     PXA         NX             A           NY        PYA
    +-----+     +-----+     +--------+    +-----+    +-----+
    |     |     |     |     |        |    |     |    |     |
    |   px|<><><|  px'|<><><>py*  px*|<><>|py'  |<><>|py   |
    |     |     |     |     |        |    |     |    |     |
    +-----+     +-----+     +--------+    +-----+    +-----+

     UA X        NAT   Proxy RTP Proxy     NAT        UA Y
                         X'

     | 1.INVITE  |       |        |          |         |
     |---------->|------>|        |          |         |
     |           |       |------->|          |         |
     |           |       | 2.Create          |         |
     |           |       | port bind         |         |
     |           |       |<-------|          |         |
     |           |       |        |3.INVITE  |         |
     |           |       |------------------>|-------->|
     |           |       |        |          |         |
     |<----------|<------|<------------------|<--------|
     | 5. 200 OK |       |        |4.200 OK  |         |
     |           |       |        |          |         |
     |==========>|===============>|          |         |
     |           | 6.RTP |        |<=========|<========|
     |           |       |        |   6.RTP  |         |
     |           |       |        |          |         |
     |---------->|------>|------------------>|-------->|
     |7. ACK     |       |        |          |         |
     |           |       |        |          |         |
     |<=========>|<==============>|<========>|<=======>|
                         RTP



   Figure 23: Call Flow for B2BUAWM


             sent to this address/port.

             Similarly, when the first RTP packet is received from UA Y,



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             the RTP Proxy notes down the source IP address/port (say,
             NY:py'), which will be used as the destination address to
             transmit media received from X to Y.

        7.   Finally, UA X responds with an ACK message and the call
             set-up is complete.

   Note that, since all signaling is routed via the Proxy, which can
   determine whether both the UA's are in the same domain, all intra-
   Enterprise calls (behind the same NAT) can avoid the trip to the RTP
   Proxy. This is one of the key advantages of the Proxy mediating the
   address/port of the endpoints of a call.

   Once the media path is established through the NAT, keep-alive
   messages in the form of periodic RTP packets are sent to keep the
   connection alive when the users are in mute (i.e., when no speech
   packets are transmitted).

   There needs to be some control interaction between the SIP and the
   RTP Proxies to establish the end-to-end sessions. The protocol can be
   one of the device control protocols such as MGCP, Megaco etc.

5.3 Solution III: Outsourced MIDCOM

   In this scenario, the enterprise upgrades its firewall/NAT to a
   midcom-enabled one. The centrex provider uses a proxy which can
   control the firewall/NAT, opening and closing pinholes as needed.
   This scenario avoids the need for a SIP specific ALG. Indeed, if the
   enterprise uses other outsourced services, each provider can have a
   control connection to the firewall/NAT to ensure that it works for
   that particular application. This is one of the benefits of MIDCOM.


   This configuration (for a single centrex provider) is shown in Figure
   24. It is similar to the ALG configuration 20, but there is a control
   relationship between the proxies in the provider network (which act
   as midcom agents [7]), and the firewall/NAT in the enterprise (which
   is the middlebox).

   For this solution to work, the firewall/NAT needs a static rule which
   allows all outgoing traffic on UDP port 5060 to the proxies in the
   provider network. This rule can be configured, or the proxies in the
   provider network can create it when they first connect to the
   firewall/NAT.


   The basic call flow for a registration and incoming INVITE is shown
   in Figure 25. The enterprise is using a MIDCOM FW/NAT. The enterprise



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        ...................................................
        .                                                 .
        .                 +------+   Centrex              .
        .                 |      |  Provider              .
        .               +------+ |  Proxy Farm            .
        .               |      | |                        .
        .               |      | |                        .
        .               |      |-+                        .
        .               +------+                          .
        .                x                                .
        .                x                                .
        .Provider        x      |                         .
        .................x......|..........................
                         x      |
                 MIDCOM  x      |Provider Access (Internet,
                 Control x +---------+    private connection)
                         xx|Enterpris|
         ..................|. FW/NAT |.....................
         .                 | MIDCOM  |        Enterprise  .
         .                 +---------+                    .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                                                .
         .                 /\                     /\      .
         .     /\         /  \         /\        /  \     .
         .    /  \       /    \       /  \      /    \    .
         .   /    \     /Client\     /    \    /Client\   .
         .  /Client\   ----------   /Client\  ----------  .
         . ----------              ----------             .
         ..................................................



   Figure 24: Centrex MIDCOM Configuration


   has a single public address, 1.2.3.4, which routes to the FW/NAT.
   When the REGISTER arrives at the proxy (message 2), the proxy
   performs a bind request (message 3), asking for the Contact address,
   10.0.1.7:5060, to be translated. The FW/NAT returns with a mapped
   address, 1.2.3.4:7765, and this is stored by the proxy to use as the
   destination IP/port for sending requests to sip:user@10.0.1.7.



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       Client          MIDCOM FW        Provider            UAC
                                          Proxy
          |                |                |                |
          |(1) REGISTER    |                |                |
          |m:10.0.1.7      |                |                |
          |--------------->|                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(2) REGISTER    |                |
          |                |m:10.0.1.7      |                |
          |                |--------------->|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(3) BIND_REQ    |                |
          |                |10.0.1.7:5060   |                |
          |                |<---------------|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(4) BIND_RESP   |                |
          |                |1.2.3.4:7765    |                |
          |                |--------------->|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(5) 200 OK      |                |
          |                |<---------------|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |(6) 200 OK      |                |                |
          |<---------------|                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |(7) INVITE      |
          |                |                |sip:user@enterprise
          |                |                |<---------------|
          |                |(8) INVITE      |                |
          |                |sip:user@10.0.1.7                |
          |                |dst=1.2.3.4:7765|                |
          |                |<---------------|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |(9) INVITE      |                |                |
          |<---------------|                |                |
          |(10) 200 OK     |                |                |
          |m=10.0.1.7      |                |                |
          |rtp=10.0.1.7:8866                |                |
          |--------------->|                |                |
          |                |(11) 200 OK     |                |
          |                |m=10.0.1.7      |                |
          |                |rtp=10.0.1.7:8866                |
          |                |--------------->|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(12) BIND_REQ2  |                |
          |                |10.0.1.7:8866   |                |
          |                |<---------------|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(13) BIND_RESP  |                |
          |                |1.2.3.4:6544    |                |
          |                |--------------->|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |(14) 200 OK     |
          |                |                |--------------->|
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |(15) ACK        |
          |                |                |<---------------|
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |(16) ACK        |                |
          |                |<---------------|                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |(17) ACK        |                |                |
          |<---------------|                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |
          |                |                |                |



   Figure 25: Centrex MIDCOM Solution, Incoming INVITE

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   When an incoming INVITE arrives at the proxy (message 7), the R-URI
   is looked up, and translated to sip:10.0.1.7, but with a destination
   address of 1.2.3.4:7765, which is where the request is sent. This
   passes through the NAT, translated to 10.0.1.7:5060, and arrives at
   the client (message 9). The 200 OK contains an RTP address of
   10.0.1.7:8866. When this is received by the proxy (11), it performs
   another bind request to the FW/NAT, asking for a pair of addresses on
   consecutive ports. The bind response indicates that 1.2.3.4:6544 and
   1.2.3.4:6545 will be mapped to 10.0.1.7:8866 and 10.0.1.7:8867
   respectively. The proxy rewrites the SDP in the response, and
   forwards that upstream.

5.4 Solution IV: STUN and TURN

   The operation of a STUN or TURN solution in the centrex case is
   identical to the residential case described in Section 2.2. If the
   enterprise uses a firewall/NAT which allows for full-cone operation
   of UDP, then STUN will get used, and the centrex provider needs to
   only deploy STUN servers. If, however, a more restrictive
   firewall/NAT, such as symmetric, is used, the centrex provider must
   deploy TURN servers as well.

6 Future Work

        o Define a set of criteria for evaluating the various solutions.

        o Include a subsection at the end of each scenario, weighing the
          pros/cons of each solution based on the criteria above.

        o Expand the scope of the solution set to include a broader set
          of solutions.

        o More details on many of the call flows.

7 Acknowledgements

   The authors would like to thank Mary Barnes for her comments on this
   draft.

8 Authors Addresses



   Jonathan Rosenberg
   dynamicsoft
   72 Eagle Rock Avenue
   First Floor
   East Hanover, NJ 07936



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   email: jdrosen@dynamicsoft.com

   Rohan Mahy
   Cisco Systems
   170 West Tasman Dr, MS: SJC-21/3
   Phone: +1 408 526 8570
   Email: rohan@cisco.com

   Sanjoy Sen
   Nortel Networks
   sanjoy@nortelnetworks.com





9 Bibliography

   [1] M. Handley, H. Schulzrinne, E. Schooler, and J. Rosenberg, "SIP:
   session initiation protocol," Request for Comments 2543, Internet
   Engineering Task Force, Mar. 1999.

   [2] J. Rosenberg, J. Weinberger, C. Huitema, and R. Mahy, "STUN -
   simple traversal of UDP through NATs," Internet Draft, Internet
   Engineering Task Force, Oct. 2001.  Work in progress.

   [3] J. Rosenberg, R. Mahy, and C. Huitema, "Traversal using nat relay
   (turn)," Internet Draft, Internet Engineering Task Force, Nov. 2001.
   Work in progress.

   [4] B. Biggs, "A SIP application level gateway for network address
   translation," Internet Draft, Internet Engineering Task Force, Mar.
   2000.  Work in progress.

   [5] C. Martin and A. Johnston, "SIP through NAT enabled firewall call
   flows," Internet Draft, Internet Engineering Task Force, Feb. 2001.
   Work in progress.

   [6] J. Rosenberg, D. Drew, and H. Schulzrinne, "Getting SIP through
   firewalls and NATs," Internet Draft, Internet Engineering Task Force,
   Feb. 2000.  Work in progress.

   [7] P. Srisuresh, J. Kuthan, J. Rosenberg, A. Molitor, and A. Rayhan,
   "Middlebox communication architecture and framework," Internet Draft,
   Internet Engineering Task Force, Oct. 2001.  Work in progress.

   [8] C. Huitema, "RTCP attribute in SDP," Internet Draft, Internet
   Engineering Task Force, Aug. 2001.  Work in progress.



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   [9] J. Rosenberg, J. Weinberger, and H. Schulzrinne, "SIP extensions
   for NAT traversal," Internet Draft, Internet Engineering Task Force,
   Aug. 2001.  Work in progress.

   [10] M. Borella, D. Grabelsky, J. Lo, and K. Taniguchi, "Realm
   specific IP:  protocol specification," Request for Comments 3103,
   Internet Engineering Task Force, Oct. 2001.

   [11] M. Borella, J. Lo, D. Grabelsky, and G. Montenegro, "Realm
   specific IP:  framework," Request for Comments 3102, Internet
   Engineering Task Force, Oct.  2001.

   [12] F. Thernelius, "SIP firewall solution," Internet Draft, Internet
   Engineering Task Force, July 2000.  Work in progress.

   [13] S. Kent and R. Atkinson, "IP encapsulating security payload
   (ESP)," Request for Comments 2406, Internet Engineering Task Force,
   Nov. 1998.

   [14] M. Gaynor and S. Bradner, "Firewall enhancement protocol (FEP),"
   Request for Comments 3093, Internet Engineering Task Force, Apr.
   2001.

   [15] D. Yon, "Connection-oriented media transport in SDP," Internet
   Draft, Internet Engineering Task Force, Oct. 2001.  Work in progress.

   [16] M. Arango, A. Dugan, I. Elliott, C. Huitema, and S. Pickett,
   "Media gateway control protocol (MGCP) version 1.0," Request for
   Comments 2705, Internet Engineering Task Force, Oct. 1999.

   [17] F. Cuervo, N. Greene, A. Rayhan, C. Huitema, B. Rosen, and J.
   Segers, "Megaco protocol version 1.0," Request for Comments 3015,
   Internet Engineering Task Force, Nov. 2000.





                           Table of Contents



   1          Introduction ........................................    1
   2          Scenario I: Residence with single NAT ...............    2
   2.1        Solution I: Configuration ...........................    3
   2.2        Solution II: Stun in Client .........................    5
   2.2.1      Not Symmetric NAT ...................................    7
   2.2.1.1    Registration ........................................    7



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   2.2.1.2    Initiating a Session ................................    9
   2.2.1.3    Receiving an Invitation to a Session ................   12
   2.2.1.4    Media Flow ..........................................   13
   2.2.2      Symmetric NAT .......................................   16
   2.2.2.1    Registration ........................................   16
   2.2.2.2    Initiating a Session ................................   17
   2.2.2.3    Answering an Invitation to a Session ................   21
   2.2.2.4    Media Flows .........................................   22
   2.3        Solution III: STUN in B2BUA .........................   24
   2.3.1      Registration ........................................   24
   2.3.2      Initiating a Session ................................   28
   2.3.3      Receiving an Invitation to a Session ................   32
   2.4        Solution IV: ALG ....................................   32
   3          Uncooperative Enterprise ............................   35
   4          Cooperative Enterprise ..............................   35
   4.1        Solution I: ALG .....................................   36
   4.2        Solution II: MIDCOM Firewall and Proxy ..............   38
   4.3        Solution III: Internal B2BUAWM ......................   38
   5          Outsourced Service: Centrex .........................   40
   5.1        Solution I: ALG .....................................   40
   5.2        Solution II: External B2BUAWM .......................   45
   5.2.1      Signaling Path ......................................   45
   5.2.2      Media Path: The Case for RTP (Media) Proxy ..........   48
   5.3        Solution III: Outsourced MIDCOM .....................   51
   5.4        Solution IV: STUN and TURN ..........................   54
   6          Future Work .........................................   54
   7          Acknowledgements ....................................   54
   8          Authors Addresses ...................................   54
   9          Bibliography ........................................   55






















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