The Common Log Format (CLF) for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP): Framework and Information Model
RFC 6872

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                   V. Gurbani, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6872             Bell Laboratories, Alcatel-Lucent
Category: Standards Track                                 E. Burger, Ed.
ISSN: 2070-1721                                    Georgetown University
                                                               T. Anjali
                                        Illinois Institute of Technology
                                                             H. Abdelnur
                                                               O. Festor
                                                                   INRIA
                                                           February 2013

 The Common Log Format (CLF) for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP):
                    Framework and Information Model

Abstract

   Well-known web servers such as Apache and web proxies like Squid
   support event logging using a common log format.  The logs produced
   using these de facto standard formats are invaluable to system
   administrators for troubleshooting a server and tool writers to craft
   tools that mine the log files and produce reports and trends.
   Furthermore, these log files can also be used to train anomaly
   detection systems and feed events into a security event management
   system.  The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) does not have a common
   log format, and, as a result, each server supports a distinct log
   format that makes it unnecessarily complex to produce tools to do
   trend analysis and security detection.  This document describes a
   framework, including requirements and analysis of existing
   approaches, and specifies an information model for development of a
   SIP common log file format that can be used uniformly by user agents,
   proxies, registrars, and redirect servers as well as back-to-back
   user agents.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6872.

Gurbani, et al.              Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 6872                         SIP CLF                   February 2013

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   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
   2. Terminology .....................................................4
   3. Problem Statement ...............................................4
   4. What SIP CLF Is and What It Is Not ..............................5
   5. Alternative Approaches to SIP CLF ...............................5
      5.1. SIP CLF and Call Detail Records ............................6
      5.2. SIP CLF and Packet Capture Tools ...........................6
      5.3. SIP CLF and Syslog .........................................7
      5.4. SIP CLF and IPFIX ..........................................8
   6. Motivation and Use Cases ........................................8
   7. Challenges in Establishing a SIP CLF ...........................10
   8. Information Model ..............................................11
      8.1. SIP CLF Mandatory Fields ..................................11
      8.2. Mandatory Fields and SIP Entities .........................13
   9. Examples .......................................................14
      9.1. UAC Registration ..........................................15
      9.2. Direct Call between Alice and Bob .........................17
      9.3. Single Downstream Branch Call .............................20
      9.4. Forked Call ...............................................25
   10. Security Considerations .......................................35
   11. Operational Guidance ..........................................37
   12. Acknowledgments ...............................................37
   13. References ....................................................37