RFC 3435
Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) Version 1.0
2. Media Gateway Control Interface
The interface functions provide for connection control and endpoint control. Both use the same system model and the same naming conventions.2.1 Model and Naming Conventions
The MGCP assumes a connection model where the basic constructs are endpoints and connections. Connections are grouped in calls. One or more connections can belong to one call. Connections and calls are set up at the initiative of one or more Call Agents.2.1.1 Types of Endpoints
In the introduction, we presented several classes of gateways. Such classifications, however, can be misleading. Manufacturers can arbitrarily decide to provide several types of services in a single package. A single product could well, for example, provide some trunk connections to telephony switches, some primary rate connections and some analog line interfaces, thus sharing the characteristics of what we described in the introduction as "trunking", "access" and "residential" gateways. MGCP does not make assumptions about such groupings. We simply assume that media gateways support collections of endpoints. The type of the endpoint determines its functionality. Our analysis, so far, has led us to isolate the following basic endpoint types: * Digital channel (DS0), * Analog line, * Announcement server access point, * Interactive Voice Response access point, * Conference bridge access point, * Packet relay, * ATM "trunk side" interface. In this section, we will describe the expected behavior of such endpoints.
This list is not final. There may be other types of endpoints defined in the future, for example test endpoints that could be used to check network quality, or frame-relay endpoints that could be used to manage audio channels multiplexed over a frame-relay virtual circuit.2.1.1.1 Digital Channel (DS0)
Digital channels provide a 64 Kbps service. Such channels are found in trunk and ISDN interfaces. They are typically part of digital multiplexes, such as T1, E1, T3 or E3 interfaces. Media gateways that support such channels are capable of translating the digital signals received on the channel, which may be encoded according to A-law or mu-law, using either the complete set of 8 bits per sample or only 7 of these bits, into audio packets. When the media gateway also supports a Network Access Server (NAS) service, the gateway shall be capable of receiving either audio-encoded data (modem connection) or binary data (ISDN connection) and convert them into data packets. +------- +------------+| (channel) ===|DS0 endpoint| -------- Connections +------------+| +------- Media gateways should be able to establish several connections between the endpoint and the packet networks, or between the endpoint and other endpoints in the same gateway. The signals originating from these connections shall be mixed according to the connection "mode", as specified later in this document. The precise number of connections that an endpoint supports is a characteristic of the gateway, and may in fact vary according to the allocation of resources within the gateway. In some cases, digital channels are used to carry signaling. This is the case for example for SS7 "F" links, or ISDN "D" channels. Media gateways that support these signaling functions shall be able to send and receive the signaling packets to and from a Call Agent, using the "backhaul" procedures defined by the SIGTRAN working group of the IETF. Digital channels are sometimes used in conjunction with channel associated signaling, such as "MF R2". Media gateways that support these signaling functions shall be able to detect and produce the corresponding signals, such as for example "wink" or "A", according to the event signaling and reporting procedures defined in MGCP.
2.1.1.2 Analog Line
Analog lines can be used either as a "client" interface, providing service to a classic telephone unit, or as a "service" interface, allowing the gateway to send and receive analog calls. When the media gateway also supports a NAS service, the gateway shall be capable of receiving audio-encoded data (modem connection) and convert them into data packets. +------- +---------------+| (line) ===|analog endpoint| -------- Connections +---------------+| +------- Media gateways should be able to establish several connections between the endpoint and the packet networks, or between the endpoint and other endpoints in the same gateway. The audio signals originating from these connections shall be mixed according to the connection "mode", as specified later in this document. The precise number of connections that an endpoint supports is a characteristic of the gateway, and may in fact vary according to the allocation of resources within the gateway. A typical gateway should however be able to support two or three connections per endpoint, in order to support services such as "call waiting" or "three way calling".2.1.1.3 Announcement Server Access Point
An announcement server endpoint provides access to an announcement service. Under requests from the Call Agent, the announcement server will "play" a specified announcement. The requests from the Call Agent will follow the event signaling and reporting procedures defined in MGCP. +----------------------+ | Announcement endpoint| -------- Connection +----------------------+ A given announcement endpoint is not expected to support more than one connection at a time. If several connections were established to the same endpoint, then the same announcements would be played simultaneously over all the connections. Connections to an announcement server are typically one way, or "half duplex" -- the announcement server is not expected to listen to the audio signals from the connection.
2.1.1.4 Interactive Voice Response Access Point
An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) endpoint provides access to an IVR service. Under requests from the Call Agent, the IVR server will "play" announcements and tones, and will "listen" to responses, such as DTMF input or voice messages, from the user. The requests from the Call Agent will follow the event signaling and reporting procedures defined in MGCP. +-------------+ | IVR endpoint| -------- Connection +-------------+ A given IVR endpoint is not expected to support more than one connection at a time. If several connections were established to the same endpoint, then the same tones and announcements would be played simultaneously over all the connections.2.1.1.5 Conference Bridge Access Point
A conference bridge endpoint is used to provide access to a specific conference. +------- +--------------------------+| |Conference bridge endpoint| -------- Connections +--------------------------+| +------- Media gateways should be able to establish several connections between the endpoint and the packet networks, or between the endpoint and other endpoints in the same gateway. The signals originating from these connections shall be mixed according to the connection "mode", as specified later in this document. The precise number of connections that an endpoint supports is a characteristic of the gateway, and may in fact vary according to the allocation of resources within the gateway.2.1.1.6 Packet Relay
A packet relay endpoint is a specific form of conference bridge, that typically only supports two connections. Packets relays can be found in firewalls between a protected and an open network, or in transcoding servers used to provide interoperation between incompatible gateways, for example gateways that do not support compatible compression algorithms, or gateways that operate over different transmission networks such as IP and ATM.
+-------
+---------------------+ |
|Packet relay endpoint| 2 connections
+---------------------+ |
+-------
2.1.1.7 ATM "trunk side" Interface
ATM "trunk side" endpoints are typically found when one or several
ATM permanent virtual circuits are used as a replacement for the
classic "TDM" trunks linking switches. When ATM/AAL2 is used,
several trunks or channels are multiplexed on a single virtual
circuit; each of these trunks correspond to a single endpoint.
+-------
+------------------+|
(channel) = |ATM trunk endpoint| -------- Connections
+------------------+|
+-------
Media gateways should be able to establish several connections
between the endpoint and the packet networks, or between the endpoint
and other endpoints in the same gateway. The signals originating
from these connections shall be mixed according to the connection
"mode", as specified later in this document. The precise number of
connections that an endpoint supports is a characteristic of the
gateway, and may in fact vary according to the allocation of
resources within the gateway.
2.1.2 Endpoint Identifiers
Endpoint identifiers have two components that both are case-
insensitive:
* the domain name of the gateway that is managing the endpoint
* a local name within that gateway
Endpoint names are of the form:
local-endpoint-name@domain-name
where domain-name is an absolute domain-name as defined in RFC 1034
and includes a host portion, thus an example domain-name could be:
mygateway.whatever.net
Also, domain-name may be an IP-address of the form defined for domain name in RFC 821, thus another example could be (see RFC 821 for details): [192.168.1.2] Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses can be specified, however use of IP addresses as endpoint identifiers is generally discouraged. Note that since the domain name portion is part of the endpoint identifier, different forms or different values referring to the same entity are not freely interchangeable. The most recently supplied form and value MUST always be used. The local endpoint name is case-insensitive. The syntax of the local endpoint name is hierarchical, where the least specific component of the name is the leftmost term, and the most specific component is the rightmost term. The precise syntax depends on the type of endpoint being named and MAY start with a term that identifies the endpoint type. In any case, the local endpoint name MUST adhere to the following naming rules: 1) The individual terms of the naming path MUST be separated by a single slash ("/", ASCII 2F hex). 2) The individual terms are character strings composed of letters, digits or other printable characters, with the exception of characters used as delimiters ("/", "@"), characters used for wildcarding ("*", "$") and white spaces. 3) Wild-carding is represented either by an asterisk ("*") or a dollar sign ("$") for the terms of the naming path which are to be wild-carded. Thus, if the full local endpoint name is of the form: term1/term2/term3 then the entity name field looks like this depending on which terms are wild-carded: */term2/term3 if term1 is wild-carded term1/*/term3 if term2 is wild-carded term1/term2/* if term3 is wild-carded term1/*/* if term2 and term3 are wild-carded, etc. In each of these examples a dollar sign could have appeared instead of an asterisk.
4) A term represented by an asterisk ("*") is to be interpreted as:
"use ALL values of this term known within the scope of the Media
Gateway". Unless specified otherwise, this refers to all
endpoints configured for service, regardless of their actual
service state, i.e., in-service or out-of-service.
5) A term represented by a dollar sign ("$") is to be interpreted as:
"use ANY ONE value of this term known within the scope of the
Media Gateway". Unless specified otherwise, this only refers to
endpoints that are in-service.
Furthermore, it is RECOMMENDED that Call Agents adhere to the
following:
* Wild-carding should only be done from the right, thus if a term is
wild-carded, then all terms to the right of that term should be
wild-carded as well.
* In cases where mixed dollar sign and asterisk wild-cards are used,
dollar-signs should only be used from the right, thus if a term had
a dollar sign wild-card, all terms to the right of that term should
also contain dollar sign wild-cards.
The description of a specific command may add further criteria for
selection within the general rules given above.
Note, that wild-cards may be applied to more than one term in which
case they shall be evaluated from left to right. For example, if we
have the endpoint names "a/1", "a/2", "b/1", and "b/2", then "$/*"
(which is not recommended) will evaluate to either "a/1, a/2", or
"b/1, b/2". However, "*/$" may evaluate to "a/1, b/1", "a/1, b/2",
"a/2, b/1", or "a/2, b/2". The use of mixed wild-cards in a command
is considered error prone and is consequently discouraged.
A local name that is composed of only a wildcard character refers to
either all (*) or any ($) endpoints within the media gateway.
2.1.3 Calls and Connections
Connections are created on the Call Agent on each endpoint that will
be involved in the "call". In the classic example of a connection
between two "DS0" endpoints (EP1 and EP2), the Call Agents
controlling the endpoints will establish two connections (C1 and C2):
+---+ +---+
(channel1) ===|EP1|--(C1)--... ...(C2)--|EP2|===(channel2)
+---+ +---+
Each connection will be designated locally by an endpoint unique
connection identifier, and will be characterized by connection
attributes.
When the two endpoints are located on gateways that are managed by
the same Call Agent, the creation is done via the three following
steps:
1) The Call Agent asks the first gateway to "create a connection" on
the first endpoint. The gateway allocates resources to that
connection, and responds to the command by providing a "session
description". The session description contains the information
necessary for a third party to send packets towards the newly
created connection, such as for example IP address, UDP port, and
codec parameters.
2) The Call Agent then asks the second gateway to "create a
connection" on the second endpoint. The command carries the
"session description" provided by the first gateway. The gateway
allocates resources to that connection, and responds to the
command by providing its own "session description".
3) The Call Agent then uses a "modify connection" command to provide
this second "session description" to the first endpoint. Once
this is done, communication can proceed in both directions.
When the two endpoints are located on gateways that are managed by
two different Call Agents, the Call Agents exchange information
through a Call-Agent to Call-Agent signaling protocol, e.g., SIP [7],
in order to synchronize the creation of the connection on the two
endpoints.
Once a connection has been established, the connection parameters can
be modified at any time by a "modify connection" command. The Call
Agent may for example instruct the gateway to change the codec used
on a connection, or to modify the IP address and UDP port to which
data should be sent, if a connection is "redirected".
The Call Agent removes a connection by sending a "delete connection"
command to the gateway. The gateway may also, under some
circumstances, inform a gateway that a connection could not be
sustained.
The following diagram provides a view of the states of a connection,
as seen from the gateway:
Create connection
received
|
V
+-------------------+
|resource allocation|-(failed)-+
+-------------------+ |
| (connection refused)
(successful)
|
v
+----------->+
| |
| +-------------------+
| | remote session |
| | description |----------(yes)--------+
| | available ? | |
| +-------------------+ |
| | |
| (no) |
| | |
| +-----------+ +------+
| +--->| half open |------> Delete <-------| open |<----------+
| | | (wait) | Connection |(wait)| |
| | +-----------+ received +------+ |
| | | | | |
| | Modify Connection | Modify Connection |
| | received | received |
| | | | | |
| | +--------------------+ | +--------------------+ |
| | |assess modification | | |assess modification | |
| | +--------------------+ | +--------------------+ |
| | | | | | | |
| |(failed) (successful) | (failed) (successful) |
| | | | | | | |
| +<---+ | | +-------------+-------+
| | |
+<-------------------+ |
|
+-----------------+
| Free connection |
| resources. |
| Report. |
+-----------------+
|
V
2.1.3.1 Names of Calls
One of the attributes of each connection is the "call identifier", which as far as the MGCP protocol is concerned has little semantic meaning, and is mainly retained for backwards compatibility. Calls are identified by unique identifiers, independent of the underlying platforms or agents. Call identifiers are hexadecimal strings, which are created by the Call Agent. The maximum length of call identifiers is 32 characters. Call identifiers are expected to be unique within the system, or at a minimum, unique within the collection of Call Agents that control the same gateways. From the gateway's perspective, the Call identifier is thus unique. When a Call Agent builds several connections that pertain to the same call, either on the same gateway or in different gateways, these connections that belong to the same call should share the same call-id. This identifier can then be used by accounting or management procedures, which are outside the scope of MGCP.2.1.3.2 Names of Connections
Connection identifiers are created by the gateway when it is requested to create a connection. They identify the connection within the context of an endpoint. Connection identifiers are treated in MGCP as hexadecimal strings. The gateway MUST make sure that a proper waiting period, at least 3 minutes, elapses between the end of a connection that used this identifier and its use in a new connection for the same endpoint (gateways MAY decide to use identifiers that are unique within the context of the gateway). The maximum length of a connection identifier is 32 characters.2.1.3.3 Management of Resources, Attributes of Connections
Many types of resources will be associated to a connection, such as specific signal processing functions or packetization functions. Generally, these resources fall in two categories: 1) Externally visible resources, that affect the format of "the bits on the network" and must be communicated to the second endpoint involved in the connection. 2) Internal resources, that determine which signal is being sent over the connection and how the received signals are processed by the endpoint.
The resources allocated to a connection, and more generally the
handling of the connection, are chosen by the gateway under
instructions from the Call Agent. The Call Agent will provide these
instructions by sending two sets of parameters to the gateway:
1) The local directives instruct the gateway on the choice of
resources that should be used for a connection,
2) When available, the "session description" provided by the other
end of the connection (referred to as the remote session
description).
The local directives specify such parameters as the mode of the
connection (e.g., send-only, or send-receive), preferred coding or
packetization methods, usage of echo cancellation or silence
suppression. (A detailed list can be found in the specification of
the LocalConnectionOptions parameter of the CreateConnection
command.) Depending on the parameter, the Call Agent MAY either
specify a value, a range of values, or no value at all. This allows
various implementations to implement various levels of control, from
a very tight control where the Call Agent specifies minute details of
the connection handling to a very loose control where the Call Agent
only specifies broad guidelines, such as the maximum bandwidth, and
lets the gateway choose the detailed values subject to the
guidelines.
Based on the value of the local directives, the gateway will
determine the resources to allocate to the connection. When this is
possible, the gateway will choose values that are in line with the
remote session description - but there is no absolute requirement
that the parameters be exactly the same.
Once the resources have been allocated, the gateway will compose a
"session description" that describes the way it intends to send and
receive packets. Note that the session description may in some cases
present a range of values. For example, if the gateway is ready to
accept one of several compression algorithms, it can provide a list
of these accepted algorithms.
Local Directives
(from Call Agent 1)
|
V
+-------------+
| resource |
| allocation |
| (gateway 1) |
+-------------+
| |
V |
Local |
Parameters V
| Session
| Description Local Directives
| | (from Call Agent 2)
| +---> Transmission----+ |
| (CA to CA) | |
| V V
| +-------------+
| | resource |
| | allocation |
| | (gateway 2) |
| +-------------+
| | |
| | V
| | Local
| | Parameters
| Session
| Description
| +---- Transmission<---+
| | (CA to CA)
V V
+-------------+
| modification|
| (gateway 1) |
+-------------+
|
V
Local
Parameters
-- Information flow: local directives & session descriptions --
2.1.3.4 Special Case of Local Connections
Large gateways include a large number of endpoints which are often of different types. In some networks, we may often have to set-up connections between endpoints that are located within the same gateway. Examples of such connections may be: * Connecting a call to an Interactive Voice-Response unit, * Connecting a call to a Conferencing unit, * Routing a call from one endpoint to another, something often described as a "hairpin" connection. Local connections are much simpler to establish than network connections. In most cases, the connection will be established through some local interconnecting device, such as for example a TDM bus. When two endpoints are managed by the same gateway, it is possible to specify the connection in a single command that conveys the names of the two endpoints that will be connected. The command is essentially a "Create Connection" command which includes the name of the second endpoint in lieu of the "remote session description".2.1.4 Names of Call Agents and Other Entities
The media gateway control protocol has been designed to allow the implementation of redundant Call Agents, for enhanced network reliability. This means that there is no fixed binding between entities and hardware platforms or network interfaces. Call Agent names consist of two parts, similar to endpoint names. Semantically, the local portion of the name does not exhibit any internal structure. An example Call Agent name is: ca1@ca.whatever.net Note that both the local part and the domain name have to be supplied. Nevertheless, implementations are encouraged to accept call agent names consisting of only the domain name. Reliability can be improved by using the following procedures: * Entities such as endpoints or Call Agents are identified by their domain name, not their network addresses. Several addresses can be
associated with a domain name. If a command or a response cannot
be forwarded to one of the network addresses, implementations MUST
retry the transmission using another address.
* Entities MAY move to another platform. The association between a
logical name (domain name) and the actual platform is kept in the
domain name service. Call Agents and Gateways MUST keep track of
the time-to-live of the record they read from the DNS. They MUST
query the DNS to refresh the information if the time to live has
expired.
In addition to the indirection provided by the use of domain names
and the DNS, the concept of "notified entity" is central to
reliability and fail-over in MGCP. The "notified entity" for an
endpoint is the Call Agent currently controlling that endpoint. At
any point in time, an endpoint has one, and only one, "notified
entity" associated with it. The "notified entity" determines where
the endpoint will send commands to; when the endpoint needs to send a
command to the Call Agent, it MUST send the command to its current
"notified entity". The "notified entity" however does not determine
where commands can be received from; any Call Agent can send commands
to the endpoint. Please refer to Section 5 for the relevant security
considerations.
Upon startup, the "notified entity" MUST be set to a provisioned
value. Most commands sent by the Call Agent include the ability to
explicitly name the "notified entity" through the use of a
"NotifiedEntity" parameter. The "notified entity" will stay the same
until either a new "NotifiedEntity" parameter is received or the
endpoint does a warm or cold (power-cycle) restart.
If a "NotifiedEntity" parameter is sent with an "empty" value, the
"notified entity" for the endpoint will be set to empty. If the
"notified entity" for an endpoint is empty or has not been set
explicitly (neither by a command nor by provisioning), the "notified
entity" will then default to the source address (i.e., IP address and
UDP port number) of the last successful non-audit command received
for the endpoint. Auditing will thus not change the "notified
entity". Use of an empty "NotifiedEntity" parameter value is
strongly discouraged as it is error prone and eliminates the DNS-
based fail-over and reliability mechanisms.
2.1.5 Digit Maps
The Call Agent can ask the gateway to collect digits dialed by the
user. This facility is intended to be used with residential gateways
to collect the numbers that a user dials; it can also be used with
trunking gateways and access gateways alike, to collect access codes,
credit card numbers and other numbers requested by call control
services.
One procedure is for the gateway to notify the Call Agent of each
individual dialed digit, as soon as they are dialed. However, such a
procedure generates a large number of interactions. It is preferable
to accumulate the dialed numbers in a buffer, and to transmit them in
a single message.
The problem with this accumulation approach, however, is that it is
hard for the gateway to predict how many numbers it needs to
accumulate before transmission. For example, using the phone on our
desk, we can dial the following numbers:
------------------------------------------------------
| 0 | Local operator |
| 00 | Long distance operator |
| xxxx | Local extension number |
| 8xxxxxxx | Local number |
| #xxxxxxx | Shortcut to local number at|
| | other corporate sites |
| *xx | Star services |
| 91xxxxxxxxxx | Long distance number |
| 9011 + up to 15 digits| International number |
------------------------------------------------------
The solution to this problem is to have the Call Agent load the
gateway with a digit map that may correspond to the dial plan. This
digit map is expressed using a syntax derived from the Unix system
command, egrep. For example, the dial plan described above results
in the following digit map:
(0T|00T|[1-7]xxx|8xxxxxxx|#xxxxxxx|*xx|91xxxxxxxxxx|9011x.T)
The formal syntax of the digit map is described by the DigitMap rule
in the formal syntax description of the protocol (see Appendix A) -
support for basic digit map letters is REQUIRED while support for
extension digit map letters is OPTIONAL. A gateway receiving a digit
map with an extension digit map letter not supported SHOULD return
error code 537 (unknown digit map extension).
A digit map, according to this syntax, is defined either by a (case
insensitive) "string" or by a list of strings. Each string in the
list is an alternative numbering scheme, specified either as a set of
digits or timers, or as an expression over which the gateway will
attempt to find a shortest possible match. The following constructs
can be used in each numbering scheme:
* Digit: A digit from "0" to "9".
* Timer: The symbol "T" matching a timer expiry.
* DTMF: A digit, a timer, or one of the symbols "A", "B", "C",
"D", "#", or "*". Extensions may be defined.
* Wildcard: The symbol "x" which matches any digit ("0" to "9").
* Range: One or more DTMF symbols enclosed between square brackets
("[" and "]").
* Subrange: Two digits separated by hyphen ("-") which matches any
digit between and including the two. The subrange
construct can only be used inside a range construct,
i.e., between "[" and "]".
* Position: A period (".") which matches an arbitrary number,
including zero, of occurrences of the preceding
construct.
A gateway that detects events to be matched against a digit map MUST
do the following:
1) Add the event code as a token to the end of an internal state
variable for the endpoint called the "current dial string".
2) Apply the current dial string to the digit map table, attempting a
match to each expression in the digit map.
3) If the result is under-qualified (partially matches at least one
entry in the digit map and doesn't completely match another
entry), do nothing further.
If the result matches an entry, or is over-qualified (i.e., no
further digits could possibly produce a match), send the list of
accumulated events to the Call Agent. A match, in this
specification, can be either a "perfect match," exactly matching one
of the specified alternatives, or an impossible match, which occurs
when the dial string does not match any of the alternatives.
Unexpected timers, for example, can cause "impossible matches". Both
perfect matches and impossible matches trigger notification of the
accumulated digits (which may include other events - see Section
2.3.3).
The following example illustrates the above. Assume we have the
digit map:
(xxxxxxx|x11)
and a current dial string of "41". Given the input "1" the current
dial string becomes "411". We have a partial match with "xxxxxxx",
but a complete match with "x11", and hence we send "411" to the Call
Agent.
The following digit map example is more subtle:
(0[12].|00|1[12].1|2x.#)
Given the input "0", a match will occur immediately since position
(".") allows for zero occurrences of the preceding construct. The
input "00" can thus never be produced in this digit map.
Given the input "1", only a partial match exists. The input "12" is
also only a partial match, however both "11" and "121" are a match.
Given the input "2", a partial match exists. A partial match also
exists for the input "23", "234", "2345", etc. A full match does not
occur here until a "#" is generated, e.g., "2345#". The input "2#"
would also have been a match.
Note that digit maps simply define a way of matching sequences of
event codes against a grammar. Although digit maps as defined here
are for DTMF input, extension packages can also be defined so that
digit maps can be used for other types of input represented by event
codes that adhere to the digit map syntax already defined for these
event codes (e.g., "1" or "T"). Where such usage is envisioned, the
definition of the particular event(s) SHOULD explicitly state that in
the package definition.
Since digit maps are not bounded in size, it is RECOMMENDED that
gateways support digit maps up to at least 2048 bytes per endpoint.
2.1.6 Packages
MGCP is a modular and extensible protocol, however with extensibility
comes the need to manage, identify, and name the individual
extensions. This is achieved by the concept of packages, which are
simply well-defined groupings of extensions. For example, one
package may support a certain group of events and signals, e.g.,
off-hook and ringing, for analog access lines. Another package may
support another group of events and signals for analog access lines
or for another type of endpoint such as video. One or more packages
may be supported by a given endpoint.
MGCP allows the following types of extensions to be defined in a
package:
* BearerInformation
* LocalConnectionOptions
* ExtensionParameters
* ConnectionModes * Events * Signals * Actions * DigitMapLetters * ConnectionParameters * RestartMethods * ReasonCodes * Return codes each of which will be explained in more detail below. The rules for defining each of these extensions in a package are described in Section 6, and the encoding and syntax are defined in Section 3 and Appendix A. With the exception of DigitMapLetters, a package defines a separate name space for each type of extension by adding the package name as a prefix to the extension, i.e.: package-name/extension Thus the package-name is followed by a slash ("/") and the name of the extension. An endpoint supporting one or more packages may define one of those packages as the default package for the endpoint. Use of the package name for events and signals in the default package for an endpoint is OPTIONAL, however it is RECOMMENDED to always include the package name. All other extensions, except DigitMapLetter, defined in the package MUST include the package-name when referring to the extension. Package names are case insensitive strings of letters, hyphens and digits, with the restriction that hyphens shall never be the first or last character in a name. Examples of package names are "D", "T", and "XYZ". Package names are not case sensitive - names such as "XYZ", "xyz", and "xYz" are equal.
Package definitions will be provided in other documents and with package names and extensions names registered with IANA. For more details, refer to section 6. Implementers can gain experience by using experimental packages. The name of an experimental package MUST start with the two characters "x-"; the IANA SHALL NOT register package names that start with these characters, or the characters "x+", which are reserved. A gateway that receives a command referring to an unsupported package MUST return an error (error code 518 - unsupported package, is RECOMMENDED).2.1.7 Events and Signals
The concept of events and signals is central to MGCP. A Call Agent may ask to be notified about certain events occurring in an endpoint (e.g., off-hook events) by including the name of the event in a RequestedEvents parameter (in a NotificationRequest command - see Section 2.3.3). A Call Agent may also request certain signals to be applied to an endpoint (e.g., dial-tone) by supplying the name of the event in a SignalRequests parameter. Events and signals are grouped in packages, within which they share the same name space which we will refer to as event names in the following. Event names are case insensitive strings of letters, hyphens and digits, with the restriction that hyphens SHALL NOT be the first or last character in a name. Some event codes may need to be parameterized with additional data, which is accomplished by adding the parameters between a set of parentheses. Event names are not case sensitive - values such as "hu", "Hu", "HU" or "hU" are equal. Examples of event names can be "hu" (off hook or "hang-up" transition), "hf" (hook-flash) or "0" (the digit zero). The package name is OPTIONAL for events in the default package for an endpoint, however it is RECOMMENDED to always include the package name. If the package name is excluded from the event name, the default package name for that endpoint MUST be assumed. For example, for an analog access line which has the line package ("L") as a default with dial-tone ("dl") as one of the events in that package, the following two event names are equal:
L/dl
and
dl
For any other non-default packages that are associated with that
endpoint, (such as the generic package for an analog access
endpoint-type for example), the package name MUST be included with
the event name. Again, unconditional inclusion of the package name
is RECOMMENDED.
Digits, or letters, are supported in some packages, notably "DTMF".
Digits and letters are defined by the rules "Digit" and "Letter" in
the definition of digit maps. This definition refers to the digits
(0 to 9), to the asterisk or star ("*") and orthotrope, number or
pound sign ("#"), and to the letters "A", "B", "C" and "D", as well
as the timer indication "T". These letters can be combined in "digit
string" that represents the keys that a user punched on a dial. In
addition, the letter "X" can be used to represent all digits (0 to
9). Also, extensions MAY define use of other letters. The need to
easily express the digit strings in earlier versions of the protocol
has a consequence on the form of event names:
An event name that does not denote a digit MUST always contain at
least one character that is neither a digit, nor one of the letters
A, B, C, D, T or X (such names also MUST NOT just contain the special
signs "*", or "#"). Event names consisting of more than one
character however may use any of the above.
A Call Agent may often have to ask a gateway to detect a group of
events. Two conventions can be used to denote such groups:
* The "*" and "all" wildcard conventions (see below) can be used to
detect any event belonging to a package, or a given event in many
packages, or any event in any package supported by the gateway.
* The regular expression Range notation can be used to detect a range
of digits.
The star sign (*) can be used as a wildcard instead of a package
name, and the keyword "all" can be used as a wildcard instead of an
event name:
* A name such as "foo/all" denotes all events in package "foo".
* A name such as "*/bar" denotes the event "bar" in any package
supported by the gateway.
* The name "*/all" denotes all events supported by the endpoint.
This specification purposely does not define any additional detail
for the "all packages" and "all events" wildcards. They provide
limited benefits, but introduce significant complexity along with the
potential for errors. Their use is consequently strongly
discouraged.
The Call Agent can ask a gateway to detect a set of digits or letters
either by individually describing those letters, or by using the
"range" notation defined in the syntax of digit strings. For
example, the Call Agent can:
* Use the letter "x" to denote" digits from 0 to 9.
* Use the notation "[0-9#]" to denote the digits 0 to 9 and the pound
sign.
The individual event codes are still defined in a package though
(e.g., the "DTMF" package).
Events can by default only be generated and detected on endpoints,
however events can be also be defined so they can be generated or
detected on connections rather than on the endpoint itself (see
Section 6.6). For example, gateways may be asked to provide a
ringback tone on a connection. When an event is to be applied on a
connection, the name of the connection MUST be added to the name of
the event, using an "at" sign (@) as a delimiter, as in:
G/rt@0A3F58
where "G" is the name of the package and "rt" is the name of the
event. Should the connection be deleted while an event or signal is
being detected or applied on it, that particular event detection or
signal generation simply stops. Depending on the signal, this may
generate a failure (see below).
The wildcard character "*" (star) can be used to denote "all
connections". When this convention is used, the gateway will
generate or detect the event on all the connections that are
connected to the endpoint. This applies to existing as well as
future connections created on the endpoint. An example of this
convention could be:
R/qa@*
where "R" is the name of the package and "qa" is the name of the
event.
When processing a command using the "all connections" wildcard, the
"*" wildcard character applies to all current and future connections
on the endpoint, however it will not be expanded. If a subsequent
command either explicitly (e.g., by auditing) or implicitly (e.g., by
persistence) refers to such an event, the "*" value will be used.
However, when the event is actually observed, that particular
occurrence of the event will include the name of the specific
connection it occurred on.
The wildcard character "$" can be used to denote "the current
connection". It can only be used by the Call Agent, when the event
notification request is "encapsulated" within a connection creation
or modification command. When this convention is used, the gateway
will generate or detect the event on the connection that is currently
being created or modified. An example of this convention is:
G/rt@$
When processing a command using the "current connection" wildcard,
the "$" wildcard character will be expanded to the value of the
current connection. If a subsequent command either explicitly (e.g.,
by auditing) or implicitly (e.g., by persistence) refers to such an
event, the expanded value will be used. In other words, the "current
connection" wildcard is expanded once, which is at the initial
processing of the command in which it was explicitly included.
The connection id, or a wildcard replacement, can be used in
conjunction with the "all packages" and "all events" conventions. For
example, the notation:
*/all@*
can be used to designate all events on all current and future
connections on the endpoint. However, as mentioned before, the use
of the "all packages" and "all events" wildcards are strongly
discouraged.
Signals are divided into different types depending on their behavior:
* On/off (OO): Once applied, these signals last until they are
turned off. This can only happen as the result of a reboot/restart
or a new SignalRequests where the signal is explicitly turned off
(see later). Signals of type OO are defined to be idempotent, thus
multiple requests to turn a given OO signal on (or off) are
perfectly valid and MUST NOT result in any errors. An On/Off
signal could be a visual message-waiting indicator (VMWI). Once
turned on, it MUST NOT be turned off until explicitly instructed to
by the Call Agent, or as a result of an endpoint restart, i.e.,
these signals will not turn off as a result of the detection of a
requested event.
* Time-out (TO): Once applied, these signals last until they are
either cancelled (by the occurrence of an event or by not being
included in a subsequent (possibly empty) list of signals), or a
signal-specific period of time has elapsed. A TO signal that times
out will generate an "operation complete" event. A TO signal could
be "ringback" timing out after 180 seconds. If an event occurs
prior to the 180 seconds, the signal will, by default, be stopped
(the "Keep signals active" action - see Section 2.3.3 - will
override this behavior). If the signal is not stopped, the signal
will time out, stop and generate an "operation complete" event,
about which the Call Agent may or may not have requested to be
notified. If the Call Agent has asked for the "operation complete"
event to be notified, the "operation complete" event sent to the
Call Agent SHALL include the name(s) of the signal(s) that timed
out (note that if parameters were passed to the signal, the
parameters will not be reported). If the signal was generated on a
connection, the name of the connection SHALL be included as
described above. Time-out signals have a default time-out value
defined for them, which MAY be altered by the provisioning process.
Also, the time-out period may be provided as a parameter to the
signal (see Section 3.2.2.4). A value of zero indicates that the
time-out period is infinite. A TO signal that fails after being
started, but before having generated an "operation complete" event
will generate an "operation failure" event which will include the
name of the signal that failed. Deletion of a connection with an
active TO signal will result in such a failure.
* Brief (BR): The duration of these signals is normally so short
that they stop on their own. If a signal stopping event occurs, or
a new SignalRequests is applied, a currently active BR signal will
not stop. However, any pending BR signals not yet applied MUST be
cancelled (a BR signal becomes pending if a NotificationRequest
includes a BR signal, and there is already an active BR signal). As
an example, a brief tone could be a DTMF digit. If the DTMF digit
"1" is currently being played, and a signal stopping event occurs,
the "1" would play to completion. If a request to play DTMF digit
"2" arrives before DTMF digit "1" finishes playing, DTMF digit "2"
would become pending.
Signal(s) generated on a connection MUST include the name of that
connection.
(next page on part 3)
