Network Working Group                                         G. Beacham
Request for Comments: 5098                                Motorola, Inc.
Category: Standards Track                                       S. Kumar
                                                       Texas Instruments
                                                        S. Channabasappa
                                                               CableLabs
                                                           February 2008

              Signaling MIB for PacketCable and IPCablecom
                  Multimedia Terminal Adapters (MTAs)

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB)
   for use with network management protocols in the Internet community.
   In particular, it defines a basic set of managed objects for Simple
   Network Management Protocol (SNMP)-based management of PacketCable-
   and IPCablecom-compliant Multimedia Terminal Adapter devices.

Table of Contents

   1. The Internet-Standard Management Framework ......................2
   2. Introduction ....................................................2
   3. Terminology .....................................................3
      3.1. MTA ........................................................3
      3.2. Endpoint ...................................................3
      3.3. L Line Package .............................................4
      3.4. E Line Package .............................................4
   4. Overview ........................................................4
      4.1. Structure of the MIB .......................................5
      4.2. pktcSigMibObjects ..........................................5
      4.3. pktcSigConformance .........................................6
   5. Definitions .....................................................6
   6. Examples .......................................................69
   7. Acknowledgments ................................................72
   8. Security Considerations ........................................73
   9. IANA Considerations ............................................75
   10. References ....................................................75
      10.1. Normative References .....................................75
      10.2. Informative References ...................................76

1.  The Internet-Standard Management Framework

   For a detailed overview of the documents that describe the current
   Internet-Standard Management Framework, please refer to section 7 of
   RFC 3410 [RFC3410].

   Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
   the Management Information Base or MIB.  MIB objects are generally
   accessed through the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
   Objects in the MIB are defined using the mechanisms defined in the
   Structure of Management Information (SMI).  This memo specifies a MIB
   module that is compliant to the SMIv2, which is described in STD 58,
   RFC 2578 [RFC2578], STD 58, RFC 2579 [RFC2579] and STD 58, RFC 2580
   [RFC2580].

2.  Introduction

   A multimedia terminal adapter (MTA) is used to deliver broadband
   Internet, data, and/or voice access jointly with telephony service
   to a subscriber's or customer's premises using a cable network
   infrastructure.  An MTA is normally installed at the customer's or
   subscriber's premises, and it is coupled to a multiple system
   operator (MSO) using a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) access network.

   An MTA is provisioned by the MSO for broadband Internet, data, and/or
   voice service.  For more information on MTA provisioning, refer to

   the PacketCable Provisioning Specification [PKT-SP-PROV] and
   [RFC4682].  MTA devices include one or more endpoints
   (e.g., telephone ports), which receive call signaling information
   to establish ring cadence, and codecs used for providing telephony
   service.  For more information on call signaling, refer to the
   PacketCable Signaling Specification [PKT-SP-MGCP] and [RFC3435].
   For more information on codecs refer to the PacketCable Audio/Video
   Codecs Specification [PKT-SP-CODEC].

   Telephone systems are typically very complex and often have a wide
   distribution.  It is therefore important for management systems to
   support MTAs from multiple vendors at the same time, including those
   from multiple countries.  This MIB module provides objects suitable
   for managing signaling for MTA devices in the widest possible range
   of markets.

3.  Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

   The terms "MIB module" and "information module" are used
   interchangeably in this memo.  As used here, both terms refer to any
   of the three types of information modules defined in Section 3 of
   RFC 2578 [RFC2578].

3.1.  MTA

   An MTA is a PacketCable or IPCablecom compliant device providing
   telephony services over a cable or hybrid system used to deliver
   video signals to a community.  It contains an interface to endpoints,
   a network interface, codecs, and all signaling and encapsulation
   functions required for Voice-over IP transport, call signaling, and
   Quality of Service signaling.  An MTA can be an embedded or
   standalone device.  An Embedded MTA (E-MTA) is an MTA device
   containing an embedded Data Over Cable Service Interface
   Specifications (DOCSIS) Cable Modem.  A Standalone MTA (S-MTA) is an
   MTA device separated from the DOCSIS Cable Modem by non-DOCSIS Media
   Access Control (MAC) interface (e.g., Ethernet, USB).

3.2.  Endpoint

   An endpoint or MTA endpoint is a standard telephony physical port
   located on the MTA and used for attaching the telephone device to
   the MTA.

3.3.  L Line Package

   The L line package refers to the Media Gateway Control Protocol
   (MGCP) package for the core signaling functionality, as defined by
   PacketCable and IPCablecom.  An MTA provides all L package elements:
   however, the operator determines their application.

3.4.  E Line Package

   The E line package refers to the MGCP package extensions, over and
   above the core L package, defined in support of international
   requirements.  E line package elements are optional, vary from
   country to country, and are set by operator or regulatory
   requirements.

4.  Overview

   This MIB module provides a set of objects required for Multimedia
   Terminal Adapter (MTA) devices compliant with the PacketCable and
   IPCablecom signaling specifications published by CableLabs, the
   European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and the
   International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication
   Standardization Sector (ITU-T) IPCablecom compliant Multimedia
   Terminal Adapter (MTA) devices.  The Signaling MIB module
   (PKTC-IETF-SIG-MIB) is intended to update various Signaling MIB
   modules from which it is partly derived:

     - the PacketCable 1.0 Signaling MIB Specification
       [PKT-SP-MIB-SIG-1.0],

     - the PacketCable 1.5 Signaling MIB Specification
       [PKT-SP-MIB-SIG-1.5],

     - the ITU-T IPCablecom Signaling MIB requirements [ITU-T-J169],

     - the ETSI Signaling MIB [ETSI-TS-101-909-9].  The ETSI Signaling
       MIB requirements also refer to various signal characteristics
       defined in [ETSI-TS-101-909-4], [ETSI-EN-300-001],
       [ETSI-EN-300-659-1], [ETSI-EN-300-324-1] and [ETSI-TR-101-183].

   Several normative and informative references are used to help define
   Signaling MIB objects.  As a convention, wherever PacketCable and
   IPCablecom requirements are equivalent, the PacketCable reference is
   used in the object REFERENCE clause.  IPCablecom compliant MTA
   devices MUST use the equivalent IPCablecom references.

   This MIB module describes the various Signaling MIB objects that are
   directly related to the PacketCable MTA and the endpoints supported
   on the MTA, each of which provides services independently.  The
   recognition and distinction of the endpoints are made by utilizing
   the ifTable (IF-MIB [RFC2863]), where each index (ifIndex) value
   refers to a unique endpoint.  This MIB module also utilizes the
   syntax definition of the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP)
   from DIFFSERV-DSCP-TC [RFC3289] for defining MIB objects that allow
   for differentiation between various types of traffic in the service
   provider network.

4.1.  Structure of the MIB

   This MIB module is identified by pktcIetfSigMib and is structured
   into two major parts:

   - Signaling information that controls device and endpoint
     configuration (pktcSigMibObjects)

   - Module Conformance information(pktcSigConformance)

   The following sections explain each part in further detail.  It is to
   be noted that future enhancements to specify Notification Objects are
   also allowed (pktcSigNotification).

4.2.  pktcSigMibObjects

   This is further divided into device-specific elements
   (pktcSigDevObjects) and endpoint-specific elements
   (pktcSigEndPntConfigObjects).

   Some highlights of the device-specific elements are as follows:

   pktcSigDevCodecTable - this object identifies the codec types
   available on the device.

   pktcSigDevEchoCancellation - this object identifies the capability of
   echo cancellation on the device.

   pktcSigDevSilenceSuppression - this object specifies if the device is
   capable of silence suppression (Voice Activity Detection).

   pktcSigPulseSignalTable - this table selects the various signals used
   in the application of the metering pulse signal to the twisted pair
   line.

   pktcSigDevToneTable - this table specifies a flexible structure
   within which to specify all of the tones used in the MTA.

   pktcSigDevMultiFreqToneTable - this table defines the characteristics
   of tones with multiple frequencies.  Each entry in this table
   represents the frequency reference of a multi-frequency tone.

   The endpoint-specific elements are mostly confined to the Endpoint
   configuration MIB table (pktcSigEndPntConfigTable).  This table
   describes the MTA endPoint configuration.  The number of entries in
   this table represents the number of provisioned endpoints.

4.3.  pktcSigConformance

   pktcSigDeviceGroup - this group contains all the MIB objects that
   apply on a per-device basis and need to be implemented by an MTA to
   claim compliance with the specified MIB module.

   pktcSigEndpointGroup - this group contains all the MIB objects that
   apply on a per-endpoint basis and need to be implemented by an MTA to
   claim compliance with the specified MIB module.

   pktcLLinePackageGroup - this group contains the MIB objects that need
   to be implemented to support the L line package.

   pktcELinePackageGroup - this group contains the MIB objects that need
   to be implemented to support the E line package.

   pktcInternationalGroup - this group contains optional MIB objects
   designed to support operations over the widest possible range of
   markets.