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Understanding H.323 Call Flow Process Version 3

created by djoksimovic on Jul 30, 2014 8:26 AM, last modified by panagent on Jul 30, 2014 8:31 AM

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Overview
A good starting point when troubleshooting H.323 issues is to have a clear picture of the H.323 call flow
process. The purpose of this document is to describe message exchange mechanism in order to properly
analyze pcap files and packet-diag logs of H.323 trac.

Details
H.323 is an umbrella recommendation from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and is used for
audio, video and data communication over IP/TCP networks. It uses H.225 and H.245 protocols for call
signaling and call setup and RTP/RTCP for media transport, RTP for carrying actual media and RTCP for
carrying status and control information.

A flow of H.323 call is described through the call flow diagram, which covers the following steps:
- H.225/Q.931 Call Setup
- H.245 Negotiation and Voice Path Setup
- RTP/RTCP Based Voice Communication

H.225/Q.931 Call Setup

As shown on the diagram below, H.323 uses H.225 sub protocol to establish a TCP connection for a new call.
The call establishment is done through he following phases:
1. A Q.931 SETUP message is sent once the TCP connection has been established
2. Then, the called subscriber responds with a Q.931 CALL PROCEEDING indication
3. Then, the called subscriber is being rung which is indicated by Q.931 ALERTING message
4. After that, a ring back tone is sent to the calling subscriber
5. The called subscriber answers the phone

H.245 Negotiation and Voice Path Setup

After H.225 phase is done, H.245 session is being established for purpose of negotiating the call parameters.
The negotiation is done through the following steps:
1. The Q.931 connect is sent to the caller. The message contains information about the H.245 negotiation
port.
2. The caller opens the socket for H.245 negotiation. The calling H.245 port information is extracted from
the connect message.
3. TCP connection is established for H.245 negotiation.
4. Called party negotiates terminal capability.
5. Called party negotiates master-slave. Calling party also negotiates terminal capability.
6. Caller also initiates a Master Slave determination request.
7. Caller replies with a combined "terminal capability" and "master-slave" ack.
8. Called party responds with terminal capability ack.
9. Called party becomes the master.

The steps described above are shown in the following diagram:

After master-slave election, H.245 protocol performs Voice Path setup using the following steps (the same
messages are exchanged for video path setup as well):
1. The calling party opens a RTCP socket for controlling the RTP stream
2. The calling party opens a RTP socket for voice communication over the Internet
3. It then sends channel open request to the called party. RTCP port number is included in the message.
4. The called party opens a RTCP socket for controlling the RTP stream.
5. The called party also opens a RTP socket for voice communication over the IP/TCP network.
6. It then sends channel open request to the calling party. RTCP port number is included in the message.
 7. Caller acknowledges the message. The RTP and RTCP port numbers are included in the message.
8. Called party acknowledges the message. The RTP and RTCP port numbers are included in the message.

The negotiation process is shown in the following diagram:

RTP/RTCP Based Communication

When the call is established and all the call parameters are exchanged and negotiated between the peers, a
RTP channel is established to transport real media trac. RTP channel always goes arm in arm with RTCP
channel which is used for monitoring quality of RTP stream. Example of RTP/RTCP media transport flow is
shown on the following diagram:
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