AARNet Copyright 2011

SDP Deep Dive

Network Operations
Bill Efthimiou
APAN33 SIP workshop
February 2012
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Agenda

1.  Overview

2.  Protocol Structure

3.  Media Negotiation

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Overview

•  RFC 4566.

•  When initiating multimedia sessions, there is a requirement to convey media details;
transport addresses, and other session description metadata to the participants.

•  The purpose of SDP is to provide a structure to convey information about media
streams in multimedia sessions to allow the recipients of a session description to
participate in the session.

•  SDP is purely a format for session description.

•  SDP must be used in conjuction with other protocols such as SIP. SIP carries SDP
information within the SIP message body.

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Overview - why bother with SDP?

Why is it important for us to understand SDP?

•  To understand the media negotiation mechanism.

•  Because of media (codec) interoperability. An understanding of SDP helps us understand
interoperability issues and often where and what to look for when troubleshooting.

•  When negotiating video codecs the process gets a little more complicated.

•  To understand common NAT Traversal issues with multimedia signalling.

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NAPT – SIP REGISTER

SIP REGISTER message across a NAPT firewall

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NAPT – SIP INVITE

SIP INVITE message across a NAPT firewall

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Protocol Structure

•  Similar to SIP, SDP is a text based protocol.

•  An SDP session description is denoted by the message body content media type
“application/sdp”.

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Protocol Structure

•  Similar to SIP, SDP is a text based protocol.

•  An SDP session description is denoted by the message body content media type
“application/sdp”.

•  An SDP session description consists of a number of lines of text of the form:

<type>=<value>

where <type> MUST be exactly one case-significant character and <value> is
structured text whose format depends on <type>.

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Protocol Structure (cont-2)

•  In general, <value> is either a number of fields delimited by a single space character

or a free format string, and is case-sensitive unless a specific field defines otherwise.

•  SDP consists of a session- level section followed by zero or more media-level
sections.

•  The session-level section continues until the first occurrence of the media
description field (m=). Each subsequent occurrence of the media description field
marks the beginning of data related to another media stream in the session.

•  Generally, session-level values are the default for all media unless overridden by an
equivalent media-level value.

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Protocol Structure (cont-3)

•  Some lines in each description are REQUIED and some are OPTIONAL.

Ordering of Fields: Session description

v= (protocol version)

o= (originator and session identifier)

s= (session name)

•  The attribute mechanism “a=“ is the
i=* (session information)

u=* (URI of description)

primary means for extending SDP and
e=* (email address)
tailoring it to particular applications or
p=* (phone number)

c=* (connection information -- not required if included in all media)
media.

b=* (zero or more bandwidth information lines)

One or more time descriptions ("t=" and "r=" lines; see below)

z=* (time zone adjustments)

•  An example SDP description is:

k=* (encryption key)
v=0

a=* (zero or more session attribute lines)
o=jdoe 2890844526 2890842807 IN IP4 10.47.16.5

Zero or more media descriptions



s=SDP Seminar

Time description
i=A Seminar on the session description protocol

t= (time the session is active)
u=http://www.example.com/seminars/sdp.pdf

r=* (zero or more repeat times)


e=j.doe@example.com (Jane Doe)

Media description, if present
c=IN IP4 224.2.17.12/127

m= (media name and transport address)

i=* (media title)

t=2873397496 2873404696

c=* (connection information -- optional if included at session level)
a=recvonly

b=* (zero or more bandwidth information lines)
m=audio 49170 RTP/AVP 0

k=* (encryption key)

a=* (zero or more media attribute lines)
m=video 51372 RTP/AVP 99


a=rtpmap:99 h263-1998/90000

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Protocol Structure (cont-5)

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Media Negotiation (Offer/Answer Model)

•  SDP lacks the negotiation process to enable signalling endpoints to reach agreement.

•  RFC 3264: SIP using SDP in an Answer/Offer mechanism.

•  RFC 4317 SDP Offer/Answer examples.

•  The initiator of the session offers a selection of multimedia formats to be used in the session.

•  The receiver of the offer either rejects the offer, or selects those media formats that have been
offered and which the responder is willing/able to accept.

•  The offer will contain zero or more media streams.

•  The answerer will respond with one or more media streams or reject the offer.

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Media Negotiation (Offer- example)

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Media Negotiation (Answer- example)

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Thank you
Questions
?
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