| RFC 8866 | SDP | January 2021 |
| Begen, et al. | Standards Track | [Page] |
This memo defines the Session Description Protocol (SDP). SDP is intended for describing multimedia sessions for the purposes of session announcement, session invitation, and other forms of multimedia session initiation. This document obsoletes RFC 4566.¶
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 7841.¶
Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8866.¶
Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved.¶
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When initiating multimedia teleconferences, voice-over-IP calls, streaming video, or other sessions, there is a requirement to convey media details, transport addresses, and other session description metadata to the participants.¶
SDP provides a standard representation for such information, irrespective of how that information is transported. SDP is purely a format for session description -- it does not incorporate a transport protocol, and it is intended to use different transport protocols as appropriate, including the Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) [RFC2974], Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) [RFC3261], Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) [RFC7826], electronic mail [RFC5322] using the MIME extensions [RFC2045], and the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) [RFC7230].¶
SDP is intended to be general purpose so that it can be used in a wide range of network environments and applications. However, it is not intended to support negotiation of session content or media encodings: this is viewed as outside the scope of session description.¶
This memo obsoletes [RFC4566]. The changes relative to [RFC4566] are outlined in Section 10 of this memo.¶
The following terms are used in this document and have specific meaning within the context of this document.¶
The terms "multimedia conference" and "multimedia session" are used in this document as defined in [RFC7656]. The terms "session" and "multimedia session" are used interchangeably in this document.¶
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.¶
The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) [RFC3261] is an application-layer control protocol for creating, modifying, and terminating sessions such as Internet multimedia conferences, Internet telephone calls, and multimedia distribution. The SIP messages used to create sessions carry session descriptions that allow participants to agree on a set of compatible media types [RFC6838]. These session descriptions are commonly formatted using SDP. When used with SIP, the offer/answer model [RFC3264] provides a limited framework for negotiation using SDP.¶
The Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) [RFC7826], is an application-level protocol for control over the delivery of data with real-time properties. RTSP provides an extensible framework to enable controlled, on-demand delivery of real-time data, such as audio and video. An RTSP client and server negotiate an appropriate set of parameters for media delivery, partially using SDP syntax to describe those parameters.¶
Alternative means of conveying session descriptions include electronic mail and the World Wide Web (WWW). For both email and WWW distribution, the media type "application/sdp" is used. This enables the automatic launching of applications for participation in the session from the WWW client or mail reader in a standard manner.¶
Note that descriptions of multicast sessions sent only via email or the WWW do not have the property that the receiver of a session description can necessarily receive the session because the multicast sessions may be restricted in scope, and access to the WWW server or reception of email is possibly outside this scope.¶
In order to assist the advertisement of multicast multimedia conferences and other multicast sessions, and to communicate the relevant session setup information to prospective participants, a distributed session directory may be used. An instance of such a session directory periodically sends packets containing a description of the session to a well-known multicast group. These advertisements are received by other session directories such that potential remote participants can use the session description to start the tools required to participate in the session.¶
One protocol used to implement such a distributed directory is the SAP [RFC2974]. SDP provides the recommended session description format for such session announcements.¶
The purpose of SDP is to convey information about media streams in multimedia sessions to allow the recipients of a session description to participate in the session. SDP is primarily intended for use with Internet protocols, although it is sufficiently general that it can describe multimedia conferences in other network environments. Media streams can be many-to-many. Sessions need not be continually active.¶
Thus far, multicast-based sessions on the Internet have differed from many other forms of conferencing in that anyone receiving the traffic can join the session (unless the session traffic is encrypted). In such an environment, SDP serves two primary purposes. It is a means to communicate the existence of a session, and it is a means to convey sufficient information to enable joining and participating in the session. In a unicast environment, only the latter purpose is likely to be relevant.¶
An SDP description includes the following:¶
As resources necessary to participate in a session may be limited, some additional information may also be desirable:¶
In general, SDP must convey sufficient information to enable applications to join a session (with the possible exception of encryption keys) and to announce the resources to be used to any nonparticipants that may need to know. (This latter feature is primarily useful when SDP is used with a multicast session announcement protocol.)¶
An SDP description includes the following media information:¶
In addition to media format and transport protocol, SDP conveys address and port details. For an IP multicast session, these comprise:¶
This address and port are the destination address and destination port of the multicast stream, whether being sent, received, or both.¶
For unicast IP sessions, the following are conveyed:¶
The semantics of the address and port depend on context. Typically, this SHOULD be the remote address and remote port to which media is to be sent or received. Details may differ based on the network type, address type, protocol, and media specified, and whether the SDP is being distributed as an advertisement or negotiated in an offer/answer [RFC3264] exchange. (E.g., Some address types or protocols may not have a notion of port.) Deviating from typical behavior should be done cautiously since this complicates implementations (including middleboxes that must parse the addresses to open Network Address Translation (NAT) or firewall pinholes).¶
Sessions may be either bounded or unbounded in time. Whether or not they are bounded, they may be only active at specific times. SDP can convey:¶
This timing information is globally consistent, irrespective of local time zone or daylight saving time (see Section 5.9).¶
A session description could convey enough information to decide whether or not to participate in a session. SDP may include additional pointers in the form of Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) [RFC3986] for more information about the session. (Note that use of URIs to indicate remote resources is subject to the security considerations from [RFC3986].)¶
The SDP specification recommends the use of the ISO 10646 character set in the UTF-8 encoding [RFC3629] to allow many different languages to be represented. However, to assist in compact representations, SDP also allows other character sets such as [ISO.8859-1.1998] to be used when desired. Internationalization only applies to free-text subfields (session name and background information), and not to SDP as a whole.¶
An SDP description is denoted by the media type "application/sdp" (See Section 8).¶
An SDP description is entirely textual. SDP field names and attribute names use only the US-ASCII subset of UTF-8 [RFC3629], but textual fields and attribute values MAY use the full ISO 10646 character set in UTF-8 encoding, or some other character set defined by the "a=charset:" attribute (Section 6.10). Field and attribute values that use the full UTF-8 character set are never directly compared, hence there is no requirement for UTF-8 normalization. The textual form, as opposed to a binary encoding such as ASN.1 or XDR, was chosen to enhance portability, to enable a variety of transports to be used, and to allow flexible, text-based toolkits to be used to generate and process session descriptions. However, since SDP may be used in environments where the maximum permissible size of a session description is limited, the encoding is deliberately compact. Also, since descriptions may be transported via very unreliable means or damaged by an intermediate caching server, the encoding was designed with strict order and formatting rules so that most errors would result in malformed session descriptions that could be detected easily and discarded.¶
An SDP description consists of a number of lines of text of the form:¶
<type>=<value>¶
where <type> is exactly one case-significant character and <value> is structured text whose format depends on <type>. In general, <value> is either a number of subfields delimited by a single space character or a free format string, and is case-significant unless a specific field defines otherwise. Whitespace separators are not used on either side of the "=" sign, however, the value can contain a leading whitespace as part of its syntax, i.e., that whitespace is part of the value.¶
An SDP description MUST conform to the syntax defined in Section 9. The following is an overview of the syntax.¶
An SDP description consists of a session-level section followed by zero or more media descriptions. The session-level section starts with a "v=" line and continues to the first media description (or the end of the whole description, whichever comes first). Each media description starts with an "m=" line and continues to the next media description or the end of the whole session description, whichever comes first. In general, session-level values are the default for all media unless overridden by an equivalent media-level value.¶
Some lines in each description are required and some are optional, but when present, they must appear in exactly the order given here. (The fixed order greatly enhances error detection and allows for a simple parser). In the following overview, optional items are marked with a "*".¶
Session description
v= (protocol version)
o= (originator and session identifier)
s= (session name)
i=* (session information)
u=* (URI of description)
e=* (email address)
p=* (phone number)
c=* (connection information -- not required if included in
all media descriptions)
b=* (zero or more bandwidth information lines)
One or more time descriptions:
("t=", "r=" and "z=" lines; see below)
k=* (obsolete)
a=* (zero or more session attribute lines)
Zero or more media descriptions
Time description
t= (time the session is active)
r=* (zero or more repeat times)
z=* (optional time zone offset line)
Media description, if present
m= (media name and transport address)
i=* (media title)
c=* (connection information -- optional if included at
session level)
b=* (zero or more bandwidth information lines)
k=* (obsolete)
a=* (zero or more media attribute lines)
¶
The set of type letters is deliberately small and not intended to be extensible -- an SDP parser MUST completely ignore or reject any session description that contains a type letter that it does not understand. The attribute mechanism ("a=", described in Section 5.13) is the primary means for extending SDP and tailoring it to particular applications or media. Some attributes (the ones listed in Section 6) have a defined meaning, but others may be added on a media- or session-specific basis. (Attribute scopes in addition to media-specific and session-specific scopes may also be defined in extensions to this document, e.g., [RFC5576] and [RFC8864].) An SDP parser MUST ignore any attribute it doesn't understand.¶
An SDP description may contain URIs that reference external content in the "u=", "k=", and "a=" lines. These URIs may be dereferenced in some cases, making the session description non-self-contained.¶
The connection ("c=") information in the session-level section applies to all the media descriptions of that session unless overridden by connection information in the media description. For instance, in the example below, each audio media description behaves as if it were given a "c=IN IP4 198.51.100.1".¶
An example SDP description is:¶
v=0
o=jdoe 3724394400 3724394405 IN IP4 198.51.100.1
s=Call to John Smith
i=SDP Offer #1
u=http://www.jdoe.example.com/home.html
e=Jane Doe <[email protected]>
p=+1 617 555-6011
c=IN IP4 198.51.100.1
t=0 0
m=audio 49170 RTP/AVP 0
m=audio 49180 RTP/AVP 0
m=video 51372 RTP/AVP 99
c=IN IP6 2001:db8::2
a=rtpmap:99 h263-1998/90000
¶
Text-containing fields such as the session-name-field and information-field are octet strings that may contain any octet with the exceptions of 0x00 (Nul), 0x0a (ASCII newline), and 0x0d (ASCII carriage return). The sequence CRLF (0x0d0a) is used to end a line, although parsers SHOULD be tolerant and also accept lines terminated with a single newline character. If the "a=charset:" attribute is not present, these octet strings MUST be interpreted as containing ISO-10646 characters in UTF-8 encoding. When the "a=charset:" attribute is present the session-name-field, information-field, and some attribute fields are interpreted according to the selected character set.¶
A session description can contain domain names in the "o=", "u=", "e=", "c=", and "a=" lines. Any domain name used in SDP MUST comply with [RFC1034] and [RFC1035]. Internationalized domain names (IDNs) MUST be represented using the ASCII Compatible Encoding (ACE) form defined in [RFC5890] and MUST NOT be directly represented in UTF-8 or any other encoding (this requirement is for compatibility with [RFC2327] and other early SDP-related standards, which predate the development of internationalized domain names).¶
v=0
¶
The "v=" line (version-field) gives the version of the Session Description Protocol. This memo defines version 0. There is no minor version number.¶
o=<username> <sess-id> <sess-version> <nettype> <addrtype>
<unicast-address>
¶
The "o=" line (origin-field) gives the originator of the session (her username and the address of the user's host) plus a session identifier and version number:¶
In general, the "o=" line serves as a globally unique identifier for this version of the session description, and the subfields excepting the version, taken together identify the session irrespective of any modifications.¶
For privacy reasons, it is sometimes desirable to obfuscate the username and IP address of the session originator. If this is a concern, an arbitrary <username> and private <unicast-address> MAY be chosen to populate the "o=" line, provided that these are selected in a manner that does not affect the global uniqueness of the field.¶
s=<session name>¶
The "s=" line (session-name-field) is the textual session name. There MUST be one and only one "s=" line per session description. The "s=" line MUST NOT be empty. If a session has no meaningful name, then "s= " or "s=-" (i.e., a single space or dash as the session name) is RECOMMENDED. If a session-level "a=charset:" attribute is present, it specifies the character set used in the "s=" field. If a session-level "a=charset:" attribute is not present, the "s=" field MUST contain ISO 10646 characters in UTF-8 encoding.¶
i=<session information>¶
The "i=" line (information-field) provides textual information about the session. There can be at most one session-level "i=" line per session description, and at most one "i=" line in each media description. Unless a media-level "i=" line is provided, the session-level "i=" line applies to that media description. If the "a=charset:" attribute is present, it specifies the character set used in the "i=" line. If the "a=charset:" attribute is not present, the "i=" line MUST contain ISO 10646 characters in UTF-8 encoding.¶
At most one "i=" line can be used for each media description. In media definitions, "i=" lines are primarily intended for labeling media streams. As such, they are most likely to be useful when a single session has more than one distinct media stream of the same media type. An example would be two different whiteboards, one for slides and one for feedback and questions.¶
The "i=" line is intended to provide a free-form human-readable description of the session or the purpose of a media stream. It is not suitable for parsing by automata.¶
u=<uri>¶
The "u=" line (uri-field) provides a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) [RFC3986]. The URI should be a pointer to additional human readable information about the session. This line is OPTIONAL. No more than one "u=" line is allowed per session description.¶
e=<email-address> p=<phone-number>¶
The "e=" line (email-field) and "p=" line (phone-field) specify contact information for the person responsible for the session. This is not necessarily the same person that created the session description.¶
Inclusion of an email address or phone number is OPTIONAL.¶
If an email address or phone number is present, it MUST be specified before the first media description. More than one email or phone line can be given for a session description.¶
Phone numbers SHOULD be given in the form of an international public telecommunication number (see ITU-T Recommendation E.164 [E164]) preceded by a "+". Spaces and hyphens may be used to split up a phone-field to aid readability if desired. For example:¶
p=+1 617 555-6011¶
Both email addresses and phone numbers can have an OPTIONAL free text string associated with them, normally giving the name of the person who may be contacted. This MUST be enclosed in parentheses if it is present. For example:¶
[email protected] (Jane Doe)¶
The alternative [RFC5322] name quoting convention is also allowed for both email addresses and phone numbers. For example:¶
e=Jane Doe <[email protected]>¶
The free text string SHOULD be in the ISO-10646 character set with UTF-8 encoding, or alternatively in ISO-8859-1 or other encodings if the appropriate session-level "a=charset:" attribute is set.¶
c=<nettype> <addrtype> <connection-address>¶
The "c=" line (connection-field) contains information necessary to establish a network connection.¶
A session description MUST contain either at least one "c=" line in each media description or a single "c=" line at the session level. It MAY contain a single session-level "c=" line and additional media-level "c=" line(s) per-media-description, in which case the media-level values override the session-level settings for the respective media.¶
The first subfield (<nettype>) is the network type, which is a text string giving the type of network. Initially, "IN" is defined to have the meaning "Internet", but other values MAY be registered in the future (see Section 8).¶
The second subfield (<addrtype>) is the address type. This allows SDP to be used for sessions that are not IP based. This memo only defines "IP4" and "IP6", but other values MAY be registered in the future (see Section 8).¶
The third subfield (<connection-address>) is the connection address. Additional subfields MAY be added after the connection address depending on the value of the <addrtype> subfield.¶
When the <addrtype> is "IP4" or "IP6", the connection address is defined as follows:¶
The TTL for the session is appended to the address using a slash as a separator. An example is:¶
c=IN IP4 233.252.0.1/127¶
"IP6" multicast does not use TTL scoping, and hence the TTL value MUST NOT be present for "IP6" multicast. It is expected that IPv6 scoped addresses will be used to limit the scope of multimedia conferences.¶
Hierarchical or layered encoding schemes are data streams where the encoding from a single media source is split into a number of layers. The receiver can choose the desired quality (and hence bandwidth) by only subscribing to a subset of these layers. Such layered encodings are normally transmitted in multiple multicast groups to allow multicast pruning. This technique keeps unwanted traffic from sites only requiring certain levels of the hierarchy. For applications requiring multiple multicast groups, we allow the following notation to be used for the connection address:¶
<base multicast address>[/<ttl>]/<number of addresses>¶
If the number of addresses is not given, it is assumed to be one. Multicast addresses so assigned are contiguously allocated above the base address, so that, for example:¶
c=IN IP4 233.252.0.1/127/3¶
would state that addresses 233.252.0.1, 233.252.0.2, and 233.252.0.3 are to be used with a TTL of 127. This is semantically identical to including multiple "c=" lines in a media description:¶
c=IN IP4 233.252.0.1/127 c=IN IP4 233.252.0.2/127 c=IN IP4 233.252.0.3/127¶
Similarly, an IPv6 example would be:¶
c=IN IP6 ff00::db8:0:101/3¶
which is semantically equivalent to:¶
c=IN IP6 ff00::db8:0:101 c=IN IP6 ff00::db8:0:102 c=IN IP6 ff00::db8:0:103¶
(remember that the TTL subfield is not present in "IP6" multicast).¶
Multiple addresses or "c=" lines MAY be specified on a per media description basis only if they provide multicast addresses for different layers in a hierarchical or layered encoding scheme. Multiple addresses or "c=" lines MUST NOT be specified at session level.¶
The slash notation for multiple addresses described above MUST NOT be used for IP unicast addresses.¶
b=<bwtype>:<bandwidth>¶
The OPTIONAL "b=" line (bandwidth-field) denotes the proposed bandwidth to be used by the session or media description. The <bwtype> is an alphanumeric modifier that provides the meaning of the <bandwidth> number. Two values are defined in this specification, but other values MAY be registered in the future (see Section 8 and [RFC3556], [RFC3890]):¶
If the bandwidth of a session is different from the bandwidth implicit from the scope, a "b=CT:" line SHOULD be supplied for the session giving the proposed upper limit to the bandwidth used (the "conference total" bandwidth). Similarly, if the bandwidth of bundled media streams [RFC8843] in an "m=" line is different from the implicit value from the scope, a "b=CT:" line SHOULD be supplied in the media level. The primary purpose of this is to give an approximate idea as to whether two or more sessions (or bundled media streams) can coexist simultaneously. Note that a "b=CT:" line gives a total bandwidth figure for all the media at all endpoints.¶
The Mux Category for "b=CT:" is NORMAL. This is discussed in [RFC8859].¶
The bandwidth is interpreted to be application specific (it will be the application's concept of maximum bandwidth). Normally, this will coincide with what is set on the application's "maximum bandwidth" control if applicable. For RTP-based applications, the "b=AS:" line gives the RTP "session bandwidth" as defined in Section 6.2 of [RFC3550]. Note that a "b=AS:" line gives a bandwidth figure for a single media at a single endpoint, although there may be many endpoints sending simultaneously.¶
The Mux Category for "b=AS:" is SUM. This is discussed in [RFC8859].¶
[RFC4566] defined an "X-" prefix for <bwtype> names. This was intended for experimental purposes only. For example:¶
b=X-YZ:128¶
Use of the "X-" prefix is NOT RECOMMENDED. Instead new (non "X-" prefix) <bwtype> names SHOULD be defined, and then MUST be registered with IANA in the standard namespace. SDP parsers MUST ignore bandwidth-fields with unknown <bwtype> names. The <bwtype> names MUST be alphanumeric and, although no length limit is given, it is recommended that they be short.¶
The <bandwidth> is interpreted as kilobits per second by default (including the transport and network-layer, but not the link-layer, overhead). The definition of a new <bwtype> modifier MAY specify that the bandwidth is to be interpreted in some alternative unit (the "CT" and "AS" modifiers defined in this memo use the default units).¶
t=<start-time> <stop-time>¶
A "t=" line (time-field) begins a time description that specifies the start and stop times for a session. Multiple time descriptions MAY be used if a session is active at multiple irregularly spaced times; each additional time description specifies additional periods of time for which the session will be active. If the session is active at regular repeat times, a repeat description, begun by an "r=" line (see Section 5.10) can be included following the time-field -- in which case the time-field specifies the start and stop times of the entire repeat sequence.¶
The following example specifies two active intervals:¶
t=3724394400 3724398000 ; Mon 8-Jan-2018 10:00-11:00 UTC t=3724484400 3724488000 ; Tue 9-Jan-2018 11:00-12:00 UTC¶
The first and second subfields of the time-field give the start and stop times, respectively, for the session. These are the decimal representation of time values in seconds since January 1, 1900 UTC. To convert these values to Unix time (UTC), subtract decimal 2208988800.¶
Some time representations will wrap in the year 2036. Because SDP uses an arbitrary length decimal representation, it does not have this issue. Implementations of SDP need to be prepared to handle these larger values.¶
If the <stop-time> is set to zero, then the session is not bounded, though it will not become active until after the <start-time>. If the <start-time> is also zero, the session is regarded as permanent.¶
User interfaces SHOULD strongly discourage the creation of unbounded and permanent sessions as they give no information about when the session is actually going to terminate, and so make scheduling difficult.¶
The general assumption may be made, when displaying unbounded sessions that have not timed out to the user, that an unbounded session will only be active until half an hour from the current time or the session start time, whichever is the later. If behavior other than this is required, a <stop-time> SHOULD be given and modified as appropriate when new information becomes available about when the session should really end.¶
Permanent sessions may be shown to the user as never being active unless there are associated repeat times that state precisely when the session will be active.¶
r=<repeat interval> <active duration> <offsets from start-time>¶
An"r=" line (repeat-field) specifies repeat times for a session. If needed to express complex schedules, multiple repeat-fields may be included. For example, if a session is active at 10am on Monday and 11am on Tuesday for one hour each week for three months, then the <start-time> in the corresponding "t=" line would be the representation of 10am on the first Monday, the <repeat interval> would be 1 week, the <active duration> would be 1 hour, and the offsets would be zero and 25 hours. The corresponding "t=" line stop time would be the representation of the end of the last session three months later. By default, all subfields are in seconds, so the "r=" and "t=" lines might be the following:¶
t=3724394400 3730536000 ; Mon 8-Jan-2018 10:00-11:00 UTC
; Tues 20-Mar-2018 12:00 UTC
r=604800 3600 0 90000 ; 1 week, 1 hour, zero, 25 hours
¶
To make the description more compact, times may also be given in units of days, hours, or minutes. The syntax for these is a number immediately followed by a single case-sensitive character. Fractional units are not allowed -- a smaller unit should be used instead. The following unit specification characters are allowed:¶
| d | days (86400 seconds) |
| h | hours (3600 seconds) |
| m | minutes (60 seconds) |
| s | seconds (allowed for completeness) |
Thus, the above repeat-field could also have been written:¶
r=7d 1h 0 25h¶
Monthly and yearly repeats cannot be directly specified with a single SDP repeat time; instead, separate time-descriptions should be used to explicitly list the session times.¶
z=<adjustment time> <offset> <adjustment time> <offset> ....¶
A "z=" line (zone-field) is an optional modifier to the repeat-fields it immediately follows. It does not apply to any other fields.¶
To schedule a repeated session that spans a change from daylight saving time to standard time or vice versa, it is necessary to specify offsets from the base time. This is required because different time zones change time at different times of day, different countries change to or from daylight saving time on different dates, and some countries do not have daylight saving time at all.¶
Thus, in order to schedule a session that is at the same time winter and summer, it must be possible to specify unambiguously by whose time zone a session is scheduled. To simplify this task for receivers, we allow the sender to specify the time (represented as seconds since January 1, 1900 UTC) that a time zone adjustment happens and the offset from the time when the session was first scheduled. The "z=" line allows the sender to specify a list of these adjustment times and offsets from the base time.¶
An example might be the following:¶
t=3724394400 3754123200 ; Mon 8-Jan-2018 10:00 UTC
; Tues 18-Dec-2018 12:00 UTC
r=604800 3600 0 90000 ; 1 week, 1 hour, zero, 25 hours
z=3730928400 -1h 3749680800 0 ; Sun 25-Mar-2018 1:00 UTC,
; offset 1 hour,
; Sun 28-Oct-2018 2:00 UTC,
; no offset
¶
This specifies that at time 3730928400 (Sun 25-Mar-2018 1:00 UTC, the onset of British Summer Time) the time base by which the session's repeat times are calculated is shifted back by 1 hour, and that at time 3749680800 (Sun 28-Oct-2018 2:00 UTC, the end of British Summer Time) the session's original time base is restored. Adjustments are always relative to the specified start time -- they are not cumulative.¶
If a session is likely to last several years, it is expected that the session description will be modified periodically rather than transmit several years' worth of adjustments in one session description.¶
k=<method> k=<method>:<encryption key>¶
The "k=" line (key-field) is obsolete and MUST NOT be used. It is included in this document for legacy reasons. One MUST NOT include a "k=" line in an SDP, and MUST discard it if it is received in an SDP.¶
a=<attribute-name> a=<attribute-name>:<attribute-value>¶
Attributes are the primary means for extending SDP. Attributes may be defined to be used as session-level attributes, media-level attributes, or both. (Attribute scopes in addition to media-level and session-level scopes may also be defined in extensions to this document, e.g., [RFC5576] and [RFC8864].)¶
A media description may contain any number of "a=" lines (attribute-fields) that are media description specific. These are referred to as media-level attributes and add information about the media description. Attribute-fields can also be added before the first media description; these session-level attributes convey additional information that applies to the session as a whole rather than to individual media descriptions.¶
Attribute-fields may be of two forms:¶
Attribute interpretation depends on the media tool being invoked. Thus receivers of session descriptions should be configurable in their interpretation of session descriptions in general and of attributes in particular.¶
Attribute names MUST use the US-ASCII subset of ISO-10646/UTF-8.¶
Attribute values are octet strings, and MAY use any octet value except 0x00 (Nul), 0x0A (LF), and 0x0D (CR). By default, attribute values are to be interpreted as in ISO-10646 character set with UTF-8 encoding. Unlike other text fields, attribute values are NOT normally affected by the "a=charset:" attribute as this would make comparisons against known values problematic. However, when an attribute is defined, it can be defined to be charset dependent, in which case its value should be interpreted in the session charset rather than in ISO-10646.¶
Attributes MUST be registered with IANA (see Section 8). If an attribute is received that is not understood, it MUST be ignored by the receiver.¶
m=<media> <port> <proto> <fmt> ...¶
A session description may contain a number of media descriptions. Each media description starts with an "m=" line (media-field) and is terminated by either the next "m=" line or by the end of the session description. A media-field has several subfields:¶
is the transport port to which the media stream is sent. The meaning of the transport port depends on the network being used as specified in the relevant "c=" line, and on the transport protocol defined in the <proto> subfield of the media-field. Other ports used by the media application (such as the RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) port [RFC3550]) MAY be derived algorithmically from the base media port or MAY be specified in a separate attribute (for example, the "a=rtcp:" attribute as defined in [RFC3605]).¶
If noncontiguous ports are used or if they don't follow the parity rule of even RTP ports and odd RTCP ports, the "a=rtcp:" attribute MUST be used. Applications that are requested to send media to a <port> that is odd and where the "a=rtcp:" attribute is present MUST NOT subtract 1 from the RTP port: that is, they MUST send the RTP to the port indicated in <port> and send the RTCP to the port indicated in the "a=rtcp:" attribute.¶
For applications where hierarchically encoded streams are being sent to a unicast address, it may be necessary to specify multiple transport ports. This is done using a similar notation to that used for IP multicast addresses in the "c=" line:¶
m=<media> <port>/<number of ports> <proto> <fmt> ...
¶
In such a case, the ports used depend on the transport protocol. For RTP, the default is that only the even-numbered ports are used for data with the corresponding one-higher odd ports used for the RTCP belonging to the RTP session, and the <number of ports> denoting the number of RTP sessions. For example:¶
m=video 49170/2 RTP/AVP 31
¶
would specify that ports 49170 and 49171 form one RTP/RTCP pair, and 49172 and 49173 form the second RTP/RTCP pair. RTP/AVP is the transport protocol, and 31 is the format (see the description of <fmt> below).¶
This document does not include a mechanism for declaring hierarchically encoded streams using noncontiguous ports. (There is currently no attribute defined that can accomplish this. The "a=rtcp:" attribute defined in [RFC3605] does not handle hierarchical encoding.) If a need arises to declare noncontiguous ports then it will be necessary to define a new attribute to do so.¶
If multiple addresses are specified in the "c=" line and multiple ports are specified in the "m=" line, a one-to-one mapping from port to the corresponding address is implied. For example:¶
m=video 49170/2 RTP/AVP 31
c=IN IP4 233.252.0.1/127/2
¶
would imply that address 233.252.0.1 is used with ports 49170 and 49171, and address 233.252.0.2 is used with ports 49172 and 49173.¶
The mapping is similar if multiple addresses are specified using multiple "c=" lines. For example:¶
m=video 49170/2 RTP/AVP 31
c=IN IP6 ff00::db8:0:101
c=IN IP6 ff00::db8:0:102
¶
would imply that address ff00::db8:0:101 is used with ports 49170 and 49171, and address ff00::db8:0:102 is used with ports 49172 and 49173.¶
This document gives no meaning to assigning the same media address to multiple media descriptions. Doing so does not implicitly group those media descriptions in any way. An explicit grouping framework (for example, [RFC5888]) should instead be used to express the intended semantics. For instance, see [RFC8843].¶
is the transport protocol. The meaning of the transport protocol is dependent on the address type subfield in the relevant "c=" line. Thus a "c=" line with an address type of "IP4" indicates that the transport protocol runs over IPv4. The following transport protocols are defined, but may be extended through registration of new protocols with IANA (see Section 8):¶
The main reason to specify the transport protocol in addition to the media format is that the same standard media formats may be carried over different transport protocols even when the network protocol is the same -- a historical example is vat (MBone's popular multimedia audio tool) Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) audio and RTP PCM audio; another might be TCP/RTP PCM audio. In addition, relays and monitoring tools that are transport-protocol-specific but format-independent are possible.¶
is a media format description. The fourth and any subsequent subfields describe the format of the media. The interpretation of the media format depends on the value of the <proto> subfield.¶
If the <proto> subfield is "RTP/AVP" or "RTP/SAVP", the <fmt> subfields contain RTP payload type numbers. When a list of payload type numbers is given, this implies that all of these payload formats MAY be used in the session, and these payload formats are listed in order of preference, with the first format listed being preferred. When multiple payload formats are listed, the first acceptable payload format from the beginning of the list SHOULD be used for the session. For dynamic payload type assignments, the "a=rtpmap:" attribute (see Section 6.6) SHOULD be used to map from an RTP payload type number to a media encoding name that identifies the payload format. The "a=fmtp:" attribute MAY be used to specify format parameters (see Section 6.15).¶
If the <proto> subfield is "udp", the <fmt> subfields MUST reference a media type describing the format under the "audio", "video", "text", "application", or "message" top-level media types. The media type registration SHOULD define the packet format for use with UDP transport.¶
For media using other transport protocols, the <fmt> subfield is protocol specific. Rules for interpretation of the <fmt> subfield MUST be defined when registering new protocols (see Section 8.2.2).¶
Section 3 of [RFC4855] states that the payload format (encoding) names defined in the RTP profile are commonly shown in upper case, while media subtype names are commonly shown in lower case. It also states that both of these names are case-insensitive in both places, similar to parameter names which are case-insensitive both in media type strings and in the default mapping to the SDP "a=fmtp:" attribute.¶
The following attributes are defined. Since application writers may add new attributes as they are required, this list is not exhaustive. Registration procedures for new attributes are defined in Section 8.2.4. Syntax is provided using ABNF [RFC7405] with some of the rules defined further in Section 9.¶
Syntax:¶
cat-value = category
category = non-ws-string
¶
Example:¶
a=cat:foo.bar
¶
This attribute gives the dot-separated hierarchical category of the session. This is to enable a receiver to filter unwanted sessions by category. There is no central registry of categories. This attribute is obsolete and SHOULD NOT be used. It SHOULD be ignored if received.¶
Syntax:¶
keywds-value = keywords
keywords = text
¶
Example:¶
a=keywds:SDP session description protocol
¶
Like the "a=cat:" attribute, this was intended to assist identifying wanted sessions at the receiver, and to allow a receiver to select interesting sessions based on keywords describing the purpose of the session; however, there is no central registry of keywords. Its value should be interpreted in the charset specified for the session description if one is specified, or by default in ISO 10646/UTF-8. This attribute is obsolete and SHOULD NOT be used. It SHOULD be ignored if received.¶
Syntax:¶
tool-value = tool-name-and-version
tool-name-and-version = text
¶
Example:¶
a=tool:foobar V3.2
¶
This gives the name and version number of the tool used to create the session description.¶
Syntax:¶
ptime-value = non-zero-int-or-real
¶
Example:¶
a=ptime:20
¶
This gives the length of time in milliseconds represented by the media in a packet. This is probably only meaningful for audio data, but may be used with other media types if it makes sense. It should not be necessary to know "a=ptime:" to decode RTP or vat audio, and it is intended as a recommendation for the encoding/packetization of audio.¶
Syntax:¶
maxptime-value = non-zero-int-or-real
¶
Example:¶
a=maxptime:20
¶
This gives the maximum amount of media that can be encapsulated in each packet, expressed as time in milliseconds. The time SHALL be calculated as the sum of the time the media present in the packet represents. For frame-based codecs, the time SHOULD be an integer multiple of the frame size. This attribute is probably only meaningful for audio data, but may be used with other media types if it makes sense. Note that this attribute was introduced after [RFC2327], and implementations that have not been updated will ignore this attribute.¶
Syntax:¶
rtpmap-value = payload-type SP encoding-name
"/" clock-rate [ "/" encoding-params ]
payload-type = zero-based-integer
encoding-name = token
clock-rate = integer
encoding-params = channels
channels = integer
¶
This attribute maps from an RTP payload type number (as used in an "m=" line) to an encoding name denoting the payload format to be used. It also provides information on the clock rate and encoding parameters. Note that the payload type number is indicated in a 7-bit field, limiting the values to inclusively between 0 and 127.¶
Although an RTP profile can make static assignments of payload type numbers to payload formats, it is more common for that assignment to be done dynamically using "a=rtpmap:" attributes. As an example of a static payload type, consider u-law PCM encoded single-channel audio sampled at 8 kHz. This is completely defined in the RTP audio/video profile as payload type 0, so there is no need for an "a=rtpmap:" attribute, and the media for such a stream sent to UDP port 49232 can be specified as:¶
m=audio 49232 RTP/AVP 0
¶
An example of a dynamic payload type is 16-bit linear encoded stereo audio sampled at 16 kHz. If we wish to use the dynamic RTP/AVP payload type 98 for this stream, additional information is required to decode it:¶
m=audio 49232 RTP/AVP 98
a=rtpmap:98 L16/16000/2
¶
Up to one "a=rtpmap:" attribute can be defined for each media format specified. Thus, we might have the following:¶
m=audio 49230 RTP/AVP 96 97 98
a=rtpmap:96 L8/8000
a=rtpmap:97 L16/8000
a=rtpmap:98 L16/11025/2
¶
RTP profiles that specify the use of dynamic payload types MUST define the set of valid encoding names and/or a means to register encoding names if that profile is to be used with SDP. The "RTP/AVP" and "RTP/SAVP" profiles use media subtypes for encoding names, under the top-level media type denoted in the "m=" line. In the example above, the media types are "audio/L8" and "audio/L16".¶
For audio streams, encoding-params indicates the number of audio channels. This parameter is OPTIONAL and may be omitted if the number of channels is one, provided that no additional parameters are needed.¶
For video streams, no encoding parameters are currently specified.¶
Additional encoding parameters MAY be defined in the future, but codec-specific parameters SHOULD NOT be added. Parameters added to an "a=rtpmap:" attribute SHOULD only be those required for a session directory to make the choice of appropriate media to participate in a session. Codec-specific parameters should be added in other attributes (for example, "a=fmtp:").¶
Note: RTP audio formats typically do not include information about the number of samples per packet. If a non-default (as defined in the RTP Audio/Video Profile [RFC3551]) packetization is required, the "a=ptime:" attribute is used as given in Section 6.4.¶
At most one occurrence of "a=recvonly", "a=sendrecv", "a=sendonly", or "a=inactive" MAY appear at session level, and at most one MAY appear in each media description.¶
If any one of these appears in a media description, then it applies for that media description. If none appears in a media description, then the one from session level, if any, applies to that media description.¶
If none of the media direction attributes is present at either session level or media level, "a=sendrecv" SHOULD be assumed as the default.¶
Within the following SDP example, the "a=sendrecv" attribute applies to the first audio media and the "a=inactive" attribute applies to the others.¶
v=0
o=jdoe 3724395000 3724395001 IN IP6 2001:db8::1
s=-
c=IN IP6 2001:db8::1
t=0 0
a=inactive
m=audio 49170 RTP/AVP 0
a=sendrecv
m=audio 49180 RTP/AVP 0
m=video 51372 RTP/AVP 99
a=rtpmap:99 h263-1998/90000
¶
Example:¶
a=recvonly
¶
This specifies that the tools should be started in receive-only mode where applicable. Note that receive-only mode applies to the media only, not to any associated control protocol. An RTP-based system in receive-only mode MUST still send RTCP packets as described in [RFC3550], Section 6.¶
Example:¶
a=sendrecv
¶
This specifies that the tools should be started in send and receive mode. This is necessary for interactive multimedia conferences with tools that default to receive-only mode.¶
Example:¶
a=sendonly
¶
This specifies that the tools should be started in send-only mode. An example may be where a different unicast address is to be used for a traffic destination than for a traffic source. In such a case, two media descriptions may be used, one in send-only mode and one in receive-vonly mode. Note that send-only mode applies only to the media, and any associated control protocol (e.g., RTCP) SHOULD still be received and processed as normal.¶
Example:¶
a=inactive
¶
This specifies that the tools should be started in inactive mode. This is necessary for interactive multimedia conferences where users can put other users on hold. No media is sent over an inactive media stream. Note that an RTP-based system MUST still send RTCP (if RTCP is used), even if started in inactive mode.¶
Syntax:¶
orient-value = portrait / landscape / seascape
portrait = %s"portrait"
landscape = %s"landscape"
seascape = %s"seascape"
; NOTE: These names are case-sensitive.
¶
Example:¶
a=orient:portrait
¶
Normally this is only used for a whiteboard or presentation tool. It specifies the orientation of the workspace on the screen. Permitted values are "portrait", "landscape", and "seascape" (upside-down landscape).¶
Syntax:¶
type-value = conference-type
conference-type = broadcast / meeting / moderated / test /
H332
broadcast = %s"broadcast"
meeting = %s"meeting"
moderated = %s"moderated"
test = %s"test"
H332 = %s"H332"
; NOTE: These names are case-sensitive.
¶
Example:¶
a=type:moderated
¶
This specifies the type of the multimedia conference. Allowed values are "broadcast", "meeting", "moderated", "test", and "H332". These values have implications for other options that are likely to be appropriate:¶
Syntax:¶
charset-value = <defined in [RFC2978]>
¶
This specifies the character set to be used to display the session name and information data. By default, the ISO-10646 character set in UTF-8 encoding is used. If a more compact representation is required, other character sets may be used. For example, the ISO 8859-1 is specified with the following SDP attribute:¶
a=charset:ISO-8859-1
¶
The charset specified MUST be one of those registered in the IANA Character Sets registry (http://www.iana.org/assignments/character-sets), such as ISO-8859-1. The character set identifier is a string that MUST be compared against identifiers from the "Name" or "Preferred MIME Name" field of the registry using a case-insensitive comparison. If the identifier is not recognized or not supported, all strings that are affected by it SHOULD be regarded as octet strings.¶
Charset-dependent fields MUST contain only sequences of bytes that are valid according to the definition of the selected character set. Furthermore, charset-dependent fields MUST NOT contain the bytes 0x00 (Nul), 0x0A (LF), and 0x0d (CR).¶
Syntax:¶
sdplang-value = Language-Tag
; Language-Tag defined in RFC 5646
¶
Example:¶
a=sdplang:fr
¶
Multiple "a=sdplang:" attributes can be provided either at session or media level if the session description or media use multiple languages.¶
As a session-level attribute, it specifies the language for the session description (not the language of the media). As a media-level attribute, it specifies the language for any media-level SDP information-field associated with that media (again not the language of the media), overriding any "a=sdplang:" attributes specified at session level.¶
In general, sending session descriptions consisting of multiple languages is discouraged. Instead, multiple session descriptions SHOULD be sent describing the session, one in each language. However, this is not possible with all transport mechanisms, and so multiple "a=sdplang:" attributes are allowed although NOT RECOMMENDED.¶
The "a=sdplang:" attribute value must be a single language tag [RFC5646]. An "a=sdplang:" attribute SHOULD be specified when a session is distributed with sufficient scope to cross geographic boundaries, where the language of recipients cannot be assumed, or where the session is in a different language from the locally assumed norm.¶
Syntax:¶
lang-value = Language-Tag
; Language-Tag defined in RFC 5646
¶
Example:¶
a=lang:de
¶
Multiple "a=lang:" attributes can be provided either at session or media level if the session or media has capabilities in more than one language, in which case the order of the attributes indicates the order of preference of the various languages in the session or media, from most preferred to least preferred.¶
As a session-level attribute, "a=lang:" specifies a language capability for the session being described. As a media-level attribute, it specifies a language capability for that media, overriding any session-level language(s) specified.¶
The "a=lang:" attribute value must be a single [RFC5646] language tag. An "a=lang:" attribute SHOULD be specified when a session is of sufficient scope to cross geographic boundaries where the language of participants cannot be assumed, or where the session has capabilities in languages different from the locally assumed norm.¶
The "a=lang:" attribute is supposed to be used for setting the initial language(s) used in the session. Events during the session may influence which language(s) are used, and the participants are not strictly bound to only use the declared languages.¶
Most real-time use cases start with just one language used, while other cases involve a range of languages, e.g., an interpreted or subtitled session. When more than one "a=lang:" attribute is specified, the "a=lang:" attribute itself does not provide any information about multiple languages being intended to be used during the session, or if the intention is to only select one of the languages. If needed, a new attribute can be defined and used to indicate such intentions. Without such semantics, it is assumed that for a negotiated session one of the declared languages will be selected and used.¶
Syntax:¶
framerate-value = non-zero-int-or-real
¶
Example:¶
a=framerate:60
¶
This gives the maximum video frame rate in frames/sec. It is intended as a recommendation for the encoding of video data. Decimal representations of fractional values are allowed. It is defined only for video media.¶
Syntax:¶
quality-value = zero-based-integer
¶
Example:¶
a=quality:10
¶
This gives a suggestion for the quality of the encoding as an integer value. The intention of the quality attribute for video is to specify a non-default trade-off between frame-rate and still-image quality. For video, the value is in the range 0 to 10, with the following suggested meaning:¶
| 10 | the best still-image quality the compression scheme can give. |
| 5 | the default behavior given no quality suggestion. |
| 0 | the worst still-image quality the codec designer thinks is still usable. |
Syntax:¶
fmtp-value = fmt SP format-specific-params
format-specific-params = byte-string
; Notes:
; - The format parameters are media type parameters and
; need to reflect their syntax.
¶
Example:¶
a=fmtp:96 profile-level-id=42e016;max-mbps=108000;max-fs=3600
¶
This attribute allows parameters that are specific to a particular format to be conveyed in a way that SDP does not have to understand them. The format must be one of the formats specified for the media. Format-specific parameters, semicolon separated, may be any set of parameters required to be conveyed by SDP and given unchanged to the media tool that will use this format. At most one instance of this attribute is allowed for each format.¶
The "a=fmtp:" attribute may be used to specify parameters for any protocol and format that defines use of such parameters.¶
SDP is frequently used with the Session Initiation Protocol [RFC3261] using the offer/answer model [RFC3264] to agree on parameters for unicast sessions. When used in this manner, the security considerations of those protocols apply.¶
SDP is a session description format that describes multimedia sessions. Entities receiving and acting upon an SDP message SHOULD be aware that a session description cannot be trusted unless it has been obtained by an authenticated and integrity-protected transport protocol from a known and trusted source. Many different transport protocols may be used to distribute session descriptions, and the nature of the authentication and integrity protection will differ from transport to transport. For some transports, security features are often not deployed. In case a session description has not been obtained in a trusted manner, the endpoint SHOULD exercise care because, among other attacks, the media sessions received may not be the intended ones, the destination to where the media is sent may not be the expected one, any of the parameters of the session may be incorrect, or the media security may be compromised. It is up to the endpoint to make a sensible decision, taking into account the security risks of the application and the user preferences - the endpoint may decide to ask the user whether or not to accept the session.¶
On receiving a session description over an unauthenticated transport mechanism or from an untrusted party, software parsing the session description should take a few precautions. Similar concerns apply if integrity protection is not in place. Session descriptions contain information required to start software on the receiver's system. Software that parses a session description MUST NOT be able to start other software except that which is specifically configured as appropriate software to participate in multimedia sessions. It is normally considered inappropriate for software parsing a session description to start, on a user's system, software that is appropriate to participate in multimedia sessions, without the user first being informed that such software will be started and giving the user's consent. Thus, a session description arriving by session announcement, email, session invitation, or WWW page MUST NOT deliver the user into an interactive multimedia session unless the user has explicitly pre-authorized such action. As it is not always simple to tell whether or not a session is interactive, applications that are unsure should assume sessions are interactive. Software processing URLs contained in session descriptions should also heed the security considerations identified in [RFC3986].¶
In this specification, there are no attributes that would allow the recipient of a session description to be informed to start multimedia tools in a mode where they default to transmitting. Under some circumstances it might be appropriate to define such attributes. If this is done, an application parsing a session description containing such attributes SHOULD either ignore them or inform the user that joining this session will result in the automatic transmission of multimedia data. The default behavior for an unknown attribute is to ignore it.¶
In certain environments, it has become common for intermediary systems to intercept and analyze session descriptions contained within other signaling protocols. This is done for a range of purposes, including but not limited to opening holes in firewalls to allow media streams to pass, or to mark, prioritize, or block traffic selectively. In some cases, such intermediary systems may modify the session description, for example, to have the contents of the session description match NAT bindings dynamically created. These behaviors are NOT RECOMMENDED unless the session description is conveyed in such a manner that allows the intermediary system to conduct proper checks to establish the authenticity of the session description, and the authority of its source to establish such communication sessions. SDP by itself does not include sufficient information to enable these checks: they depend on the encapsulating protocol (e.g., SIP or RTSP). The use of some procedures and SDP extensions (e.g., Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) [RFC8445] and ICE-SIP-SDP [RFC8839]) may avoid the need for intermediaries to modify SDP.¶
SDP MUST NOT be used to convey keying material (e.g., using the "a=crypto:" attribute [RFC4568]) unless it can be guaranteed that the channel over which the SDP is delivered is both private and authenticated.¶
One media type registration from [RFC4566] has been updated, as defined below.¶
Voice over IP, video teleconferencing, streaming media, instant
messaging, among others. See also Section 3 of RFC 8866.¶
This document specifies IANA parameter registries for six named SDP subfields. Using the terminology in the SDP specification Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF), they are <media>, <proto>, <attribute-name>, <bwtype>, <nettype>, and <addrtype>.¶
This document also replaces and updates the definitions of all those parameters previously defined by [RFC4566].¶
IANA has changed all references to RFC 4566 in these registries to instead refer to this document.¶
The contact name and email address for all parameters registered in this document is:¶
The IETF MMUSIC working group <[email protected]> or its successor as designated by the IESG.¶
All of these registries have a common format:¶
| Type | SDP Name | [other fields] | Reference |
|---|
A specification document that defines values for SDP <media>, <proto>, <attribute-name>, <bwtype>, <nettype>, and <addrtype> parameters MUST include the following information:¶
The subsections below specify what other information (if any) must be specified for particular parameters, and what other fields are to be included in the registry.¶
The set of media types is intended to be small and SHOULD NOT be extended except under rare circumstances. The same rules should apply for media names as well as for top-level media types, and where possible the same name should be registered for SDP as for MIME. For media other than existing top-level media types, a Standards Track RFC MUST be produced for a new top-level media type to be registered, and the registration MUST provide good justification why no existing media name is appropriate (the "Standards Action" policy of [RFC8126]).¶
This memo registers the media types "audio", "video", "text", "application", and "message".¶
Note: The media types "control" and "data" were listed as valid in an early version of this specification [RFC2327]; however, their semantics were never fully specified, and they are not widely used. These media types have been removed in this specification, although they still remain valid media type capabilities for a SIP user agent as defined in [RFC3840]. If these media types are considered useful in the future, a Standards Track RFC MUST be produced to document their use. Until that is done, applications SHOULD NOT use these types and SHOULD NOT declare support for them in SIP capabilities declarations (even though they exist in the registry created by [RFC3840]). Also note that [RFC6466] defined the "image" media type.¶
The <proto> subfield describes the transport protocol used. The registration procedure for this registry is "RFC Required".¶
This document registers two values:¶
New transport protocols MAY be defined, and MUST be registered with IANA. Registrations MUST reference an RFC describing the protocol. Such an RFC MAY be Experimental or Informational, although it is preferable that it be Standards Track. The RFC defining a new protocol MUST define the rules by which the <fmt> (see below) namespace is managed.¶
<proto> names starting with "RTP/" MUST only be used for defining transport protocols that are profiles of RTP. For example, a profile whose short name is "XYZ" would be denoted by a <proto> subfield of "RTP/XYZ".¶
Each transport protocol, defined by the <proto> subfield, has an associated <fmt> namespace that describes the media formats that may be conveyed by that protocol. Formats cover all the possible encodings that could be transported in a multimedia session.¶
RTP payload formats under the "RTP/AVP" and other "RTP/*" profiles MUST use the payload type number as their <fmt> value. If the payload type number is dynamically assigned by this session description, an additional "a=rtpmap:" attribute MUST be included to specify the format name and parameters as defined by the media type registration for the payload format. It is RECOMMENDED that other RTP profiles that are registered (in combination with RTP) as SDP transport protocols specify the same rules for the <fmt> namespace.¶
For the "udp" protocol, the allowed <fmt> values are media subtypes from the IANA Media Types registry. The media type and subtype combination <media>/<fmt> specifies the format of the body of UDP packets. Use of an existing media subtype for the format is encouraged. If no suitable media subtype exists, it is RECOMMENDED that a new one be registered through the IETF process [RFC6838] by production of, or reference to, a Standards Track RFC that defines the format.¶
For other protocols, formats MAY be registered according to the rules of the associated <proto> specification.¶
Registrations of new formats MUST specify which transport protocols they apply to.¶
Attribute-field names (<attribute-name>) MUST be registered with IANA and documented to avoid any issues due to conflicting attribute definitions under the same name. (While unknown attributes in SDP are simply ignored, conflicting ones that fragment the protocol are a serious problem.)¶
The format of the <attribute-name> registry is:¶
| Type | SDP Name | Usage Level | Mux Category | Reference |
|---|
For example, the attribute "a=lang:", which is defined for both session and media level, will be listed in the new registry as follows:¶
| Type | SDP Name | Usage Level | Mux Category | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| attribute | lang | session, media | TRANSPORT | [RFC8866] [RFC8859] |
This one <attribute-name> registry combines all of the previous usage-level-specific "att-field" registries, including updates made by [RFC8859], and renames the "att-field" registry to the "attribute-name (formerly "att-field")" registry. IANA has completed the necessary reformatting.¶
Section 6 of this document replaces the initial set of attribute definitions made by [RFC4566]. IANA has updated the registry accordingly.¶
Documents can define new attributes and can also extend the definitions of previously defined attributes.¶
New attribute registrations are accepted according to the "Specification Required" policy of [RFC8126], provided that the specification includes the following information:¶
The above is the minimum that IANA will accept. Attributes that are expected to see widespread use and interoperability SHOULD be documented with a Standards Track RFC that specifies the attribute more precisely.¶
Submitters of registrations should ensure that the specification is in the spirit of SDP attributes, most notably that the attribute is platform independent in the sense that it makes no implicit assumptions about operating systems and does not name specific pieces of software in a manner that might inhibit interoperability.¶
Submitters of registrations should also carefully choose the attribute usage level. They should not choose only "session" when the attribute can have different values when media is disaggregated, i.e., when each "m=" section has its own IP address on a different endpoint. In that case, the attribute type chosen should be "session, media" or "media" (depending on desired semantics). The default rule is that for all new SDP attributes that can occur both in session and media level, the media level overrides the session level. When this is not the case for a new SDP attribute, it MUST be explicitly stated.¶
IANA has registered the initial set of attribute names (<attribute-name> values) with definitions as in Section 6 of this memo (these definitions replace those in [RFC4566]).¶
Updated attribute registrations are accepted according to the "Specification Required" policy of [RFC8126].¶
The Designated Expert reviewing the update is requested to evaluate whether the update is compatible with the prior intent and use of the attribute, and whether the new document is of sufficient maturity and authority in relation to the prior document.¶
The specification updating the attribute (for example, by adding a new value) MUST update registration information items from Section 8.2.4.1 according to the following constraints:¶
Items SHOULD be omitted if there is no impact to them as a result of the attribute update.¶
A proliferation of bandwidth specifiers is strongly discouraged.¶
New bandwidth specifiers (<bwtype> subfield values) MUST be registered with IANA. The submission MUST reference a Standards Track RFC specifying the semantics of the bandwidth specifier precisely, and indicating when it should be used, and why the existing registered bandwidth specifiers do not suffice.¶
The RFC MUST specify the Mux Category for this value as defined by [RFC8859].¶
The format of the <bwtype> registry is:¶
| Type | SDP Name | Mux Category | Reference |
|---|
IANA has updated the <bwtype> registry entries for the bandwidth specifiers "CT" and "AS" with the definitions in Section 5.8 of this memo (these definitions replace those in [RFC4566]).¶
Network type "IN", representing the Internet, is defined in Section 5.2 and Section 5.7 of this memo (this definition replaces that in [RFC4566]).¶
To enable SDP to reference a new non-Internet environment, a new network type (<nettype> subfield value) MUST be registered with IANA. The registration is subject to the "RFC Required" policy of [RFC8126]. Although non-Internet environments are not normally the preserve of IANA, there may be circumstances when an Internet application needs to interoperate with a non-Internet application, such as when gatewaying an Internet telephone call into the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The number of network types should be small and should be rarely extended. A new network type registration MUST reference an RFC that gives details of the network type and the address type(s) that may be used with it.¶
The format of the <nettype> registry is:¶
| Type | SDP Name | Usable addrtype Values | Reference |
|---|
IANA has updated the <nettype> registry to this new format. The following is the updated content of the registry:¶
| Type | SDP Name | Usable addrtype Values | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| nettype | IN | IP4, IP6 | [RFC8866] |
| nettype | TN | RFC2543 | [RFC2848] |
| nettype | ATM | NSAP, GWID, E164 | [RFC3108] |
| nettype | PSTN | E164 | [RFC7195] |
Note that both [RFC7195] and [RFC3108] registered "E164" as an address type, although [RFC7195] mentions that the "E164" address type has a different context for ATM and PSTN networks.¶
New address types (<addrtype>) MUST be registered with IANA. The registration is subject to the "RFC Required" policy of [RFC8126]. A new address type registration MUST reference an RFC, giving details of the syntax of the address type. Address types are not expected to be registered frequently.¶
Section 5.7 of this document gives new definitions of address types "IP4" and "IP6".¶
The IANA previously maintained a table of SDP encryption key access method ("enckey") names. This table is obsolete, since the "k=" line is not extensible. New registrations MUST NOT be accepted.¶
This section provides an Augmented BNF grammar for SDP. ABNF is defined in [RFC5234] and [RFC7405].¶
; SDP Syntax
session-description = version-field
origin-field
session-name-field
[information-field]
[uri-field]
*email-field
*phone-field
[connection-field]
*bandwidth-field
1*time-description
[key-field]
*attribute-field
*media-description
version-field = %s"v" "=" 1*DIGIT CRLF
;this memo describes version 0
origin-field = %s"o" "=" username SP sess-id SP sess-version SP
nettype SP addrtype SP unicast-address CRLF
session-name-field = %s"s" "=" text CRLF
information-field = %s"i" "=" text CRLF
uri-field = %s"u" "=" uri CRLF
email-field = %s"e" "=" email-address CRLF
phone-field = %s"p" "=" phone-number CRLF
connection-field = %s"c" "=" nettype SP addrtype SP
connection-address CRLF
;a connection field must be present
;in every media description or at the
;session level
bandwidth-field = %s"b" "=" bwtype ":" bandwidth CRLF
time-description = time-field
[repeat-description]
repeat-description = 1*repeat-field
[zone-field]
time-field = %s"t" "=" start-time SP stop-time CRLF
repeat-field = %s"r" "=" repeat-interval SP typed-time
1*(SP typed-time) CRLF
zone-field = %s"z" "=" time SP ["-"] typed-time
*(SP time SP ["-"] typed-time) CRLF
key-field = %s"k" "=" key-type CRLF
attribute-field = %s"a" "=" attribute CRLF
media-description = media-field
[information-field]
*connection-field
*bandwidth-field
[key-field]
*attribute-field
media-field = %s"m" "=" media SP port ["/" integer]
SP proto 1*(SP fmt) CRLF
; sub-rules of 'o='
username = non-ws-string
;pretty wide definition, but doesn't
;include space
sess-id = 1*DIGIT
;should be unique for this username/host
sess-version = 1*DIGIT
nettype = token
;typically "IN"
addrtype = token
;typically "IP4" or "IP6"
; sub-rules of 'u='
uri = URI-reference
; see RFC 3986
; sub-rules of 'e=', see RFC 5322 for definitions
email-address = address-and-comment / dispname-and-address
/ addr-spec
address-and-comment = addr-spec 1*SP "(" 1*email-safe ")"
dispname-and-address = 1*email-safe 1*SP "<" addr-spec ">"
; sub-rules of 'p='
phone-number = phone *SP "(" 1*email-safe ")" /
1*email-safe "<" phone ">" /
phone
phone = ["+"] DIGIT 1*(SP / "-" / DIGIT)
; sub-rules of 'c='
connection-address = multicast-address / unicast-address
; sub-rules of 'b='
bwtype = token
bandwidth = 1*DIGIT
; sub-rules of 't='
start-time = time / "0"
stop-time = time / "0"
time = POS-DIGIT 9*DIGIT
; Decimal representation of time in
; seconds since January 1, 1900 UTC.
; The representation is an unbounded
; length field containing at least
; 10 digits. Unlike some representations
; used elsewhere, time in SDP does not
; wrap in the year 2036.
; sub-rules of 'r=' and 'z='
repeat-interval = POS-DIGIT *DIGIT [fixed-len-time-unit]
typed-time = 1*DIGIT [fixed-len-time-unit]
fixed-len-time-unit = %s"d" / %s"h" / %s"m" / %s"s"
; NOTE: These units are case-sensitive.
; sub-rules of 'k='
key-type = %s"prompt" /
%s"clear:" text /
%s"base64:" base64 /
%s"uri:" uri
; NOTE: These names are case-sensitive.
base64 = *base64-unit [base64-pad]
base64-unit = 4base64-char
base64-pad = 2base64-char "==" / 3base64-char "="
base64-char = ALPHA / DIGIT / "+" / "/"
; sub-rules of 'a='
attribute = (attribute-name ":" attribute-value) /
attribute-name
attribute-name = token
attribute-value = byte-string
att-field = attribute-name ; for backward compatibility
; sub-rules of 'm='
media = token
;typically "audio", "video", "text", "image"
;or "application"
fmt = token
;typically an RTP payload type for audio
;and video media
proto = token *("/" token)
;typically "RTP/AVP", "RTP/SAVP", "udp",
;or "RTP/SAVPF"
port = 1*DIGIT
; generic sub-rules: addressing
unicast-address = IP4-address / IP6-address / FQDN / extn-addr
multicast-address = IP4-multicast / IP6-multicast / FQDN
/ extn-addr
IP4-multicast = m1 3( "." decimal-uchar )
"/" ttl [ "/" numaddr ]
; IP4 multicast addresses may be in the
; range 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255
m1 = ("22" ("4"/"5"/"6"/"7"/"8"/"9")) /
("23" DIGIT )
IP6-multicast = IP6-address [ "/" numaddr ]
; IP6 address starting with FF
numaddr = integer
ttl = (POS-DIGIT *2DIGIT) / "0"
FQDN = 4*(alpha-numeric / "-" / ".")
; fully qualified domain name as specified
; in RFC 1035 (and updates)
IP4-address = b1 3("." decimal-uchar)
b1 = decimal-uchar
; less than "224"
IP6-address = 6( h16 ":" ) ls32
/ "::" 5( h16 ":" ) ls32
/ [ h16 ] "::" 4( h16 ":" ) ls32
/ [ *1( h16 ":" ) h16 ] "::" 3( h16 ":" ) ls32
/ [ *2( h16 ":" ) h16 ] "::" 2( h16 ":" ) ls32
/ [ *3( h16 ":" ) h16 ] "::" h16 ":" ls32
/ [ *4( h16 ":" ) h16 ] "::" ls32
/ [ *5( h16 ":" ) h16 ] "::" h16
/ [ *6( h16 ":" ) h16 ] "::"
h16 = 1*4HEXDIG
ls32 = ( h16 ":" h16 ) / IP4-address
; Generic for other address families
extn-addr = non-ws-string
; generic sub-rules: datatypes
text = byte-string
;default is to interpret this as UTF8 text.
;ISO 8859-1 requires "a=charset:ISO-8859-1"
;session-level attribute to be used
byte-string = 1*(%x01-09/%x0B-0C/%x0E-FF)
;any byte except NUL, CR, or LF
non-ws-string = 1*(VCHAR/%x80-FF)
;string of visible characters
token-char = ALPHA / DIGIT
/ "!" / "#" / "$" / "%" / "&"
/ "'" ; (single quote)
/ "*" / "+" / "-" / "." / "^" / "_"
/ "`" ; (Grave accent)
/ "{" / "|" / "}" / "~"
token = 1*(token-char)
email-safe = %x01-09/%x0B-0C/%x0E-27/%x2A-3B/%x3D/%x3F-FF
;any byte except NUL, CR, LF, or the quoting
;characters ()<>
integer = POS-DIGIT *DIGIT
zero-based-integer = "0" / integer
non-zero-int-or-real = integer / non-zero-real
non-zero-real = zero-based-integer "." *DIGIT POS-DIGIT
; generic sub-rules: primitives
alpha-numeric = ALPHA / DIGIT
POS-DIGIT = %x31-39 ; 1 - 9
decimal-uchar = DIGIT
/ POS-DIGIT DIGIT
/ ("1" 2(DIGIT))
/ ("2" ("0"/"1"/"2"/"3"/"4") DIGIT)
/ ("2" "5" ("0"/"1"/"2"/"3"/"4"/"5"))
; external references:
ALPHA = <ALPHA definition from RFC 5234>
DIGIT = <DIGIT definition from RFC 5234>
CRLF = <CRLF definition from RFC 5234>
HEXDIG = <HEXDIG definition from RFC 5234>
SP = <SP definition from RFC 5234>
VCHAR = <VCHAR definition from RFC 5234>
URI-reference = <URI-reference definition from RFC 3986>
addr-spec = <addr-spec definition from RFC 5322>
¶
Revised ABNF syntax (Section 9) for clarity and for alignment with text. Backward compatibility is maintained with a few exceptions. Of particular note:¶
Many people in the IETF Multiparty Multimedia Session Control (MMUSIC) working group have made comments and suggestions contributing to this document.¶
In particular, we would like to thank the following people who contributed to the creation of this document or one of its predecessor documents: Adam Roach, Allison Mankin, Bernie Hoeneisen, Bill Fenner, Carsten Bormann, Eve Schooler, Flemming Andreasen, Gonzalo Camarillo, Jörg Ott, John Elwell, Jon Peterson, Jonathan Lennox, Jonathan Rosenberg, Keith Drage, Peter Parnes, Rob Lanphier, Ross Finlayson, Sean Olson, Spencer Dawkins, Steve Casner, Steve Hanna, Van Jacobson.¶