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RFC 3624 - The Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) Bulk Audit


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Network Working Group                                          B. Foster
Request for Comments: 3624                                   D. Auerbach
Category: Informational                                     F. Andreasen
                                                           Cisco Systems
                                                           November 2003

     The Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) Bulk Audit Package

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

IESG Note

   This document is being published for the information of the
   community.  It describes a non-IETF protocol that is currently being
   deployed in a number of products.  Implementers should be aware of
   RFC 3015, which was developed in the IETF Megaco Working Group and
   the ITU-T SG16, and which is considered by the IETF and the ITU-T to
   be the standards-based (including reviewed security considerations)
   way to meet the needs that MGCP was designed to address.

Abstract

   The base Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) includes audit
   commands that only allow a Call Agent to audit endpoint and/or
   connection state one endpoint at a time.  This document describes a
   new MGCP package for bulk auditing of a group of gateway endpoints.
   It allows a Call Agent to determine the endpoint naming convention,
   the list of instantiated endpoints as well connection and endpoint
   state for the group of endpoints.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Bulk Audit Package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
       2.1.  Package Definition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
             2.1.1. Package Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
             2.1.2. Bulk Auditing of Non-persistent Virtual
                    Endpoints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
             2.1.3. Package Specific Return Codes. . . . . . . . . .  12
       2.2.  Examples of Package Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
             2.2.1. Endpoint List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
             2.2.2. Connection Count List. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
             2.2.3. Connection Mode List . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
             2.2.4. Endpoint State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   3.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   5.  References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   6.  Authors' Addresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   7.  Full Copyright Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19

1.   Introduction

   The reader is assumed to be familiar with the base MGCP protocol [3].

   The base Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) [3] includes audit
   commands that only allow a Call Agent to audit an endpoint and/or a
   connection state, one endpoint at a time.  This document describes a
   new MGCP package for bulk auditing of a group of gateway endpoints.
   It allows a Call Agent to determine the endpoint naming convention,
   to determine the list of instantiated endpoints, and to determine the
   connection and endpoint state for the group of endpoints.  This is
   particularly important in fail-over situations in which there are
   gateways that have large numbers of endpoints.

   Conventions Used in this Document

   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 [2].

2.  Bulk Audit Package

2.1.  Package Definition

   Package Name: BA

   Package Version: 0

   Package Description: This package provides the Call Agent the ability
   to audit and obtain high-level view of endpoint and connection state
   for a group of endpoints in a gateway.

2.1.1.  Package Parameters

   A new BulkRequestedInfo parameter is defined for use in the
   AuditEndpoint command.  The parameter can be used to request a
   compact list of EndpointIds or to request a high level view of
   endpoint or connection state for a group of endpoints as defined
   below:

      ReturnCode,
      [EndPointNameList,]
      [InstantiatedEndpointList,]
      [ConnectionCountList,]
      [ConnectionModeList,]
      [EndpointStateList,]
      [NextEndpointName,]
      [ReportedEndpointList]
      <-- AuditEndPoint(EndpointId,
                          [StartEndpointName,]
                          [MaxNumEndpoints,]
                          [BulkRequestedInfo])

   Unlike the normal RequestedInfo parameter in the base MGCP
   specification, the BulkRequestedInfo parameter associated with the
   Bulk Audits package can be used with "all-of" wildcards for auditing
   a collection of endpoints.  However, it is not an error to specify an
   EndpointId without wildcards.

   The following sub-sections describe the parameters associated with
   the Bulk Audit Command in detail.  Sections 2.1.1.1 and 2.1.1.2
   describe the parameters that can be included with a request and
   sections 2.1.1.3 to 2.1.1.8 describe return parameters.

2.1.1.1.  StartEndpointName and MaxNumEndpoints Parameters

   Because wild-carding may not be sufficient to qualify the endpoints
   of interest, further qualification can be provided by including a
   StartEndpointName (the first endpoint of interest) and
   MaxNumEndPoints (the maximum number of endpoints of interest).  These
   parameters are described according to the following Augmented BNF
   (ABNF) Syntax (refer to RFC 2234 for ABNF syntax definitions [1]):

      "BA/SE" ":" 0*WSP LocalEndpointName

      "BA/NU" ":" 0*WSP MaxNumEndpoints

   where MaxNumEndpoints is the decimal number of endpoints with a value
   in the range 1 to 65535.  The MaxNumEndpoints parameter SHOULD only
   be included when requesting an audit for an EndpointStateList and/or
   ConnectionCountList.  If included in a request for the
   EndPointNameList or InstantiatedEndpointList, it MAY be ignored.

   Note that only the LocalEndpointName (see ABNF grammar in [3]) is
   provided in request and response parameter lines for this package
   rather than the full EndpointName.  This is done for the sake of
   compactness, i.e., the domain name portion is left out since it is
   already available in the command line portion of a given request.

   If the list of endpoints defined by the StartEndpointName and
   MaxNumEndPoints is outside the range designated by the wild-carding,
   a report will only be returned for endpoints up to those specified
   within the wild-card range.

2.1.1.2.  BulkRequestedInfo Parameter

   The BulkRequestedInfo parameter line is described according to the
   following ABNF syntax definitions:

      BulkRequestedInfo = "BA/F:" 0*WSP
             *( EndpointOrInstantList *("," EndpointOrInstantList))
           / *( EndpointOrConnState *("," EndpointOrConnState))

      EndpointOrConnState = "BA/C" / "BA/M" /  EndpointStateParam

      EndpointOrInstantList = "BA/Z" / "BA/X"

      EndpointStateParam = "BA/S" "(" StateType
                                         0*("," 0*(WSP) StateType)")"

      StateType = "I" / "D" / "N" / "S" / "H"

   where the BulkRequestedInfo parameters have the following meaning:

      * "BA/Z" is a request to return EndPointNameList
      * "BA/X" is a request to return InstantiatedEndpointList
      * "BA/C" is a request to return the ConnectionCountList
      * "BA/M" is a request to return the ConnectionModeList
      * "BA/S" is a request to return the EndpointStateList

   Each of the parameters can be provided at most once in the
   BulkRequestedInfo.

   EndpointStateParam Parameter:

   As indicated in the above ABNF, the EndpointStateParam parameter is
   itself parameterized with one or more StateType parameters that
   define the conditions to be evaluated for the endpoint:

   *  "I" - the endpoint is in-service,
   *  "D" - the endpoint is disconnected (see sections 4.3 and 4.4.7 of
      [3] for a discussion on disconnected endpoints),
   *  "N" - the endpoint is in the notification state,
   *  "L" - the endpoint is in lockstep state (i.e., waiting for an RQNT
      after a response to a NTFY has occurred while in lockstep mode)
   *  "S" - there is an active on-off (OO) or timeout (TO) signal on the
      endpoint,
   *  "H" - the endpoint is in some state other than "idle".  The
      meaning of this last parameter depends on the type of endpoint:
      *  The parameter has no meaning for endpoints that only provide
         bearer services (with no state that the endpoint is aware of).
         In this case, the condition is always evaluated to false
         (corresponding to "idle").
      *  For endpoints that have a state machine associated with them
         (such as a CAS endpoint), the endpoint MUST be in some state
         other than the "idle" state in order for the condition to be
         evaluated as true.
      *  In the case where the endpoint has hook-state associated with
         it, the hook-state MUST be off-hook.  In the case of digital
         channel associated signaling (CAS) connections, hook-state may
         be provided in either direction.  If the hook-state in either
         direction is off-hook, the endpoint is considered non-idle,
         i.e., the condition is satisfied.

   The list of StateTypes may be extended in the future.  If an unknown
   StateType is encountered, the command MUST be rejected with error
   code 803 (i.e., "unsupported StateType").

   The report, provided as a result of this request, yields an
   indication of either "True", "False", or "Out of Service" for each
   endpoint.  If the endpoint is in-service and any one of the criteria
   holds true, then the report for the endpoint will evaluate to "True".
   A "False" indication will only be reported if the endpoint is in-
   service and all criteria evaluate to false.  The report thus provides
   the logical "OR" function over the conditions audited for endpoints
   in-service.  Irrespective of the state being audited, an "Out of
   Service" indication will always be reported if the endpoint is
   considered out-of-service.

   Note that the criteria "D", "N", "L", "S" and "H" can only be true if
   the endpoint is in-service, so that requesting "I" at the same time
   (although allowed) would be unnecessary (i.e., redundant).

   Example: If the request for EndpointStateList for one or more
   endpoints includes the parameter line:

      BA/F: BA/S(D,N)

   indicating a request for a report on whether endpoints are
   disconnected or in the notification state.  If a given endpoint is in
   either a "disconnected" or "notification" state, then the report will
   indicate "True" for that endpoint.  If the endpoint is neither in a
   disconnected state nor in a notification state, but is in-service,
   then the report for that endpoint will indicate "False".  If the
   endpoint is out-of-service, then the report for that endpoint will
   indicate "Out of Service".

   In order to only determine whether an endpoint is in-service or out-
   of service, the Call Agent should make a request with only the "I"
   StateType parameter.

2.1.1.3.  EndPointNameList and InstantiatedEndpointList Parameters

   EndPointNameList Parameter:

   The EndPointNameList is a list of the endpoint names (i.e., the
   endpoint naming convention for the endpoints configured for service)
   supported by the gateway as qualified by the wildcarded EndPointId,
   and possibly StartEndPointName and MaxNumEndpoints parameters.  This
   list can include one or more lines in the following ABNF format:

      "BA/Z:" 0*WSP RangedLocalName 0*("," 0*WSP RangedLocalName)

   where RangedLocalName is a LocalEndpointName that may include the
   ranged wildcard notation described in Appendix E (section E.5) of
   [3], i.e.,:

      RangeWildcard = "[" NumericalRange *( "," NumericalRange ) "]"
      NumericalRange     = 1*(DIGIT) [ "-" 1*(DIGIT) ].

   Example:

      ba/z: ds/ds1-1/[1-24], ds/ds1-2/[1-24], ds/ds1-3/[1-24]

   or simply:

      ba/z: ds/ds1-[1-3]/[1-24]

   Note that, since range wildcards use the character "[" to indicate
   the start of a range, the "[" character MUST NOT be used in endpoint
   names that use range wildcards.

   Note that the ranged wildcard notation (RangeWildcard above) also
   allows commas between ranges like:

      ba/z: ds/ds1-1/[1,3-5,8-24]

   For virtual endpoints, that are automatically created and deleted on
   the fly by the gateway, there is a difference between reporting the
   endpoint names (i.e., the "naming convention") used in describing the
   endpoints and reporting the actual endpoints that are instantiated at
   the time the request is made.  For this case:

   *  EndPointNameList is a request to return the naming convention and

   *  InstantiatedEndpointList is a request to return the "real" (or
      instantiated) endpoints.

   InstantiatedEndpointList Parameter:

      The syntax of the InstantiatedEndpointList value is the same as
      the EndPointNameList value returned with EndPointNameList, i.e., a
      number of lines may be returned with the following syntax:

         "BA/X:" 0*WSP RangedLocalName 0*("," 0*WSP RangedLocalName)

   In the case of hard-wired/physical endpoints (such as DSO's) or other
   persistent endpoints, the InstantiatedEndpointList would normally not
   be requested.  However, if it is requested, the
   InstantiatedEndpointList and the EndPointNameList will be the same.

   For virtual endpoints that are not persistent, an "all of" wild card
   ("*") is returned for the leftmost term of the name, which is
   dynamically assigned in the EndPointNameList to indicate that
   arbitrary names apply, and that the endpoints are virtual and non-
   persistent.  The "all of" wild card notation MUST NOT be used when
   returning the EndPointNameList for persistent endpoints however.  The
   following example illustrates this:

   ba/z: announcement/*
   ba/z: foo/bar/*
   ba/z: foo/foo/*

   The "all of" wildcard tells us, that "announcement" is simply the
   leftmost term for a dynamic set of non-persistent virtual endpoints.
   To instantiate one of these endpoints, we would include the "any of"
   wildcard (e.g., "announcement/$") as the LocalEndpointName in the
   EndpointId of a request (e.g., NotificationRequest or
   CreateConnection).  The response would then include the
   SpecificEndpointId indicating the instantiated endpoint.  Also, note
   in the above example that "foo" defines two different levels of non-
   persistent virtual endpoints.

2.1.1.4.  ConnectionCountList

   The ConnectionCountList indicates the number of connections on a
   series of endpoints.  It consists of a number of lines with the
   following ABNF syntax:

      "BA/C:" 0*WSP NumConnections 0*(NumConnections)

   where NumConnections is either:

   *  a hexadecimal digit indicating the number of connections on the
      endpoint corresponding to the position on the list, or

   *  the letter "Z" indicating that there are more than 15 connections
      on this endpoint.

2.1.1.5.  ConnectionModeList

   The ConnectionModeList indicates the connection modes for all the
   connections on a series of endpoints.  It consists of a number of
   lines with the following ABNF syntax:

      "BA/M:" 0*WSP ModeOrCount 0*(ModOrCount)

      ModeOrCount = ConnCount / ConnMode

      ConnMode = "I" / "S" / "R" / "B" / "C" / "L" / "T" / "N" / "U"

   where ConnCount is either hexadecimal value corresponding to 0-15
   connections on an endpoint or the value "Z", indicating that more
   than 15 connections are present.

   ConnMode indicates the connection mode where:

      * "I" indicates "inactive" connection mode
      * "S" indicates "sendonly" connection mode
      * "R" indicates "recvonly" connection mode
      * "B" indicates "sendrecv" connection mode
      * "C" indicates "confrnce" connection mode
      * "L" indicates "loopback" connection mode
      * "T" indicates "conttest" connection mode
      * "N" indicates "netwloop" connection mode
      * "U" indicates some other connection mode

   For a definition of MGCP connection modes, refer to section 3.2.2.6
   of [3].

   If an endpoint has no connections on it, ModeOrCount is given the
   value "0".  If there is one connection associated with the endpoint,
   the symbol for the connection mode (ConnMode) is provided.  If, on
   the other hand, there are from 2 to 15 connections, a symbol
   representing the number of connections (ConnCount) is provided
   followed by a list of symbols indicating the connection mode
   (ConnMode) for each connection.  If there are more than 15
   connections, "Z" is indicated for ConnCount and no connection modes
   are provided for the connections on that endpoint.

2.1.1.6.  EndpointStateList Parameter

   The EndpointStateList gives an overview of the endpoint state for a
   series of endpoints.  It consists of a number of lines with the
   following ABNF syntax:

      "BA/S:" 0*WSP EndPointState 0*(EndPointState)

      EndPointState = "T" / "F" / "O"

   where:

      * "T" indicates "True"
      * "F" indicates "False"
      * "O" indicates "Out of Service"

   The "True" or "False" determination is based on the criteria supplied
   in StateType parameters when the request is made.

   Note that the EndPointState indicator does not say anything about the
   connection state of the endpoint.

2.1.1.7.  NextEndpointName Parameter

   The NextEndpointName parameter will be included in the return, if
   there are additional endpoints in this gateway covered by the wild-
   carded endpoint name that were not reported, but for which
   information was available to be reported.

   Note that the NextEndpointName is the LocalEndpointName (as opposed
   to EndpointName) of the next endpoint after the last endpoint
   reported.  The syntax is as follows:

      "BA/NE" ":" 0*WSP LocalEndpointName

   A gateway may supply a report that is shorter than the request if the
   resulting report would have resulted in a message that would be too
   large (i.e., such that the report is larger than the maximum datagram
   size).  In the case where the gateway supplied a response for less
   endpoints than requested, the gateway MUST supply NextEndpointName in
   the response.

   In order to continue the audit on a following set of endpoints, the
   Call Agent can make a further request by using the NextEndpointName
   as the starting point (e.g., as the StartEndpointName in a following
   request).

2.1.1.8.  ReportedEndpointList Parameter

   A ReportedEndpointList MUST be provided in a response line before
   list(s) of EndpointStateList and/or ConnectionCountList in order to
   clearly specify the list of endpoints that are being reported.  The
   ABNF syntax is as follows:

      "BA/EL:" 0*WSP LimitedRangedName 0*("," 0*WSP LimitRangedName)

   where LimitedRangedName is a LocalEndpointName that may include a
   ranged wildcard notation (RangeWildcard syntax indicated earlier).
   However, unlike the RangedLocalName that allows the range wildcard
   notation to be used on multiple terms of the local name at the same
   time, LimitedRangedName only allows the range notation to be used for
   the last term, i.e., the following is valid:

      ba/el: ds/ds1-1/[1,3-5,8-24]

   or

      ba/el: ds/ds1-1/[1-24], ds/ds1-2/[1-24], ds/ds1-3/[1-24]

   However, the following is not valid:

      ba/el: ds/ds1-[1-3]/[1-24]

   Note that a single bulk audit request may include a request to return
   both ConnectionCountList and EndpointStateList.  However, the
   resulting report that includes both MUST cover the same endpoints.

   A single bulk audit request may also include a request to return both
   EndPointNameList and InstantiatedEndpointList.  However, requests for
   either an EndPointNameList and/or an InstantiatedEndpointList MUST
   NOT include a request for either ConnectionCountList or
   EndpointStateList.

2.1.2.  Bulk Auditing of Non-persistent Virtual Endpoints

   Note that gateways that have non-persistent virtual endpoints may
   have instantiated endpoints that are disjoint with respect to the
   name space.  The ReportedEndpointList in front of a
   ConnectionCountList and/or EndpointStateList describes exactly which
   endpoints are being reported.

   Example:

      A Call Agent requests to know about the EndPointNameList for the
      endpoints on a conference bridge:

      AUEP 1200 *@gw1.x.net MGCP 1.0
      BA/F: BA/Z

   Response:

      200 1200 OK
      ba/z: cnf/*

   This indicates the naming convention but in fact not all of these
   endpoints are instantiated.  A request for the list of instantiated
   endpoints, i.e.,:

      AUEP 1201 cnf/*@gw1.x.net MGCP 1.0
      BA/F: BA/X

   might yield:

      200 1201 OK
      ba/x: cnf/[1-3]
      ba/x: cnf/[6-12]

   indicating that only these particular endpoints are instantiated.

   Suppose the Call Agent now asks for the ConnectionCountList i.e.,:

      AUEP 1202 cnf/*@gw1.x.net MGCP 1.0
      BA/F: BA/C

   The resulting instantiated virtual endpoints may be disjoint, which
   would be indicated by the ReportedEndpointList in front of the
   ConnectionCountList, e.g.,:

      200 1202 OK
      ba/el: cnf/[1-3]
      ba/c: 035
      ba/el: cnf/[6-12]
      ba/c: 3450333

   or alternatively:

      200 1202 OK
      ba/el: cnf/[1-3], ba/el: cnf/[6-12]
      ba/c: 035
      ba/c: 3450333

   or

      200 1202 OK
      ba/el: cnf/[1-3], ba/el: cnf/[6-12]
      ba/c: 0353450333

2.1.3. Package Specific Return Codes

   The following return codes are specific to this package:

      800     Invalid NextEndpointName
      801     Invalid StartEndpointName
      802     Invalid or unsupported BulkRequestInfo Parameter
      803     Invalid or unsupported StateType
      804     Bulk Audit Type not supported
      805     Incorrectly specified endpoint range
      806     Requested StartEndpoint unknown or unavailable

   Note that package specific error codes includes the package name
   following the error code.  For example, if error code 801 occurs in
   response to a request with a transaction ID of 1001 it would be sent
   as:

      801 1001 /BA

2.2.  Examples of Package Use

2.2.1.  Endpoint List

   This section contains examples of how to obtain a list of endpoints.

   Example 1: This is an example of a gateway that contains a single OC3
   that contains a single level of hierarchy at the T1 level.

   The request is made:

      AUEP 1200 *@gw1.x.net MGCP 1.0
      BA/F: BA/Z

   This may result in a single "BA/Z" term with ranges specifying all of
   the endpoints.

      200 1200 OK
      ba/z: ds/ds1-[1-84]/[1-24]

   Example 2: In this example the gateway has 10 analog lines and a
   single T1.  The same request is made as in example 1, but now the
   response is:

      200 1200 OK
      ba/z: aaln/[1-10]
      ba/z: ds/ds1-1/[1-24]

2.2.2.  Connection Count List

   Example1: Audit the number of connections on endpoints of a single
   E1:

      AUEP 2111 ds/e1-3/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/C

   Response:

      200 2111 OK
      BA/EL: ds/e1-3/[1-30]
      BA/C:  012111210001000001000001000010

   Example 2: Audit the number of connections on endpoints of a DS3:

      AUEP 1144 ds/ds3-1/*@gateway.net
      BA/F: BA/C

   Response:

      200 1144 OK
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/[1-192]
      BA/C:  010000010001000001000001
      BA/C:  001000000101000000001001
      :
      BA/C:  011000100010000010000010
      BA/C:  011111010001000001000001
      BA/C:  011000001100000001000001
      BA/NE: ds/ds3-1/193

   In this case, the response provided by the gateway contained
   information about the first 192 endpoints.  If the ds-3 contained a
   T1 hierarchy, the "BA/EL" and "BA/NE" values would indicate that
   hierarchy e.g.,:

      200 1144 OK
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-1/[1-24]
      BA/C:  010000010001000001000001
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-2/[1-24]
      BA/C:  001000000101000000001001
      :
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/[1-24]
      BA/C:  011000100010000010000010
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-7/[1-24]
      BA/C:  011111010001000001000001
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-8/[1-24]
      BA/C:  011000001100000001000001
      BA/NE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-9/1

   The Call Agent could continue to request endpoints by indicating the
   starting endpoint where it left off, i.e., simply using the returned
   "BE/NE" value as the "BA/SE" value for the next request:

      AUEP 1145 ds/ds3-3/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/C
      BA/SE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-9/1

   Example 3: In this case, the Call Agent wants to know about the
   connection state of 12 DS0's starting with the endpoint with the
   LocalEndpointName "ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/4":

      AUEP 1146 ds/ds3-1/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/C
      BA/SE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/4
      BA/NU: 12

   Response:

      200 1144 OK
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/[4-15]
      BA/C:  011000010001
      BA/NE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/16

2.2.3.  Connection Mode List

   Example: Audit the connection modes for connections on the endpoints
   of a single E1:

      AUEP 2111 ds/e1-3/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/M

   Response:

      200 2111 OK
      BA/EL: ds/e1-3/[1-30]
      BA/M:  0R2BRBBB2RRB000B00000B00000B0000B0

   This shows that:

   *  Endpoint ds/e1-3/1 has no connections
   *  Endpoint ds/e1-3/2 has one connection and it is in "recvonly"
      mode.
   *  Endpoint ds/e1-3/3 has two connections which are in "sendrecv" and
      "recvonly" mode
   *  Endpoints ds/e1-3/4 to ds/e1-3/6 each have one connection - in
      "sendrecv" mode in all cases
   *  Endpoints ds/e1-3/7 has two connections, both in "recvonly" mode
   *  etc.

2.2.4.  Endpoint State

   Endpoint state requests and responses are similar.  An example of
   requesting endpoint state similar to example 3 in the previous
   section:

      AUEP 1150 ds/ds3-1/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/S(I)
      BA/SE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/4
      BA/NU: 12

   Response:

      200 1150 OK
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/[4-15]
      BA/S:  TOOTTOOTTOOT
      BA/NE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/16

   The request for in-service endpoints returns "True" for all endpoints
   in-service, and "O" for all endpoints "Out of Service".

   A similar request but with additional parameters might be:

      AUEP 1151 ds/ds3-1/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/S(H,N)
      BA/SE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/4
      BA/NU: 12

   Response:

      200 1151 OK
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/[4-15]
      BA/S:  FFFTFFFFFFFO
      BA/NE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/16

   This indicates that at least one of the StateType parameters "H"
   (off-hook) and "N" (notification state) evaluated to true for the
   endpoints that have a "T" associated with then (i.e., ds/ds3-1/ds1-
   6/7 and ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/16 since the request started from ds/ds3-
   1/ds1-6/4).  All other endpoints are neither off-hook nor in the
   "notification state".  Note that endpoint ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/15 is marked
   as being out-of-service.

   It is possible to request both connection state and endpoint state in
   the same request such as:

      AUEP 1151 ds/ds3-1/*@gw1.net
      BA/F: BA/S(H,N), BA/C
      BA/SE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/4
      BA/NU: 12

   In this case, the response might be:

      200 1151 OK
      BA/EL: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/[4-15]
      BA/S:  FFFTFFFFFFFO
      BA/C:  011000010001
      BA/NE: ds/ds3-1/ds1-6/16

3.  IANA Considerations

   The MGCP package title, "Bulk Audit", with the name, "BA", has been
   registered with IANA as indicated in Appendix C.1 in [3].

4.  Security Considerations

   Section 5 of the base MGCP specification [3] discusses security
   requirements for the base protocol, which apply equally to the
   package defined in this document.  Use of a security Protocol such as
   IPsec [4, 5] that provides per message authentication and integrity
   services is required in order to ensure that requests and responses
   are obtained from authenticated sources and that messages have not
   been modified.  Without such services, gateways and Call Agents are
   open to attacks.

   For example, although audit requests from unauthorized sources will
   not modify media gateway state, the information provided could be
   used to locate idle endpoints, which could then lead to making
   unauthorized calls.  Similarly, an attack that modifies a response to
   an audit returned to a Call Agent could lead to a denial of service
   attack in which a Call Agent that is provided misinformation as to
   endpoint state could take some incorrect action such as taking valid
   calls out of service.

5.  References

   [1]  Crocker, D. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
        Specifications: ABNF", RFC 2234, November 1997.

   [2]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
        Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [3]  Andreasen, F. and B. Foster, "Media Gateway Control Protocol
        (MGCP) Version 1.0", RFC 3435, January 2003.

   [4]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "Security Architecture for the
        Internet Protocol", RFC 2401, November 1998.

   [5]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Encapsulating Security Payload
        (ESP)", RFC 2406, November 1998.

6.  Authors' Addresses

   Flemming Andreasen
   Cisco Systems
   499 Thornall Street, 8th Floor
   Edison, NJ 08837

   EMail: fandreas@cisco.com

   David Auerbach
   Cisco Systems Inc.
   170 W. Tasman Drive
   San Jose, CA,  95134

   EMail: dea@cisco.com

   Bill Foster
   Cisco Systems

   EMail: bfoster@cisco.com

7.  Full Copyright Statement

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Acknowledgement

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.

 

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