Dial String Parameter for the Session Initiation Protocol Uniform Resource Identifier
RFC 4967
Document | Type |
RFC - Proposed Standard
(July 2007; Errata)
Was draft-rosen-iptel-dialstring (individual in gen area)
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Author | Brian Rosen | ||
Last updated | 2020-01-21 | ||
Stream | IETF | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized with errata bibtex | ||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 4967 (Proposed Standard) | |
Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | Jon Peterson | ||
Send notices to | (None) |
Network Working Group B. Rosen Request for Comments: 4967 NeuStar Category: Standards Track July 2007 Dial String Parameter for the Session Initiation Protocol Uniform Resource Identifier Status of This Memo This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007). Abstract RFC 3966 explicitly states that 'tel' URIs may not represent a dial string. That leaves no way specify a dial string in a standardized way. Great confusion exists with the SIP URI parameter "user=phone", and specifically, if it can represent a dial string. This memo creates a new value for the user parameter "dialstring", so that one may specify "user=dialstring" to encode a dial string as a 'sip:' or 'sips:' URI. Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4. Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Rosen Standards Track [Page 1] RFC 4967 Dial String Parameter July 2007 1. Introduction A user at a phone often has a limited User Interface, and in some cases, is limited to a 10 key pad (and sometimes a "flash" function with the switchhook). The user enters a series of digits that invoke some kind of function. The entered sequence, called a "dial string", may be translated to a telephone number, or it may invoke a special service. In many newer designs, the mapping between a dial string and a phone number or service URI is contained within the phone (digitmap). However, there are many phones and terminal adapters that do not have internal translation mechanisms. Without a translation mechanism in the phone, the phone must send the dial string in a 'sip:' or 'sips:' URI [RFC3261] to an intermediary that can transform the dial string to a phone number or a service invocation. The intermediary is able to perform this transform provided that it knows the context (i.e., dialing plan) within which the number was dialed. There is a problem here. The intermediary can apply its transformation only if it recognizes that the user part of the SIP URI is a dial string. However, there is currently no way to distinguish a user part consisting of a dial string from a user part that happens to be composed of characters that would appear in a dial string. Use of DTMF (dual tone multi-frequency) detectors after the initial number has been dialed is not uncommon. A common function some systems have is to express a string that incorporates fixed time delays, or in some cases, an actual "wait for call completion" after which additional DTMF signals are emitted. For example, many voicemail systems use a common phone number, after which the system expects the desired mailbox number as a series of DTMF digits to deposit a message for. Many gateways have the ability to interpret such strings, but there is no standardized way to express them, leading to interoperability problems between endpoints. This is another case where the ability to indicate that a dial string is being presented would be useful. 2. Terminology The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119]. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the terminology and acronyms defined in [RFC3261]. Rosen Standards Track [Page 2] RFC 4967 Dial String Parameter July 2007 3. Requirements A mechanism to express a dial string in a 'sip:' or 'sips:' URI is required. A dial string consists of a sequence of * the digits 0-9 * the special characters # and * * the DTMF digits A-D * characters representing a short pause, and a "Wait for call completion" in a dial string Note: DTMF = dual tone multi-frequency. Each "tone:" is actually two frequencies superimposed. DTMF is a 4 x 4 matrix with four rowShow full document text