Guidelines for Use of the RTP Monitoring Framework
RFC 6792

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                        Q. Wu, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6792                                        Huawei
Category: Informational                                          G. Hunt
ISSN: 2070-1721                                             Unaffiliated
                                                                P. Arden
                                                                      BT
                                                           November 2012

           Guidelines for Use of the RTP Monitoring Framework

Abstract

   This memo proposes an extensible Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)
   monitoring framework for extending the RTP Control Protocol (RTCP)
   with a new RTCP Extended Reports (XR) block type to report new
   metrics regarding media transmission or reception quality.  In this
   framework, a new XR block should contain a single metric or a small
   number of metrics relevant to a single parameter of interest or
   concern, rather than containing a number of metrics that attempt to
   provide full coverage of all those parameters of concern to a
   specific application.  Applications may then "mix and match" to
   create a set of blocks that cover their set of concerns.  Where
   possible, a specific block should be designed to be reusable across
   more than one application, for example, for all of voice, streaming
   audio, and video.

Status of This Memo

   This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
   published for informational purposes.

   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).  Not all documents
   approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet
   Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6792.

Wu, et al.                    Informational                     [Page 1]
RFC 6792                RTP Monitoring Framework           November 2012

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
   2. Terminology .....................................................3
   3. RTP Monitoring Framework ........................................5
      3.1. Overview of the RTP Monitoring Framework ...................5
      3.2. Location of Monitors .......................................7
   4. Issues with Reporting Metrics Blocks Using RTCP XR Extensions ...8
      4.1. Using a Compound Metrics Block .............................8
      4.2. Correlating RTCP XR with Non-RTP Data ......................8
      4.3. Measurement Information Duplication ........................9
      4.4. Consumption of XR Block Code Points ........................9
   5. Guidelines for Reporting Metrics Blocks Using RTCP XR ...........9
      5.1. Use a Single Metric in the Metrics Block ...................9
      5.2. Include the Payload Type in the Metrics Block .............10
      5.3. Use RTCP SDES to Correlate XRs with Non-RTP Data ..........10
      5.4. Reduce Measurement Information Repetition across
           Metrics Blocks ............................................11
   6. An Example of a Metrics Block ..................................11
   7. Application to RFC 5117 Topologies .............................12
      7.1. Applicability to Translators ..............................13
      7.2. Applicability to MCUs .....................................13
   8. Security Considerations ........................................14
   9. Acknowledgements ...............................................14
   10. Informative References ........................................15

Wu, et al.                    Informational                     [Page 2]
RFC 6792                RTP Monitoring Framework           November 2012

1.  Introduction

   Multimedia services using the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) are
   seeing increased use.  Standard methods for gathering RTP performance
   metrics from these applications are needed to manage uncertainties in