Conceptualizing SIP Based Gateway Control

Abstract: Gateways handle many functions in todays telecommunication networks and as the move towards IP-based telecommunication networks continue, their importance is growing. Many vendors offer a tiered architecture where logic is separated from the gateways for easy extensibility. Currently gateway control and gateway communication is handled using the H.248 protocol. As more and more equipment starts moving over to SIP based communication there has been a degree of interest in homogenizing the system and possibly replacing the H.248 protocol with a SIP based protocol. In this paper we examine how the communication between a gateway controller and gateway may look if implemented in SIP. We also examine the performance characteristics of the proposed protocol from both an execution time, communication size and memory consumption perspective. Implementation and tests will be performed using a language, developed by Ericsson specifically for the telecommunication sector, called Erlang. The protocol designed herein is not intended for production use and is only examined for viability. It is NOT the official stance of Ericsson that H.248 will be replaced with the protocol or any like it.