





Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                         M. Mohali
Request for Comments: 8119                                        Orange
Updates: 4458                                                  M. Barnes
Category: Informational                      MLB@Realtime Communications
ISSN: 2070-1721                                               March 2017


        SIP "cause" URI Parameter for Service Number Translation

Abstract

   RFC 4458 (regarding SIP URIs for applications) defines a "cause" URI
   parameter, which may appear in the Request-URI of a SIP request, that
   is used to indicate a reason why the request arrived to the User
   Agent Server (UAS) receiving the message.  This document updates RFC
   4458 by creating a new predefined value for the "cause" URI parameter
   to cover service number translation for cases of retargeting due to
   specific service action leading to the translation of a called
   service access number.  This document also provides guidance, which
   was missing in RFC 4458, for using the "cause" URI parameter within
   the History-Info header field, since this use is mandatory in some IP
   networks' implementations.

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 7841.

   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/rfc8119.













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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2017 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
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   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, Terminology, and Overview . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   2.  Solution  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
   3.  Guidelines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     3.1.  Interaction with Request History Information  . . . . . .   4
     3.2.  Handling and Processing the Service Number Translation
           "cause" URI Parameter Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.  Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   7.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     7.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     7.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12

1.  Introduction, Terminology, and Overview

   [RFC4458] defines a mechanism to identify retargeting due to call
   forwarding supplementary services.  The "cause" URI parameter in the
   target URI identifies the reason for retargeting and has defined
   values equivalent to the TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) Redirecting
   Reasons [ITU-T_Q.763].  The concept of "retargeting" is defined in
   [RFC7044].

   In the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN ) / Integrated
   Services Digital Network (ISDN), there is another kind of retargeting
   introduced by the Intelligent Network (IN) services based on a
   translation of the called number as mentioned in [ITU-T_Q.1214].
   Indeed, IN aims to ease the introduction of new services (i.e.,
   Universal Personal Telecommunication (UPT), Virtual Private Network
   (VPN), Freephone, etc.) based on greater flexibility and new



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   capabilities as described in [ITU-T_I.312_Q.1201].  For these IN
   services, ISDN User Part (ISUP) introduced the "called IN number" and
   the "original called IN number" parameters to capture the information
   of the requested service access number prior its translation
   [ITU-T_Q.763].

   The term "service access number" is used in this specification to
   refer to the dialable number by which a specific service is reached.
   This special number is not a globally routable number; therefore, it
   needs to be translated into a routable SIP or tel URI to process the
   session establishment.

   This specification proposes a solution to allow the identification of
   well-known services, such as premium or toll-free services that
   perform service access number translation, and to enable interworking
   with SIP signaling with the ISUP called IN number and original called
   IN number parameters.

   The mechanism will allow a SIP network to insert and convey the
   service access number requested before its translation to the final
   destination.

   In order to provide full call forwarding or access number translation
   services, usage of the "cause" URI parameter is only relevant within
   the History-Info header field defined in [RFC7044].  Because this
   relation has not been described in [RFC4458], this document provides
   guidance for using the "cause" URI parameter in conjunction with the
   History-Info header field.

   This document also answers a need expressed by the Third Generation
   Partnership Project (3GPP) [TS.3GPP.24.229] to identify the service
   access number.  The procedures it defines are intended for networks
   that use 3GPP-defined services.  Their use is undefined for other
   networks.

2.  Solution

   A new value for the "cause" URI parameter of the 'sip:' or 'sips:'
   URI schemes is defined for the "Service number translation" use case.
   This value may be used in a 'sip:' or 'sips:' URI inserted in the
   Request-URI and in the History-Info header field [RFC7044] when the
   URI is issued from a retargeting or a service access number
   translation by a specific service similar to PSTN/ISDN IN services
   that is not a call forwarding service.

   As defined in [RFC4458], the "cause" URI parameter must be encoded in
   the new target URI when generated by the service.




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   The ABNF grammar [RFC5234] for the cause-param and target-param
   parameters from [RFC4458] is summarized below (including updates
   described in [Err1409]).  The Status-Code is defined in [RFC3261].

   target-param = "target=" pvalue

   cause-param = "cause=" Status-Code

   The following value for this URI parameter is added to the existing
   ones:

                +---------------------------------+-------+
                |         Cause                   | Value |
                +---------------------------------+-------+
                | Service number translation      | 380   |
                +---------------------------------+-------+

3.  Guidelines

   In order to help implementation of this solution for conveyance of
   the service access number, this document proposes guidance for usage
   of the "cause" URI parameter: guidance for the usage of the "cause"
   URI parameter in the request history information (in Section 3.1) and
   guidance for processing a service number translation service using
   the new "cause" URI parameter value (in Section 3.2).

3.1.  Interaction with Request History Information

   The History-Info header field defined in [RFC7044] specifies a means
   of providing the UAS and User Agent Client (UAC) with information
   about the retargeting of a request.  This information includes the
   initial Request-URI and any retargeted URIs.  This information is
   placed in History-Info headers as the request is retargeted and, upon
   reaching the UAS, is returned in certain responses.  The History-Info
   header field enables many enhanced services by providing the
   information as to how and why a SIP request arrives at a specific
   application or user and to keep this information throughout the
   signaling path even when successive applications are involved.

   When a proxy inserts a URI containing the "cause" URI parameter
   defined in [RFC4458] into the Request-URI of a forwarded request (per
   [RFC7044]), the proxy must also copy this new Request-URI within a
   History-Info header field entry into the forwarded request; thus, the
   URI in that entry includes the "cause" URI parameter.  Therefore,
   even if the Request-URI is replaced as a result of rerouting by a
   downstream proxy, the History-Info header field will still contain
   these parameters, which can be of use to the UAS.  Note that if a
   proxy does not support generation of the History-Info header field or



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   if a downstream proxy removes the History-Info header fields, an
   application will only have access to the "cause" URI parameter if the
   request is not subsequently retargeted (i.e., it will be contained
   only in the Request-URI in the incoming request).  The implications
   of the solution are further discussed in Section 3.2.

   In order to be able to filter specific entries among the history
   information, header field parameters have been defined in [RFC7044].
   In particular, the "mp" and "rc" header field parameters have the
   following definitions:

   o  When the new target was determined based on a mapping to a user
      other than the target user associated with the Request-URI being
      retargeted, the "mp" header field parameter is added.  This allows
      the identification of retargets that are the result of an
      application decision on a user's behalf and also retargets that
      are the result of an internal decision made by an application.

   o  The "rc" header field parameter is added when the new target
      represents a change in Request-URI, while the target user remains
      the same.

   These header field parameters can be used in conjunction with the new
   "cause" URI parameter for certain applications, an example of which
   is provided in Section 4.

   When using the History-Info header field in conjunction with the
   "cause" URI parameter in a Request-URI, it is important to consider
   that the "cause" URI parameter is not the same parameter as the
   "cause" header field parameter included in the Reason header
   [RFC3326].  The "cause" header field parameter of the Reason header
   field should be added to a History-Info entry only when the
   retargeting is due to a received SIP response.

3.2.  Handling and Processing the Service Number Translation "cause" URI
      Parameter Value

   At the Application Server:

      When an application receiving a request that is addressed to a
      service access number changes the Request-URI into a routable
      number, it should insert within this new Request-URI a "cause" URI
      parameter value set to 380 "Service number translation".
      Following the process described in [RFC7044], the application
      server adds a new History-Info header field entry including the
      new Request-URI value including the "cause" URI parameter.  It is





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      also possible for an application server to add a "target" URI
      parameter as defined in [RFC4458] with the initial value of the
      Request-URI received by the application server.

   Note that if the new Request-URI is further replaced by a downstream
   proxy for any reason and if the History-Info header field is not
   supported, the information of the service access number initially
   requested would be lost.  Thus, it is strongly recommended to support
   the History-Info header field all along the signaling path.

   At the UAS:

      When the UAS receiving the request wants to retrieve the service
      access number by which it has been reached, first it should look
      for the "cause" URI parameter value 380 in the History-Info header
      field.  This History-Info entry should also contain an "mp" or
      "rc" header field parameter so that the UAS can find the requested
      service number in the History-Info entry having an index parameter
      value that matches this "mp" or "rc" header field parameter value.
      If, for any reason, there is no "mp" or "rc" header field
      parameter in the identified History-Info entry, the UAS can find
      the requested service number in the preceding History-Info entry.

   If the History-Info header is not supported or has been removed by a
   proxy for any reason, the UAS might be able to find the requested
   service access number before translation in either of the following
   ways, but there is no guarantee:

   o  If the UAS is the direct target of the request coming from the
      application, the UAS ought to be able to find the service access
      number in the "target" URI parameter of the Request-URI if there
      is also a "cause" URI parameter set to 380 in this Request-URI.

   o  If there is no "cause" URI parameter set to 380 in the Request-URI
      and there is no History-Info header field, the UAS will not be
      able to reliably retrieve the service access number before
      translation.  Some existing implementations are known to extract
      the number from the To header field.  While that approach may work
      in some situations, it will not work in the general case because
      the To header field value is sometimes changed by intermediaries,
      and such a change is not always detectable.










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4.  Example

   In this section, an example is provided to illustrate the application
   of the new cause-param value.

   In this example, Alice calls her bank customer care.  John is the
   person at the call center that answers the call.  John is in a call
   center that manages several toll-free services, and he needs to know
   for which service Alice is calling in order to provide the
   appropriate welcome speech.

        Alice      Toll-Free Service   Atlanta.com          John
          |                |              |                   |
          |    INVITE F1   |              |                   |
          |--------------->|   INVITE F2  |                   |
          |                |------------->|                   |
          |                |              |  INVITE F3        |
          |                |              |------------------>|

                   * Rest of flow not shown *

            Figure 1: Service Access Number Translation Example

Message Details

   F1 INVITE [2001:db8:9::2] -> Toll-Free Service

      In the initial request, the Request-URI contains the toll-free
      number dialed by Alice.

      INVITE sip:+18005551002@example.com;user=phone  SIP/2.0
      Via: SIP/2.0/TCP [2001:db8:9::2]:5060;branch=z9hG4bK74bf
      From: Alice <sip:+15551001@example.com;user=phone>;tag=9fxced76sl
      To: <sip:+18005551002@example.com;user=phone>
      Call-ID: c3x842276298220188511
      CSeq: 1 INVITE
      Max-Forwards: 70
      Contact: <sip:alice@[2001:db8:9::2]>
      Content-Type: application/sdp
      Content-Length: <appropriate value>

      [SDP Not Shown]









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   F2 INVITE Toll-Free Service -> Atlanta.com

      The toll-free application receives the request and translates
      the service number into a routable number toward the call center.
      The Request-URI is changed, and, in the new Request-URI, a
      "cause" URI parameter set to 380 is added.  As there was no
      History-Info header field in the received request,
      the application creates a History-Info header with two entries:
      one for the received Request-URI and one for the new Request-URI.

      INVITE sip:+15555551002@atlanta.com;cause=380;user=phone SIP/2.0
      Via: SIP/2.0/TCP [2001:db8:a::2];branch=z9hG4bK-ik8
      Via: SIP/2.0/TCP [2001:db8:9::2]:5060;branch=z9hG4bK74bf
      From: Alice <sip:+15551001@example.com;user=phone>;tag=9fxced76sl
      To: <sip:+18005551002@example.com;user=phone>
      Call-ID: c3x842276298220188511
      CSeq: 1 INVITE
      Max-Forwards: 69
      Supported: histinfo
      History-Info: <sip:+18005551002@example.com;user=phone>;index=1
      History-Info: <sip:+15555551002@atlanta.com;cause=380;user=phone>;
                    index=1.1;mp=1
      Contact: <sip:alice@[2001:db8:9::2]>
      Content-Type: application/sdp
      Content-Length: <appropriate value>

      [SDP Not Shown]
























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   F3 INVITE Atlanta.com -> John

      The call center proxy routes the received request to John's
      IP address by changing the Request-URI.  When changing the
      Request-URI, the proxy adds a new entry in the History-Info
      header field.

      INVITE sip:john@[2001:db8:b::2] SIP/2.0
      Via: SIP/2.0/TCP [2001:db8:b::3]:5060;branch=z9hG4bKpxk7g
      Via: SIP/2.0/TCP [2001:db8:a::2];branch=z9hG4bK-ik8
      Via: SIP/2.0/TCP [2001:db8:9::2]:5060;branch=z9hG4bK74bf
      From: Alice <sip:+15551001@example.com;user=phone>;tag=9fxced76sl
      To: <sip:+18005551002@example.com;user=phone>
      Call-ID: c3x842276298220188511
      CSeq: 1 INVITE
      Max-Forwards: 68
      Supported: histinfo
      History-Info: <sip:+18005551002@example.com;user=phone>;index=1
      History-Info: <sip:+15555551002@atlanta.com;cause=380;user=phone>;
                    index=1.1;mp=1
      History-Info: <sip:john@[2001:db8:b::2]>;index=1.1.1;rc=1.1
      Contact: <sip:alice@[2001:db8:9::2]>
      Content-Type: application/sdp
      Content-Length: <appropriate value>

      [SDP Not Shown]

NOTE: Line breaks are for display purpose only

5.  IANA Considerations

   [RFC4458] defines a "cause" URI parameter specified as having
   predefined values.  This document defines a new value for the "cause"
   URI parameter: 380.

   IANA has modified the existing row for the "cause" URI parameter to
   add a reference to this document under the "SIP/SIPS URI Parameters"
   subregistry within the "Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Parameters"
   registry:

     Parameter Name    Predefined Values          Reference
     --------------    -----------------    ----------------------
        cause               Yes               [RFC4458][RFC8119]








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6.  Security Considerations

   The security considerations in [RFC4458] apply.

   If a privacy level of 'header' is requested in the Privacy header
   field as described in [RFC3323], the "cause" URI parameter must be
   removed from the Request-URI to maintain the network-provided privacy
   requested.  Privacy of the parameters, when they form part of a URI
   within the History-Info header field, is covered in [RFC7044].

7.  References

7.1.  Normative References

   [RFC3261]  Rosenberg, J., Schulzrinne, H., Camarillo, G., Johnston,
              A., Peterson, J., Sparks, R., Handley, M., and E.
              Schooler, "SIP: Session Initiation Protocol", RFC 3261,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC3261, June 2002,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3261>.

   [RFC3323]  Peterson, J., "A Privacy Mechanism for the Session
              Initiation Protocol (SIP)", RFC 3323,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC3323, November 2002,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3323>.

   [RFC3326]  Schulzrinne, H., Oran, D., and G. Camarillo, "The Reason
              Header Field for the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)",
              RFC 3326, DOI 10.17487/RFC3326, December 2002,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3326>.

   [RFC7044]  Barnes, M., Audet, F., Schubert, S., van Elburg, J., and
              C. Holmberg, "An Extension to the Session Initiation
              Protocol (SIP) for Request History Information", RFC 7044,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7044, February 2014,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7044>.

   [TS.3GPP.24.229]
              3GPP, "IP multimedia call control protocol based on
              Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Session Description
              Protocol (SDP); Stage 3", 3GPP TS 24.229 13.6.0.0, January
              2015.










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7.2.  Informative References

   [Err1409]  RFC Errata, Erratum ID 1409, RFC 4458.

   [ITU-T_I.312_Q.1201]
              ITU-T, "Principles of Intelligent Network Architecture",
              ITU-T Recommendation I312/Q.1201, October 1992.

   [ITU-T_Q.1214]
              ITU-T, "Distributed Functional Plane For Intellignet
              Network CS-1", ITU-T Recommendation Q.1214, October 1995.

   [ITU-T_Q.763]
              ITU-T, "Signalling System No. 7 -- ISDN User Part formats
              and codes", ITU-T Recommendation Q.763, December 1999.

   [RFC4458]  Jennings, C., Audet, F., and J. Elwell, "Session
              Initiation Protocol (SIP) URIs for Applications such as
              Voicemail and Interactive Voice Response (IVR)", RFC 4458,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC4458, April 2006,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4458>.

   [RFC5234]  Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
              Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5234>.

Acknowledgements

   The authors wish to thank the 3GPP community for providing guidance,
   input, and comments on the document.  Thanks also to Paul Kyzivat,
   Dale Worley, Jean Mahoney, Robert Sparks, Joel Halpern, and Lionel
   Morand for their detailed reviews of the document.  Special thanks to
   Ben Campbell for his help to make the work progress.

















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Authors' Addresses

   Marianne Mohali
   Orange
   44 Avenue de la Republique
   Chatillon  92320
   France

   Email: marianne.mohali@orange.com


   Mary Barnes
   MLB@Realtime Communications
   TX
   United States of America

   Email: mary.ietf.barnes@gmail.com


































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