





Netowrk Working Group                                               H. Lu
Request for Comments: 2458                                         Editor
Category: Informational                                   M. Krishnaswamy
                                                      Lucent Technologies
                                                                L. Conroy
                                                      Roke Manor Research
                                                              S. Bellovin
                                                                  F. Burg
                                                              A. DeSimone
                                                                K. Tewani
                                                                AT&T Labs
                                                              P. Davidson
                                                                   Nortel
                                                           H. Schulzrinne
                                                      Columbia University
                                                          K. Vishwanathan
                                                                Isochrome
                                                            November 1998


               Toward the PSTN/Internet Inter-Networking
                       --Pre-PINT Implementations

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 (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document contains the information relevant to the development of
   the inter-networking interfaces underway in the Public Switched
   Telephone Network (PSTN)/Internet Inter-Networking (PINT) Working
   Group. It addresses technologies, architectures, and several (but by
   no means all) existing pre-PINT implementations of the arrangements
   through which Internet applications can request and enrich PSTN
   telecommunications services. The common denominator of the enriched
   services (a.k.a. PINT services) is that they combine the Internet and
   PSTN services in such a way that the Internet is used for non-voice
   interactions, while the voice (and fax) are carried entirely over the
   PSTN. One key observation is that the pre-PINT implementations, being
   developed independently, do not inter-operate. It is a task of the
   PINT Working Group to define the inter-networking interfaces that



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 1]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   will support inter-operation of the future implementations of PINT
   services.

Table of Contents

   1.      Introduction    .......................................     3
   2.      Terminology     .......................................     3
   3.      PINT Services   .......................................     4
   4.      Architectural Overview  ...............................     5
   4.1     Public Switched Telephone Network       ...............     5
   4.2     Pre-PINT Systems        ...............................     9
   5.      IN-Based Solutions      ...............................    20
   5.1     The Lucent System       ...............................    20
   5.1.1   Roles of the Web Server, Service Node, and SMS  .......    20
   5.1.2   A Click-to-Dial-Back Service Scenario   ...............    21
   5.1.3   Web Server-Service Node Interface       ...............    22
   5.1.4   Web Server-SMS Interface and SNMP MIB   ...............    24
   5.1.5   Security Considerations     ...........................    26
   5.2     Siemens Web Call Center     ...........................    27
   5.2.1   Service Description     ...............................    27
   5.2.2   Implementation      ...................................    29
   5.2.3   Derived Requirements/Lessons      .....................    35
   6.      Alternative Solutions   ...............................    37
   6.1     The AT&T System   .....................................    37
   6.1.1   High Level Architecture    ............................    38
   6.1.2   IP Client to CallBroker Interface    ..................    39
   6.1.3   Protocol    ...........................................    40
   6.1.4   APIs Exposed to the IP Client     .....................    41
   6.1.5   Voice-Bridge Control API       ........................    41
   6.2     Simple Computer Telephony Protocol      ...............    41
   6.2.1   Overview    ...........................................    41
   6.2.2   How SCTP Fits in with the Reference PINT Services    ..    42
   7.      Session Initiation Protocol--An Emerging Standard    ..    43
   7.1     Overview        .......................................    43
   7.2     SIP Protocol    .......................................    44
   7.3     SIP Entities    .......................................    45
   7.4     Providing Call Control Functionality    ...............    46
   8.      Overall Security Considerations   .....................    47
   9.      Conclusion      .......................................    48
   10.     Acknowledgments     ...................................    48
   11.     Appendix        .......................................    49
   11.1    PSTN/IN 101     .......................................    49
   11.1.1  Public Switched Telephone Network       ...............    49
   11.1.2  Intelligent Network     ...............................    51
   11.2    Call Center Features      .............................    54






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 2]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   12.     References      .......................................    56
   Authors' Addresses    .........................................    57
   Full Copyright Statement     ..................................    60

1. Introduction

   This document contains the information relevant to the development of
   the inter-networking interfaces underway in the Public Switched
   Telephone Network (PSTN)/Internet Inter-Networking (PINT) Working
   Group. It addresses technologies, architectures, and several (but by
   no means all) existing pre-PINT implementations of the arrangements
   through which Internet applications can request and enrich PSTN
   telecommunications services. The common denominator of the enriched
   services (a.k.a. PINT services) is that they combine the Internet and
   PSTN services in such a way that the Internet is used for non-voice
   interactions, while the voice (and fax) are carried entirely over the
   PSTN.

   The organization of the document is as follows.  First, the basic
   terminology and a short "intuitive" description of the PINT services
   are provided. The rest of the information deals, in one way or the
   other, with the pre-PINT support of these services where they are
   used as a benchmark. Thus, an architectural overview common to all
   present solutions is presented.  The flow of the document then
   divides into two streams: one is dedicated to the Intelligent Network
   (IN)-based solutions; the other explores alternative means (i.e.,
   CallBroker and Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI) approach). At
   this point, the emerging standards are explored, in particular, the
   Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which promises an elegant solution
   to the PINT problem. Each of the above developments is addressed in a
   respective section. The final sections of the document contain the
   overall security considerations, conclusion, acknowledgments,
   appendix, and a set of references. The security section summarizes
   the PINT security requirements derived from the pre-PINT experiences
   and the appendix presents a tutorial on the PSTN, IN, and Call Center
   functions.

2. Terminology

   This document uses the following terminology:

   Authentication -- verification of the identity of a party.

   Authorization -- determination of whether or not a party has the
   right to perform certain activities.

   PINT Gateway -- the PSTN node that interacts with the Internet.




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 3]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   User or Customer -- the person who asks for a service request to be
   issued. In the context of PINT Services, this person will use an
   Internet host to make his or her request. The term "user" is also
   used to describe a host originating the PINT service request on
   behalf of this person.

3. PINT Services

   This document addresses four services initially identified by the
   PINT Working Group and presently supported by pre-PINT
   implementations. These services are: click-to-dial-back, click-to-
   fax, click-to-fax-back and voice-access-to-content.

   Note that the word "click" should not be taken literally. It is
   rather used to point out that initiation of the related services
   takes place on the Internet, where point and click are the most
   prevalent user actions.  In other words, a service request could
   originate from any type of IP-based platforms. There is no
   implication that these services must be implemented by a device
   within the PSTN or the Internet running a Web server.

   The common denominator of the PINT services is that they combine the
   Internet and PSTN services in such a way that the Internet is used
   for non-voice interactions, while the voice (and fax) are carried
   entirely over the PSTN. (An example of such a service is combination
   of a Web-based Yellow Pages service with the ability to initiate PSTN
   calls between customers and suppliers in a manner described in what
   follows.)

   Some of the benefits of using the PSTN are high quality of the voice,
   an ability to route the call to different locations depending on
   pre-set criteria (for example, time of the day, day of the week, and
   geographic location), outstanding security and reliability, and
   access to flexible, low cost, and secure billing and charging
   systems. The benefits of using the Internet are the uniform, well-
   defined, and widely-used interfaces available anywhere, anytime.

   Click-to-Dial-Back

   With this service, a user requests (through an IP host) that the PSTN
   call be established between another party and himself or herself. An
   important pre-requisite for using this service is that the user has
   simultaneous access to both the PSTN and Internet.

   One example of an application of this service is on-line shopping: a
   user browsing through an on-line catalogue, clicks a button thus
   inviting a call from a sales representative. Note that (as is the
   case with the all-PSTN Free-Phone, or "800", service) flexible



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 4]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   billing arrangements can be implemented here on behalf of the service
   provider. In addition (and also similarly to the Free-Phone/800), the
   PSTN could route the call depending on the time of day, day of week,
   availability of agents in different locations, and so on.

   Click-to-Fax

   With this service, a user at an IP host requests that a fax be sent
   to a particular fax number. In particular this service is especially
   meaningful when the fax is to be sent to someone who has only a fax
   machine (but no access to the Internet). Consider, as an example, a
   service scenario in which a Web user makes a reservation for a hotel
   room in Beijing from a travel service page containing hotel
   information of major cities around the world. Suppose a specific
   Beijing hotel chosen by the user does not have Internet connection
   but has a fax machine. The user fills out the hotel reservation form
   and then clicks a button sending out the form to the travel service
   provider, which in turn generates a fax request and sends it together
   with the hotel reservation form to the PSTN. Upon receiving the
   request and the associated data, the PSTN translates the data into
   the proper facsimile format and delivers it to the Beijing hotel as
   specified in the fax request.

   Click-to-Fax-Back

   With this service, a user at an IP host can request that a fax be
   sent to him or her. (Consider the user of the previous example, who
   now requests the confirmation from the Beijing Hotel. Another useful
   application of the service is when size of the information that a
   user intends to get is so large that downloading it to the user's PC
   over the Internet will require a long time and a lot of disk space.)

   Voice-Access-to-Content

   With this service, a user at an IP host requests that certain
   information on the Internet be accessed (and delivered) in an audio
   form over the PSTN, using the telephone as an informational
   appliance. One application of this service is to provide Web access
   to the blind.  (This may require special resources--available in the
   PSTN--to convert the Web data into speech.)

4. Architectural Overview

4.1 Public Switched Telephone Network

   From an application perspective, Internet nodes are interconnected
   directly, as shown in Figure 1. When two machines are to communicate,
   they will have the address of the destination end system, and will



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 5]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   send network level datagrams, assuming that the underlying
   infrastructure will deliver them as required.

                                   _____
                 __          _____/     \_____
                [__]        /                 \
               [----]-.-.-.-.   Internet       .-.
                            \_____     _______/  |
                              __  \__./     __   .
                             [__]   /      [__]  |
                            [----]-.      [----]-.

               Key: .-.-. Internet Access Link

                                 Figure 1

   Where all nodes are on the same (broadcast) network, there is no need
   for intervening routers; they can send and deliver packets to one
   another directly. The Internet nodes are responsible for their own
   communications requests, and act as peers in the communication
   sessions that result.

   This contrasts with the situation in the PSTN. There, the end systems
   are configured as shown in Figure 2. The end systems tend to be
   specific to a particular type of traffic, so that, for example, the
   majority of terminals are dedicated to carrying speech traffic
   (telephones) or to carrying facsimile data (fax machines). The
   terminals all connect to Central Offices (COs) via access lines, and
   these COs are interconnected into a network.

    /--\
   ()/\()__
    /__\   \       .................................
            \      !             !                 !           /--\
     __      \   [-!-]         [-!-]               !          ()/\()
     \ \      \__[CO ]=========[CO ]==\\           !        ___/__\
    [Fax]________[---]         [---]   \\        [-!-]     /   __
                                        \\=======[CO ]____/    \ \
                                                 [---]________[Fax]
   Key: ___   Access Lines
        ===   Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links
        CO    Central Office (Telephone Exchange)

                                 Figure 2






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 6]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Communications between the terminals are all "circuit switched", so a
   dedicated synchronous data path (or circuit) needs to be placed
   between the end terminals for carrying all communications. Arranging
   for such a circuit to be made or removed (cleared) is the
   responsibility of the Central Offices in the network. A user makes a
   request via his or her terminal, and this request is passed on to the
   "local" Central Office. The relationship between the terminals and
   the local Central Offices to which they are connected is strictly
   Client/Server.

   The COs are interconnected using two different types of connections.
   One of these is called a trunk connection (shown as a double line in
   the above figure) and is used to carry the data traffic generated by
   the terminals. The other connection acts as part of a separate
   network (and is shown as a dotted line in the above figure). This is
   the signaling network, and is used by the Central Offices to request
   a connection to be made between themselves and the destination of the
   required circuit. This will be carried across the trunk link to the
   "next" Central Office in the path. The path, once in place through
   the PSTN, always takes the same route. This contrasts with the
   Internet, where the underlying datagram nature of the infrastructure
   means that data packets are carried over different routes, depending
   on the combined traffic flows through the network at the time.

   The call set up process can be viewed as having two parts: one in
   which a request for connection is made, and the other in which the
   circuit is made across the PSTN and call data flows between the
   communicating parties. This is shown in the next pair of figures (3a
   and 3b).


                            /--\
                           ()  ()
                             --____
                            /++\   \
                           /----\   \
                              A      \   [-!-]
                                      \->[CO ]
                                         [---]
                           Time = 13:55

                                 Figure 3a


   Key: ___   Access Lines
        ===   Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links
        CO    Central Office (Telephone Exchange)



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 7]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


    /--\
   ()  ()
     --            .................................
    /  \<---       ^             !                 !           /--\
   /----\   \      !             v                 !          ()  ()
      A'     \   [-!-]         [-!-]               !            --
              \__[CO ]=========[CO ]==\\           v        ->-/  \
                 [---]         [---]   \\        [-!-]     /  /----\
                                        \\=======[CO ]____/     B'
   Time = 14:00                                  [---]

                                 Figure 3b

   Figure 3 shows a particular kind of service that can be provided;
   call booking. With this service, a request is sent for a connection
   to be made between the A and B telephones at a specified time. The
   telephone is then replaced (the request phase is terminated). At the
   specified time, the CO will make a connection across the network in
   the normal way, but will, first, ring the "local" or A' telephone to
   inform the user that his or her call is now about to be made.

   For more complex services, the requesting telephone is often
   connected via its "local" CO to a Service Node (SN), where the user
   can be played prompts and can specify the parameters of his or her
   request in a more flexible manner.  This is shown below, in Figures
   4a and 4b. For more details of the operation of the Service Node (and
   other Intelligent Network units), see the Appendix.

   When the SN is involved in the request and in the call setup process,
   it appears, to the CO, to be another PSTN terminal. As such, the
   initial request is routed to the Service Node, which, as an end
   system, then makes two independent calls "out" to A' and B'.

                             /--\         [---]
                            ()  ()        [SN ]
                              --___       [|--]
                             /++\  \       |
                            /----\  \      |
                                     \     |
                               A      \   [|-!]
                                       \->[CO ]
                                          [---]
                            Time = 13:55

                                 Figure 4a






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 8]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Key: ___   Access Lines
        ===   Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links
        CO    Central Office (Telephone Exchange)
        SN    Service Node


    /--\         [---]
   ()  ()        [SN ]
     --          [|--]                                           /--\
    /  \<--       |   ...............................           ()  ()
   /----\  \      |  ^             !                !             --
            \     | /              v                v            /  \
      A'     \   [|-!]            [-!-]            [-!-]     ->-/----\
              \--[CO ]            [CO ]            [CO ]    /
                 [---]            [---]            [---]___/      B'
   Time = 14:00

                                 Figure 4b

   Note that in both cases as shown in Figures 3 and 4 a similar service
   can be provided in which the B' telephone is replaced by an
   Intelligent Peripheral (or an Special Resource Functional entity
   within a Service Node), playing an announcement. This allows a "wake
   up" call to be requested, with the Intelligent Peripheral or Service
   Node Special Resource playing a suitable message to telephone A' at
   the specified time. Again, for more details of the operation of the
   Special Resources (and other Intelligent Network units), see the
   Appendix.

4.2 Pre-PINT Systems

   Although the pre-PINT systems reported here (i.e., those developed by
   AT&T, Lucent, Siemens and Nortel) vary in the details of their
   operation, they exhibit similarities in the architecture. This
   section highlights the common features. Specific descriptions of
   these systems will follow.

   All of the systems can be seen as being quite similar to that shown
   in the following diagram. In each case, the service is separated into
   two parts; one for the request and another for execution of the
   service. Figure 5 summarizes the process.









Lu, et. al.                  Informational                      [Page 9]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


                                _____
              __          _____/     \_____
             [__]        /                 \
            [-++-]-.-.>.-.   Internet       .-.-
                         \_____     _______/   .
                               \___/           v
                                       [----]  .
                                       [PINT]-.-
                                       [----]
                                         %
                                         v
                                       [---]
                                       [SN ]
                                       [|--]

                                 Figure 5a

   Key: CO    Central Office (Telephone Exchange)
        SN    Service Node
        PINT  PSTN/Internet Gateway
        .-.-. Internet Access Link
        %%%   Gateway/Service Node Link
        ___   PSTN Access Lines
        ===   PSTN Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links

                       _____
     __          _____/     \_____
    [__]        /                 \
   [----]-.-.-.-.   Internet       .-.-
                \_____     _______/   .
                      \___/           |
                              [----]  .
                              [PINT]-.-
                              [-%--]
                                %
                                %
                 /--\         [-%-]
                ()  ()        [SN ]
                  --          [|--]                               /--\
                 /  \<--       |    ....................         ()  ()
                /----\  \      |   ^        !          !           --
                         \     |  /         v          v          /  \
                   A'     \   [|-!]       [-!-]      [-!-]    ->-/----\
                           \--[CO ]=======[CO ]======[CO ]   /
                              [---]       [---]      [---]__/      B'

                                 Figure 5b



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 10]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Comparing Figure 4a with Figure 5a, the differences lie in the way
   that the information specifying the request is delivered to the
   Service Node. In the PSTN/IN method shown in the earlier diagram, the
   user connects to the SN from the telephone labeled A, with the
   connection being routed via the CO. In the latter case, the request
   is delivered from an Internet node, via the PINT gateway, and thence
   to the Service Node over a "private" link. The effect is identical,
   in that the request for service is specified (although the actual
   parameters used to specify the service required may differ somewhat).

   The figures depicting the respective service execution phases
   (Figures 4b and 5b) show that the operation, from the IN/PSTN
   perspective, is again identical. The Service Node appears to initiate
   two independent calls "out" to telephones A' and B'.

   The alternative systems developed by AT&T and by Nortel allow another
   option to be used in which the PINT Gateway does not have to connect
   to the PSTN via a Service Node (or other Intelligent Network
   component), but can instead connect directly to Central Offices that
   support the actions requested by the gateway. In these alternatives,
   the commands are couched at a "lower level", specifying the call
   states required for the intended service connection rather than the
   service identifier and the addresses involved (leaving the
   Intelligent Network components to coordinate the details of the
   service call on the gateway's behalf). In this way the vocabulary of
   the commands is closer to that used to control Central Offices. The
   difference really lies in the language used for the services
   specification, and all systems can use the overall architecture
   depicted in Figure 5; the only question remains whether the
   Intelligent Network components are actually needed in these other
   approaches.




















Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 11]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   The following diagram (Figure 6) shows the interface architecture
   involved in providing the kind of service mentioned above.


                            Internet  __                     __
                            Server   [__]        _______    [__]
                               [W3S-]-. ___/    .-.-.-[W3C-] Internet
                     _________________|/.-.-.-.-.   \         Terminal
                    /               .. .             \
                    | Internet     / .  \             |
                    \___________  .  .   .           /
                                \/___|____\_________/
                                .    .      .
                               /      |       \
                            (A)      (B)      (E)
                           .          .          .
                         _|_         _|_         _|_
                        [SN ]<-(D)--[SMS]--(H)->[SCP]
                        [|-|]        ---        [-!-]
                        /  \                      !
                      (C)  (I)   ...........(F)...!.(G).
                     /        \  !                     !
                  [--|]       [|-!]                  [-!-]
                  [CO ]       [MSC]                  [SSP]
                  [---]       [---] \|/              [---]
             /--\   |           |____|                 |   /--\
            ()/\()  |                                  |  ()/\()
             /--\___|                1                 |___/--\
    Fixed PSTN Terminal             []            Fixed PSTN Terminal
                             Mobile Terminal

   Key: W3S   HTTP (Web) Server
        W3C   HTTP (Web) Client/Browser
        CO    Central Office (Telephone Exchange)
        MSC   Mobile Switching Center (Mobile Network Telephone
              Exchange)
        SN    Service Node
        SSP   Service Switching Point
        SCP   Service Control Point
        SMS   Service Management System
        .-.-. Internet relationship
        ___   PSTN Access relationship
        ...   PSTN "core" signaling relationship

                                 Figure 6






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 12]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   The interfaces are:

   A    The interface over which Internet requests for service are
        delivered to the Service Node
   B    The interface over which Service Management requests are sent
        from the Internet to the Service Management System
   C    The interface over which the Service Node sends call control
        requests to a connected Central Office
   D    The interface over which the Service Management System manages
        the Service Node
   E    The interface over which Internet requests for service are
        delivered to the Service Control Point
   F    The interface over which the Service Control Point sends service
        call control requests to the Mobile Switching Center
   G    The interface over which the Service Control Point sends service
        control requests to the Service Switching Point
   H    The interface over which the Service Management System manages
        the Service Control Point
   I    The interface over which the Service Node sends service call
        control requests to the Mobile Switching Center

   In practice, a number of the interfaces have very similar purposes to
   one another. The means by which these purposes are achieved differ,
   in that some of the interfaces (C and I) reflect access arrangements,
   whilst others (F and G) imply a "core" signaling relationship.
   However, it is possible to categorize them in terms of the "intent"
   of messages sent across the interfaces.

   For example, Interfaces A and E are similar; one of the main aims of
   PINT work is to ensure that they are the same. Similarly, Interfaces
   D and H imply similar actions and are likely to carry similar
   messages. Interfaces C, F, G, and I are all used to request that a
   call be initiated, albeit via access or core signaling relationships.

   The interfaces can also be viewed in terms of the kind of components
   that are involved and the bodies by which they are codified.
   Interfaces A, B, and E are all going to be realized as Internet
   Protocols.  All of the others use existing protocols in the PSTN/IN.
   Traditionally, these have been codified by different groups, and this
   is likely to be the case in the PINT work.

   The general arrangements for the different systems are shown below
   (Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10). They differ in the details of their
   configurations, but the main tasks they perform are very similar, and
   so the overall operation is similar to the generic architecture shown
   in Figures 5 and 6.





Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 13]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Key for following diagrams:

       Components:

   W3C     World Wide Web Client
   W3S     World Wide Web Server
   WSA     Web Server "Back End Program" Interface (CGI or Servlet
           interface)
   Srvlt   Servlet "back end" program/objects
   FS      Finger Server
   SCTPC   Simple Computer Telephony Protocol Client
   SCTPS   Simple Computer Telephony Protocol Server
   CBC     CallBroker Client
   CBS     CallBroker Server
   SSTPC   Service Support Transport Protocol Client
   SSF     Service Switching Function
   SCF     Service Control Function
   SRF     Special Resource Function
   CO      Central Office/ Public Telephone Exchange
   SSP     Service Switching Point
   SCP     Service Control Point
   SR/I.IP Special Resource/ "Internet" Intelligent Peripheral
   SMS     Service Management System
   INAPAd  Intelligent Network Application Part Adaptor
   PktFlt  Packet Filter (Firewall)
   SNMPAg  Simple Network Management Protocol Agent

       Protocols:

   P0    HyperText Transfer Protocol
   P1    HTTP Server <-> "Back End Program" internal protocol
   P2    CallBroker Client <-> CallBroker Server protocol (AT&T system),
      or SCTP Client <-> Server protocol (Nortel system)
   P3    PINT User Agent <-> PINT Gateway protocol
   P4    Intra-Intelligent Network protocol (e.g., INAP)
   P5    Proprietary (INAP-based) Gateway-> I.IP protocol
   P6    Finger protocol
   P7    Digital Subscriber Signaling 1 protocol
   P8    Simple Network Management Protocol
   P9    SMS <-> Service Control Point/Service Node protocol











Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 14]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


    _____             _______             _____
   |[W3C]|----(p0)-->| [W3S] |<--(p0)----|[W3C]|
   |[---]|           | [WSA] |           |[FS.]|
   |-----|           |   !   |           |[-!-]|
                     |  (p1) |           |--\--|
                     |   !   |               ^
                     |   !   |               (p6)
                     |   !   |                 \
                     |  (p1) |                  \
                     |   !   |                   \
                     |[Srvlt]|                    \
                     |___!___|                     \
                         !                          \
                        (p3)                         \
 Internet                !                            !
 .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. v .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.!.+.+.+.+.+.
 PSTN/IN  _______________!_________________       ____!_____ __________
          |I         [PktFlt]            I|       |[PktFlt]| |[PktFlt]|
          |N          Gateway            N|       |   !    | |   !    |
          |A ___________________________ A|       |   !    | |   !    |
          |P |                         | P|       |   !    | |[SNMPAg]|
  -(p4)-- |A | <-(p4)-> [SCP] <-(p4)-> | A|-(p5)->|[SR/IIP]| | [SMS]  |
  \       |d |          [-^-]          | d|       |[------]| | [-^-]  |
   \      |__|            !            |__|       |________| |___!____|
    \                     !                                      !
   [-v-]                  !-----------------(p9)-----------------!
   [SSP]
   [---]
 ___| |______
 |           |
 |  /--\     |    /--\
 | ()/\()    |   ()/\()
 |__/__\     |____/__\


                 Figure 7: The Siemens Web Call Center















Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 15]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


    _____             _______
   |[W3C]|----(p0)-->| [W3S] |
   |[---]|           | [WSA] |
   |-----|           |   !   |
                     |  (p1) |
                     |   !   |
                     |   !   |
                     |   !   |
                     |  (p1) |
                     |   !   |
                     |[SSTPC]|-<----------------------------------
                     |___!___|                                   !
                         !                                      (p8)
                        (p3)                                     !
 Internet                !                                       v
 .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. v .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. ! .+.+
 PSTN/IN  _______________!__________________________________ ____!_____
          |          [PktFlt]        Service       [PktFlt]| |[PktFlt]|
          |              !             Node                | |   !    |
          |        [SCF Adaptor]                           | |   !    |
          |               !                                | |[SNMPAg]|
          |[SSF]<-(p4)->[SCF] <-------(p4)--------> [SRF]  | | [SMS]  |
          |[|--]        [-^-]                       [---]  | | [-^-]  |
          |_|_____________!________________________________| |___!____|
            |             !                                      !
   [-v-]  (p7)            !-----------------(p9)-----------------!
   [CO.]____|
   [---]
 ___| |_______
 |           |
 |  /--\     |    /--\
 | ()/\()    |   ()/\()
 |__/__\     |____/__\

                      Figure 8: The Lucent System
















Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 16]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


    _____             ________
   |[W3C]|----(p0)-->| [W3S]  |
   |[---]|           | [WSA]  |
   |-----|           |   !    |
                     |  (p1)  |
                     |   !    |
                     |[WS/CBS]|
                     |[Adaptr]|
                     |___!____|
                         ^
                        (p2)
    _____             ___v____
   |[CBC]|           | [CBS]  |
   |[---]|<---(p2)-->| [---]  |-<---------------------------------
   |-----|           |___!____|                                  !
                         !                                      (p8)
                        (p3)                                     !
 Internet                !                                       v
 .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. v .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. ! .+.+
 PSTN/IN  _______________!__________________________________ ____!_____
          |          [PktFlt]        Service       [PktFlt]| |[PktFlt]|
          |              !             Node                | |   !    |
          |        [SCF Adaptor]                           | |   !    |
          |               !                                | |[SNMPAg]|
          |[SSF]<-(p4)->[SCF] <-------(p4)--------> [SRF]  | | [SMS]  |
          |[|--]        [-^-]                       [---]  | | [-^-]  |
          |_|_____________!________________________________| |___!____|
            |             !                                      !
   [---]  (p7)            !-----------------(p9)-----------------!
   [CO.]____|
   [---]
 ___| |_______
 |           |
 |  /--\     |    /--\
 | ()/\()    |   ()/\()
 |__/__\     |____/__\

                       Figure 9: The AT&T System













Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 17]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


    _____             ________
   |[W3C]|----(p0)-->| [W3S]  |
   |[---]|           | [WSA]  |
   |-----|           |   !    |
                     |  (p1)  |
                     |   !    |
                     |[WS/   ]|
                     |[ SCTPS]|
                     |[Adaptr]|
                     |___!____|
                         ^
                        (p2)
  _______             ___v___
 |[SCTPC]|           |[SCTPS]|
 |[-----]| <-(p2)--> |[-----]|-<----------------------------------
 |-------|           |___!___|                                   !
                         !                                      (p8)
                        (p3)                                     !
 Internet                !                                       v
 .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. v .+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+.+. ! .+.+.
 PSTN/IN  _______________!__________________________________ ____!_____
          |          [PktFlt]        Service       [PktFlt]| |[PktFlt]|
          |              !             Node                | |   !    |
          |        [SCF Adaptor]                           | |   !    |
          |               !                                | |[SNMPAg]|
          |[SSF]<-(p4)->[SCF] <-------(p4)--------> [SRF]  | | [SMS]  |
          |[|--]        [-^-]                       [---]  | | [-^-]  |
          |_|_____________!________________________________| |___!____|
            |             !                                      !
   [---]  (p7)            !-----------------(p9)-----------------!
   [CO.]____|
   [---]
 ___| |_______
 |           |
 |  /--\     |    /--\
 | ()/\()    |   ()/\()
 |__/__\     |____/__\

                      Figure 10: The Nortel System

   As these are independent systems developed by different groups, the
   names of the components, unsurprisingly, don't match. Some features
   are offered by one of the systems, while they aren't by others.
   However, there are a number of common features. All of the systems
   provide a Web-based interface (at least as an option), using "back
   end" programs to construct protocols to pass onwards to the
   Intelligent Network system.




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 18]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Several Intelligent Network Functional Entities are combined into a
   Service Node in the Lucent, AT&T , and Nortel systems, while in the
   Siemens scheme they are separate units. However, this is not
   particularly important for the provision of the services they offer.

   The main difference lies in whether or not the SCF is "aware" of the
   Internet interface and has been modified to be "complicit" in
   supporting these Internet requests. The Siemens approach was to re-
   use an existing SCP, providing a gateway function to translate as
   needed.  The Lucent system used a "lighter weight" SCF adapter to
   terminate the Internet protocols, as the SCF was modified to support
   the Internet interface directly.

   The AT&T CallBroker and Nortel SCTP Servers introduce an intermediate
   protocol (labeled p2) that allows an alternative to the Web based
   interface supported by the others. This protocol matches the
   "CallBroker Client API", or the "SCTP Client API". These options
   provide for a bi-directional protocol, with indications sent from the
   Call Broker or SCTP Server to the Client as needed.  This is not
   easily possible using an HTTP-based scheme (and in the Siemens case,
   a dedicated Finger client/server pair was used to emulate such an
   interface)

   The protocol between the Internet server and the Intelligent Network
   (labeled p3 in the above diagrams) differs in each of the systems.
   One of the main aims of future work will be to develop a common
   protocol that will support the services offered, so that the p3
   interface will allow different implementations to inter-operate. In
   the Lucent, Siemens, and Nortel systems, this was an "internal"
   protocol, as it was carried between entities within the Service Node
   or Gateway.

   Other contrasts between the systems lie in the support for Internet
   access to Service Management, and access to the Internet by Special
   Resources. Internet Management access was most developed in the
   Lucent system, in which a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
   agent was provided to allow inter-operation with the SMS controlling
   the Service Node. In the Siemens scheme, the SMS had no direct
   Internet access; any management actions were carried out within the
   normal PSTN management activities. As for Internet access to special
   resources, this was only required by the Siemens system as part of
   its support for Call Center agent notification. Equivalent
   functionality would be provided in the AT&T and Nortel systems as
   mentioned above, and this would in turn be associated with event
   notifications being sent as part of their (p3) Internet/IN protocol.
   These differences reflect the different emphases in the products as
   they were developed; again, future work will have to ensure that
   common protocols can be used to support the chosen services fully.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 19]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


5. IN-Based Solutions

5.1 The Lucent System

   Figure 11 depicts the overall interconnection architecture of the
   Lucent prototype in support of the four PINT services. The IN-based
   architecture utilizes the Service Node and Service Management System
   in addition to the Web server, which enables Web-based access to the
   PINT services. This section summarizes the roles of these elements
   (complemented by a click-to-dial-back service scenario), outlines the
   interfaces of Web Server-Service Node and Web Server-Service
   Management System (i.e., the interfaces A & B), and addresses the
   common security concerns.

5.1.1 Roles of the Web Server, Service Node, and Service Management
      System

   Web Server

   The Web Server stores the profiles of content providers as well as
   pre-registered users. The content provider profile contains
   information such as content provider ID, telephone number, and fax
   number. In addition, the profile may also include service logic that
   specifies, for example, the telephone (or fax) number to be reached
   based on time of the day, day of the week, or geographical location
   of the user, and the conditions to accept the charge of the calls.

   Similar to the content provider profile, the pre-registered user
   profile contains information such as user name, password, telephone
   number, and fax number. The last two pieces of information can also
   be linked to time of the day and day of the week so the user can be
   reached at the appropriate telephone (or fax) number accordingly.

   Service Node

   Situated in the PSTN, the SN, like the SCP, performs the service
   control function [1, 2, 3]. It executes service logic and instructs
   switches on how to complete a call. The SN also performs certain
   switching functions (like bridging of calls) as well as a set of
   specialized functions (like playing announcements, voice recognition
   and text-to-speech conversion).

   Service Management System

   The SMS performs administration and management of service logic and
   customer-related data on the SN. It is responsible for the
   replication of content provider profiles and provision of these data
   on the SN. These functions are non-real time.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 20]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


    Web Users
                                  ____________
    O --------------------------  | Internet |-------------------
                                  ------------                  |
                                                                |
                                                                |
   ----------------            --------------               ------------
   | Service Node |     D      | Service    |       B       |Web Server|
   |     (SN)     |------------| Management |---------------|          |
   |              |            |System (SMS)|               |          |
   |              |      A     --------------               |          |
   |              |-----------------------------------------|          |
   ----------------                                         ------------
      |         |
      | I       | C
      |         |
   ----------- ---------
   |Mobile   | |Central|
   |Switching| |Office |
   | Center  | ---------
   -----------     |
        |          |
        |          |
        O          O

       Mobile      Wireline PSTN
       Users       Users

   Figure 11: Overall Interconnection Architecture of the Lucent System

5.1.2 A Click-to-Dial-Back Service Scenario

   A Web user, who has simultaneous access to the Web and telephone
   services (this can be achieved, for example, by having an ISDN
   connection), is browsing through a sales catalogue and deciding to
   speak to a sales representative.

   When the Web user clicks a button inviting a telephone call from the
   sales office, the Web Server sends a message to the SN over the A
   interface, thus crossing the Internet-to-PSTN boundary. By matching
   the information received from the Web Server with the content
   provider profile that had been previously loaded and activated by the
   SMS over the D interface, the SN recognizes the signal.

   At this point, the SN calls the Web user. The user answers the call,
   hears an announcement, e.g., "Please wait, while we are connecting
   you to the sale agent", and is waiting to be connected to the sale
   agent. Then the SN invokes service logic as indicated in the profile.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 21]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   The execution of this logic selects an appropriate sales agent to
   call based on the time of the day. It is 8 P.M.  in New York where
   the Web user is located, and the New York sales office has closed.
   The San Francisco office, however, is still open, and so the SN makes
   a call to an agent in that office. Finally, the SN bridges the two
   calls and establishes a two-party call between the sales agent and
   the Web user.

5.1.3 Web Server-Service Node Interface

   Lucent developed the Service Support Transfer Protocol (SSTP) for
   communications between the SN and Web Server. SSTP is of a
   request/response type running on top of a reliable transport layer,
   such as TCP. The Web Server sends a request to the SN to invoke a
   service and the SN responds with a message indicating either success
   or failure. Note that SSTP engages only the service control function
   [1, 2, 3] of the SN.

5.1.3.1 Web Server to Service Node

   In this direction, three kinds of messages may be sent: the
   Transaction Initiator message, the Data Message, and the End of Data
   message.

   The latter two messages are needed if the service to be invoked
   involves data (such as the case in click-to-fax, click-to-fax-back
   and voice-access-to-content). This was so designed to handle the
   varying size of data and to ensure that the size of each stream is
   within the allowable size of the underlying transport packet data
   unit (imposed by some implementations of TCP/IP).

   a. Transaction Initiator

   This message provides all the necessary information but data for
   invoking a service. It includes the following information elements:

   + Transaction ID, which uniquely specifies a service request. The
   same transaction ID should be used for all the accompanying data-
   related messages, if the service request involves data. One way for
   generating unique transaction IDs is to concatenate the information:
   date, time, Web Server ID (uniquely assigned for each one connected
   to the SN), and transaction sequence number (a cyclic counter
   incremented for each service request).

   + Service ID, which specifies the service to be invoked. The service
   may be click-to-dial-back, click-to-fax, click-to-fax-back or voice-
   access-to-content.




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 22]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   + Content Provider ID, which uniquely represents the content
   provider. This information is the key to accessing the content
   provider's service logic and data on the SN.

   + Content Provider Directory Number, which is the telephone or fax
   number of the content provider to be called through the PSTN.

   + User Directory Number, which is the telephone or fax number of the
   user requesting the service.

   + Billed Party, which specifies the party (either the user or content
   provider), to be billed.

   In addition, optional parameters may be sent from the Web Server to
   the SN. For example, a retry parameter may be sent to specify the
   number of times the SN will attempt to complete a service request
   upon failure before the transport connection times out.

   b. Data Message

   This message provides the (encapsulated) user data part of a service
   request. For example, in the case of click-to-fax-back such data are
   the content to be faxed to the user. Each message is composed of the
   transaction ID and a data segment. The transaction ID must be the
   same as that of the transaction initiator part first invoking the
   service.

   c. End of Data Message

   This message contains the transaction ID and the end of data
   delimiter. The transaction ID is the same as that of the relevant
   transaction initiator message.

5.1.3.2 Service Node to Web Server

   The SN must respond to a service request from the Web Server. The
   response message consists of the information elements:

   transaction ID, service type, result, time, and error code.

   + Transaction ID, which is the same as that of the original service
   request.

   + Service Type, which is the same as that of the original service
   request.

   + Result, which is either success or failure.




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 23]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   + Time, which indicates the time of the day completing the request.

   + Error Code, which gives the reason for failure. Possible reasons
   for failure are content provider telephone (or fax) busy, content
   provider telephone (or fax) no answer, user telephone busy, user
   refusal to complete, user no answer, nuisance control limit reached,
   and content provider telephone (or fax) not in the SN database.

5.1.3.3 Usage Scenarios: Click-to-Fax and Click-to-Fax-Back

   For the click-to-fax and click-to-fax-back services, the Lucent
   system implemented only the case where the data to be sent as
   facsimile reside in the Web server. There are at least three messages
   that need to be sent from the Web server to the Service Node for
   these services.

   The first message is the Transaction Initiator that identifies the
   service type as well as a unique Transaction ID. It also includes the
   sender/receiver fax number.

   The next is one or more messages of the data to be faxed. Each
   message carries the same unique Transaction ID as the above.

   Last comes the end of message. It consists of the Transaction ID
   (again, the same as that of the messages preceding it) and the end of
   data delimiter.

   Upon receiving these messages, the Service Node, equipped with the
   special resource of a fax card, converts the data into the G3 format,
   calls the receiver fax, and sends back the result to the Web server
   immediately.  Note that the receiver fax busy or no answer is
   interpreted as failure. Further, while the receiver fax answering the
   call is interpreted as success, it does not necessarily mean that the
   fax would go through successfully.

5.1.4 Web Server-SMS Interface and SNMP MIB

   This interface is responsible for uploading the content provider
   profile from the Web Server to the SMS and for managing the
   information against any possible corruption. The SN verifies the
   Content Provider ID and the Content Provider Directory Number sent by
   the Web Server with the content provider profile pre-loaded from the
   SMS.

   The content provider profile was based on ASN.1 [4] structure and
   SNMP [5] was used to set/get the object identifiers in the SMS
   database.




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 24]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Following is an example of the simple MIB available on the SMS.

   inwebContProviderTable OBJECT-TYPE
           SYNTAX          SEQUENCE OF InwebContProviderEntry
           MAX-ACCESS      not-accessible
           STATUS          current
           DESCRIPTION
                   " A table containing Content Provider profiles "
           := { inweb 1}

   inwebContProviderEntry OBJECT-TYPE
           SYNTAX          InwebContProviderEntry
           MAX-ACCESS      not-accessible
           STATUS          current
           DESCRIPTION
                   " A conceptual row of the inweb. Each row
                           contains profile of one Content Provider"
           INDEX   { inwebSmsNumber }
           := { inwebContProviderTable 1 }

   InwebContProviderEntry := SEQUENCE {
           inwebSmsNumber                  Integer32,
           inwebContentProviderId          Integer32,
           inwebContentProviderPhoneNumber Integer32,
           inwebContentProviderFaxNumber   Integer32
           }

   inwebSmsNumber OBJECT-TYPE
           SYNTAX          Integer32
           MAX-ACCESS      read-only
           STATUS          current
           DESCRIPTION
                   " Serial number of the SMS - used for SNMP indexing "
           := { inwebContProviderEntry 1 }

   inwebContentProviderId OBJECT-TYPE
           SYNTAX          Integer32
           MAX-ACCESS      read-create
           STATUS          current
           DESCRIPTION
                   " A number that uniquely identifies each Content
   Provider "
           := { inwebContProviderEntry 2 }

   inwebContentProviderPhoneNumber OBJECT-TYPE
           SYNTAX          Integer32
           MAX-ACCESS      read-create
           STATUS          current



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 25]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


           DESCRIPTION
                   " Content Provider's Phone Number "
           := { inwebContProviderEntry 3 }

   inwebContentProviderFaxNumber OBJECT-TYPE
           SYNTAX          Integer32
           MAX-ACCESS      read-create
           STATUS          current
           DESCRIPTION
                   " Content Provider's Fax Number "
           := { inwebContProviderEntry 4 }

5.1.5 Security Considerations

   The Lucent prototype addressed the security issues concerning the
   interface between the Web Server and the SN. Those concerning the
   interface between the Web Server and SMS, which was based in SNMP,
   were handled by the built-in security features of SNMP.

   + Secure Communication Links

   If the Network Operator (PSTN provider) is also the Web Service
   provider, the Web Server and SN/SMS will communicate over a corporate
   intranet. This network is almost always protected by the
   corporation's firewall and so can be deemed secure. This was the case
   handled by the Lucent prototype.

   Nevertheless, if different corporations serve as the Network Operator
   and the Web Service Provider, then it is likely that there may not
   exist a dedicated secure communication link between the Web Server
   and SN/SMS. This raises serious security considerations. One possible
   solution is to use Virtual Private Networks (VPN). VPN features
   support authentication of the calling and called parties and
   encryption of the messages sent over insecure links (such as those on
   the Internet).

   + Non-Repudiation

   All transactions were logged on both the Web Server and the Service
   Node to account for all operations in case of doubt or dispute. The
   log information on the SN may also be used to generate bills.

   + Malicious Requests of Users

   A user may make repeated requests to a content provider directory
   number maliciously. This scenario was handled by setting a Nuisance
   Control Limit (NCL) on either the SN or the Web Server or both. The
   NCL has two parameters: one defining the number of requests from a



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 26]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   user and the other the period over which these requests takes place.

   A user may also attempt to request a call from a directory number
   other than that of a content provider. This scenario was handled by
   verifying the directory number (and the content provider ID) against
   the database on the SN containing all the content provider
   information. If the directory number (or the content provider ID) was
   not in the database, the request would be rejected.

5.2 Siemens Web Call Center

5.2.1 Service Description

   The Web Call Center is an Intelligent Network System that accepts
   requests from Internet nodes for services to be provided on the PSTN.
   As the name suggests, it was designed to support a cluster of
   services that, taken together, provide a subset of the features of a
   Call Center, with almost all user interactions provided via World
   Wide Web requests and responses. See the appendix for a background
   description of Call Center Features.

   From an Intelligent Network perspective, there are a number of
   services that, when combined, provide the Call Center features. The
   Call Center features as implemented supported the scenario in which a
   customer makes a request to be called back by an agent at a time of
   the customer's choosing to discuss an item of interest to him or her.
   The agent will be selected based on his or her availability and
   expertise in this topic; the agent will be told whom he or she is
   calling and the topic of interest, and then the agent will be
   connected to the customer.

   In addition, the individual services that were deployed to support
   this scenario provided support for management of the list of
   available agents as well. This involved allowing the agent to "log
   into" and "out of" the system and to indicate whether the agent was
   then ready to handle calls to the customer. The list of services, as
   seen from a user perspective, follows.

   The services support:

   i)  Customer Request service - the customer explores a corporate Web
   site, selects a link that offers to request an agent to call the
   customer back and then is redirected to the Web Call Center server.
   This presents customer with a form asking for name, the telephone
   number at which he or she wishes to be called, and the time at which
   the call is to be made. Note will also be made of the page to which
   the customer was referred to when he or she was redirected. Once the
   form has been returned, the customer receives an acknowledgment page



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 27]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   listing the parameters he or she has entered.

   ii)  Agent Registration/Logon - An agent requests a "login" page on
   the Web Call Center server. The service checks whether it has a
   record of an agent present at the Internet node from which th call is
   made. If not, then the caller will be sent a form allowing him or her
   to enter the service identity, the company's agent identifier and
   password. On return, the service identity and company agent
   identifier will be checked against a list of known identities. If
   found, the password will be checked, and if this matches the record
   held by the service then a new session record is made of this
   identity and the Internet node from which the call has been made.

   NB: This is very similar to the Universal Personal Telecommunications
   (UPT) service feature "register for incoming calls". It implies that
   the identified person has exclusive use of the Internet node from
   that point onwards, so messages for them can be directed there.

   iii)  Agent Ready - an agent who has already logged on can indicate
   that he or she is ready by requesting an appropriate "ready" page on
   the Web Call Center Server. The service will match the agent by the
   Internet node Identifier and Agent Identity passed along with the Web
   request against its list of "active" agents. It will mark them as
   being ready to handle calls in its list of available agents (with
   their pre-defined skill set).

   iv)  Agent Not Ready - an agent can request an appropriate "ready"
   page on the Web Call Center Server to indicate that he or she is
   temporarily not ready to handle calls.

   v)  Agent Logoff - an agent can request an appropriate "Logout" page
   on the Web Call Center Server to indicate that he or she is no longer
   associated with a particular Internet node. The service will match
   the agent by the Internet Node Identifier and Agent Identity passed
   along with the Web request against its list of "active" agents. Once
   found, the session record for that agent is removed and the caller is
   notified of this with an acknowledgment page.

   NB: This is very similar to the UPT "unregister" service feature.

   vi)  Call Center Agent Selection and Notification - When the time
   that the customer selected has arrived and an available agent with
   the right skills has been selected from the appropriate list, this
   service will send a notification to the Internet node associated with
   that agent. A dedicated server is assumed to be running on the
   agent's machine that, on receiving the notification, triggers the
   agent's browser into requesting a "Agent Call In" page from the Web
   Call Center Server. Once the agent's machine has made this request,



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 28]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   he or she will be told that there is a customer to call.

   NB: This is similar to a "Message Waiting" or "Wake Up Call" service.

   Note: As implemented, the agent is led automatically into the
   following service (the returned Web page includes an automatic reload
   command).

   vii)  Agent Instruction - a selected agent makes a request of the
   "Customer Processing" page on the Web Call Center Server. The
   Internet node Identifier and Agent Identity the agent uses will be
   matched against a list of agents expected to handle calls, and the
   instructions for the calls will be returned to the agent.

   NB: This is similar to a "Voice Mail Replay" message service, but in
   this case the message is automatically generated; there is no
   associated voice mail record feature accessible.

   Note: As implemented, the instructions page will include a number of
   buttons, allowing the agent to view the page the customer was looking
   at when he or she made the request, and to trigger the customer
   callback (as described next).

   ix)  Agent/Customer Telephony Callback -  the agent will make a
   request of a "dial-back" page on the Web Call Center Server. The
   Internet node Identifier and Agent Identity he or she uses will be
   matched against a list of agents expected to handle calls, and, when
   the appropriate records have been found, the service will make the
   telephone call through to the customer and then connect the agent to
   this telephone call (using the telephone number registered in the
   respective Call Center service record).

5.2.2 Implementation

5.2.2.1 Introduction

   The Siemens Web Call Center used an existing IN system and service
   logic that supported Call Center features. The scenario it supports
   is very similar to the Siemens IN-based Call Center on which it was
   based; one of the goals was to minimize changes to the service
   offered. It is also virtually identical to the service "Internet
   Requested Telephony Dial-back" provided by the Lucent system.

   As provided via the Internet, the services involved are mostly the
   same as those provided via the PSTN and IN alone. The main
   differences lie in the use of the World Wide Web as an interface to
   the services rather than a telephone, SSP, and Intelligent
   Peripheral. Also, the feature by which a telephone call is made



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 29]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   between the agent and the customer is implemented within the IN
   system in a different way; this is the only element in which the PSTN
   is involved.

5.2.2.2 Web Call Center Configuration

   The general arrangement for the Web Call Center system is shown in
   Figure 7.  The components that were added to an existing IN system to
   deal with the Internet interface are described next.

   In addition to the SCP, SSP and SMS that were part of the original
   IN-based system, another unit was included to send notification
   messages to agents; in the IN system the agents were sent "wake up"
   telephone calls when they were required to handle their next
   customers' call back. This unit is called the "Internet Intelligent
   Peripheral", and its use is described later under "Non-World Wide Web
   Interactions".

   As there was a need to re-use as many of the existing IN components
   unchanged, a Gateway unit to deal with the interface between the
   Internet and the SCP was provided. This injected INAP (Intelligent
   Network Application Protocol) messages into the SCP, making it think
   that it had received an Initial DP trigger from an SSP. It also
   intercepted the "Connect To Resource" and "Prompt and Collect" INAP
   messages sent from the SCP, acting on these to return the parameters
   generated by the Internet users when they filled in the forms that
   triggered the service transaction. It also translated the "Play
   Announcement" message sent to the Intelligent Peripheral into a form
   that it could use.  Finally, it passed on the INAP message used by
   the SCP to trigger SSP into making the telephone call back.

5.2.2.3 User Interaction

   In the IN/PSTN-based system, the services have contact with the
   customers and agents via their telephones, SSPs, and Intelligent
   Peripherals programmed to play announcements to them and to capture
   their responses. These responses are indicated by DTMF tones sent by
   pressing keys on the telephones.

   In this case, almost all interactions are provided via World Wide Web
   requests and responses. The sequence of announcements and responses
   for each service are "collapsed" into individual form filling
   transactions, and the requests are not limited to digits (or "star"
   and "hash"). The implications of the use of forms on service
   operation are covered in more detail later (under HTTP/IN Service
   mapping).





Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 30]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


5.2.2.4 Service/Caller Identifiers

   When provided via the IN/PSTN-based system, the services are passed
   the Calling Line Identity (CLI) of the caller and the number the
   caller dials (the DN). The CLI value is used extensively to identify
   the caller and (in the case of the agent) to index into service data
   tables to decide what to do next.  While an equivalent value to the
   DN is passed to the Web-based transactions as the requested Universal
   Resource Locator (URL), the CLI cannot be given reliably. The nearest
   equivalent caller identifier is the IP Address of the customer or
   agent's machine. However, the use of HTTP proxies means that this
   "original" Internet node Address may not be available; if a proxy is
   used then its IP Address will be associated with the request.

   In providing these Call Center features the customer only has one
   Web-based transaction; that of providing the initial request for a
   PSTN telephone callback. To do so he or she will have to fill in a
   form so as to specify not only the time to be called back, but also
   the telephone number to be reached.  These values can be used if
   needed to identify the customer, and so the problem of originating
   Internet Node ambiguity is not relevant.

   With the agents, however, there are sequences of coupled
   transactions, and the particular sequence must be identified. There
   will be a number of such transactions being carried out at once, and
   there needs to be some identifier to show which agent is being
   handled in each case.

   Such an identifier is not part of a sequence of basic Web
   transactions. In a Web transaction, the HTTP Client/Web Browser makes
   a request, and the HTTP Server will respond to this, normally
   including some content in its reply message that will be processed by
   the browser, after which it closes the TCP connection. That's the end
   of the transaction; the HTTP client and server cannot normally
   maintain state information beyond this point. Any sequence is reduced
   to a set of unrelated transactions.

   A result of this simple pattern is that any state information
   reflecting longer or more complex interactions must be stored (at
   least partially) in the client system. One approach is the use of
   cookies [6]. These can be set by HTTP servers as part of their
   response to a request, and will be sent back with all subsequent
   requests for appropriate URLs as extra HTTP headers. These cookies
   allow the HTTP server to identify the client in the following
   requests, so that it can continue an extended session with the
   client.





Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 31]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Cookies are used in providing the Internet Call Center. Persistent
   cookies are installed into the Web Browser on machines that are to be
   used by call center agents as a service management (pre-service)
   task. The cookie value is unique to the machine and is used to index
   into a list of machine IP addresses that is stored as part of the
   service data.

   Also, a session cookie is stored onto the agent's machine when the
   agent registers, and is cleared when he or she de-registers. This is
   used to identify the agent and so the IP address of the node with
   which the agent is associated (and from which the agent's subsequent
   requests should originate).  The services that interact with Call
   Center agents use the agent session cookie value as an identifier; in
   principle this is unnecessary but it does simplify the session data
   lookup procedure. The rest of the services use the persistent machine
   identifier in place of the CLI, indexing into their service data
   using it. Both cookies are sent with each agent request; if they are
   not present, then the request is redirected to other services (for
   example to the agent Logon service).

5.2.2.5 Mapping from HTTP Transactions to IN-Based Service Features

   All of the client-initiated services require user interaction. With
   the IN/PSTN-based system, the majority of the services are typified
   by the callers being connected to an announcement unit that plays
   them a list of choices and captures their selection. The caller can
   pre-dial the digits needed; in this case the prompts are not needed
   and are not made.

   The pattern of operation is somewhat different in the Internet case,
   as the initial HTTP request returns a response, after which the Web
   transaction has ended. Where that initial response returns a form to
   be filled in by the caller, subsequently submitting the form
   initiates a new HTTP transaction.  This is all part of one instance
   of service, however. The service consists of two request/response
   pairs in tandem.

   Although it is possible to design a service to handle this pair of
   Web transactions as a single unit, it may be better to reconfigure
   it. The design of a service that deals with two Web exchanges as a
   single extended transaction is quite complex. It must maintain state
   across the pair of Web exchanges, and it has to handle a number of
   failure cases including dealing with time-outs and "out of time"
   submission of forms. The alternative is to split the service into two
   sub-features. The first of these reflects the initial request and
   delivery of the form by return, with the second one dealing with
   processing of the submitted form and returning any confirmation by
   reply.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 32]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   The services offered don't all require form-filling, and so can be
   treated as a single IN feature. There are two cases where forms are
   required. The first of these is the Customer Request service, while
   the other one is the "Agent Registration" service. In both cases the
   initial Web transaction (by which the form is requested and returned
   to the client) need not involve specific service logic processing;
   the initial delivery of the form to a customer or agent can be
   handled by a "normal" Web Server. In both cases the service logic is
   only triggered when the form is submitted; this means that, again,
   each of the services can be treated as a single IN feature.

   The IN service logic that deals with these requests has a general
   pattern of action. An HTTP request is received, and this triggers the
   IN service logic into action. The service logic "sees" this as an
   Initial DP message and starts its processing as if it had been sent
   from an SSF. The SCF uses what appears to it to be an Intelligent
   Peripheral to collect the parameters of the request, and then to send
   back final announcements to the requesting entity.

   The main difference, from the perspective of the IN service logic
   running on the SCF, is that the service does not need to instruct the
   SSF to make a temporary connection to the Intelligent Peripheral. It
   is as if this connection had already been made. Similarly, there is
   no need to close the service transaction by sending an explicit
   "Continue Execution" message to the SSF.

   The sequence of "prompt/collect" instructions used to collect service
   parameters from a caller in an IN service maps quite well to a
   sequence of requests to extract a data value from the HTTP request,
   based on a tag. This is a fairly standard feature of Web Server CGI
   or Servlet processing. Using this mapping minimizes the changes to
   the service design, in that the service logic "sees" an Intelligent
   Peripheral to which it sends normal "Request Report Prompt & Collect"
   messages, and from which it receives data values in response.

   All services have to fit in with the underlying HTTP interaction
   pattern, and so will be expected to send a final "Announce"
   instruction to the Intelligent Peripheral at the end of the service;
   this is done in many IN services anyway and in all of the service
   features described here. These announcements form the content
   returned to the Web Client.










Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 33]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


5.2.2.6 Non-World Wide Web Interactions

   There are two exceptions to the sole use of the World Wide Web for
   interaction. The first one occurs in the "Message Waiting"/"Wake Up
   Call" service by which the selected agent is informed of a callback
   request. World Wide Web transactions are very simple; the client
   browser makes a request for content associated with a particular HTTP
   URL, and the server sends a response, marking the end of the
   transaction. The server cannot make a spontaneous association with a
   client; it must be initiated by the client request.

   While it would be possible for the server to defer closing an earlier
   transaction (by not sending back all of the content specified and
   leaving the TCP connection open) it was decided that an alternative
   scheme would be more convenient. The "wake up call" was arranged by
   an "Internet Intelligent Peripheral" sending a request to a daemon
   process running on the selected agent's machine, using the Finger
   protocol [7]. The daemon sent back a standard response, but in
   addition the Web Browser on the agent's machine was triggered into
   making a further HTTP request of the server. In this way the "Agent
   Instruction" transaction is started automatically, while still
   allowing it to use a normal HTTP request/response pattern.

   The second exception occurs in the final "Agent/Customer Telephony
   Callback" service. While this transaction is initiated by the agent
   selecting a link on the "call instructions page" returned to them,
   and includes a "confirmation" page being sent back to them in an HTTP
   response, the purpose of this service is to make a telephone
   connection via the PSTN between the agent's telephone and the
   customer's telephone. It is the only service element that involves
   the PSTN directly. From an IN/PSTN perspective, the resulting
   telephone connection is different from that provided in the scheme
   using the IN and PSTN alone. In this case, a PSTN call is made out to
   the agent's telephone, another call is made out to the customer's
   telephone, and these calls are bridged. This differs from the earlier
   scheme, in which the agent originated a call to the voice mail replay
   system, and this call was redirected to a new destination (the
   customer's telephone). As this feature differs in purpose from the
   other services, and it requires a different implementation within the
   IN and PSTN system, it was organized as a separate service in this
   case.










Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 34]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


5.2.2.7 Security Considerations

   In the case of this system, assumptions were made that the interface
   presented to requesting agents and customers was provided via a fire
   wall to deal with most attacks on the IN components. The interface
   appeared as a Web Server, and there was no direct access to the HTTP
   documents served, nor to the servlets providing the service logic.

   The Callback service was deemed to have simpler security requirements
   than other IN services as it was akin to a free phone "1-800" service
   access number; the agents work for the service subscriber and are not
   charged directly. Similarly, the requesting customer is not charged
   for his or her request, nor for the resulting call back. Service
   subscribers would be willing to pay the costs of telephone calls
   generated as a result of this cluster of services, and the costs of
   running the agent services could be charged directly to them. As such
   the authorization for service is defined by the contract between the
   service subscriber and the service provider.

   Authentication of agents was seen as a problem. As an interim
   measure, cookies were used, but this scheme delivers the cookie data
   as a plain text item (a header of the Web request). Secure Socket
   Layer connections were required for communication with the agent
   services, and this had an impact on the performance of the IN system.

5.2.3 Derived Requirements/Lessons

   Security is seen as a major issue. A firewall was used to control
   access to the IN Components. Similarly, SSL was used for
   communication with the Agents, so as to protect the cookie values
   that they were sending with their requests.

   For other services, it is likely that the entity from which requests
   appear to originate will be charged for the service to be rendered.
   This has implications in terms of authentication and authorization of
   service provision at the time of the request. It is necessary for the
   service to be authorized in such a way that non-repudiation is
   ensured; this is likely to mean that a certificate of identity be
   provided from the person making the request, and that this can be
   tied in with a financial account that that person has with the
   service provider. The certificate can then be stored as part of the
   billing record.  While the process of electronic commerce is outside
   of the scope of this work, the mechanism by which a request for
   confirmation of identity is passed out to the requesting user and is
   delivered back to the service logic must be considered.






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 35]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   When changing from a "pure" IN/PSTN system to one supporting requests
   via the Internet, the differences in the way that clients interacted
   with the services meant that the service logic had to be redesigned.
   It was realized that maintaining the state of a service during its
   processing was going to be a problem; this problem was side-stepped
   by re-engineering the services as form processors, allowing them to
   deal with fully specified requests as a single (Web) transaction. In
   addition, a "normal" Web Server was used to deliver the forms to the
   users. This is a change from the IN system, where the equivalent of
   the form (the prompts) were sent in sequence as part of the same
   service process.

   The Call Center features provided suited this change. However, this
   may not be the case for other IN services. It is quite common for
   services to be designed such that the user is prompted for a
   response, and the service continues dependent on this response. The
   Web form presents all of the options at once, so this kind of variant
   prompt/collect sequence is not possible. From this, it is difficult
   to see how an IN service could be reused without some degree of
   modification.

   An intermediate "gateway" system was provided to "cocoon" the service
   logic as far as possible from the details of the components with
   which it was working.  Where needed, this unit translated calls from
   the service logic into commands that operated with the Internet (and
   the Web Server that acted as the interface). Our experience was that
   an SCP could be "spoofed" into thinking that it was operating with
   other IN components in the normal way. Within the limits of the
   service used, this proved simpler than was originally expected.

   Selecting this simple approach still allows a considerable range of
   services to be provided while maintaining any investment in existing
   IN systems.  Modification of existing IN service logic was also
   easier than feared. All of the services examined provided
   announcements at the end of the service transaction, and this could
   be used to trigger a Web response to be sent back to the requesting
   Internet user. The changes to the Call Center service logic turned
   out to be minor; it took as long to analyze the service and see how
   it could be arranged as a sequence of "form processing" transactions
   as it did to make the changes to the service logic.

   In the Siemens Web Call Center, the "Internet Intelligent Peripheral"
   with which the service logic communicated was running as a separate
   program on the same node. Where more complex behavior is required of
   it (such as conversion of text to speech data and interface with the
   PSTN) then it would almost certainly be on a separate node. If data
   is transferred from the Internet in such a scheme, any intermediate
   gateway would be involved in relaying the data to this node.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 36]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


6. Alternative Solutions

6.1 The AT&T System

   AT&T developed a framework for controlling voice and voice-band data
   (e.g., fax) and for providing PINT services. Key to the framework is
   CallBroker, a logical entity that acts on behalf of a user to set up
   sessions and make requests for PSTN resources. The sessions typically
   include initiation of calls between two or more end points specified
   by the user. In addition to its interactions with the PSTN for call
   setup, the CallBroker is responsible for other functions, when
   necessary, such as authentication and usage recording.

   This section briefly discusses the protocol at the two interfaces
   that need to be defined and the corresponding APIs to provide the
   above services. The two interfaces are (1) the one between the
   CallBroker (or Web Server) and the Service Control Function in the
   Service Node in the PSTN and (2) the one between the IP client and
   the CallBroker. The latter interface, in particular, will enable
   service providers to extend the architecture defined here to serve as
   a platform for other advanced/value-added services (to be identified
   later). In addition, the view taken here is that the IP client is
   more general, and implements a protocol for communication with the
   CallBroker that allows full two-way communications. For example, this
   is required for the cases where a called party hangs up and an
   indication may be necessary to be given to the IP Client about this
   status/progress. This is also necessary when conferencing to give an
   indication/status of various parties joining the call.























Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 37]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


6.1.1 High Level Architecture

   A high level architecture depicting various logical entities and the
   Interfaces among these logical Entities and the IP Client is shown in
   Figure 12.

                                ________________
                               /
             1        _____   / 2   _____
    /|________________|    |________|    |   PSTN
                      |____|  \     |____|
                      Call     \    / SCF\
                      Broker    \  /  SN  \
                                 \_____________
                                /          \
                               /            \
                              /              \
                             __              __
                             /\              /\

                           Calling       Participant
                            Party      (Called Party)


                Figure 12:  The CallBroker Architecture

   The CallBroker, in addition to the initiation and control of calls on
   behalf of the user, performs additional functions. These functions
   include authenticating the IP Client, usage recording, and management
   of the session for the IP Client for the telephony call. The notion
   of the session requires that a client state machine be maintained in
   the CallBroker. This also helps in notifying the IP Client about the
   status/progress of the requests generated from the IP Client.

   From the perspective of the IP Client, the logical entities needed
   for the above functions are within the CallBroker and are as shown in
   Figure 13 below.  These correspond to the functions already
   discussed: Usage Recording Function, Session Management Function,
   Voice Bridge, and the Authentication Function.  The fact that some of
   these functions may be physically separate from the CallBroker (such
   as the Voice Bridge being in the PSTN) is not inconsistent with the
   general view adopted here. Thus, the CallBroker Model mediates
   requests for network services and enables us to define various value
   added services in the future.







Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 38]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   llllllllllllllll
   l              l
   l Call Broker  l                  Authentication
   l  Server      l                  Function
   l  ______      l    Interface 2a   ______
   l |      |x x xlx x x x x x x x x  |    |
   l |______|x    l                   |____|
   l       x    x  l
   l        x    xl  Interface 2b
   lSession State lx
   l   Mnmgt. x   l  x            Usage Recording
   l  Function    l     x             Function
   l _______    x l       x          ______
   l |     |      l          x  x x  |    |
   l |_____|     xl                  |____|
   llllllllllllllll
                  x
                   x Interface 2c
                   x
                 _______
                 |     |
                 |_____|

                  Bridge


           Figure 13: Functional Entities in the Call Broker

   Various interfaces (i.e., 2a, 2b, 2c in Figure 13) between different
   functional entities in the CallBroker may also be standardized. The
   Session State Management Function may be physically realized as part
   of the CallBroker Server.

6.1.2 IP Client to CallBroker Interface

   Communication on the IP Client to CallBroker Interface (Interface 1
   in Figure 12) is a simple ASCII based protocol running directly on
   TCP. The messages on this interface are primarily requests from the
   client to the CallBroker, responses from the CallBroker to the IP
   client responding to the requests and unsolicited events from the
   CallBroker to the IP client. Since the communication is not strictly
   transaction oriented, traditional encapsulation protocols like HTTP
   cannot be used. There has been some ongoing work attempting to use
   multiple concurrent HTTP POST requests to support event delivery but,
   without too much difficulty, the ASCII protocol specified here can
   easily be mapped to the POST payload of the HTTP protocol.





Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 39]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


6.1.3 Protocol

   Basic Format

   The basic format of the protocol is as follows:

   [header]<<LF>
   <<LF>
   [body]<<LF>
   <<LF>
   <<LF>

   The header and body of the protocol are separated by 2 line feed
   characters.  The format of the header and the body is described
   below. Line feed characters in the header or body will be escaped
   using simple URL encoding.

   Header

   [session-id | 0]<<LF>
   [message-id]<<LF>
   [version-info]<<LF>

   All CallBroker transactions are identified by sessions. A session
   does not necessarily correspond one-to-one to a TCP session. If the
   IP client is attempting to initiate a new session with the CallBroker
   the session-id field is populated with '0' to indicate session
   creation request. Every session request needs to be accompanied by
   sufficient information regarding authentication for the CallBroker to
   create the session.

   Message-id represents the operation of the message.

   Version-info contains optional version information of the protocol.
   This is to aid possible version mismatch detection and graceful error
   recovery.

   Body

   The body of the protocol messages consists of name value pairs. These
   name-value pairs are interpreted with reference to the message-id
   which signifies the operation to be performed by the CallBroker.









Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 40]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


6.1.4 APIs Exposed to the IP Client

   The APIs of the CallBroker exposed to the IP client are distinct and
   different from the APIs that the CallBroker uses from the different
   supporting subsystems including the authentication subsystem and the
   usage recording subsystem. The IP client APIs enable clients to
   effectively control voice conferencing.

6.1.5 Voice-Bridge Control API

   The Voice Bridge Control API is used by CallBroker applications to
   access voice bridging functionality. The API distinguishes between
   sessions and calls. Calls represent actual voice calls placed from/to
   the voice bridge.  These calls can be grouped together in sessions.
   All the calls that belong to a session are bridged. Calls have a
   significance outside the scope of sessions. Every call can be
   associated with multiple sessions with different weights at the same
   time. The advantage of this approach is the ability to support
   concepts like whispering in a conference call. Calls can also be
   dropped from a conference session and bridged together in a new
   session to give the notion of a sub-conference. These calls can later
   be re-added to the main conference session.

6.2  Simple Computer Telephony Protocol

6.2.1 Overview

   The Simple Computer Telephony Protocol (SCTP) is a third party call
   control protocol and as such does not comply with the PINT charter.
   SCTP is described in this section to show how PINT services could be
   implemented using SCTP, and where SCTP fits into the PINT
   architecture.

   In addition to third party call control, SCTP also provides
   subscriber (i.e., user) feature management (e.g., allows a user to
   set do not disturb, call forwarding parameters), and subscriber
   monitoring of terminal, line and address status. SCTP is strictly
   client/server-based. It has no provisions for peer to peer
   communications. SCTP runs as a TCP application protocol. It is
   ASCII-based and uses sockets. The SCTP Server is usually connected to
   a switch via a CTI (Computer-Telephony Integration) connection.
   Because of this, feature interactions are limited to those within the
   context of a single call, and not between PSTN services. The SCTP
   Server within a PINT Gateway could also be connected to an SN, or an
   SCP. See figures below. SCTP does NOT carry media.






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 41]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


6.2.2 How SCTP Fits in with the Reference PINT Services

   SCTP Client as Part of a Web Server

   +------+    +--------+       +--------+    +------+
   |      |    |        | SCTP  |        |    |      |
   |      |----|        |-------|        |----|      |
   |      |    |        |       |        |    |      |
   +------+    +--------+       +--------+    +------+
   User's PC   Web Server/      PINT Gateway  SN/SCP/Switch
               CGI

             Figure 14: SCTP Client as Part of a Web Server

   In this architecture, the SCTP Client is embedded in the Web Server.
   It is there for the specific purpose of initiating calls to the PSTN
   based on user requests. The SCTP Server is within the PINT Gateway.
   We go through the classic PINT examples:

   Click-to-dial-back: The SCTP Client issues an SCTP MakeCall to the
   SCTP Server with the calling number supplied by Web page, and called
   number supplied by the user.

   Click-to-fax-back: SCTP Client issues an SCTP MakeCall to the SCTP
   Server with called number set to user's fax machine, and calling
   number set to Web Server's fax machine, and treatment set to the URI
   for the file to be faxed.  The SCTP Server takes the file and feeds
   it into the call just as a fax machine would.

   Click-to-fax: SCTP Client issues an SCTP MakeCall with calling number
   set to user's fax machine, and called number set to Web Server's fax
   machine. How the file is supplied to the user's fax machine is
   outside the scope of SCTP.

   Voice-access-to-content: SCTP Client issues an SCTP MakeCall with
   called number set to user's telephone number, and calling number set
   to Web Server and treatment set to a URI for the file of the
   particular Web page to be read to the called number. The SCTP Server
   takes care of the file to voice conversion and this is fed into the
   call as if it were voice.

   In all of the above cases, the SCTP Client can generate a variety of
   different Web pages to send to the Web Server via CGI (Common Gateway
   Interface). The content of these pages is based on the call
   completion status of the CallMake SCTP action.






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 42]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   SCTP Client Running on the User's PC


                             +------+
                 HTML        |      |  INTERNET
   +-----+    /--------------|      |
   |     |---/               +------+
   |     |                   Web Server
   |     |---\
   +-----+    \
   User's PC   \ SCTP        +------+       +------+
                \------------|      |-------|      | PSTN
                             |      |       |      |
                             +------+       +------+
                             PINT Gateway   SN/SCP/Switch


            Figure 15: SCTP Client Running on the User's PC

   In this architecture, the user has an SCTP Client co-located with it.
   If the user is using the telephone line for connection to a Web
   Server and there is an incoming call, then the SCTP Server in the
   PINT Gateway will post this event to the SCTP Client. A window will
   pop up on the user's screen with options available to the user for
   handling of the incoming call. The user can choose to take the call,
   send it to voice mail, or send it to another number.

   For the Fax back service, for example, if the user had a separate fax
   machine from his or her PC, then the SCTP Server would tell the SCTP
   Client there is an incoming fax. The user would end or suspend his or
   her Internet connection, the fax would come in, and the user could
   then resume the Internet connection.

7. Session Initiation Protocol--An Emerging Standard

7.1 Overview

   SIP, the Session Initiation Protocol, is a simple signaling protocol
   for Internet conferencing and telephony. It is currently under
   development within the IETF MMUSIC (Multiparty Multimedia Session
   Control) Working Group.

   SIP provides the necessary mechanisms to support the following
   services:

   - call forwarding, including the equivalent of 700-, 800- and 900-
     type calls;
   - call-forwarding no answer;



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 43]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   - call-forwarding busy;
   - call-forwarding unconditional;
   - other address-translation services;
   - callee and calling "numbers" delivery, where the numbers can be of
     any (preferably unique) naming scheme;
   - personal mobility, i.e., the ability to reach a called party under
     a single, location-independent address, even when the user changes
     terminals;
   - terminal-type negotiation and selection: a caller can be given a
     choice of how to reach a party, e.g., via Internet telephony,
     mobile, phone, and an answering service;
   - caller and callee authentication;
   - blind and supervised call transfer;
   - user location; and
   - invitation to multicast conferences.

   Extensions of SIP to allow third-party signaling (e.g., for click-
   to-dial-back services, fully meshed conferences and connections to
   Multipoint Control Units (MCUs), as well as mixed modes and the
   transition between those) have been specified.

   SIP addresses (URLs) can be embedded in Web pages. SIP is
   addressing-neutral, with addresses expressed as URLs of various types
   such as SIP, H.323 or telephone (E.164). A purely representational
   example of a SIP URL might be sip:+12125551212@foo.example.com, where
   foo.example.com is the host serving as a gateway into the PSTN.

   SIP is independent of the packet layer and only requires an
   unreliable datagram service, as it provides its own reliability
   mechanism. While SIP typically is used over UDP or TCP, it could,
   without technical changes, be run over IPX, or carrier pigeons, ATM
   AAL5 or X.25, in rough order of desirability.

   SIP can set up calls "out-of-band". For example, while the SIP
   protocol exchanges use IP, plus UDP or TCP, the actual data transport
   can take place via the PSTN. This feature makes it possible to use
   SIP to control a PBX or send requests to a Service Control Point. The
   PINT services make use of this flexibility.

7.2 SIP Protocol

   SIP is a textual client-server protocol, similar in syntax to HTTP
   and RTSP.  Requests consist of a method (INVITE, BYE, ACK, or
   REGISTER), a list of parameter-value pairs describing the request and
   an optional request body. Parameters include the origin and
   destination of the call and a unique call identifier. They may
   indicate the caller's organization as well as the call's subject and
   priority. The request body contains a description of the call to be



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 44]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   established or the conference to be joined. The description format is
   not prescribed by SIP; SDP is one possibility being standardized
   within the IETF. For the purposes of providing PINT services, an
   additional phone number address format is to be added to SDP.

   Responses indicate whether a request is still being processed, was
   successful, can possibly be satisfied by another node or failed. When
   a call is redirected, the response indicates the name of the node to
   be tried. Unsuccessful calls may also return a better time to try
   again.

   In a typical successful call, the caller sends an INVITE request to
   the callee. The callee accepts the call by returning a response code
   to the callee, which then confirms the receipt of that acceptance
   with an ACK request. Either side can terminate the call by sending a
   BYE request.

   Requests can be authenticated using standard HTTP password and
   challenge-response mechanisms. Requests and responses may also be
   signed and encrypted.

7.3 SIP entities

   SIP distinguishes three kinds of entities:

   User agents receive and initiate calls and may forward the call.

   A proxy server is an intermediary program that acts as both a server
   and a client for the purpose of making requests on behalf of other
   clients. Requests are serviced internally or by passing them on,
   possibly after translation, to other servers. A proxy must interpret,
   and, if necessary, rewrite a request message before forwarding it. A
   proxy server may, for example, locate a user and then attempt one or
   more possible network addresses.

   Redirect server accepts a SIP request, maps the address into zero or
   more new addresses and returns these addresses to the client. Unlike
   a proxy server, it does not initiate its own SIP request. Unlike a
   user agent server, it does not accept calls.

   Proxy and redirect servers may make use of location servers that
   determine the current likely location of the callee.

   A PSTN gateway initiates phone calls between two parties. This may be
   a server that sends requests to an SCP in an IN environment or it may
   be a CTI-controlled PBX.

   A SIP call may traverse one or more proxy servers.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 45]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   The servers that control a PBX or an SCP act as user agents. A Web
   server may also act as a SIP user agent.

7.4 Providing Call Control Functionality

   The SIP for PINT specification provides details on how to use SIP to
   initiate phone calls between two PSTN end points. (SIP can also
   initiate calls between Internet end points and between an Internet
   and PSTN end point, but this is beyond the scope of this document.)

   It should be noted that the SIP client for initiating such phone
   calls can be either at the user's location (his/her workstation) or
   can be a Web server that calls up a SIP client via a CGI program.
   There is no difference in operation or functionality, except that the
   owner of the Web server may be legally responsible for the calls
   made.

   A SIP client needs to convey two addresses to the PSTN gateway:  the
   party making the call and the party to be called. (The party to be
   billed also needs to be identified; this can either be done by a SIP
   header or by having the server look up the appropriate party based on
   the two parties. This aspect is for further study.)

   Described below are three ways these addresses can be conveyed in
   SIP. In the example, the address of party A is +1-212-555-1234 and
   that of party B is +1-415-555-1200. (The URL types in this and other
   examples are representational; they may but do not have to exist.)

   (1) The two PSTN addresses are contained in the To header (and
   request-URI) and an Also header. For example:

     INVITE sip:+1-212-555-1234@pbx.example.com SIP/2.0
     To: phone:1-212-555-1234
     From: sip:j.doe@example.com
     Content-type: application/sdp
     Call-ID: 19970721T135107.25.181@foo.bar.com
     Also: phone:+1-415-555-1200

     v=0
     o=user1 53655765 2353687637 IN IP4 128.3.4.5
     c=PSTN E.164 +1-415-555-1200
     t=0 0
     m=audio 0 RTP/AVP 0

   In that case, the gateway first connects to party A and then party B,
   but without waiting for A to accept the call before calling B.





Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 46]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   (2) Parties A and B are indicated by separate invitations. This
   allows the gateway to make sure that party A is indeed available
   before calling party B.  After calling party A, the gateway could
   play an announcement indicating that the call is being connected
   using, for example, RTSP with appropriate Conference header
   indicating the call.

     INVITE sip:+1-212-555-1234@pbx.example.com SIP/2.0
     To: phone:1-212-555-1234
     From: sip:j.doe@example.com
     Content-type: application/sdp
     Call-ID: 19970721T135107.25.181@foo.bar.com
     ...
     INVITE sip:+1-415-555-1200@pbx.example.com SIP/2.0
     To: phone:+1-415-555-1200
     From: sip:j.doe@example.com
     Content-type: application/sdp
     Call-ID: 19970721T135107.25.181@foo.bar.com
     ...

   (3) The two PSTN addresses are conveyed in the To header of the SIP
   request and the address in the SDP media description. Thus, a request
   may look as follows:

     INVITE sip:+1-212-555-1234@pbx.example.com SIP/2.0
     To: phone:1-212-555-1234
     From: sip:j.doe@example.com
     Content-type: application/sdp
     Call-ID: 19970721T135107.25.181@foo.bar.com

     v=0
     o=user1 53655765 2353687637 IN IP4 128.3.4.5
     c=PSTN E.164 +1-415-555-1200
     t=0 0
     m=audio 0 RTP/AVP 0

   Here, pbx.example.com is the name of the PSTN gateway; the call will
   be established between 1-212-555-1234 and +1-415-555-1200.

   Users can be added to an existing call by method (1) or (2).

8. Overall Security Considerations

   Inter-networking of the Internet and PSTN necessitates the
   introduction of new interfaces (e.g., the A, B and E interfaces in
   Figure 6). To ensure that their use does not put the networks, in
   particular the PSTN, at additional security risk, these interfaces
   need to be designed with proper security considerations. Sections



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 47]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   5.1.5 and 5.2.2.7 describe how two of the pre-PINT implementations,
   the Lucent and Siemens systems, handle the security aspect,
   respectively.

   Worth noting are the security requirements suggested by pre-PINT
   experiences. They are:

   +Peer entity authentication to allow a communicating entity to prove
   its identity to another in the network (e.g., the requesting IP-host
   to the PINT gateway, and the PINT gateway to the PSTN node providing
   the service control function).

   +Authorization and access control to verify if a network entity
   (e.g., the requesting IP-host) is allowed to use a network resource
   (e.g., requesting services from the PINT gateway).

   +Non-repudiation to account for all operations in case of doubt or
   dispute.

   +Confidentiality to avoid disclosure of information (e.g., the end
   user profile information and data) without the permission of its
   owner.

   In the course of the PINT interface development, additional
   requirements are likely to arise. It is imperative that the resultant
   interfaces include specific means to meet all the security
   requirements.

9. Conclusion

   This document has provided the information relevant to the
   development of inter-networking interfaces between the PSTN and
   Internet for supporting PINT services. Specifically, it addressed
   technologies, architectures, and several existing pre-PINT
   implementations of the arrangements through which Internet
   applications can request and enrich PSTN telecommunications services.
   One key observation is that the pre-PINT implementations, being
   developed independently, do not inter-operate. It is a task of the
   PINT Working Group to define the inter-networking interfaces that
   will support inter-operation of the future implementations of PINT
   services.

10. Acknowledgments

   The authors would like to acknowledge Scott Bradner, Igor Faynberg,
   Dave Oran, Scott Petrack, Allyn Romanow for their insightful comments
   presented to the discussions in the PINT Working Group that lead to
   the creation of this document.



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 48]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


11. Appendix

11.1 PSTN/IN 101

11.1.1 Public Switched Telephone Network

   What is normally considered as "the Telephone Network" consists of a
   set of interconnected networks. Potentially, each of these networks
   could be owned by a different Network Operator. The official name for
   such a network is Public Switched Telecommunications Network (PSTN).
   A simple PSTN consists of a set of Switches (called Central Offices
   or Telephone Exchanges) with links interconnecting them to make up
   the network, along with a set of access connections by which
   terminals are attached. The PSTN is used to deliver calls between
   terminals connected to itself or to other PSTNs with which it is
   interconnected. Calls on the PSTN are circuit switched; that is, a
   bi-directional connection is made between the calling and called
   terminals for the duration of the call. In  PSTNs the connection is
   usually carried through the network in digital format occupying a
   fixed bandwidth; this is usually 56 or 64 Kbps. The overall
   configuration of the PSTN is shown in Figure 16.

    /--\
   ()/\()__
    /__\   \       .................................
            \      !             !                 !           /--\
     __      \   [-!-]         [-!-]               !          ()/\()
     \ \      \__[CO ]=========[CO ]==\\           !        ___/__\
    [Fax]________[---]         [---]   \\        [-!-]     /   __
                                        \\=======[CO ]____/    \ \
                                                 [---]________[Fax]
   Key: ___   Access Lines
        ===   Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links

                               Figure 16

   Messages are sent between the Switches to make and dissolve
   connections through the network on demand and to indicate the status
   of terminals involved in a call; these "signaling" messages are
   carried over a separate (resilient) data network dedicated to this
   purpose. This signaling network is also known as the Common Channel
   Signaling (CCS) or Signaling System Number 7 (or SS7) network after
   the names of the signaling protocol suite used.

   As yet, the majority of access connections to a PSTN carry analogue
   signals, with simple (analogue) telephones or Facsimile machines as
   terminals. Call requests are indicated to the Central Office to which



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 49]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   a telephone is connected either by a sequence of pulses or tone pairs
   being sent. Notifications on the status of the request are sent back
   to the telephone in the form of tones.  Indication from a Central
   Office that a call is being offered to a telephone is arranged by
   sending an alternating voltage down the access connection which in
   turn causes the ringer in the telephone to sound. These access lines
   have a unique address associated with them and can support a single
   call.

   However, with analogue or digital multi-line connections, or
   Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) Basic or Primary Rate
   Interfaces (BRI or PRI), several concurrent calls are possible and a
   set of addresses are associated with them. The new ISDN access
   connections are designed so that data exchanged with the network is
   in multiplexed digital form, and there is an individual channel for
   each of the potential connections, together with a separate channel
   dedicated to sending and receiving call request and call alert data
   as well as carrying packet switched user data. These call request and
   call alert messages act as the equivalent of the pulses or tones that
   are sent when dialing, and the ringing signal that is sent to a
   telephone when a call is being made to it.

   The operation of the call request is fairly simple in most cases and
   is shown in Figure 17.

    /--\
   ()  ()
     --____
    /++\   \       .................................           /--\
   /----\   \      ^             v                 !          ()  ()
      A      \   [-!-]         [-!-]               !            --
              \->[CO ]=========[CO ]==\\           v        ->-/  \
                 [---]         [---]   \\        [-!-]     /  /----\
                                        \\=======[CO ]____/     B
                                                 [---]
   Key: ___   Access Lines
        ===   Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links
        CO    Central Office (Telephone Exchange)

                               Figure 17

   The user presses a sequence of numbers on a telephone handset
   (labeled A), and the telephone passes a sequence of digits (either as
   pulses or tone pairs) to the Central Office via the access line. The
   Central Office contains a processor that will be notified that the
   user has made a request and the digit string that is the sole
   parameter of the request. This digit string is taken to be the unique



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 50]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   address of an access line connected either to itself or to another
   Central Office. There is a hierarchical addressing scheme, so that
   the digit string can be parsed easily. A call request to a terminal
   (labeled B) connected to a remote Central Office can be routed by
   examining the digit string passed; the Central Office will extract
   the part of the passed address that corresponds to the remote Central
   Office in question, and can route the request onward, forming an
   inter-Switch call request and passing it via the signaling network.
   At the same time it will allocate one of its available transmission
   channels towards the remote Central Office.

11.1.2 Intelligent Network

   This scheme has been used since the 1950s, and suffices for the
   majority of calls. However, there are a range of other services that
   can be (and have been) provided, enhancing this basic call
   processing. Freephone or Premium Rate services (1-800 or 1-900
   services) are good examples of the supplementary services that have
   been introduced. Apart from the important feature that the cost of
   these calls is varied so that the caller does not pay for a free-
   phone call, or pays an extra charge for a premium rate call, they
   have the similarity that the number dialed must be translated to
   arrive at the "real" address of the destination terminal. They are
   known as number translation services, and make up the bulk of all
   supplementary services delivered today.

   These were originally programmed into each Central Office, but the
   complexity of maintaining the data tables on each processor grew
   cumbersome, so a more general solution was sought. After a
   considerable gestation period, the eventual solution was the
   Intelligent Network. This takes the separation of Central Offices and
   the network links interconnecting them a stage further.

   The Central Offices are considered to provide the Call Control
   Function (CCF).  In addition, the Service Switching Function (SSF) is
   provided to "enhance" the operation of these Switches by detecting
   when a particular request has been made (such as by dialing 1-800).
   If this pattern is detected, the equipment implementing the SSF will
   send a specialized request message over the signaling network to a
   separate computer that implements the Service Control Function (SCF).
   This entity is responsible for querying service specific data (held
   in a unit providing the Service Data Function, or SDF), performing
   any digit translations necessary, and sending the details of how to
   proceed back to the SSF, where they are obeyed and the call is put
   through to the "real" destination. In many implementations, the SDF
   is closely coupled to the SCF.  This configuration is shown in Figure
   18.




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 51]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


                 [---]           [---]  [---]
    /--\         [SRF]           [SCF]  [SDF]
   ()/\()__      [|-!]           [-!-]  [-!-]
    /__\   \     ||  \.............!......!........
            \    ||  /           !                !          /--\
     __      \   [|-!]         [-!-]              !         ()/\()
     \ \      \__[SSF]         [CCF]              !       ___/__\
    [Fax]________[CCF]=========[---]==\\         [!--]   /   __
                                       \\========[CCF]__/    \ \
                                                 [---]_______[Fax]
   Key: ___   access relationship
        ===   trunk relationship
        ...   signaling relationship


                               Figure 18

   The advantage is that there can be a much smaller number of physical
   units dedicated to the SCF, and as they are connected to the
   signaling network they can be contacted by, and can send instructions
   back to, all of the units providing the SSF and thus the CCF.

   In another enhancement, a separate entity called the Special Resource
   Function (SRF) was defined. Equipment implementing this function
   includes announcement units to play recorded messages (for example,
   prompts to enter digits) to callers. It will also include the tone
   decoders needed to capture any digits pressed by the caller in
   response to the prompts. It is connected to the rest of the PSTN
   usually via trunk data links. It will also include a signaling
   connection (directly or indirectly) back to the SCF, via the PSTN's
   core signaling network.

   As an example of the way that these different functional entities
   interact, the SCF can ask an SSF handling a call to route the caller
   temporarily through to an SRF. In response to instructions sent to it
   from the SCF over the signaling network, the SRF can play
   announcements and can collect digits that the user presses on their
   terminal in response to prompts they are played.  Once these digits
   have been collected they can be passed on to the SCF via a signaling
   message for further processing. In normal operation, the SCF would
   then ask the SSF to dissolve the temporary connection between the
   user's terminal and the SRF. This allows the collection of account
   numbers or passwords (or PINs) and forms the heart of many "Calling
   Card" services.







Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 52]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   This pattern of user interaction is also used in a wide variety of
   other services where extra account information and PINs are needed.
   They are collected as just described and can be checked against the
   correct values stored in the service database prior to allowing the
   call to proceed.

   The Intelligent Network functional entities can be realized as
   physical units in a number of different combinations. A common
   configuration is shown in Figure 19.


                 [---]           [---] [---]     [---]
    /--\         [I.P]           [SCP] [SDP]     [SN ]
   ()/\()__      [|-!]           [-!-] [-!-]     [--|]
    /__\   \     ||  \.............!.....!.....     |
            \    ||  /           !             \    |        /--\
     __      \   [|-!]         [-!-]            \   |       ()/\()
     \ \      \__[SSP]=========[CO ]==\\         \  |     ___/__\
    [Fax]________[---]         [---]   \\        [!-|]   /   __
                                        \\=======[CO ]__/    \ \
                                                 [---]_______[Fax]

   Key: ___   Access Lines
        ===   Trunk Links (inter-CO user data links)
        ...   Inter-CO signaling network links
        SSP   Service Switching Point - a unit that implements the
              Service Switching Function
        CCP   Call Control Point - a unit that performs call control
              functions.
              This is normally a kind of Central Office (shown as CO
              above)
        SCP   Service Control Point - a unit implementing the Service
              Control Function. NOTE that this is connected to the SS7
              Network and uses this connection for all of its
              communications.
        I.P   Intelligent Peripheral - a unit that contains specialized
              resources (like announcement units, tone decoders).
              In effect, it implements Special Resource Functions.
        SN    Service Node

                               Figure 19

   This diagram also shows a unit called a Service Node, or SN. This
   contains components that realize all of the operational Intelligent
   Network functions (SSF, SCF, SDF, and SRF). It is sometimes more
   convenient to have all of these elements in one node (for example,
   for operations and maintenance reasons), particularly within smaller
   PSTNs or where there is a relatively low level of requests for



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 53]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   particular services. Another difference is that, as they are all co-
   located, proprietary protocols can be used for internal
   communication, rather than the full Intelligent Network Application
   Part (INAP) protocol used over the core signaling network between
   discrete units. It also differs from the "unbundled" approach in that
   it is connected to the COs within a PSTN as a peripheral, having only
   an access connection to a Central Office; there is no connection to
   the core signaling network. Other than this, it operates in a similar
   way, and can provide the same kinds of services. Information on the
   specification of the Intelligent Network can be found in the ITU
   recommendations [1], while two books ([2] and [3]) describe the
   system, its history, operation, and the philosophy behind it.

11.2 Call Center Features

   A Call Center is a system that allows a company to be organized with
   a group of similar individuals (agents), all of whom can either make
   calls to, or take calls from, customers. The system distributes
   incoming calls to the agents based on their availability and
   automates the placement of outgoing calls, selecting an agent to
   handle the call and routing the call to them only once the call
   request has been made of the PSTN.

   The incoming call distribution feature ("automatic call
   distribution", or ACD) is usually coupled with a call queuing scheme.
   In this scheme, the callers are connected temporarily with an
   announcement unit that normally plays music. The calls are treated in
   sequence so that (once the caller is at the front of the queue) the
   ACD system selects the next available agent and routes the call
   through to them.

   Another feature connects a customer making an incoming call to a unit
   that asks them for some information on the purpose of their call,
   selecting the agent to handle the call based on the particular area
   of expertise needed; to do this, the agents are further categorized
   by their knowledge (or "Skill Set"). If this skill set categorization
   is used then by implication there will be separate queues for each of
   the skill sets. This user selection scheme can be used independently
   of the others. For example these so-called "voice navigation systems"
   can be used to select a particular department extension number, based
   on the function required by the customer; as such, they can automate
   the job of company telephone receptionist in routing incoming calls.

   Where possible, the information gleaned from the customer can be
   provided to the selected agent, usually via a separate networked
   computer connection.  Similarly, if an outgoing call is being made to
   one of a list of customers, information on the customer and the
   purpose of the call can be provided to the agent selected to handle



Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 54]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   the call. Such configurations are generally called "Computer
   Telephony Integration" or CTI systems. Strictly, a CTI system can be
   arranged to handle routing of incoming calls and automation of
   outgoing calls only (also known as computer integrated telephony
   features), without the agents having access to a network of
   computers. However, the business case for combining the telephony
   functions of the call center with provision to the agents of
   computers with customer information can be compelling.

   This is often further combined with a company's order and service
   processing computer system. In this case, a call is treated as part
   of a business transaction, with the information to be exchanged
   captured as fields of a computer form. While such a computer system
   is not, strictly, part of a call center, integrating the company
   computer system with the call center is very common. This allows the
   details of the call to be stored on a centralized database, allowing
   further automated order processing, for example. It also allows the
   call to be transferred from one agent to another where needed,
   ensuring that the new agent has the information already captured.
   This might be useful if someone with a different area of expertise
   were to be needed to handle the customer's requirements.

   Traditionally, Call Centers have been used to support teams of agents
   working at a single site (or a small number of sites, with private
   telephony trunks interconnecting them). The site Private Automatic
   Branch eXchange (PABX) was integrated with a computer system to
   provide these features to people at that site. There can be a
   business case for provision of such features to distributed teams of
   workers as well. In particular, the possibility of providing support
   for people working from home has been seen as important. Some of the
   Call Center features have been incorporated into public telephone
   exchanges or Central Offices (COs) from many manufacturers as part of
   their "Centrex" service offerings.

   There are practical limitations in providing such features on COs.
   Apart from the procedures needed to configure these features for any
   telephone line that is to use them, the basic requirement that every
   agent must have a connection to the supporting CO can limit its
   usefulness. Another approach is to provide Call Center features via
   the Intelligent Network. The features might thus be provided over a
   Telephone Operator's entire network, and would mean that the Call
   Center could be configured centrally while still allowing agents to
   be located anywhere within the telephone network. It also means that
   the supported company can pay for the Call Center features "as they
   go" rather than having a high "up front" cost.






Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 55]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


12. References

   [1] ITU-T Q.12xx Recommendation Series, Geneva, 1995.

   [2] I. Faynberg, L. R. Gabuzda, M. P. Kaplan, and N. J. Shah, "The
       Intelligent Network Standards, their Application to Services",
       McGraw-Hill, 1996.

   [3] T. Magedanz and R. Popesku-Zeletin, "Intelligent Networks: Basic
       Technology, Standards and Evolution", Intl. Thomson Computer
       Press, 1996.

   [4] Information processing systems - Open Systems Interconnection -
       Specification of Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1),
       International Organization for Standardization, International
       Standard 8824, December, 1987.

   [5] McCloghrie, K., Editor, "Structure of Management Information for
       Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)",
       RFC 1902, January 1996.

   [6] Kristol, D. and L. Montulli, "HTTP State Management Mechanism",
       RFC 2109, February 1997.

   [7] Zimmerman, D., "The Finger User Information Protocol", RFC 1288
       December 1991.

























Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 56]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


Authors' Addresses

   Steve Bellovin
   AT&T Labs
   Room E-215
   180 Park Ave. Bldg. 103
   Florham Park, NJ 07932-0000
   USA

   Phone: +1 973 360 8656
   Fax: +1 973 360 8077
   EMail: smb@research.att.com


   Fred M. Burg
   AT&T Labs
   Room 1N-117
   307 Middletown Lincroft Road
   Lincroft, NJ 07738
   USA

   Phone: +1 732 576 4322
   Fax: +1 732 576 4317
   EMail: fburg@hogpb.att.com


   Lawrence Conroy
   Roke Manor Research Limited
   IT&N-INIA Group
   Roke Manor, Old Salisbury Lane,
   Romsey, Hampshire    SO51 0ZN
   U.K.

   Phone: +44 1794 833666
   Fax: +44 1794 833434
   EMail: lwc@roke.co.uk


   Paul Davidson
   Nortel
   P.O.Box 3511 Station "C"
   Mail Stop 242
   Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4H7

   Phone: +1 613 763 4234
   EMail: pauldav@nortel.ca





Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 57]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   A. DeSimone
   Lucent Technologies
   Room 6H510
   600-700 Mountain Avenue
   Murray Hill, NJ  07974-0636
   USA

   Phone: +1 908 582 2382
   Fax: +1 908 582 1086
   E-Mail:tds@lucent.com


   Murali Krishnaswamy
   Bell Laboratories
   Lucent Technologies
   Room 2G-527a
   101 Crawfords Corner Road
   Holmdel, NJ 07733-3030
   USA

   Phone: +1 732 949 3611
   Fax: +1 732 949 3210
   EMail: murali@bell-labs.com


   Hui-Lan Lu
   Bell Laboratories
   Lucent Technologies
   Room 4K-309
   101 Crawfords Corner Road
   Holmdel, NJ 07733-3030
   USA

   Phone: +1 732 949 0321
   Fax: +1 732 949 1196
   EMail: hui-lan.lu@bell-labs.com


   Henning Schulzrinne
   Dept. of Computer Science
   Columbia University
   New York, NY 10027
   USA

   Phone: +1 212 939 7042 (@Bell Labs: 732 949 8344)
   Fax: +1 212 666 0140
   EMail: schulzrinne@cs.columbia.edu




Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 58]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


   Kamlesh T. Tewani
   AT&T Labs
   Room 1K-334
   101, Crawfords Corner Rd.
   Holmdel, NJ 07733
   USA

   Phone: +1 732 949 5369
   Fax: +1 732 949 8569
   EMail: tewani@att.com


   Kumar Vishwanathan
   Isochrone
   EMail: kumar@isochrone.com




































Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 59]

RFC 2458                Pre-PINT Implementations           November 1998


Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

   This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
   others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
   or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
   and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
   kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
   included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
   document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
   the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
   Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
   developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
   copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
   followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
   English.

   The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
   revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

   This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
   TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
   BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
   HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
   MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
























Lu, et. al.                  Informational                     [Page 60]

