[SIPForum-discussion] Important update on SIPconnect 1.1 effort.

Wed May 7 15:13:07 UTC 2008

It is understandable that some of you might be asking what the status of the
SIPconnect
1.1 effort is since my last note to the list on Jan 25, 2008, noted below. 

There has not been a great deal of discussion on this list for a number of
reasons. 

Typically getting any new work of this complexity off the ground, even in
the IETF context, requires considerable background discussions and
negotiation to scope the work and decide on what are the next proper steps.

The SIP Forum Board of Directors and the SIP Forum Technical Working Group
Chairs want to take this opportunity to make a number of important
announcements.

1. We are committed to a SIPconnect 1.1 Specification and we hereby reissue
our calls for contributions to that end. 

The concept of SIP trunking has received a great deal of industry interest
over the last several months and many vendors and service providers are
ramping up their efforts. Many of them have come to see the SIP Forum
SIPconnect and SIPconnect Compliant effort as a valid forum to help resolve
many of the ambiguities existent in the IETF SIP specifications and create a
unified "profile" that both PBX vendors and service providers can rally
around. 

The value of this work is self-evident. IP PBX vendors do not want to have
to go through separate certification processes to connect with each and
every service provider. More importantly, enterprises want to know that the
products and services they buy will work together. 

2. Microsoft has Joined the SIP Forum and has committed to actively
contributing to the SIPConnect work. 

Notably, Microsoft has formally joined the SIP Forum as a Full Member
company, and has released, for general distribution, their view of how
SIPconnect could be constructed. This is based on their own extensive
experience with their OCS product and extensive discussions with Enterprises
and Service Providers.

The SIP Forum has created a depository of SIPconnect 1.1 Scoping Documents,
which currently includes the Microsoft document mentioned above, and will be
the location of other member contributions as they are made available. 

The URL for this material is: 

http://www.sipforum.org/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,45/Ite
mid,75/ 

All members of this list are encouraged to make comments on the Microsoft
document. The first order of business is to bound the scope of what
SIPconnect 1.1 should cover.

3. CableLabs has also Joined the SIPForum as a full member and CableLabs and
its member companies are committed to contributing to the SipConnect 1.1
effort

As many of you probably already know, CableLabs is the joint industry
standards body of the North American Cable operators.

More information about CableLabs can be found here:

http://www.cablelabs.com/ 

It should be no surprise to anyone that Cable Operators want to offer
Enterprise-oriented SIP trunking services within their service boundaries.

CableLabs and its member companies believe that the SIP Forum SIPconnect
process is the best way forward to create a comprehensive industry-wide
specification for Enterprise IP-PBX to MSO interconnection. 

CableLabs has a extensive PacketCable internal working group devoted to
delivering an Enterprise PBX to MSO specification to CableLabs partners.

They have agreed to coordinate their efforts with the SIP Forum SIPconnect
effort as well as make significant contributions to that end.

4. Broadsoft is also contributing extensive documentation Related to their
SIP Trunking experience 

Broadsoft, a current full member of the SIP Forum, has also agreed to make
available their extensive documentation of experience with SIP trunking and
the current implementation of SIPconnect 1.0 as well.

5. World-Class Technical Support 

The SIP Forum Technical Working Group Chairs are in the process of
recruiting a well-known SIP technical expert to actually edit the SIPconnect
1.1 specification.

The Time to Start the Work is Now! 

Members of this list are encouraged to make comments and propose
contributions to begin this important effort. 

The SIP Forum document depository for relevant SIPconnect 1.1 contributions
is located here: 

http://www.sipforum.org/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,45/Ite
mid,75/ 

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################ 

SIP Forum Announces Ratification of Version 1.0 of the SIPconnect Technical
Recommendation 

Important Milestone Reached as Leading IP Communications Industry
Association Formally Adopts Version 1.0 of the SIPconnect Technical
Recommendation and Announces the Formation of the SIPconnect v.1.1 Task
Group

Miami Beach, FL, January 23, 2008 - The SIP Forum announced today that it
has ratified version 1.0 of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation with the
unanimous approval of the SIP Forum Board of Directors.

The SIPconnect Technical Recommendation v.1.0, an important initiative of
the SIP Forum, is a standards-based approach to direct IP peering between
SIP-enabled IP PBXs and VoIP service provider networks, and specifies a
reference architecture, required protocols and features, and implementation
rules necessary for seamless interconnection between IP PBXs and VoIP
service providers. As SIPconnect was designed to directly tie enterprise
customers to VoIP service providers using an end-to-end IP connection, it
eliminates the need for a VoIP gateway, improves voice quality and creates a
stable foundation for personalized applications and rich media services.

The formal adoption by the SIP Forum Board of the SIPconnect 1.0 Technical
Recommendation is based on recognition that the recommendation has been
through credible peer review, including broad membership and significant
community review, that it is stable and is well-understood, and that it is
believed to have resolved known design choices.

"I want to thank all of the participants in the SIPconnect Task Group for
their selfless efforts and valuable time necessary to reach consensus and
complete the ratification process," said Richard Shockey, Technical Working
Group Chair of the SIP Forum. "This was truly an industry-wide effort that
we can continue to build on." 

Eric Burger, Chairman of the Board of the SIP Forum, commented, "You can
expect more work like this from the SIP Forum as we continue to grow our
community and revitalize our Technical Working Group to tackle additional
interoperability issues."

The SIPconnect Technical Recommendation has recently enjoyed a number of
independent implementations, as witnessed by the rapid adoption of the
SIPconnect Compliant Program. The SIPconnect Compliant Program offers
equipment manufacturers, software providers and service providers the means
to attain SIPconnect Certification by the SIP Forum, as well as enjoy the
use of a unique certification mark created by the Forum to ensure
interoperability among IP communications equipment, software and services.

The SIPconnect Compliant logo serves as the "Seal of Compatibility" for
companies that have agreed to abide by the terms of the licensing agreement,
and is permitted only on compliant equipment and services that has been
rigorously reviewed by the SIP Forum SIPconnect Compliant committee. Several
industry leaders and SIP Forum members have recently been awarded the
SIPconnect Compliant mark, including Acme Packet, Avaya, BroadSoft, Cbeyond,
Digium, Ingate Systems and McLeodUSA.

The SIPconnect v.1.1 Task Group 

Due to the rapid adoption of SIPconnect and the SIPconnect Compliant
Program, there has been substantial interest in enhancing the work through
an updated version of the recommendation - SIPconnect 1.1. To that end, the
SIP Forum has announced the formation of the SIPconnect 1.1 Task Group.

As with all SIP Forum recommendations, SIPconnect 1.1 will not attempt to
create new standards, since that is the work of standards bodies such as the
IETF. The goal of SIP Forum specifications is to develop workable and
implementable technical recommendations or profiles based on existing
industry standards.

The newly formed SIPconnect 1.1 task group will follow the same IETF-like
procedures that were adopted by the SIP Forum Technology Working Group and
successfully used by the SIPconnect 1.0 task group.

In order assess the requirements, goals and potential milestones for the
task group charter, it will be necessary to assess from the SIP community
what is required in the next version of SIPconnect. To that end, the SIP
Forum Board of Directors wishes to formally open a discussion of
requirements for SIPconnect 1.1 at this time. 

Those interested in participating in the SIPconnect v1.1 development effort
and being part of the Task Group must be either a Participant or Full Member
of the SIP Forum. To join the SIP Forum, please visit the SIP Forum website
at http://www.sipforum.org.

About The SIP Forum 

The SIP Forum is an IP communications industry association that engages in
numerous activities that advance and promote SIP technology, such as the
development of industry recommendations, the SIPit interoperability and
testing events, special interoperability workshops, and general promotion of
SIP in the industry. One of the Forum's recent technical activities is the
development of the SIPconnect Technical Recommendation -- a standards-based
recommendation that provides detailed guidelines for direct IP peering and
interoperability between IP PBXs and VoIP service provider networks, and the
SIPconnect Compliant Certification Program through which eligible companies
can gain SIPconnect validation and the right to license the use of the SIP
Forum's 'SIPconnect Compliant' certification mark -- the official brand of
the leading standard for SIP Trunking products and services. For more
information, please visit: http://www.sipforum.org.

Richard Shockey
Director, Member of the Technical Staff
NeuStar
46000 Center Oak Plaza - Sterling, VA 20166
PSTN Office +1 571.434.5651 
PSTN Mobile: +1 703.593.2683
<mailto:richard(at)shockey.us> 
<mailto:richard.shockey(at)neustar.biz>