Subject: Proposed IETF Working Group: MEdia GAteway COntrol (megaco)

From: Steve Coya <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 12:04:41 -0500

A new IETF working group has been proposed in the Transport Area.
The IESG has not made any determination as yet.

The following Description was submitted, and is provided for
informational purposes:

The working group will develop an informational RFC detailing the
architecture and requirements for controlling Media Gateways from 
external control elements such as a Media Gateway Controller. A media
gateway is a network element that provides conversion between the
information carried on telephone circuits and data packets carried over
the Internet or over other IP networks.  This work will be done in 
consultation with other IETF working groups looking at similar issues.  
The working group will also ensure that good information conduits exist 
with groups in other standards groups with expertise in the relevant 
PSTN technology.  Other IETF working groups include PINT, IPTEL and 
SIGTRAN.  In addition the working group will ensure that reasonable 
liaisons exist with similar activities in other standards bodies such as 
the ITU-T and ETSI.

This working group will also define standards track protocol(s) for
controlling media gateways from external control elements such as a 
media gateway controller.

Examples of media gateways are:

 * Trunking gateways that interface between the telephone
   network and a Voice over IP network. Such gateways
   typically manage a large number of digital virtual circuits.
 * Access gateways that provide traditional analog or Primary
   Rate (PRI) line interfaces to a Voice over IP network.
 * Network Access Servers that can attach a "modem" to a
   telephone circuit and provide data access to the
   Internet.

This working group assumes a separation of call control so the call 
control "intelligence" is outside the media gateways and handled by a 
media gateway controller. This group will NOT work on media gateway 
controller to media gateway controller protocols, nor on media gateway 
to media gateway protocols.

Planned output:

  * Architecture & Requirements informational RFC

  * Standards Track RFC for the protocol between a media
    gateway controller and a media gateway.

  * Standards Track RFC for the MG and MC MIBs

  * Informational RFC for application programming interface
    for the MC to MG protocol