RTP Stream Identifier Source Description (SDES)Mozillaadam@nostrum.comCisco Systemssnandaku@cisco.comGooglepthatcher@google.comWebRTCMultiplexing
This document defines and registers two new Real-time Transport Control
Protocol (RTCP) Stream Identifier
Source Description (SDES) items. One, named RtpStreamId, is used for
unique identification of RTP streams. The other,
RepairedRtpStreamId, can be used to identify which stream is to be repaired
using a redundancy RTP stream.Status of This Memo
This is an Internet Standards Track document.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by
the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further
information on Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of
RFC 7841.
Information about the current status of this document, any
errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2021 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
() in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with
respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this
document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in
Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without
warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License.
Table of Contents
. Introduction
. Terminology
. Usage of RtpStreamId and RepairedRtpStreamId in RTP and RTCP
. RTCP "RtpStreamId" SDES Extension
. RTCP "RepairedRtpStreamId" SDES Extension
. RTP "RtpStreamId" and "RepairedRtpStreamId" Header Extensions
. IANA Considerations
. New RtpStreamId SDES Item
. New RepairRtpStreamId SDES Item
. New RtpStreamId Header Extension URI
. New RepairRtpStreamId Header Extension URI
. Security Considerations
. References
. Normative References
. Informative References
Acknowledgements
Authors' Addresses
Introduction
RTP sessions frequently consist of multiple streams, each of which is
identified at any given time by its synchronization source (SSRC); however,
the SSRC associated with a stream is not guaranteed to be stable over its
lifetime. Within a session, these streams can be tagged with a
number of identifiers, including CNAMEs and MediaStream Identification
(MSID) .
Unfortunately, none of these have the proper
ordinality to refer to an individual stream; all such identifiers can
appear in more than one stream at a time. While approaches that use
unique payload types (PTs) per stream have been used in some
applications, this is a semantic overloading of that field, and one
for which its size is inadequate: in moderately complex systems that
use PT to uniquely identify every potential combination of codec
configuration and unique stream, it is possible to simply run out of
values.
To address this situation, we define a new RTCP Stream Identifier
Source Description (SDES) identifier, RtpStreamId, that uniquely
identifies a single RTP stream. A key motivator for defining this
identifier is the ability to differentiate among different encodings
of a single source stream that are sent simultaneously (i.e.,
simulcast). This need for unique identification extends to dependent
streams (e.g., where layers used by a layered codec are transmitted
on separate streams).
At the same time, when redundancy RTP streams are in use, we also
need an identifier that connects such streams to the RTP stream for
which they are providing redundancy. For this purpose, we define an
additional SDES identifier, RepairedRtpStreamId. This identifier can
appear only in packets associated with a redundancy RTP stream. They
carry the same value as the RtpStreamId of the RTP stream that the
redundant RTP stream is correcting.Terminology
In this document, the terms "source stream", "RTP stream", "source RTP stream", "dependent stream", "received RTP stream", and
"redundancy RTP stream" are used as defined in .
The following acronyms are also used:
CNAME: Canonical Endpoint Identifier, defined in
MID: Media Identification, defined in
MSID: MediaStream Identification, defined in
RTCP: Real-time Transport Control Protocol, defined in
RTP: Real-time Transport Protocol, defined in
SDES: Source Description, defined in
SSRC: Synchronization Source, defined in
Usage of RtpStreamId and RepairedRtpStreamId in RTP and RTCP
The RTP fixed header includes the payload type number and the SSRC
values of the RTP stream. RTP defines how to demultiplex streams
within an RTP session; however, in some use cases, applications need
further identifiers in order to effectively map the individual RTP
streams to their equivalent payload configurations in the SDP.
This specification defines two new RTCP SDES items . The
first item is "RtpStreamId", which is used to carry RTP stream
identifiers within RTCP SDES packets. This makes it possible for a
receiver to associate received RTP packets (identifying the RTP
stream) with a media description having the format constraint
specified. The second is "RepairedRtpStreamId", which can be used in
redundancy RTP streams to indicate the RTP stream repaired by a
redundancy RTP stream.
To be clear: the value carried in a RepairedRtpStreamId will always
match the RtpStreamId value from another RTP stream in the same
session. For example, if a source RTP stream is identified by
RtpStreamId "A", then any redundancy RTP stream that repairs that
source RTP stream will contain a RepairedRtpStreamId of "A" (if this
mechanism is being used to perform such correlation). These
redundant RTP streams may also contain their own unique RtpStreamId.
This specification also uses the RTP header extension for RTCP SDES
items to allow carrying RtpStreamId
and RepairedRtpStreamId values in RTP packets. This allows
correlation at stream startup, or after stream changes where the use
of RTCP may not be sufficiently responsive. This speed of response
is necessary since, in many cases, the stream cannot be properly
processed until it can be identified.
RtpStreamId and RepairedRtpStreamId values are scoped by source
identifier (e.g., CNAME) and by media session. When the media is
multiplexed using the BUNDLE extension
, these values are further
scoped by their associated MID values. For example: an RtpStreamId
of "1" may be present in the stream identified with a CNAME of
"1234@example.com" and may also be present in a stream with a CNAME
of "5678@example.org", and these would refer to different streams.
Similarly, an RtpStreamId of "1" may be present with an MID of "A",
and again with a MID of "B", and also refer to two different streams.
Note that the RepairedRtpStreamId mechanism is limited to indicating
one repaired stream per redundancy stream. If systems require
correlation for schemes in which a redundancy stream contains
information used to repair more than one stream, they will have to
use a more complex mechanism than the one defined in this
specification.
As with all SDES items, RtpStreamId and RepairedRtpStreamId are
limited to a total of 255 octets in length. RtpStreamId and
RepairedRtpStreamId are constrained to contain only alphanumeric
characters. For avoidance of doubt, the only allowed byte values for
these IDs are decimal 48 through 57, 65 through 90, and 97 through
122.RTCP "RtpStreamId" SDES Extension
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|RtpStreamId=12 | length | RtpStreamId ...
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The RtpStreamId payload is ASCII encoded and is not null terminated.
RTCP "RepairedRtpStreamId" SDES Extension
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Repaired...=13 | length | RepairRtpStreamId ...
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The RepairedRtpStreamId payload is ASCII encoded and is not null terminated.
RTP "RtpStreamId" and "RepairedRtpStreamId" Header Extensions
Because recipients of RTP packets will typically need to know which
streams they correspond to immediately upon receipt, this
specification also defines a means of carrying RtpStreamId and
RepairedRtpStreamId identifiers in RTP extension headers, using the
technique described in .
As described in that document, the header extension element can be
encoded using either the one-byte or two-byte header, and the
identification-tag payload is ASCII encoded.
As the identifier is included in an RTP header extension, there
should be some consideration given to the packet expansion caused by
the identifier. To avoid Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) issues for
the RTP packets, the header extension's size needs to be taken into
account when encoding media. Note that the set of header extensions
included in the packet needs to be padded to the next 32-bit boundary
.
In many cases, a one-byte identifier will be sufficient to
distinguish streams in a session; implementations are strongly
encouraged to use the shortest identifier that fits their purposes.
Implementors are warned, in particular, not to include any
information in the identifier that is derived from potentially user-
identifying information, such as user ID or IP address. To avoid
identification of specific implementations based on their pattern of
tag generation, implementations are encouraged to use a simple scheme
that starts with the ASCII digit "1", and increments by one for each
subsequent identifier.IANA ConsiderationsNew RtpStreamId SDES Item
This document adds the RtpStreamId SDES item to the IANA "RTP SDES Item
Types" registry as follows:
Value:
12
Abbrev.:
RtpStreamId
Name:
RTP Stream Identifier
Reference:
RFC 8852
New RepairRtpStreamId SDES Item
This document adds the RepairedRtpStreamId SDES item to the IANA "RTP SDES
Item Types" registry as follows:
Value:
13
Abbrev.:
RepairedRtpStreamId
Name:
Repaired RTP Stream Identifier
Reference:
RFC 8852
New RtpStreamId Header Extension URI
This document defines a new extension URI in the "RTP SDES Compact
Header Extensions" subregistry of the "RTP Compact Header Extensions"
subregistry, as follows:
Extension URI:
urn:ietf:params:rtp-hdrext:sdes:rtp-stream-id
Description:
RTP Stream Identifier
Contact:
<adam@nostrum.com>
Reference:
RFC 8852
New RepairRtpStreamId Header Extension URI
This document defines a new extension URI in the "RTP SDES Compact
Header Extensions" subregistry of the "RTP Compact Header Extensions"
subregistry, as follows:
Security Considerations
Although the identifiers defined in this document are limited to be
strictly alphanumeric, SDES items have the potential to carry any
string. As a consequence, there exists a risk that they might carry
privacy-sensitive information. Implementations need to take care
when generating identifiers so that they do not contain information
that can identify the user or allow for long-term tracking of the
device. Following the generation recommendations in will
result in non-instance-specific labels, with only minor
fingerprinting possibilities in the total number of used RtpStreamIds
and RepairedRtpStreamIds.
Even if the SDES items are generated to convey as little information
as possible, implementors are strongly encouraged to encrypt SDES
items -- both in RTCP and RTP header extensions -- so as to preserve
privacy against third parties.
As the SDES items are used for identification of the RTP streams for
different application purposes, it is important that the intended
values are received. An attacker, either a third party or malicious
RTP middlebox, that removes or changes the values for these SDES
items can severely impact the application. The impact can include
failure to decode or display the media content of the RTP stream. It
can also result in incorrectly attributing media content to
identifiers of the media source, such as incorrectly identifying the
speaker. To prevent this from occurring due to third-party attacks,
integrity and source authentication is needed.
"Options for Securing RTP Sessions" discusses options for how
encryption, integrity, and source authentication can be accomplished.ReferencesNormative ReferencesRTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time ApplicationsThis memorandum describes RTP, the real-time transport protocol. RTP provides end-to-end network transport functions suitable for applications transmitting real-time data, such as audio, video or simulation data, over multicast or unicast network services. RTP does not address resource reservation and does not guarantee quality-of- service for real-time services. The data transport is augmented by a control protocol (RTCP) to allow monitoring of the data delivery in a manner scalable to large multicast networks, and to provide minimal control and identification functionality. RTP and RTCP are designed to be independent of the underlying transport and network layers. The protocol supports the use of RTP-level translators and mixers. Most of the text in this memorandum is identical to RFC 1889 which it obsoletes. There are no changes in the packet formats on the wire, only changes to the rules and algorithms governing how the protocol is used. The biggest change is an enhancement to the scalable timer algorithm for calculating when to send RTCP packets in order to minimize transmission in excess of the intended rate when many participants join a session simultaneously. [STANDARDS-TRACK]A Taxonomy of Semantics and Mechanisms for Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) SourcesThe terminology about, and associations among, Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) sources can be complex and somewhat opaque. This document describes a number of existing and proposed properties and relationships among RTP sources and defines common terminology for discussing protocol entities and their relationships.RTP Header Extension for the RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) Source Description ItemsSource Description (SDES) items are normally transported in the RTP Control Protocol (RTCP). In some cases, it can be beneficial to speed up the delivery of these items. The main case is when a new synchronization source (SSRC) joins an RTP session and the receivers need this source's identity, relation to other sources, or its synchronization context, all of which may be fully or partially identified using SDES items. To enable this optimization, this document specifies a new RTP header extension that can carry SDES items.A General Mechanism for RTP Header ExtensionsThis document provides a general mechanism to use the header extension feature of RTP (the Real-time Transport Protocol). It provides the option to use a small number of small extensions in each RTP packet, where the universe of possible extensions is large and registration is decentralized. The actual extensions in use in a session are signaled in the setup information for that session. This document obsoletes RFC 5285.Negotiating Media Multiplexing Using the Session Description Protocol (SDP)Informative ReferencesOptions for Securing RTP SessionsThe Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) is used in a large number of different application domains and environments. This heterogeneity implies that different security mechanisms are needed to provide services such as confidentiality, integrity, and source authentication of RTP and RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) packets suitable for the various environments. The range of solutions makes it difficult for RTP-based application developers to pick the most suitable mechanism. This document provides an overview of a number of security solutions for RTP and gives guidance for developers on how to choose the appropriate security mechanism.WebRTC MediaStream Identification in the Session Description ProtocolAcknowledgements
Many thanks to , , ,
, and for review and input.
provided nearly all of the Security Considerations section.Authors' AddressesMozillaadam@nostrum.comCisco Systemssnandaku@cisco.comGooglepthatcher@google.com