Basic SIP Operation

As I explained in the first part of this series, there are certain tasks that SIP is
responsible for performing. SIP performs these tasks by issuing commands, which
are commonly referred to as verbs. Any time that SIP issues a verb, the host that
the verbs are being transmitted to responds with a numerical code. This code tells
SIP the results of the requested action so that it knows what it needs to do next.
Later in this article, I'm going to show you some of the more commonly used SIP
verbs, and provide you with a general overview of what the response codes mean.
Before I get into all of that though, I want to give you an example of how the
process works as a whole.
Perhaps the most commonly used verb associated with SIP is REGISTER.
REGISTER is used primarily for logging into the SIP environment, but the
REGISTER verb can also be used when a user is logging out or changing
locations.
With that in mind, here's a condensed version of what happens when a user tries to
log into an Office Communications Server:

• Since Office Communications Server 2007 uses SIP, the client machine issues
the Register verb to the server.

• Because of the security that Office Communications Server uses, a user can not
register with the server without first logging on. Therefore, the Office
Communications Server returns an error. As I mentioned earlier, SIP issued
verbs are met with numerical responses. In this case, the response code is 401,
which indicates that the registration was unauthorized.

• In response to the error, the client reissues the register verb. This time though,
the registration will supply a set of Kerberos credentials.

• The Office Communications Server accepts the credentials, and returns a

response code of 200, which is SIP's OK response. Basically, this means that
the command completed successfully.

Other SIP Verbs

Now that I have talked about the REGISTER verb, and given you a brief (and
simplified) example of how the verbs and responses work, I want to talk about
some of the more commonly used SIP verbs.
The first two verbs that I want to talk about are SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFY. These
two verbs work together to make it possible to use presence information. Suppose
for instance that User1 wanted to monitor the presence information for User2.
User1's client application would issue a SUBSCRIBE command to the host server
indicating that they wanted to monitor User2. The Host would return a response
code of 200, indicating that the command was successful, but then the host would
issue a command of its own. In this case, the host would issue the NOTIFY
command to the client, informing them of User2's current status. Upon receipt of
this information, the client would return response code 200 to the server. This
process is repeated any time that User2's presence information changes. Since
User1 has subscribed to the information about User2, the host will Notify User1 any
time that User2's status changes.
Another verb that I want to talk about is the SERVICE verb. In the previous
example, I talked about how a host could notify a subscriber when another user's
presence information changed. However, the user whose presence information
changed needs to have a way of informing the host of that change. This is where
the SERVICE verb comes in. Any time that a user needs to change their presence
information, their client application issues a SERVICE command to request that the
host perform some kind of service; in this case making a change to the presence
information. The SERVICE command can also be used to do things like creating or
modifying conferences.
Another commonly used verb is INVITE. The INVITE verb is used to establish a
peer-to-peer communications session. Probably the most well known use for the
Invite verb is in establishing instant messaging sessions, but it can also be used for
establishing audio and video conferencing, application sharing, and whiteboarding.
There are a few other really common verbs that I want to quickly mention. Below is
a list of these verbs and a brief description of what they do:
ACK - ACK is an acknowledgement that is sometimes sent to a host in response to
response code 200.
BYE - Used to terminate a session.
CANCEL - A request to cancel an Invite request.
Now that I have talked about some commonly used verbs, I want to talk about
some of the response codes that are used. Generally speaking, response codes
are grouped into ranges. Codes within a range have similar functions. The table
below lists the ranges that are used, and what the function of that range is:
Range Function
100 to Codes in this range are informational, and typically indicate that the server is
199 attempting to process the request.
200 to 200 range codes are success and acknowledgement codes. These codes indicate
299 that the request has been processed.
Response codes in the 300 range indicate a type of service error called a
300 to
redirection error. What this means is that the current host cannot handle the
399
request, so the request is being redirected to another host.
Response codes in the 400 range are client errors, but they usually correspond to
400 to
security events. For example, a client would receive an error code in this range if it
499
supplied an invalid password.
500 to 500 range response codes indicate a server error. For example, a code in this
599 range would be generated if the server cannot be found or if it doesn't respond.
600 to
Codes in this range are global error codes.
699

Conclusion
In this article, I have talked about some of the more commonly used SIP verbs and
response codes. In part 3, I will conclude this series by talking about SIP routing.