RFC 3136 (rfc3136) - Page 2 of 10

The SPIRITS Architecture

RFC 3136                The SPIRITS Architecture               June 2001


   +  Section 4 contains security considerations;

   +  Section 5 contains acknowledgments;

   +  Section 6 contains references; and

   +  Appendix contains the figure.

2. Brief Description of Example SPIRITS Services

   To illustrate the motivation for the overall SPIRIT architecture,
   this section provides a brief description of the example SPIRITS
   services:

   +  Internet Call Waiting (ICW),

   +  Internet Caller-ID Delivery, and

   +  Internet Call Forwarding.

   These services are considered from the end-user point of view under
   the assumptions below:

   +  Service subscription (or cancellation) is a separate process and
      may be done over the telephone, via postal mail, or over the Web.

   +  The subscriber's IP host (e.g., a PC) is loaded with the necessary
      software [including a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and the
      IP addresses of the SPIRITS servers] for realizing the SPIRITS
      services.  The software may be sent by postal mail or downloaded
      from the Web.

   +  The subscriber activates a SPIRITS service by an act of service
      session registration, which can take place anytime after he (or
      she) is connected to the Internet.  The subscriber may specify the
      life span of the session.  As soon as the session ends, the
      SPIRITS service is deactivated.  Naturally, the subscriber should
      also be able to deactivate a SPIRITS service anytime during the
      service session.

   For certain services (such as ICW or Caller-ID Delivery) the
   assumption is that the service subscriber has a single telephone line
   and a PC, which is connected to the Internet via this telephone.
   (Only under this assumption these services make sense.)
   Nevertheless, in other services (such as Web-based Call Center, in
   which a call center assistant could re-direct or reject a call
   presented in a pop-up window) this assumption may be unnecessary or
   even inapplicable.



Slutsman, et al.             Informational