RFC 3550 (rfc3550) - Page 1 of 104
RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group H. Schulzrinne
Request for Comments: 3550 Columbia University
Obsoletes: 1889 S. Casner
Category: Standards Track Packet Design
R. Frederick
Blue Coat Systems Inc.
V. Jacobson
Packet Design
July 2003
RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This 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.
Schulzrinne, et al. Standards Track