[asterisk-dev] 'IAX2 call variable passing between servers '

[Andrew Kohlsmith]

On Friday 04 August 2006 10:34, Jared Smith wrote:
> No, what's comical is your insistence that IAX2 was designed to pass
> variables between servers.  IAX2 was designed to pass *calls* between
> Asterisk servers, not arbitrary variables.

I disagree.  I have read several places and the code has provision for passing 
arbitrary data, not just voice (and video).  It doesn't do all these things 
*yet*, but I think it's very shortsighted to say that IAX2 was designed to 
pass *calls* and calls *only*, especially when the IEs are in place.  Check 
iax2-parser.c for more information.

In fact, there are IEs for passing RDNIS, TON, and a host of other data that 
Mr. Garstang is saying should be passed.  The code agrees with him, at least 
in spirit.  Perhaps it's not IMPLEMENTED yet, but it's certainly not outside 
of the scope of the protocol.

> Who has the expectation that IAX2 should pass variables?  I think most

I do.  It is important to be able to pass call information around in addition 
to audio and control frames.  The IAX2 jitter buffer already does this, and 
it only makes sense to keep (or at least allow) arbitrary data to be able to 
be passed.  I really like Tilghman's conceptual patch and hope to improve 
upon it and help test it out.

In fact, the ability to pass URLs back and forth is (was?) in the code; IAX2 
isn't just for passing calls around.  It's arguable how MUCH call information 
should be passed around, but the concept of passing data relating to the call 
in progress is arguably as important to pass as the audio frames themselves!

> of us realize that IAX2 doesn't pass arbitrary variables between
> servers.  Just because SIP can do something and IAX2 can't doesn't mean
> that IAX2 should do it -- as much as I like SIP, there are some things
> that SIP can do that I hope IAX2 never does.  IAX2 wasn't designed by

A-MEN to that!!

-A.