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SIP Product Development
SIP Products
SIP products have proliferated now from the backbone of the largest wireless and wireline telecommunications carriers to free software-based phones that run on your laptop. Extensive product lists that use SIP can be found at Pulver and SIP Center.
New, yet Mature
If your company is looking to build new SIP products, first consider what SIP products and libraries are first available before plunging into new development. When viewed in comparison to the telecommunications industry, SIP is a relative newcomer. Nevertheless, SIP must actually be considered a fairly mature technology. The 3GPP standard would not have
adopted it otherwise.
Sofia SIP
As proof that SIP is a mature technology, open source communities have sprouted up offering SIP libraries for various uses. Open source libraries are a good measure of the maturity of a technology. The Sofia SIP library is an excellent example of a SIP open source library. It is robust, highly performant, and thorough. The decode engine of the Sofia SIP library should be strongly considered for anyone considering implementing the SIP protocol stack as part of a new offering. Its LGPL license is business-friendly, as long as the library doesn’t require being extended. The
documentation for Sofia SIP is thorough and clear.
JAIN
Sun has fully embraced SIP technology. It has included SIP support in its JAIN platform. JAIN has been deployed by a number of vendors.
The Wheel
While many vendors are looking to implement new SIP solutions, they should avoid the instinct to re-invent the wheel. If a SIP solution differentiates itself from others in the market, it doesn’t necessarily have to be built entirely from scratch. Many large solutions that have earned millions in revenue, running in live networks and processing millions of transactions are using open source components. Using those components may be the edge that allows you to get to market more quickly, with less engineering cost, and with less support burden.
Brian Moody
April 3, 2008
Brian Moody is a telecommunications software consultant at Software Invent, Inc.
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