Vendors Promote MSML Interface for IP Media Server Control

Convedia, Intel, and NMS Communications announced a joint effort to use, evolve, and promote the standardization of Media Server Markup Language (MSML), an extensible, open, and IPR-free language used to control IP media servers.



MSML is used along with the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to provide standards-based control of IP media servers when deployed in VoIP and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networks. Based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML), MSML provides a common language that can be implemented by all application and media server vendors enabling simplified integration and broader solution interoperability. MSML enables SIP application developers to control the voice, video, and multimedia processing capabilities provided by IP media servers. Media servers enable traditional enhanced services such as voicemail, voice conferencing, and interactive voice response, as well as new services such as ringback tones, online gaming, and video messaging to be delivered efficiently and cost-effectively in an IP network.



Convedia uses MSML as a control interface for their CMS-6000T and CMS-1000T Media Servers. Intel has completed considerable research with MSML and their multimedia servers built on Intel NetStructure Host Media Processing Software 3.0 for Windows and 3.1 for Linux. NMS Communications is using MSML to control IVR and conferencing functions in its Vision Media Server family, supporting TDM and VoIP networks.



The companies among the technology providers driving MSML from an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Draft to an IETF RFC standard, as well as promoting the interface to other standards bodies.



MSML is a derivative of two earlier IETF drafts known as Media Sessions Markup Language and Media Objects Markup Language. These two drafts were first introduced by Convedia in 2003 and were designed to complement RFC 4240, Basic Network Media Services with SIP (previously known as Netann) and VoiceXML. The consolidation of the Media Sessions Markup Language and Media Objects Markup Language into the new MSML is fully backward compatible and simplifies adoption, use, and evolution of the control interface. The current version of the MSML draft can be found online.




http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-saleem-msml-00.txthttp://www.convedia.com