RFC 3243 (rfc3243) - Page 3 of 6
RObust Header Compression (ROHC): Requirements and Assumptions for 0-byte IP/UDP/RTP Compression
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 3243 Reqs and Assumptions for 0-byte ROHC RTP April 2002 with the impact of header compression on the rest of the Internet infrastructure, the second concerns the headers to be compressed, and the third covers efficiency and link technology related issues. 3.1. Impact on Internet Infrastructure The meaning of header compression is in no way changed by the introduction of 0-byte header compression. No additional impact on the Internet infrastructure is thus allowed. The "Transparency" and "Ubiquity" requirements of [RTP-REQ, section 2.1] therefore also apply to 0-byte RTP compression without any modifications. 3.2. Supported Headers and Kinds of RTP Streams The 0-byte RTP compression scheme in general imposes the same requirements on supported headers and RTP streams as regular ROHC RTP [RTP-REQ, section 2.2]. However, there are some aspects regarding the "Genericity" and IPSEC requirements that should be noted. The "Genericity" requirement of [RTP-REQ] states that compression of headers of arbitrary RTP streams must be supported, and this is also true for the 0-byte compression scheme to the extent that it is not allowed to assume certain RTP behavior. However, as also stated in [RTP-REQ], this does not preclude optimizations for certain media types where the traffic pattern is known. For 0-byte RTP, this means that the scheme must be able to handle arbitrary RTP streams in order to fulfill the requirements of section 3.1. However, due to the typical characteristics of 0-byte compression, by requiring a traffic pattern that suits the link over which it is implemented to be able to compress down to 0-byte headers, it becomes optimized for applications with link-suited traffic patterns. For traffic that does not comply with the link properties, the scheme must automatically and immediately fall back to non-0-byte RTP compression and must not have any impact on the packet stream. Regarding IPSEC, it should be noted that 0-byte compression cannot be achieved if parts of the original headers are encrypted or carry randomly changing fields. IPSEC and 0-byte RTP header compression therefore do not go well together. If IPSEC is used and prevents 0- byte compression, the scheme must fall back to a less efficient compression that can handle all present header fields. Of course, this applies not only to IPSEC but to all cases where headers cannot be compressed down to 0-byte. Jonsson Informational
