Subject: [Sip] MUST for digest

From: Christer Holmberg <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 07:54:38 +0200

Hi,

I have a question on the "MUST" for UA support of digest authentication.

What does this "MUST" really mean? Does it mean that a UA MUST be able
to authenticate an incoming call, ie send 401? Does it mean a UA MUST be
able to send a new INVITE if it receives 401/407? Does it mean a UA MUST
be able to insert the credentials in the initial INVITE?

Or, is the "MUST" there simply to "motivate" people to implement and
start using authentication in their networks?

Regards,

Christer Holmberg
Ericsson Finland

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---

From: Jonathan Rosenberg <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 01:11:38 -0500

> I have a question on the "MUST" for UA support of digest authentication.

It means MUST implement; whether it is used or not is always a local
choice.

> to authenticate an incoming call, ie send 401?

No, that would be a choice for the implementation.

> Does it mean a UA MUST be
> able to send a new INVITE if it receives 401/407?

Yes; since it has implemented digest, it would follow the specification
in terms of producing an updated INVITE with credentials (assuming it
had them, of course). 

> Does it mean a UA MUST

That would be a choice for the implementation; the specification doesn't
mandate that the initial INVITE contain credentials.

> start using authentication in their networks?

MUST implement is to provide minimal interoperability. It means that
when a server wishes to authenticate a client, it can be sure to be able
to do that with digest.

-Jonathan R.

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