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Definition: SIP


(1) See system in package, single in-line package and System Integrity Protection.

(2) (Software Isolated Process) See singularity.

(3) (SMDS Interface Protocol) See SMDS.

(4) (Software Integration Platform) A common format and interface for geographic data in the petroleum industry.

(5) (Session Initiation Protocol) The standard IP telephony signaling protocol used to start and terminate voice calls over the Internet (see VoIP). Supporting two-way and multi-party calls, SIP can be used for any real-time media transmission over an IP network, including video calling and conferencing. It is also used for instant messaging (see SIMPLE) and multiplayer gaming.

SIP is a text-based application protocol that supports integrated voice and data such as click-to-chat on a website. Less complex and more efficient than the ITU's telephony protocol (see H.323), SIP addresses are like email; for example: sip:john.doe@mycompany.com.

SIP Alphabet Soup
Based on HTTP and MIME, SIP relies on the session description protocol (SDP) for session description and the Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) for transport. Windows XP was the first version of Windows to natively support SIP for PC-based phones, and all modern PBXs handle SIP trunks. See HTTP, MIME, RIP, SDP, SIP provider, SIP ALG and SIP proxy.