media device control protocol (MDCP)

The Media Device Control Protocol (MDCP) is a gateway protocol developed by Lucent and combined with the MGCP protocol to form MEGACO/H.248. It is a species-specific protocol for controlling media processors.

Media Control Protocols are based on the implementation oftransactions composed of commands. They operate in master- slave mode, where a master, the Media Gateway Controller( MGC), controls the slaves formed by the gateways. The master sends appropriate commands to the gateways, which thereby establish, modify or close connections, or send information and requests to the master station, the softswitch.

The MDCP protocol is scalable for multimedia applications and can be used in many applications, such as trunking and access for Internet telephony in VoIP gateways, as an interactive voice system, in media bridges and in network access servers. It is characterized by low overhead.