SDPoker

CLI tool and library for testing SMPTE ST2110 Session Description Protocol (SDP) files. The tool attempts to apply a number of rules that test relevant clauses of RFC 4566, SMPTE ST 2110-10/20/30 and AES-67. The tool currently has 112 possible tests.

Just because an SDP file passes these tests does not mean it is 100% valid. However, if it fails one of the tests, the file is likely to need some work!

This is an open source tool contributed for the benefit of anyone developing and deploying professional IP media systems. Please use pull requests and issues to help to enhance it. Please do report any false positives or false negatives found by these tests. A list of possible enhancements is provided below.

SDPoker is part of the zenmos project to develop an automatic testing tool for AMWAs Network Media Open Specifications.

Installation

Prerequisite

If not already installed, install Node.JS LTS for your platform.

Command line

Install SDPoker globally as follows (use sudo where appropriate):

npm install -g sdpoker

To run SDPoker, append a filename or URL to a SDP file:

sdpoker <file_or_url>

Note that the tool only prints an output if the tests fail. A successful test returns immediately with nothing printed and an exit code of 0.

A number of options can be used to configure the behavior of the test. To see the list, run:

sdpoker --help

Library

Install SDPoker as a dependency for the project you are working on:

npm install --save sdpoker

Use the module in your project with the following line:

const { getSDP, checkRFC4566, checkST2110 } = require('sdpoker');

Get SDP

The getSDP(path, nmos) method returns a native promise to read or download an SDP file from the given path. If the path starts with http://, the SDP file is requested from the given address. Otherwise, the path is treated as a file path related to the current working directory.

For example:

getSDP('http://localhost:3123/sdps/video_stream_1.sdp')
  .then(console.log)
  .catch(console.error);

If the nmos flag is set to true, the SDP file is required to be retrieved over HTTP and must have filename extension .sdp.

The value of a fulfilled promise is the contents of an SDP file as a string. SDP files are assumed to be UTF8 character sets. Pass the result into the checkRFC4566 and checkST2110 methods.

Check RFC4566

The checkRFC4566(sdp, params) takes a string representation of the contents of an SDP file (sdp) and runs structural tests, format tests and some field specific tests relevant to SMPTE ST 2110. This is not an exhaustive SDP file tester.

For example:

getSDP('examples/st2110-10.sdp')
  .then(sdp => checkRFC4566(sdp, { should: true }))
  .then(errs => { if (errs.length > 0) console.log(errs); })
  .catch(console.error);

The params parameter is an object that, when present, can be used to configure the tests. See the parameters section below for more information.

The return value of the method is an array of Javascript Errors. The array is empty if no errors occurred.

Check ST2110

The checkST2110(sdp, params) takes a string representation of the contents of an SDP file (sdp) and runs through the relevant clauses of the SMPTE 2110-10/20/30 documents, and referenced standards such as AES-67 and SMPTE ST 2022-7, applying appropriate tests.

For example:

getSDP('examples/st2110-10.sdp')
  .then(sdp => checkST2110(sdp, { multicast: true }))
  .then(errs => { if (errs.length > 0)
    console.log(errs.map(e => e ? e.message : undefined));
  })
  .catch(console.error);

The params parameter is an object that, when present, can be used to configure the tests. See the parameters section below for more information.

The return value of the method is an array of Javascript Errors. The array is empty if no errors occurred.

Parameters

The parameters of the library are binary flags that match the command line options:

• nmos: Check for compliance with NMOS rules.
• checkEndings: Check line endings are CRLF, no other CR/LF.
• whitespace: Strict check of adherence to whitespace rules.
• should: As well as shall, also check all should clauses.
• noCopy: Fail obvious copies of the ST 2110-10 SDP example.
• duplicate: Expect duplicate streams aka ST 2022-7.
• videoOnly: Describes only SMPTE ST 2110-20 streams.
• audioOnly: Describes only SMPTE ST 2110-30 streams.
• channelOrder: Expect audio with ST2110-30 channel-order.
• shaping: Check adherence to traffic shaping specification.
• useIP4: All addresses expressed in IP v4 notation.
• useIP6: All addresses expressed in IP v6 notation.
• multicast: Connection addresses must be multicast.
• unicast: Connection addresses must be unicast.

By default, all flags are false. To pass the parameters to the check methods, use a Javascript object as follows:

let params = {
  nmos: true,
  duplicate: true,
  multicast: true
};

Currently, the whitespace flag forces a check as to whether the format parameter field (a=fmtp) has a whitespace character after the final semicolon on the line. Strict reading of the standard suggests that it should, although the this could also be viewed as ambiguous as the term carriage return can also be interpreted as whitespace. Further white space checks may be added, such as should a space be included between a=source-filter: and incl.

Tests

For now, please see the comments in files checkRFC4566.js and checkST2110.js for a description of the tests. A more formal and separate list may be provided in the future.

Enhancements

The following items are known deficiencies of SDPoker and may be added in the future:

• Tests for attribute a=recvonly
• Tests for attribute a=sourcefilter
• Testing whether an advertised connection address can be resolved, joined or pinged.
• Testing whether advertised clocks are available.
• Testing that, for AES-67 audio streams, the ptime attribute matches the sample rate and number of channels.
• Testing ST 2110-30 audio streams against conformance level.
• Ability to run the tests within a framework like tape.
• Retrieval of SDP files over HTTPS.

Pull requests and issues will be resolved when the developers have sufficient time available. If you are interested in sponsoring the development of this software or supporting its ongoing maintenance, please contact Streampunk Media ([e-mail]).

License

This software is released under the Apache 2.0 license. Copyright 2018 Streampunk Media Ltd.