Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)

MGCP stands for Media Gateway Control Protocol. It is a protocol that is extensively used for signalling and controlling communications protocols applied in VoIP telecommunication systems. MGCP is next in line to Simple Gateway Control Protocol. MGCP reflects the architecture in which the endpoints are less capable devices that only executes commands from the gateways and provides an indication as a response.

Features of MGCP :

• It is an ailment with RFC 3035.
• It can work with IPv4 and IPv6.
• It can be extended with MGCP software for additional abilities.
• It supports working with SIP and H.323 protocols.

Working of MGCP :
To understand the working of MGCP, we need to understand Master-Slave architecture as MGCP is a master-slave protocol in which the media gateways are controlled by the call agents. These call agents are called Media Gateway Controllers. The agents are responsible for requesting events, reports, and configuration data from the media gateways.  The control agents synchronize with each other and send comprehensible commands to the gateways under their control. 

The architecture of MGCP :

Applications of MGCP :

• It is used in Wi-Fi phones for VoWLAN.
• Extensively used in personal communications.
• Used in various audio and video conferencing.
• It is used in wireless GPRS and EDGE systems.

Advantages :

• It provides easy configuration for large systems.
• It makes it easy for providing greater control for call processing.
• Provides better throughput for call process systems.
• This protocol separates media processing and signalling functions.

Disadvantages :

• It is way too complex for small applications.
• It relies on the call agents for communication which makes it prone to a single-point failure.
• It has limited support.
• It has minimal configuration on gateways.