Deploying SIP3

Introduction

SIP3 is an open-source VoIP and real-time communication (RTC) troubleshooting platform designed to monitor, analyze, and debug SIP-based communications. It provides comprehensive visibility into call flows, quality metrics, and network issues that affect voice and video communications.

Built for telecommunications professionals and network engineers, SIP3 captures SIP signaling and RTP media streams, correlates them into coherent call sessions, and presents the data through an intuitive web interface. The platform supports high-volume environments and provides real-time alerting for quality degradation.

Key highlights of SIP3:

Call Flow Visualization: Interactive diagrams showing complete SIP message flows
Quality Metrics: MOS scores, jitter, packet loss, and latency monitoring
Real-Time Monitoring: Live dashboard with active call statistics
Search and Filtering: Find calls by number, IP, codec, or quality metrics
RTP Analysis: Media stream quality analysis and correlation
Alerting System: Configurable alerts for quality thresholds
SRTP Support: Decrypt encrypted media for analysis
Multi-Protocol: Support for SIP, SDP, RTP, RTCP, and more
Scalable Architecture: Handle millions of calls per day
REST API: Programmatic access to all platform features
Retention Policies: Configurable data retention for compliance

This guide walks through deploying SIP3 on Klutch.sh using Docker, configuring capture agents, and setting up the platform for VoIP troubleshooting.

Why Deploy SIP3 on Klutch.sh

Deploying SIP3 on Klutch.sh provides several advantages for VoIP monitoring:

Simplified Deployment: Klutch.sh automatically builds your SIP3 configuration without complex infrastructure setup.

Persistent Storage: Attach persistent volumes for call data and analytics. Historical records survive container restarts.

HTTPS by Default: Secure access to your monitoring dashboard with automatic SSL certificates.

Scalable Resources: Allocate CPU and memory based on call volume and retention requirements.

GitHub Integration: Store configuration in version control for reproducible deployments.

Always-On Monitoring: 24/7 availability ensures continuous VoIP infrastructure visibility.

Prerequisites

Before deploying SIP3 on Klutch.sh, ensure you have:

A Klutch.sh account
A GitHub account with a repository for your SIP3 configuration
Basic familiarity with Docker and containerization concepts
Understanding of SIP protocol and VoIP infrastructure
Network access to deploy capture agents on VoIP servers
(Optional) A custom domain for your SIP3 instance

SIP3 Architecture

SIP3 consists of several components:

Captain: Capture agent deployed on VoIP servers
Salto: Processing engine for call correlation
Hoof: Web interface for visualization
MongoDB: Database for call records
InfluxDB: Time-series database for metrics

Deploying SIP3 on Klutch.sh

Create Your Repository

Create a new GitHub repository for your SIP3 deployment. Add a Dockerfile:

FROM sip3io/sip3-hoof:latest

ENV SERVER_PORT=8080
ENV MONGO_URI=mongodb://mongodb:27017/sip3
ENV INFLUXDB_URI=http://influxdb:8086

EXPOSE 8080

HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=60s --retries=3 \
  CMD wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:8080/api/health || exit 1

Push to GitHub

Commit and push your Dockerfile to your GitHub repository.

Create a New Project on Klutch.sh

Navigate to the Klutch.sh dashboard and create a new project. Give it a descriptive name like “sip3” or “voip-monitoring”.

Create a New App

Within your project, create a new app. Connect your GitHub account and select your repository.

Configure HTTP Traffic

In the deployment settings:

Select HTTP as the traffic type
Set the internal port to 8080

Set Environment Variables

Add the following environment variables:

Variable	Value
`MONGO_URI`	Your MongoDB connection string
`INFLUXDB_URI`	Your InfluxDB connection string
`SERVER_PORT`	`8080`

Attach Persistent Volumes

Add the following volumes for data persistence:

Mount Path	Recommended Size	Purpose
`/data`	100+ GB	Call data and recordings
`/config`	1 GB	Configuration files

Deploy Your Application

Click Deploy to start the build process.

Access SIP3 Dashboard

Once deployment completes, access your SIP3 dashboard at the provided URL.

Database Configuration

MongoDB Setup

SIP3 requires MongoDB for storing call records:

Deploy MongoDB instance (or use managed service)
Create database and user for SIP3
Configure connection string in environment variables

InfluxDB Setup

Configure InfluxDB for time-series metrics:

Deploy InfluxDB instance
Create database for SIP3 metrics
Configure connection in environment variables

Capture Agent Deployment

Installing Captain

Deploy capture agents on your VoIP servers:

FROM sip3io/sip3-captain:latest

ENV HOST_MODE=true
ENV PCAP_INTERFACE=eth0
ENV SALTO_HOST=your-salto-host

Configuration Options

Configure capture behavior:

Option	Description
`PCAP_INTERFACE`	Network interface to capture
`PCAP_FILTER`	BPF filter for packet selection
`SALTO_HOST`	Address of Salto processing engine

Multiple Capture Points

Deploy captains on each VoIP component:

SIP proxies and B2BUAs
Media servers
Session border controllers
PBX systems

Call Analysis Features

Call Flow Diagrams

Visualize SIP message flows:

Complete call setup and teardown
Message timing and delays
Error response identification
Retransmission detection

Quality Metrics

Monitor call quality indicators:

MOS Score: Mean Opinion Score estimation
Jitter: RTP stream timing variation
Packet Loss: Lost media packets percentage
Latency: End-to-end delay measurement

Search and Filtering

Find specific calls quickly:

Phone number search
IP address filtering
Time range selection
Quality threshold filtering
Codec filtering

Alerting Configuration

Quality Alerts

Configure alerts for quality issues:

Navigate to alert configuration
Set MOS threshold (e.g., below 3.5)
Configure notification method
Set alert frequency limits

Error Alerts

Alert on SIP errors:

4xx client errors
5xx server errors
Registration failures
Authentication issues

Notification Methods

Configure alert delivery:

Email notifications
Webhook integrations
Slack/Teams integration
SMS via webhook

Dashboard Customization

Creating Dashboards

Build custom monitoring views:

Access dashboard builder
Add visualization widgets
Configure data sources
Set refresh intervals

Available Widgets

Use various visualization types:

Call volume charts
Quality trend graphs
Top talkers lists
Error rate displays
Geographic maps

API Integration

REST API Access

Programmatic access to SIP3 data:

GET /api/calls?from=2024-01-01&to=2024-01-31
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN

Webhook Integration

Receive real-time events:

Configure webhook endpoint
Select event types
Set up authentication
Process incoming events

Best Practices

Performance Optimization

Retention Policies: Configure appropriate data retention
Index Optimization: Ensure proper database indexing
Capture Filters: Filter unnecessary traffic at capture point

Security Considerations

Access Control: Limit dashboard access appropriately
Encryption: Use HTTPS for all communications
SRTP Keys: Securely manage decryption keys

Scaling Strategies

Distributed Capture: Deploy multiple captain instances
Database Scaling: Use replica sets for MongoDB
Load Balancing: Balance traffic across multiple Salto instances

Troubleshooting

Missing Call Data

Verify captain is capturing traffic
Check network interface configuration
Confirm Salto connectivity
Review capture filters

Quality Metrics Unavailable

Ensure RTP capture is enabled
Verify RTP port range configuration
Check for NAT/firewall issues

Performance Issues

Review database performance
Check storage I/O capacity
Optimize retention policies
Scale resources as needed

Additional Resources

Conclusion

Deploying SIP3 on Klutch.sh provides a powerful platform for VoIP troubleshooting and monitoring. With comprehensive call analysis, quality metrics, and alerting capabilities, you can maintain visibility into your communications infrastructure and quickly identify issues affecting call quality. The combination of SIP3’s analysis capabilities with Klutch.sh’s reliable hosting ensures your VoIP monitoring is always available when you need it.