Wireless Application Protocol Overview

1. Wireless Application ProtocolOverview WAP Forum Owen Sullivan Worldzap

2. Agenda • Development of WAP • Protocol Layers • Wireless Application Environment • Security and Smart Cards • Convergence with IETF protocols

3. State of industry in 1997 • Technologies were in use to allow handheld mobile devices access to network based content, but were incompatible • Smart Messaging; HDML, Narrowband sockets, Others ... • WAP Forum was created to provide a single global standard for wireless data access for all handheld mobile devices

4. Initial goals of the WAP Forum • Bring Internet based content & services to handheld wireless devices • Work across global network technologies • Allow creation of content that works across many types of link layers and device types • To use existing standards wherever possible

5. What devices is WAP designed for? • Includes mobile phones, pagers, PDAs • Devices with limited CPU, memory & battery life • Devices with a simple user interface • Low bandwidth & high latency environments • Unpredictable availability & stability

6. Client WAP Gateway WML WML Encoder WML-Script WMLScript Compiler WTAI Protocol Adapters Content Etc. High level view of WAP Architecture Web Server CGI, Java servlets, etc WML content or HTML content that gets translated WSP/WTP HTTP

7. Link layer technologies supported by WAP • GSM: SMS, Circuit Switched Data, GPRS, USSD, Cell Broadcast • ANSI-136: R-Data, Circuit Switched Data, GPRS-136 • CDMA: SMS, Circuit Switched Data, Packet • PDC & PHS: Circuit Switched Data, Packet • CDPD; DECT; TETRA; Mobitex • FLEX and ReFLEX; DataTAC

8. WAP Protocols Wireless ApplicationEnvironment (WAE) Other Services and Applications Session Layer (WSP) Transaction Layer (WTP) Security Layer (WTLS) Transport Layer (WDP) Circuit Switched Data Flex CDPD GPRS Etc.. SMS USSD

9. Wireless Datagram Protocol • Provides a network and bearer independent interface to higher layers • Provides port level addressing • Provides segmentation and reassembly • For link layers that support IP, UDP is used as the Wireless Datagram Protocol layer

10. Wireless Transaction Protocol • Provides efficient, reliable data transfer based on request/reply paradigm • Supports selective-retransmission • Supports segmentation and re-assembly • Message oriented (not stream) • Supports an Abort function • Supports concatenation of PDUs

11. Wireless Session Protocol • Provides shared state between client and server used to optimize content transfer • Provides semantics and mechanisms based on HTTP 1.1 • Supports compact encoding of headers • Supports push functionality • Supports capability negotiation

12. Standard Message Center Adaptation Protocol WAP Proxy/Server Mobile WAE WAE WSP WSP Message Center WTP WTP WTLS WTLS WDP WDP Non-IP bearer (e.g. SMS) Non-IP bearer (e.g. SMS) WDP Adaptation WDP Adaptation TCP TCP IP IP WDP Adaptation utilises SMPP, industry standard for Message Center access

13. WAP application environment • WML- XML compliant mark-up language • WMLScript - ECMAScript based scripting language • WAP Push mechanism • User Agent profiles • WTA - WAP telephony services

14. Navigation Card Variables Input Elements WML Example <WML> <CARD> <DO TYPE=“ACCEPT”> <GO URL=“#eCard”/> </DO Welcome! </CARD> <CARD NAME=“eCard”> <DO TYPE=“ACCEPT”> <GO URL=“/submit?N=$(N)&S=$(S)”/> </DO> Enter name: <INPUT KEY=“N”/> Choose speed: <SELECT KEY=“S”> <OPTION VALUE=“0”>Fast</OPTION> <OPTION VALUE=“1”>Slow</OPTION> <SELECT> </CARD> </WML> Deck

15. WTAI Call Input Element Wireless Telephony Applications Placing an outgoing call with WTAI: <WML> <CARD> <DO TYPE=“ACCEPT”> <GO URL=“wtai:cc/mc;$(N)”/> </DO> Enter phone number: <INPUT TYPE=“TEXT” KEY=“N”/> </CARD> </WML>

16. Functions Variables Programming Constructs WMLScript Example function currencyConvertor(currency, exchRate) { return currency*exchangeRate; } function myDay(sunShines) { var myDay; if (sunShines) { myDay = “Good”; } else { myDay = “Not so good”; }; return myDay; }

17. WAP Security • Transport level security is WTLS, based on TLS. Provides privacy, integrity, authentication • End-to-end security mechanism defined at the transport layer • Application layer security provided via WMLScript crypto library

18. WAP and Smart Cards • WAP supports use of Smart Cards to enhance security • Wireless Identity Module specification supports performing security functions & storage of sensitive data • Smart Card Provisioning specification defines a file structure for secure storage of provisioning data

19. WAP’s current status • WAP Forum has 200+ members including • 90% of world’s handset manufacturers • Carriers with over 100 million subscribers • Leading infrastructure providers, software developers & content providers • WAP v1.2 specification suite approved Dec 99 • Commercial services now widely deployed

20. Changing marketplace • High speed 2.5G technologies - GPRS, EDGE • 3G technologies being developed with data rates of up to 2Mbps • Multimedia capable devices being developed • Demand for richer content - high quality graphics, audio, video

21. WAP next generation • WAP Architecture Convergence group working to ensure WAP’s architecture converges with the IETF and other protocols • WPG reviewing the output from the IETF PILC group with a goal of incorporating TCP into the WAP stack • WAP continually evolving to ensure compatibility with emerging technologies

22. www.wapforum.org WAP Forum Thank you!