6. System Architecture

An MGCP-based system is often referred to as a “distributed gateway” architecture or the Media Gateway Controller architecture. Instead of a monolithic telephone switch, the functions are split into components that communicate over IP. In such a system, several key components work together to provide call services using MGCP: the MGCP Call Agent (or Controller), the Media Gateways hosting endpoints, and various managers handling specific aspects like connections and transactions. We outline the main components and their roles, and then discuss how they interface both internally and with external systems.

6.1 Component Overview

A typical MGCP-controlled telephony system can be broken down conceptually as follows: