WebRTC 102: Understanding SDP Internals
As a WebRTC developer, you’ve probably heard the term “SDP” thrown around quite a bit, but what exactly is SDP and why is it important in WebRTC? In this article, we’ll explore SDP — its meaning and how it works in WebRTC, and offer tips and best practices for working with it.
Let’s dive in!
What Is SDP and Why Is It Important in WebRTC?
The communications protocol known as SDP, or Session Description Protocol, is used to negotiate the specifics of a real-time communication session between two devices or endpoints. SDP is used in WebRTC to negotiate the session’s media parameters and to describe each device’s media capabilities. To put it another way, SDP is the language that WebRTC devices speak to one another.
It facilitates real-time communication between devices with different capabilities or being positioned behind firewalls or NATs, making it an essential part of WebRTC. Real-time communication would not be possible if WebRTC devices could not negotiate the specifics of a communication session.