RTCWeb (Real-Time Communication in WEB-browsers) is the name of the IETF working group responsible for defining the protocols used by WebRTC. While the W3C defines the JavaScript APIs that developers use, the IETF RTCWeb working group defines the underlying protocol stack.
What RTCWeb defines
The RTCWeb working group has produced numerous RFCs and drafts covering:
- The overall architecture of WebRTC
- Security considerations and requirements
- Which audio and video codecs must be supported (MTI – Mandatory To Implement)
- How DTLS-SRTP should be used for key exchange
- How ICE should be used for NAT traversal
- Data channel protocol requirements
- The use of JSEP for session establishment
RTCWeb vs WebRTC
The terms are often used interchangeably, but technically “RTCWeb” refers to the IETF protocol specifications, while “WebRTC” refers to the broader technology including the W3C APIs. In practice, most people simply say “WebRTC” to refer to the entire stack.
