Network Working GroupC. Daboo
Internet-DraftApple Inc.
Updates: 4791 (if approved)B. Desruisseaux
Intended status: Standards TrackOracle
Expires: September 8, 2012March 7, 2012

CalDAV Scheduling Extensions to WebDAV

Abstract

This document defines extensions to the CalDAV "calendar-access" feature to specify a standard way of performing scheduling operations with iCalendar-based calendar components. This document defines the "calendar-auto-schedule" feature of CalDAV.

Status of This Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

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This Internet-Draft will expire on September 8, 2012.

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1. Introduction

This document specifies extensions to the CalDAV "calendar-access" [RFC4791] feature to enable scheduling of iCalendar-based [RFC5545] calendar components between Calendar Users.

This extension leverages the scheduling methods defined in the iCalendar Transport-independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP) [RFC5546] to permit Calendar Users to perform scheduling operations such as schedule, reschedule, respond to scheduling request or cancel calendar components, as well as search for busy time information. However, the following iTIP [RFC5546] features are not covered: publishing, countering, delegating, refreshing and forwarding calendar components, as well as replacing the Organizer of a calendar component. It is expected that future extensions will be developed to address these.

This specification defines a client/server scheduling protocol, where the server is made responsible for sending scheduling messages and processing incoming scheduling messages. The client operations of creating, modifying or deleting a calendar component in a calendar is enough to trigger the server to deliver the necessary scheduling messages to the appropriate Calendar Users. This approach is sometimes referred to as "implicit scheduling".

This specification does not attempt to address how scheduling might occur with users on different systems (either other CalDAV servers, or some other calendaring and scheduling system). However, the basic scheduling process used here does not prevent servers from sending and receiving scheduling messages with "external" users based on alternative protocols, such as the iCalendar Message-Based Interoperability Protocol (iMIP) [RFC6047].

In iTIP-based scheduling, there is an event "Organizer" whose role is to schedule an event between one or more "Attendees", and this is done by sending out invitations and handling responses from each Attendee. Often times an Organizer will do a "freebusy" lookup to check on Attendees' availability (free-time).

Servers supporting this specification advertise their capabilities and provides new collections for scheduling operations as described in Section 2.

Scheduling works by having the client store iCalendar data with appropriate scheduling properties included ("ORGANIZER" and "ATTENDEE" iCalendar properties). This is called a "Scheduling Operation" and fully described in Section 3. The server detects that the data represents a scheduling operation (as per Section 3.1) and identifies the operation as one initiated by the Organizer or Attendee. Processing of the scheduling operation, then depends on who is initiating the scheduling operation (as per Section 3.2.1 or Section 3.2.2 respectively). In each case, one of three scheduling operations can take place: "create", "modify" or "remove". Which operation occurs is based on the HTTP method used for the request, as well as a comparison between any existing iCalendar data and any new iCalendar data in the request (as per Section 3.2.3).

Scheduling operations can result in scheduling messages being delivered to the Organizer (in the case of a reply from an Attendee) or to Attendees (requests and updates from the Organizer). The server is responsible for processing incoming scheduling messages as per Section 4.

Clients wishing to check freebusy information for calendar users do so using a POST request against a special collection. An immediate result is returned by the server detailing freebusy information as per Section 5.

Control over who is allowed to send scheduling messages, or from whom scheduling messages will be received or freebusy results returned to, is controlled via a set of access control privileges dedicated to the various scheduling operations that can occur as per Section 6.

For the majority of the following discussion, scheduling of events will be discussed. However, scheduling of to-dos is also fully supported by this specification.

Discussion of this Internet-Draft is taking place on the mailing lists at <https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/caldav> and <http://lists.osafoundation.org/pipermail/ietf-caldav>.

1.1. Terminology

This specification uses much of the same terminology as iCalendar [RFC5545], iTIP [RFC5546], WebDAV [RFC4918], and CalDAV [RFC4791]. The following definitions are provided to aid the reader in understanding this specification.

Calendar User (CU):
An entity (often a human) that accesses calendar information [RFC3283].
Calendar collection:
A resource that acts as a container of references to child calendar object resources [RFC4791].
Calendar object resource:
A resource representing a calendar object (event, to-do, journal entry, or other calendar components) [RFC4791].
Scheduling object resource:
A calendar object resource contained in a calendar collection for which the server will take care of sending scheduling messages on behalf of the owner of the calendar collection.
Organizer scheduling object resource:
A scheduling object resource owned by the Organizer.
Attendee scheduling object resource:
A scheduling object resource owned by an Attendee.
Scheduling operation:
Add, change or remove operations on a scheduling object resource for which the server will deliver scheduling messages to other Calendar Users.
Scheduling message:
A calendar object that describes a scheduling operation such as schedule, reschedule, reply, or cancel.
Scheduling Outbox collection:
A resource at which busy time information requests are targeted.
Scheduling Inbox collection:
A collection in which incoming scheduling messages are delivered.

1.2. Notational Conventions

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

The Augmented BNF (ABNF) syntax used by this document to specify the format definition of new iCalendar elements is defined in [RFC5234].

The Augmented BNF (ABNF) syntax used by this document to specify the format definition of new message header fields to be used with the HTTP/1.1 protocol is described in Section 2.1 of [RFC2616]. Since this Augmented BNF uses the basic production rules provided in Section 2.2 of [RFC2616], these rules apply to this document as well.

The term "protected" is used in the Conformance field of WebDAV property definitions as defined in Section 15 of [RFC4918].

1.3. XML Namespaces and Processing

This document uses XML DTD fragments ([W3C.REC-xml-20081126], Section 3.2) as a purely notational convention. WebDAV request and response bodies cannot be validated by a DTD due to the specific extensibility rules defined in Section 17 of [RFC4918] and due to the fact that all XML elements defined by that specification use the XML namespace name "DAV:". In particular:

  1. element names use the "DAV:" namespace,
  2. element ordering is irrelevant unless explicitly stated,
  3. extension elements (elements not already defined as valid child elements) can be added anywhere, except when explicitly stated otherwise,
  4. extension attributes (attributes not already defined as valid for this element) can be added anywhere, except when explicitly stated otherwise.

The XML elements specified in this document are defined in the "urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav" XML namespace registered by CalDAV [RFC4791].

When XML element types in the namespaces "DAV:" and "urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav" are referenced in this document outside of the context of an XML fragment, the strings "DAV:" and "CALDAV:" will be prefixed to the element types, respectively.

This document inherits, and sometimes extends, DTD productions from Section 14 of [RFC4918].

Also note that some CalDAV XML element names are identical to WebDAV XML element names, though their namespace differs. Care needs to be taken not to confuse the two sets of names.


2. Scheduling Support

A server that supports the features described in this document MUST include "calendar-auto-schedule" as a field in the DAV response header from an OPTIONS request on any resource that supports any scheduling operations, properties, privileges or methods.

To advertise support for the CalDAV "calendar-auto-schedule" feature a server is REQUIRED to support and advertise support for the CalDAV "calendar-access" [RFC4791] feature.

This specification introduces new collection resource types that are used to manage scheduling object resources, and scheduling privileges (as per Section 6), as well as provide scheduling functionality. It is the server's responsibility to create these collection resources, and clients have no way to create or delete them.

2.1. Scheduling Outbox Collection

A scheduling Outbox collection is used as the target for busy time information requests, and to manage privileges that apply to outgoing scheduling requests.

A scheduling Outbox collection MUST report the DAV:collection and CALDAV:schedule-outbox XML elements in the value of the DAV:resourcetype property. The element type declaration for CALDAV:schedule-outbox is:

   <!ELEMENT schedule-outbox EMPTY>
        

Example:

   <D:resourcetype xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:collection/>
     <C:schedule-outbox xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"/>
   </D:resourcetype>
        

A scheduling Outbox collection MUST NOT be a child (at any depth) of a calendar collection resource.

The following WebDAV properties specified in CalDAV "calendar-access" [RFC4791] MAY also be defined on scheduling Outbox collections and apply to scheduling messages submitted to the scheduling Outbox collection with the POST method:

  • CALDAV:supported-calendar-component-set
  • CALDAV:supported-calendar-data
  • CALDAV:max-resource-size
  • CALDAV:min-date-time
  • CALDAV:max-date-time
  • CALDAV:max-attendees-per-instance

The use of child resources in a scheduling Outbox collection is reserved for future revisions or extensions of this specification.

The following WebDAV property is defined on principal resources and used to locate the corresponding Outbox collection for the associated principal.

2.1.1. CALDAV:schedule-outbox-URL Property

Name:
schedule-outbox-URL
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Identify the URL of the scheduling Outbox collection owned by the associated principal resource.
Protected:
This property MAY be protected.
PROPFIND behavior:
This property SHOULD NOT be returned by a PROPFIND allprop request (as defined in Section 14.2 of [RFC4918]).
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property value SHOULD be preserved in COPY and MOVE operations.
Description:
This property is needed for a client to determine where the scheduling Outbox collection of the current user is located so that sending of scheduling messages can occur. If not present, then the associated calendar user is not enabled for the sending of scheduling messages on the server.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT schedule-outbox-URL (DAV:href)>
                    

2.2. Scheduling Inbox Collection

A scheduling Inbox collection contains copies of incoming scheduling messages. These can be requests sent by an Organizer, or replies sent by an Attendee in response to a request. The scheduling Inbox collection is also used to manage scheduling privileges.

A scheduling Inbox collection MUST report the DAV:collection and CALDAV:schedule-inbox XML elements in the value of the DAV:resourcetype property. The element type declaration for CALDAV:schedule-inbox is:

   <!ELEMENT schedule-inbox EMPTY>
        

Example:

   <D:resourcetype xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:collection/>
     <C:schedule-inbox xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"/>
   </D:resourcetype>
        

Scheduling Inbox collections MUST only contain calendar object resources that obey the restrictions specified in iTIP [RFC5546]. Consequently, scheduling Inbox collections MUST NOT contain any types of collection resources. Restrictions defined in Section 4.1 of CalDAV "calendar-access" [RFC4791] on calendar object resources contained in calendar collections (e.g., "UID" uniqueness) do not apply to calendar object resources contained in a scheduling Inbox collection. Thus, multiple calendar object resources contained in a scheduling Inbox collection can have the same "UID" property value (i.e., multiple scheduling messages for the same calendar component).

A scheduling Inbox collection MUST NOT be a child (at any depth) of a calendar collection resource.

The following WebDAV properties specified in CalDAV "calendar-access" [RFC4791] MAY also be defined on scheduling Inbox collections and apply to scheduling messages delivered to the collection:

  • CALDAV:supported-calendar-component-set
  • CALDAV:supported-calendar-data
  • CALDAV:max-resource-size
  • CALDAV:min-date-time
  • CALDAV:max-date-time
  • CALDAV:max-instances
  • CALDAV:max-attendees-per-instance
  • CALDAV:calendar-timezone

The following WebDAV property is defined on principal resources and used to locate the corresponding Inbox collection for the associated principal.

2.2.1. CALDAV:schedule-inbox-URL Property

Name:
schedule-inbox-URL
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Identify the URL of the scheduling Inbox collection owned by the associated principal resource.
Protected:
This property MAY be protected.
PROPFIND behavior:
This property SHOULD NOT be returned by a PROPFIND allprop request (as defined in Section 14.2 of [RFC4918]).
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property value SHOULD be preserved in COPY and MOVE operations.
Description:
This property allows a client to determine where the scheduling Inbox collection of the current user is located so that processing of scheduling messages can occur. If not present, then the associated calendar user is not enabled for reception of scheduling messages on the server.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT schedule-inbox-URL (DAV:href)>
                    

2.3. Calendaring Reports Extensions

This specification extends the CALDAV:calendar-query and CALDAV:calendar-multiget REPORTs to return results for calendar object resources in scheduling Inbox collections.

When a CALDAV:calendar-query REPORT includes a time-range query and targets a scheduling Inbox collection, if any calendar object resources contain "VEVENT" calendar components that do not include a "DTSTART" iCalendar property (as allowed by iTIP [RFC5546]) then such components MUST always match the time-range query test.

Note that the CALDAV:free-busy-query REPORT is not supported on scheduling Inbox collections.

2.4. Additional Principal Properties

This section defines new properties for WebDAV principal resources as defined in [RFC3744]. These properties are likely to be protected but the server MAY allow them to be written by appropriate users.

2.4.1. CALDAV:calendar-user-address-set Property

Name:
calendar-user-address-set
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Identify the calendar addresses of the associated principal resource.
Protected:
This property MAY be protected.
PROPFIND behavior:
This property SHOULD NOT be returned by a PROPFIND allprop request (as defined in Section 14.2 of [RFC4918]).
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property value SHOULD be preserved in COPY and MOVE operations.
Description:
Support for this property is REQUIRED. This property is needed to map calendar user addresses in iCalendar data to principal resources and their associated scheduling Inbox and Outbox collections. In the event that a user has no well defined identifier for their calendar user address, the URI of their principal resource can be used. This property SHOULD be searchable using the DAV:principal-property-search REPORT. The DAV:principal-search-property-set REPORT SHOULD identify this property as such. If not present, then the associated calendar user is not enabled for scheduling on the server.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT calendar-user-address-set (DAV:href*)>
                    
Example:
   <C:calendar-user-address-set xmlns:D="DAV:"
                         xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">
     <D:href>mailto:bernard@example.com</D:href>
     <D:href>mailto:bernard.desruisseaux@example.com</D:href>
   </C:calendar-user-address-set>

2.4.2. CALDAV:calendar-user-type Property

Name:
calendar-user-type
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Identifies the calendar user type of the associated principal resource.
Value:
Same values allowed for the iCalendar "CUTYPE" property parameter defined in Section 3.2.3 of [RFC5545].
Protected:
This property MAY be protected.
PROPFIND behavior:
This property SHOULD NOT be returned by a PROPFIND allprop request (as defined in Section 14.2 of [RFC4918]).
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property value SHOULD be preserved in COPY and MOVE operations.
Description:
Clients can query principal resources in order to lookup attendees available on the server. When doing this, it is useful to know, or restrict the query to, certain types of calendar user (e.g., only search for "people", or only search for "rooms"). This property MAY be defined on principal resources to indicate the type of calendar user associated with the principal resource. Its value is the same as the iCalendar "CUTYPE" property parameter that can be used on "ATTENDEE" properties. This property SHOULD be searchable using the DAV:principal-property-search REPORT. The DAV:principal-search-property-set REPORT SHOULD identify this property as such.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT calendar-user-type (#PCDATA)>
                    
Example:
   <C:calendar-user-type
        xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">INDIVIDUAL<
    /C:calendar-user-type>

3. Scheduling Operations

When a calendar object resource is created, modified or removed from a calendar collection, the server examines the calendar data and checks to see whether the data represents a scheduling object resource. If it does, the server will automatically attempt to deliver a scheduling message to the appropriate Calendar Users. Several types of scheduling operations can occur in this case, equivalent to iTIP "REQUEST", "REPLY", "CANCEL", and "ADD" operations.

3.1. Identifying Scheduling Object Resources

Calendar object resources on which the server performs scheduling operations are referred to as scheduling object resources. There are two types of scheduling object resources: organizer scheduling object resources, and attendee scheduling object resources.

A calendar object resource is considered to be a valid organizer scheduling object resource if the "ORGANIZER" iCalendar property is present and set in all the calendar components to a value that matches one of the calendar user addresses of the owner of the calendar collection.

A calendar object resource is considered to be a valid attendee scheduling object resource if the "ORGANIZER" iCalendar property is present and set in all the calendar components to the same value and doesn't match one of the calendar user addresses of the owner of the calendar collection, and at least one of the "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property values matches one of the calendar user addresses of the owner of the calendar collection.

The creation of attendee scheduling object resources is typically done by the server, with the resource being created in an appropriate calendar collection (see Section 4.3).

3.2. Handling Scheduling Object Resources

The server's behavior when processing a scheduling object resource depends on whether it is owned by the Organizer or an Attendee specified in the calendar data.

3.2.1. Organizer Scheduling Object Resources

An Organizer can create, modify or remove a scheduling object resource. These operations are each described next, and how they are invoked via HTTP requests is described in Section 3.2.3.

The Organizer of a calendar component can also be an Attendee of that calendar component. In such cases the server MUST NOT send a scheduling message to the Attendee that matches the Organizer.

3.2.1.1. Create

When a scheduling object resource is created by the Organizer, the server will inspect each "ATTENDEE" property to determine if a scheduling message ought to be delivered to this Attendee according to the value of the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter (see Section 7.1) as described in the table below:

           +------------------+-------------+
           | SCHEDULE-AGENT   | iTIP METHOD |
           +==================+=============+
           | SERVER (default) | REQUEST     |
           +------------------+-------------+
           | CLIENT           | --          |
           +------------------+-------------+
           | NONE             | --          |
           +------------------+-------------+
              

The server MUST add a "SCHEDULE-STATUS" iCalendar property parameter (see Section 7.3) to the "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property in the scheduling object resource being created, and set its value as described in Section 3.2.9. This will result in the created calendar object resource differing from the calendar data sent in the HTTP request. As a result clients MAY reload the calendar data from the server in order to update to the new server generated state information. Servers MUST NOT set the "SCHEDULE-STATUS" property parameter on the "ATTENDEE" property of Attendees for which it did not attempt to deliver a scheduling message.

Restrictions:

  1. The server SHOULD reject any attempt to set the "PARTSTAT" iCalendar property parameter value of the "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property of other users in the calendar object resource to a value other than "NEEDS-ACTION" if the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter value is not present or set to the value "SERVER".
  2. The server MAY reject attempts to create a scheduling object resource that specifies a "UID" property value already specified in a scheduling object resource contained in another calendar collection of the Organizer.
  3. The server MUST take into account scheduling privileges as described in Section 6 when handling the creation of a scheduling object resource.
  4. Restrictions on calendar object resources defined in Section 4.1 of [RFC4791] MUST also be enforced.

The server MUST return an error with the CALDAV:allowed-organizer-scheduling-object-change precondition code (Section 3.2.4.3) when the Organizer attempts to change the iCalendar data in a manner that is forbidden.

3.2.1.2. Modify

When a scheduling object resource is modified by the Organizer, the server will inspect each "ATTENDEE" property in the new calendar data to determine which ones have the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" iCalendar property parameter. It will then need to compare this with the "ATTENDEE" properties in the existing calendar object resource that is being modified.

For each Attendee in the old and new calendar data on a per-instance basis, and taking into account the addition or removal of Attendees, the server will determine whether to deliver a scheduling message to the Attendee. The following table determines whether the server needs to deliver a scheduling message, and if so which iTIP scheduling method to use. The values "SERVER", "CLIENT", and "NONE" in the top and left titles of the table refer to the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" parameter value of the "ATTENDEE" property, and the values "<Absent>" and "<Removed>" are used to cover the cases where the "ATTENDEE" property is not present (Old) or is being removed (New).

+---------------+-----------------------------------------------+
|               |                     New                       |
|    ATTENDEE   +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|               | <Removed> | SERVER    | CLIENT    | NONE      |
|               |           | (default) |           |           |
+===+===========+===========+===========+===========+===========+
|   | <Absent>  |  --       | REQUEST / | --        | --        |
|   |           |           | ADD       |           |           |
|   +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|   | SERVER    |  CANCEL   | REQUEST   | CANCEL    | CANCEL    |
| O | (default) |           |           |           |           |
| l +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| d | CLIENT    |  --       | REQUEST / | --        | --        |
|   |           |           | ADD       |           |           |
|   +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|   | NONE      |  --       | REQUEST / | --        | --        |
|   |           |           | ADD       |           |           |
+---+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ 
              

The server MUST add a "SCHEDULE-STATUS" iCalendar property parameter to the "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property in the scheduling object resource being modified, and set its value as described in Section 3.2.9. This will result in the created calendar object resource differing from the calendar data sent in the HTTP request. As a result clients MAY reload the calendar data from the server in order to update to the new server generated state information.

Restrictions:

  1. The server MAY reject any attempt to set the "PARTSTAT" iCalendar property parameter value of the "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property of other users in the calendar object resource to a value other than "NEEDS-ACTION" if the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter value is not present or set to the value "SERVER".
  2. The server MUST take into account scheduling privileges as described in Section 6 when handling the modification of a scheduling object resource.
  3. Restrictions on calendar object resources defined in Section 4.1 of [RFC4791] MUST also be enforced.

The server MUST return an error with the CALDAV:allowed-organizer-scheduling-object-change precondition code (Section 3.2.4.3) when the Organizer attempts to change the iCalendar data in a manner that is forbidden.

3.2.1.3. Remove

When a scheduling object resource is removed by the Organizer, the server will inspect each "ATTENDEE" property in the scheduling object resource being removed to determine which ones have the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" iCalendar property parameter.

For each Attendee the server will determine whether to attempt to deliver a scheduling message into the Attendee's scheduling Inbox collection, based on the table below:

           +------------------+-------------+
           | SCHEDULE-AGENT   | iTIP METHOD |
           +==================+=============+
           | SERVER (default) | CANCEL      |
           +------------------+-------------+
           | CLIENT           | --          |
           +------------------+-------------+
           | NONE             | --          |
           +------------------+-------------+
              

Restrictions:

  1. The server MUST take into account scheduling privileges as described in Section 6 when handling the deletion of a scheduling object resource.

3.2.2. Attendee Scheduling Object Resources

An Attendee can create, modify or remove a scheduling object resource. These operations are each described next, and how they are invoked via HTTP requests is described in Section 3.2.3.

3.2.2.1. Allowed Attendee Changes

Attendees are allowed to make some changes to a scheduling object resource, though key properties such as start time, end time, location, and summary are typically under the control of the Organizer.

The server MUST allow Attendees to:

  1. change their own "PARTSTAT" iCalendar property parameter value.
  2. add, modify or remove any "TRANSP" iCalendar properties.
  3. add, modify or remove any "PERCENT-COMPLETE" iCalendar properties.
  4. add, modify or remove any "COMPLETED" iCalendar properties.
  5. add, modify or remove any "VALARM" iCalendar components.
  6. add, modify or remove the "CALSCALE" iCalendar property within the top-level "VCALENDAR" component.
  7. modify the "PRODID" iCalendar property within the top-level "VCALENDAR" component.
  8. add "EXDATE" iCalendar properties and possibly remove components for overridden recurrence instances.
  9. add, modify or remove any "CREATED", "DTSTAMP" and "LAST-MODIFIED" iCalendar properties.
  10. add, modify or remove "SCHEDULE-STATUS" iCalendar property parameters on "ATTENDEE" properties that have a "SCHEDULE-AGENT" parameter set to "CLIENT".
  11. add new components to represent overridden recurrence instances, provided the only changes to the recurrence instance follow the rules above.

The server MUST return an error with the CALDAV:allowed-attendee-scheduling-object-change precondition code (Section 3.2.4.4) when the Attendee attempts to change the iCalendar data in a manner forbidden by the server.

3.2.2.2. Create

Typically an Attendee does not create scheduling object resources, as scheduling messages delivered to them on the server are automatically processed by the server and placed on one of their calendars (see Section 4). However, in some cases a scheduling message can get delivered directly to the client (e.g., via email [RFC6047]), and the Attendee might wish to store that on the server. In that case the client creates a scheduling object resource in a calendar belonging to the Attendee. It can then set the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" iCalendar property parameter on all "ORGANIZER" iCalendar properties in the resource to determine how the server treats the resource. The value of the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" iCalendar property parameter on all "ORGANIZER" iCalendar properties MUST be the same.

SCHEDULE-AGENTAction
SERVER (default)The server will attempt to process changes to the resource using the normal rules for attendee scheduling object resources.
CLIENTThe server does no special processing of the resource. The client is assumed to be handling Attendee replies etc.
NONEThe server does no special processing of the resource.

In some cases a server might not be able to process an Attendee scheduling object resource that originated from another system (i.e., where the server is unable to deliver scheduling messages to the Organizer). In such cases the server MUST add a "SCHEDULE-STATUS" iCalendar property parameter to all "ORGANIZER" iCalendar properties in the resource with a value indicating an error.

3.2.2.3. Modify

When a scheduling object resource is modified by an Attendee, the server behavior depends on the value of the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" iCalendar property parameter on the "ORGANIZER" iCalendar properties:

SCHEDULE-AGENTAction
SERVER (default)The server will attempt to process the update using the behavior listed below.
CLIENTThe server does no special processing of the resource. The client is assumed to be handling any Attendee replies etc.
NONEThe server does no special processing of the resource.

The server will inspect the changes by comparing the new scheduling object resource with the existing scheduling object resource.

If the Attendee changes one or more "PARTSTAT" iCalendar property values on any component, or adds an overridden component with a changed "PARTSTAT" property, then the server MUST deliver an iTIP "REPLY" scheduling message to the Organizer to indicate the new participation status of the Attendee.

If the Attendee adds an "EXDATE" property value to effectively remove a recurrence instance, the server MUST deliver an iTIP "REPLY" scheduling message to the Organizer to indicate that the Attendee has declined the instance.

The server MUST add a "SCHEDULE-STATUS" iCalendar property parameter to the "ORGANIZER" iCalendar property in the scheduling object resource being updated, and set its value as described in Section 3.2.9. This will result in the updated calendar object resource differing from the calendar data sent in the HTTP request. As a result clients MAY reload the calendar data from the server in order to update to the new server generated state information.

3.2.2.4. Remove

When a scheduling object resource is removed by an Attendee, the server behavior depends on the value of the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" iCalendar property parameter on the "ORGANIZER" iCalendar properties:

SCHEDULE-AGENTAction
SERVER (default)The server will attempt to process the removal taking into account any "Schedule-Reply" request header as per Section 8.1.
CLIENTThe server does no special processing of the resource. The client is assumed to be handling any Attendee replies etc.
NONEThe server does no special processing of the resource.

3.2.3. HTTP Methods

This section describes how use of various HTTP methods on a scheduling object resource will cause a create, modify or remove operation on that resource as described above. The use of these methods is subject to the restrictions in [RFC4791], in addition to what is described below.

3.2.3.1. PUT

When a PUT method request is received, the server will execute the following operations, provided all appropriate preconditions are met:

Existing Destination ResourceResulting Destination ResourceServer Operation
NoneCalendar object resourceNone
NoneScheduling object resourceCreate
Calendar object resourceCalendar object resourceNone
Calendar object resourceScheduling object resourceCreate
Scheduling object resourceCalendar object resourceRemove
Scheduling object resourceScheduling object resourceModify
3.2.3.2. COPY

When a COPY method request is received, the server will execute the following operations based on the source and destination collections in the request:

Source CollectionDestination CollectionServer Operation
Non-calendar collectionNon-calendar collectionNone
Non-calendar collectionCalendar collection(1)
Calendar collectionNon-calendar collectionNone
Calendar collectionCalendar collection(2)

Note 1. The same rules as used for PUT above are applied for the destination of the COPY request.

Note 2. The server MAY reject this as per Section 3.2.4.1, otherwise None.

The behavior of a COPY method request on a calendar collection is undefined.

3.2.3.3. MOVE

When a MOVE method request is received, the server will execute the following operations based on the source and destination collections in the request:

Source CollectionDestination CollectionServer Operation
Non-calendar collectionNon-calendar collectionNone
Non-calendar collectionCalendar collection(1)
Calendar collectionNon-calendar collection(2)
Calendar collectionCalendar collectionNone

Note 1. The same rules as used for PUT above are applied for the destination of the MOVE request.

Note 2. The same rules as used for DELETE below are applied for the source of the MOVE request.

The behavior of a MOVE method request on a calendar collection is undefined.

3.2.3.4. DELETE

When a DELETE method is targeted at a scheduling object resource the server will execute the Remove operation.

When a DELETE method is targeted at a calendar collection the server will execute the Remove operation on all scheduling object resources contained in the calendar collection.

3.2.4. Additional Method Preconditions

This specification defines method preconditions (see Section 16 of WebDAV [RFC4918]), in addition to the ones in [RFC4791], to provide machine-parseable information in error responses.

3.2.4.1. CALDAV:unique-scheduling-object-resource Precondition
Name:
unique-scheduling-object-resource
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
PUT, COPY, and MOVE
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- Servers MAY reject requests to create a scheduling object resource with an iCalendar "UID" property value already in use by another scheduling object resource owned by the same user in other calendar collections. Servers SHOULD report the URL of the scheduling object resource that is already making use of the same "UID" property value in the DAV:href element.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT unique-scheduling-object-resource (DAV:href?)>
                  
Example:
   <C:unique-scheduling-object-resource xmlns:D="DAV:"
       xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">
     <D:href>/home/bernard/calendars/personal/abc123.ics</D:href>
   </C:unique-scheduling-object-resource>
                  
3.2.4.2. CALDAV:same-organizer-in-all-components Precondition
Name:
same-organizer-in-all-components
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
PUT, COPY, and MOVE
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- All the calendar components in a scheduling object resource MUST contain the same "ORGANIZER" property value when present.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT same-organizer-in-all-components EMPTY>
                  
3.2.4.3. CALDAV:allowed-organizer-scheduling-object-change Precondition
Name:
allowed-organizer-scheduling-object-change
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
PUT, COPY, and MOVE
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- Servers MAY impose restrictions on modifications allowed by an Organizer. For instance, servers MAY prevent the Organizer setting the "PARTSTAT" property parameter to a value other than "NEEDS-ACTION" if the corresponding "ATTENDEE" property has the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter set to "SERVER", or has no "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter. See Section 3.2.1.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT allowed-organizer-scheduling-object-change EMPTY>
                  
3.2.4.4. CALDAV:allowed-attendee-scheduling-object-change Precondition
Name:
allowed-attendee-scheduling-object-change
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
PUT, COPY, and MOVE
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- Servers MAY impose restrictions on modifications allowed by an Attendee. Attendee modifications that servers MUST allow are specified in Section 3.2.2.1.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT allowed-attendee-scheduling-object-change EMPTY>
                  

3.2.5. DTSTAMP and SEQUENCE Properties

The server MUST ensure that a "DTSTAMP" iCalendar property is present and set the value to the UTC time that the scheduling message was generated (as required by iCalendar).

The server MUST ensure that for each type of scheduling operation, the "SEQUENCE" iCalendar property value is updated as per iTIP [RFC5546].

3.2.6. Restrict Recurrence Instances Sent to Attendees

Servers MUST ensure that Attendees only get information about recurrence instances that explicitly include them as an Attendee, when delivering scheduling messages for recurring calendar components.

For example, if an Attendee is invited to only a single instance of a recurring event, the organizer scheduling object resource will contain an overridden instance in the form of a separate calendar component. That separate calendar component will include the "ATTENDEE" property referencing the "one-off" Attendee. That Attendee will not be listed in any other calendar components in the scheduling object resource. Any scheduling messages delivered to the Attendee will only contain information about this overridden instance.

As another example, an Attendee could be excluded from one instance of a recurring event. In that case the organizer scheduling object resource will include an overridden instance with an "ATTENDEE" list that does not include the Attendee being excluded. Any scheduling messages delivered to the Attendee will not specify the overridden instance but rather include an "EXDATE" property in the "master" component that defines the recurrence set.

3.2.7. Forcing the Server to Send a Scheduling Message

The iCalendar property parameter "SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND" defined in Section 7.2 can be used by a Calendar User to force the server to send a scheduling message to an Attendee or the Organizer in a situation where the server would not normally send a scheduling message. For instance, an Organizer could use this property parameter to request an Attendee, that previously declined an invitation, to reconsider their participation status without being forced to modify the event.

3.2.8. Attendee Participation Status

This section specifies additional requirements on the handling of the "PARTSTAT" property parameter when the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter on the corresponding "ATTENDEE" property is set to the value "SERVER" or is not present.

Servers MUST reset the "PARTSTAT" property parameter value of all "ATTENDEE" properties, except the one that corresponds to the Organizer, to "NEEDS-ACTION" when the Organizer reschedules an event.

A reschedule of an event occurs when any "DTSTART", "DTEND", "DURATION", "DUE", "RRULE", "RDATE", or "EXDATE" property changes in a calendar component such that existing recurrence instances are impacted by the changes, as shown in the table below.

PropertyServer Action
DTSTART, DTEND, DURATION, DUEAny change to these properties MUST result in "PARTSTAT" being set to "NEEDS-ACTION"
RRULEA change to or addition of this property that results in the addition of new recurring instances or a change in time for existing recurring instances MUST result in "PARTSTAT" being reset to "NEEDS-ACTION" on each affected component.
RDATEA change to or addition of this property that results in the addition of new recurring instances or a change in time for existing recurring instances MUST result in "PARTSTAT" being reset to "NEEDS-ACTION" on each affected component.
EXDATEA change to or removal of this property that results in the re-instatement of recurring instances MUST result in "PARTSTAT" being set to "NEEDS-ACTION" on each affected component.

The server MAY allow the Organizer's client to change an Attendee's "PARTSTAT" property parameter value to "NEEDS-ACTION" at any other time (e.g., when the "LOCATION" property value changes, an Organizer might wish to re-invite Attendees who might be impacted by the change).

3.2.9. Schedule Status Values

When scheduling with an Attendee there are two types of status information that can be returned during the operation. The first type of status information is a "delivery" status that indicates whether the scheduling message from the Organizer to the Attendee was delivered or not, or what the current status of delivery is. The second type of status information is a "reply" status corresponding to the Attendee's own "REQUEST-STATUS" information from the scheduling message reply that is sent back to the Organizer.

Similarly, when an Attendee sends a reply back to the Organizer, there will be "delivery" status information for the scheduling message sent to the Organizer. However, there is no "REQUEST-STATUS" sent back by the Organizer, so there is no equivalent of the "reply" status as per scheduling messages to Attendees.

The "delivery" status information on an "ORGANIZER" or "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property is conveyed in the "SCHEDULE-STATUS" property parameter value (Section 7.3). The status code value for "delivery" status can be one of the following:

Delivery Status CodeDescription
1.0The scheduling message is pending. i.e. the server is still in the process of sending the message. The status code value can be expected to change once the server has completed its sending and delivery attempts.
1.1The scheduling message has been successfully sent. However, the server does not have explicit information about whether the scheduling message was successfully delivered to the recipient. This state can occur with "store and forward" style scheduling protocols such as iMIP [RFC6047] (iTIP using email).
1.2The scheduling message has been successfully delivered.
3.7The scheduling message was not delivered because the server did not recognize the calendar user address as a valid calendar user. Note that this code applies to both Organizer and Attendee calendar user addresses.
3.8The scheduling message was not delivered due to insufficient privileges. Note that this code applies to both privileges granted by both the Organizer and Attendee calendar users.
5.1The scheduling message was not delivered because the server could not complete delivery of the message. This is likely due to a temporary failure, and the originator can try to send the message again at a later time.
5.2The scheduling message was not delivered because the server was not able to find a way to deliver the message. This is likely a permanent failure, and the originator ought not try to send the message again, at least without verifying/correcting the calendar user address of the recipient.
5.3The scheduling message was not delivered and was rejected because scheduling with that recipient is not allowed. This is likely a permanent failure, and the originator ought not try to send the message again.

The status code for "reply" status can be any of the valid iTIP [RFC5546] "REQUEST-STATUS" values.

The 1.xx "REQUEST-STATUS" codes are new. This specification modifies item (2) of Section 3.6 of [RFC5546] by adding the following restriction:

  • For a 1.xx code, all components MUST have exactly the same code.

Definition of the new 1.xx codes is as follows:

3.2.9.1. Status Code 1.0
Status Code:
1.0
Status Description:
Pending.
Status Exception Data:
None.
Description:
Delivery of the iTIP message is pending.
3.2.9.2. Status Code 1.1
Status Code:
1.1
Status Description:
Sent.
Status Exception Data:
None.
Description:
The iTIP message has been sent, though no information about successful delivery is known.
3.2.9.3. Status Code 1.2
Status Code:
1.2
Status Description:
Delivered.
Status Exception Data:
None.
Description:
The iTIP message has been sent and delivered.

3.2.10. Avoiding Conflicts when Updating Scheduling Object Resources

Scheduling object resources on the server might change frequently as Attendees change their participation status, triggering updates to the Organizer, and refreshes of other Attendees' copies of the scheduling object resource. This can lead to an "inconsequential" change to a calendar user's data - one that does not directly impact their own participation status. When this occurs, clients have to reload calendar data and reconcile with changes being made by calendar users. To avoid the need for this, the server can instead merge calendar data changes from a client with changes made as a the result of a scheduling operation carried out by some other calendar user.

This specification introduces a new WebDAV resource property CALDAV:schedule-tag with a corresponding response header "Schedule-Tag", and a new "If-Schedule-Tag-Match" request header to allow client changes to be appropriately merged with server changes in the case where the changes on the server were the result of an "inconsequential" scheduling message update (one which simply updates the status information of Attendees due to a reply from another Attendee).

Servers MUST support requests targeted at scheduling object resources using the "If-Schedule-Tag-Match" request header. Servers MUST support the "Schedule-Tag" response header and CALDAV:schedule-tag property for scheduling object resources. Servers MUST automatically resolve conflicts with "inconsequential" changes done to scheduling object resources when the "If-Schedule-Tag-Match" request header is specified.

The If-Schedule-Tag-Match request header applies only to the Request-URI, and not to the Destination of a COPY or MOVE.

A response to any successful GET or PUT request targeting a scheduling object resource MUST include a Schedule-Tag response header with the value set to the same value as the CALDAV:schedule-tag WebDAV property of the resource.

A response to any successful COPY or MOVE request that specifies a Destination request header targeting a scheduling object resource MUST include a Schedule-Tag response header with the value set to the same value as the CALDAV:schedule-tag WebDAV property of the resource identified in the Request-URI.

Clients SHOULD use the If-Schedule-Tag-Match header on requests that update scheduling object resources, instead of HTTP ETag-based precondition tests (e.g., If-Match). Normal ETag-based precondition tests are used in all other cases, e.g., for synchronization.

The value of the CALDAV:schedule-tag property changes according to these rules:

  • For an Organizer's copy of a scheduling object resource:
    1. The server MUST NOT change the CALDAV:schedule-tag property value when the scheduling object resource is updated as the result of automatically processing a scheduling message reply from an Attendee. For instance, when an Attendee replies to the Organizer, the CALDAV:schedule-tag property is unchanged after the Organizer's scheduling object resource has been automatically updated by the server with the Attendee's new participation status.
    2. The server MUST change CALDAV:schedule-tag property value when the scheduling object resource is changed directly via an HTTP request (e.g., PUT, COPY or MOVE).
  • For an Attendee's copy of a scheduling object resource:
    1. The server MUST change the CALDAV:schedule-tag property value when the scheduling object resource is changed as the result of processing a scheduling message update from an Organizer that contains changes other than just the participation status of Attendees.
    2. The server MUST NOT change the CALDAV:schedule-tag property value when the scheduling object resource is changed as the result of processing a scheduling message update from an Organizer that only specify changes in the participation status of Attendees. For instance, when Attendee "A" replies to Organizer "O", and Attendee "B" receives a scheduling message update from Organizer "O" with the new participation status of Attendee "A", the CALDAV:schedule-tag property of Attendee "B"s scheduling object resource would remain the same.
    3. The server MUST change the CALDAV:schedule-tag property value when the scheduling object resource is changed directly via an HTTP request (e.g., PUT, COPY or MOVE).
3.2.10.1. PUT

Clients can use the If-Schedule-Tag-Match request header to do a PUT request that ensures that "inconsequential" changes on the server do not result in a precondition error. The value of the request header is set to the last Schedule-Tag value received for the resource being modified. If the value of the If-Schedule-Tag-Match header matches the current value of the CALDAV:schedule-tag property the server MUST take any "ATTENDEE" property changes for all Attendees other than the owner of the scheduling object resource and apply those to the new resource being stored. Otherwise, the server MUST fail the request with a 412 Precondition Failed status code.

3.2.10.2. DELETE, COPY or MOVE

Clients can use the If-Schedule-Tag-Match request header to do a DELETE, COPY or MOVE request that ensures that "inconsequential" changes on the server do not result in a precondition error. The value of the request header is set to the last Schedule-Tag value received for the resource being deleted. If the value of the If-Schedule-Tag-Match header matches the current value of the CALDAV:schedule-tag property the server performs the normal DELETE, COPY or MOVE request processing for the resource. Otherwise, the server MUST fail the request with a 412 Precondition Failed status code.


4. Processing Incoming Scheduling Messages

Scheduling operations can cause the delivery of a scheduling message into an Organizer's or Attendee's scheduling Inbox collection. Servers MUST automatically process incoming scheduling messages using the rules defined by [RFC5546], by creating or updating the corresponding scheduling object resources on calendars owned by the owner of the scheduling Inbox collection. In addition, the scheduling message is stored in the scheduling Inbox collection as an indicator to the client that a scheduling operation has taken place. Scheduling messages are typically removed from the scheduling Inbox collection by the client once the calendar user has acknowledged the change.

The server MUST take into account privileges on the scheduling Inbox collection when processing incoming scheduling messages, to determine whether delivery of the scheduling message is allowed. Privileges on calendars containing any matching scheduling object resource are not considered in this case (i.e., a schedule message from another user can cause modifications to resources in calendar collections that the other user would not normally have read or write access to). Additionally, servers MUST take into account any scheduling Inbox collection preconditions (see Section 2.2) when delivering the scheduling message, and it MUST take into account the similar preconditions on any calendar collection which contains, or would contain, the corresponding scheduling object resource.

4.1. Processing Organizer Requests, Additions, and Cancellations

For a scheduling message sent by an Organizer, the server first tries to locate a corresponding scheduling object resource belonging to the Attendee. If no matching scheduling object resource exists, the server treats the scheduling message as a new message, otherwise it is treated as an update.

In the case of a new message, the server MUST process the scheduling message and create a new scheduling object resource as per Section 4.3.

In the case of an update, the server MUST process the scheduling message and update the matching scheduling object resource belonging to the Attendee to reflect the changes sent by the Organizer.

In each case, the scheduling message MUST only appear in the Attendee's scheduling Inbox collection once all automatic processing has been done.

4.2. Processing Attendee Replies

For a scheduling message reply sent by an Attendee, the server first locates the corresponding scheduling object resource belonging to the Organizer. If the corresponding scheduling object resource cannot be found, the server SHOULD ignore the scheduling message.

The server MUST then update the "PARTSTAT" iCalendar property parameter value of each "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property in the scheduling object resource to match the changes indicated in the reply (taking into account the fact that an Attendee could have created a new overridden iCalendar component to indicate different participation status on one or more instances of a recurring event).

The server MUST also update or add the "SCHEDULE-STATUS" property parameter on each matching "ATTENDEE" iCalendar property and set its value to that of the "REQUEST-STATUS" property in the reply, or to "2.0" if "REQUEST-STATUS" is not present (also taking into account recurrence instances). If there are multiple "REQUEST-STATUS" properties in the reply, the "SCHEDULE-STATUS" property parameter value is set to a comma-separated list of status codes, one from each "REQUEST-STATUS" property.

The server SHOULD send scheduling messages to all the other Attendees indicating the change in participation status of the Attendee replying, subject to the recurrence requirements of Section 3.2.6.

The scheduling message MUST only appear in the Organizer's scheduling Inbox collection once all automatic processing has been done.

4.3. Default Calendar Collection

The server is REQUIRED to process scheduling messages received for an Attendee by creating a new scheduling object resource in a calendar collection belonging to the Attendee, when one does not already exist. A Calendar User that is an Attendee in a scheduling operation MUST have at least one valid calendar collection available. If there is no valid calendar collection, then the server MUST reject the attempt to deliver the scheduling message to the Attendee.

Servers MAY provide support for a default calendar collection, that is, the calendar collection in which new scheduling object resources will be created. The CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL WebDAV property, which can be present on the scheduling Inbox collection of a Calendar User, specifies if this Calendar User has a default calendar collection. See Section 9.2.

Servers SHOULD create new scheduling object resources in the default calendar collection, if the CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL WebDAV property is set.

Servers MAY allow clients to change the default calendar collection by changing the value of the CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL WebDAV property on the scheduling Inbox collection. However, the server MUST ensure that any new value for that property refers to a valid calendar collection belonging to the owner of the scheduling Inbox collection.

Servers MUST reject any attempt to delete the default calendar collection.

4.3.1. Additional Method Preconditions

This specification defines additional method preconditions (see Section 16 of WebDAV [RFC4918]) to provide machine-parseable information in error responses.

4.3.1.1. CALDAV:default-calendar-needed Precondition
Name:
default-calendar-needed
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
DELETE
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- The client attempted to delete the calendar collection currently referenced by the CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL property, or attempted to remove the CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL property on the scheduling Inbox collection on a server that doesn't allow such operations.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT default-calendar-needed EMPTY>
                  
4.3.1.2. CALDAV:valid-schedule-default-calendar-URL Precondition
Name:
valid-schedule-default-calendar-URL
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
PROPPATCH
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- The client attempted to set the CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL property to a DAV:href element that doesn't reference a valid calendar collection. Note: Servers that do not allow clients to change the CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL property would simply return the DAV:cannot-modify-protected-property precondition defined in Section 16 of WebDAV [RFC4918].
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT valid-schedule-default-calendar-URL EMPTY>
                  

5. Request for Busy Time Information

Busy time information of one or more Calendar Users can be determined by submitting a POST request targeted at the scheduling Outbox collection of the Calendar User requesting the information (the Organizer). To accomplish this, the request body MUST contain a "VFREEBUSY" calendar component with the "METHOD" iCalendar property set to the value "REQUEST" as specified in Section 3.3.2 of iTIP [RFC5546]. The resource identified by the Request-URI MUST be a resource collection of type CALDAV:schedule-outbox (Section 2.1). The "ORGANIZER" property in the "VFREEBUSY" component MUST match that of the Calendar User who "owns" the Outbox collection.

A response to a busy time request that indicates status for one or more Calendar Users MUST be an XML document with a CALDAV:schedule-response XML element as its root element. This element MUST contain one CALDAV:response element for each Calendar User, with each of those containing elements that indicate which Calendar User they correspond to, the scheduling status for that Calendar User, any error codes and an optional description. For a successful busy time request, a CALDAV:calendar-data element is also present for each Calendar User, containing the actual busy time information (i.e., an iCalendar "VFREEBUSY" component). See Section 10.1 for the detail on the child elements. See Appendix B.5 for an example busy time request and response.

5.1. Status Codes

The list below summarizes the most common status codes used for this method. However, clients should be prepared to handle other 2/3/4/5xx series status codes as well.

  • 200 (OK) - The command succeeded.
  • 204 (No Content) - The command succeeded.
  • 400 (Bad Request) - The client has provided an invalid scheduling message.
  • 403 (Forbidden) - The client cannot submit a scheduling message to the specified Request-URI.
  • 404 (Not Found) - The URL in the Request-URI was not present.
  • 423 (Locked) - The specified resource is locked and the client either is not a lock owner or the lock type requires a lock token to be submitted and the client did not submit it.

5.2. Additional Method Preconditions

The following are existing preconditions that are reused for the POST method on an Outbox collection.

The following are new method preconditions for the POST method on an Outbox collection.

5.2.1. CALDAV:valid-scheduling-message Precondition

Name:
valid-scheduling-message
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
POST
Use with:
400 Bad Request
Purpose:
(precondition) -- The resource submitted in the POST request MUST obey all restrictions specified for the POST request (e.g., the scheduling message follow the restrictions of iTIP).
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT valid-scheduling-message EMPTY>
              

5.2.2. CALDAV:valid-organizer Precondition

Name:
valid-organizer
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Apply to:
POST
Use with:
403 Forbidden
Purpose:
(precondition) -- The Calendar User identified by the "ORGANIZER" property in the POST request's scheduling message MUST be the Calendar User (or one of the Calendar Users) associated with the scheduling Outbox collection being targeted by the request;
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT valid-organizer EMPTY>
                

6. Scheduling Privileges

New scheduling privileges are defined in this section. All the scheduling privileges MUST be non-abstract and MUST appear in the DAV:supported-privilege-set property of scheduling Outbox and Inbox collections on which they are defined.

The tables specified in Appendix A clarify which scheduling methods (e.g., "REQUEST", "REPLY", etc.) are controlled by each scheduling privilege defined in this section.

6.1. Privileges on Scheduling Inbox Collections

This section defines new WebDAV ACL [RFC3744] privileges that are for use on scheduling Inbox collections. These privileges determine whether delivery of scheduling messages from a calendar user is allowed by the calendar user who "owns" the scheduling Inbox collection. This allows calendar users to choose which other calendar users can schedule with them.

Note that when a scheduling message is delivered to a calendar user, in addition to a scheduling object resource being created in the calendar user's scheduling Inbox collection, a new scheduling object resource might be created or an existing one updated in a calendar belonging to the calendar user. In that case, the ability to create or update the scheduling object resource in the calendar is controlled by the privileges assigned to the scheduling Inbox collection.

The privileges defined in this section are ignored if applied to a resource other than a scheduling Inbox collection.

6.1.1. CALDAV:schedule-deliver Privilege

CALDAV:schedule-deliver is an aggregate privilege as per Section 6.3.

<!ELEMENT schedule-deliver EMPTY>

6.1.2. CALDAV:schedule-deliver-invite Privilege

The CALDAV:schedule-deliver-invite privilege controls the processing and delivery of scheduling messages coming from an Organizer.

<!ELEMENT schedule-deliver-invite EMPTY>

6.1.3. CALDAV:schedule-deliver-reply Privilege

The CALDAV:schedule-deliver-reply privilege controls the processing and delivery of scheduling messages coming from an Attendee.

<!ELEMENT schedule-deliver-reply EMPTY>

6.1.4. CALDAV:schedule-query-freebusy Privilege

The CALDAV:schedule-query-freebusy privilege controls freebusy requests targeted at the owner of the scheduling Inbox collection.

<!ELEMENT schedule-query-freebusy EMPTY>

6.2. Privileges on Scheduling Outbox Collections

This section defines new WebDAV ACL [RFC3744] privileges that are defined for use on scheduling Outbox collections. These privileges determine which calendar users are allowed to send scheduling messages on behalf of the calendar user who "owns" the scheduling Outbox collection. This allows calendar users to choose other calendar users who can act on their behalf (e.g. assistants working on behalf of their boss).

The privileges defined in this section are ignored if applied to a resource other than a scheduling Outbox collection.

6.2.1. CALDAV:schedule-send Privilege

CALDAV:schedule-send is an aggregate privilege as per Section 6.3.

<!ELEMENT schedule-send EMPTY>

6.2.2. CALDAV:schedule-send-invite Privilege

The CALDAV:schedule-send-invite privilege controls the sending of scheduling messages by Organizers.

Users granted the DAV:bind privilege on a calendar collection, or DAV:write privilege on scheduling object resources, will also need the CALDAV:schedule-send-invite privilege granted on the scheduling Outbox collection of the owner of the calendar collection or scheduling object resource in order to be allowed to create, modify or delete scheduling object resources in a way that will trigger the CalDAV server to deliver scheduling messages to attendees.

<!ELEMENT schedule-send-invite EMPTY>

6.2.3. CALDAV:schedule-send-reply Privilege

The CALDAV:schedule-send-reply privilege controls the sending of scheduling messages by Attendees.

Users granted the DAV:bind privilege on a calendar collection, or DAV:write privilege on scheduling object resources, will also need the CALDAV:schedule-send-reply privilege granted on the scheduling Outbox collection of the owner of the calendar collection or scheduling object resource in order to be allowed to create, modify or delete scheduling object resources in a way that will trigger the CalDAV server to deliver scheduling message replies to the organizer.

<!ELEMENT schedule-send-reply EMPTY>

6.2.4. CALDAV:schedule-send-freebusy Privilege

The CALDAV:schedule-send-freebusy privilege controls the use of the POST method to submit scheduling messages that specify the scheduling method "REQUEST" with a "VFREEBUSY" calendar component.

<!ELEMENT schedule-send-freebusy EMPTY>

6.3. Aggregation of Scheduling Privileges

Server implementations MUST aggregate the scheduling privileges as follows:

  • DAV:all MUST contain CALDAV:schedule-send and CALDAV:schedule-deliver;
  • CALDAV:schedule-send MUST contain CALDAV:schedule-send-invite, CALDAV:schedule-send-reply, and CALDAV:schedule-send-freebusy;
  • CALDAV:schedule-deliver MUST contain CALDAV:schedule-deliver-invite, CALDAV:schedule-deliver-reply, and CALDAV:schedule-query-freebusy.

The following diagram illustrates how scheduling privileges are aggregated according to the above requirements.

      [DAV:all] (aggregate)
          |
          +-- [CALDAV:schedule-deliver] (aggregate)
          |      |
          |      +-- [CALDAV:schedule-deliver-invite]
          |      +-- [CALDAV:schedule-deliver-reply]
          |      +-- [CALDAV:schedule-query-freebusy]
          |
          +-- [CALDAV:schedule-send] (aggregate)
                 |
                 +-- [CALDAV:schedule-send-invite]
                 +-- [CALDAV:schedule-send-reply]
                 +-- [CALDAV:schedule-send-freebusy]

7. Additional iCalendar Property Parameters

This specification defines additional iCalendar property parameters to support the CalDAV scheduling extensions.

7.1. Schedule Agent Parameter

Parameter Name:
SCHEDULE-AGENT
Purpose:
To specify the agent expected to deliver scheduling messages to the corresponding Organizer or Attendee.
Format Definition:
This property parameter is defined by the following notation:
   scheduleagentparam = "SCHEDULE-AGENT" "="
                     ("SERVER"      ; The server handles scheduling
                    / "CLIENT"      ; The client handles scheduling
                    / "NONE"        ; No scheduling
                    / x-name        ; Experimental type
                    / iana-token)   ; Other IANA registered type
                                    ;
                                    ; Default is SERVER
                 
Description:
This property parameter MAY be specified on "ORGANIZER" or "ATTENDEE" iCalendar properties. In the absence of this parameter, the value "SERVER" MUST be used for the default behavior. The value determines whether or not a scheduling operation on a server will cause a scheduling message to be sent to the corresponding Calendar User identified by the "ORGANIZER" or "ATTENDEE" property value. When the value "SERVER" is specified, or the parameter is absent, then it is the server's responsibility to send a scheduling message as part of a scheduling operation. When the value "CLIENT" is specified, that indicates that the client is handling scheduling messages with the Calendar User itself. When "NONE" is specified, no scheduling messages are being sent to the Calendar User.
Servers MUST NOT include this parameter in any scheduling messages sent as the result of a scheduling operation.
Clients MUST NOT include this parameter in any scheduling messages that they themselves send.
The parameter value MUST be the same on every "ORGANIZER" property in a scheduling object resource.
The parameter value MUST be the same on each "ATTENDEE" property whose values match in a scheduling object resource.
Servers and clients MUST treat x-name and iana-token values they do not recognize the same way as they would the "NONE" value.
Example:
   ORGANIZER;SCHEDULE-AGENT=SERVER:mailto:bernard@example.com

   ATTENDEE;SCHEDULE-AGENT=NONE:mailto:cyrus@example.com
                

7.2. Schedule Force Send Parameter

Parameter Name:
SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND
Purpose:
To force a scheduling message to be sent to the Calendar User specified by the property.
Format Definition:
This property parameter is defined by the following notation:
   scheduleforcesendparam = "SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND" "="
                           ("REQUEST"    ; Force a "REQUEST"
                          / "REPLY"      ; Force a "REPLY"
                          / iana-token)  ; IANA registered method
                 
Description:
This property parameter MAY be specified on "ATTENDEE" and "ORGANIZER" properties on which the "SCHEDULE-AGENT" property parameter is set to the value "SERVER" or is not specified. This property parameter is used to force a server to send a scheduling message to a specific Calendar User in situations where the server would not send a scheduling message otherwise (e.g., when no change that warrants the delivery of a new scheduling message was performed on the scheduling object resource). An Organizer MAY specify this parameter on an "ATTENDEE" property with the value "REQUEST" to force a "REQUEST" scheduling message to be sent to this Attendee. An Attendee MAY specify this parameter on the "ORGANIZER" with the value "REPLY" to force a "REPLY" scheduling message to be sent to the Organizer.
Servers MUST NOT preserve this property parameter in scheduling object resources, nor include it in any scheduling messages sent as the result of a scheduling operation.
Clients MUST NOT include this parameter in any scheduling messages that they themselves send.
Servers MUST set the "SCHEDULE-STATUS" parameter of the "ATTENDEE" or "ORGANIZER" to 2.3 (i.e., "Success, invalid property parameter ignored", see Section 3.6 of [RFC5546]) when the "SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND" parameter is set to a x-name or iana-token value they do not recognize.
Example:
   ATTENDEE;SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND=REQUEST:mailto:bernard@example.com

   ORGANIZER;SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND=REPLY:mailto:cyrus@example.com
                 

7.3. Schedule Status Parameter

Parameter Name:
SCHEDULE-STATUS
Purpose:
To specify the status codes returned from processing of the most recent scheduling message sent to the corresponding Attendee, or received from the corresponding Organizer.
Format Definition:
This property parameter is defined by the following notation:
   schedulestatusparam = "SCHEDULE-STATUS" "="
                        ( statcode
                       / DQUOTE statcode *("," statcode) DQUOTE)
   ; "statcode" is defined in Section 3.8.8.3 of
   ; [RFC5545]. Value is a single
   ; "statcode" or a comma-separated list of "statcode" values.
               
Description:
This property parameter MAY be specified on the "ATTENDEE" and "ORGANIZER" properties.
Servers MUST add this property parameter to any "ATTENDEE" properties corresponding to Calendar Users who were sent a scheduling message via a scheduling operation. Clients SHOULD NOT change or remove this parameter if it was provided by the server. In the case where the client is handling the scheduling, the client MAY add, change or remove this parameter to indicate the last scheduling message status it received.
Servers MUST add this parameter to any "ORGANIZER" properties corresponding to Calendar Users who were sent a scheduling message reply by an Attendee via a scheduling operation. Clients SHOULD NOT change or remove this parameter if it was provided by the server. In the case where the client is handling the scheduling, the client MAY add, change or remove this parameter to indicate the last scheduling message status it received.
Servers MUST NOT include this parameter in any scheduling messages sent as the result of a scheduling operation.
Clients MUST NOT include this parameter in any scheduling messages that they themselves send.
Values for this property parameter are described in Section 3.2.9.
Example:
   ATTENDEE;SCHEDULE-STATUS="2.0":mailto:bernard@example.com

   ATTENDEE;SCHEDULE-STATUS="2.0,2.4":mailto:cyrus@example.com
                 

8. Additional Message Header Fields

This specification defines additional HTTP request and response headers for use with CalDAV.

8.1. Schedule-Reply Request Header

   Schedule-Reply = "Schedule-Reply" ":" ("T" | "F")
            
Example:
   Schedule-Reply: F
                

When an Attendee removes a scheduling object resource as per Section 3.2.2.4, and the Schedule-Reply header is not present, or present and set to the value "T" (true), the server MUST send an appropriate reply scheduling message with the Attendee's "PARTSTAT" iCalendar property parameter value set to "DECLINED" as part of its normal scheduling operation processing.

When the Schedule-Reply header is set to the value "F" (false), the server MUST NOT send a scheduling message as part of its normal scheduling operation processing.

The Schedule-Reply request header is used by a client to indicate to a server whether or not a scheduling operation ought to occur when an Attendee deletes a scheduling object resource. In particular it controls whether a reply scheduling message is sent to the Organizer as a result of the removal. There are situations in which unsolicited scheduling messages need to be silently removed (or ignored) for security or privacy reasons. This request header allows the scheduling object resource to be removed if such a need arises.

8.2. Schedule-Tag Response Header

The Schedule-Tag response header provides the current value of the CALDAV:schedule-tag property value. The behavior of this response header is described in Section 3.2.10.

All scheduling object resources MUST support the Schedule-Tag header.

   Schedule-Tag = "Schedule-Tag" ":" opaque-tag
   ; "opaque-tag" is defined in Section 3.11 of [RFC2616]
          
Example:
   Schedule-Tag: "12ab34-cd56ef"
                

8.3. If-Schedule-Tag-Match Request Header

The If-Schedule-Tag-Match request header field is used with a method to make it conditional. Clients can set this header to the value returned in the Schedule-Tag response header, or the CALDAV:schedule-tag property, of a scheduling object resource previously retrieved from the server to avoid overwriting "consequential" changes to the scheduling object resource.

All scheduling object resources MUST support the If-Schedule-Tag-Match header.

   If-Schedule-Tag-Match = "If-Schedule-Tag-Match" ":" opaque-tag
   ; "opaque-tag" is defined in Section 3.11 of [RFC2616]
          
Example:
   If-Schedule-Tag-Match: "12ab34-cd56ef"
                

9. Additional WebDAV Properties

This specification defines the following new WebDAV properties for use with CalDAV.

9.1. CALDAV:schedule-calendar-transp Property

Name:
schedule-calendar-transp
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Determines whether the calendar object resources in a calendar collection will affect the owner's freebusy.
Protected:
This property MAY be protected and SHOULD NOT be returned by a PROPFIND allprop request (as defined in Section 14.2 of [RFC4918]).
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property value SHOULD be kept during a MOVE operation, and SHOULD be copied and preserved in a COPY.
Description:
This property SHOULD be defined on all calendar collections. If present, it contains one of two XML elements that indicate whether the calendar object resources in the calendar collection ought to contribute to the owner's freebusy or not. When the CALDAV:opaque element is used, all calendar object resources in the corresponding calendar collection MUST contribute to freebusy, assuming access privileges and other iCalendar properties allow it to. When the CALDAV:transparent XML element is used, the calendar object resources in the corresponding calendar collection MUST NOT contribute to freebusy.
If this property is not present on a calendar collection, then the default value CALDAV:opaque MUST be assumed.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT schedule-calendar-transp (opaque | transparent)>

   <!ELEMENT opaque EMPTY>
   <!-- Affect busy time searches -->

   <!ELEMENT transparent EMPTY>
   <!-- Invisible to busy time searches -->
                   
Example:
<C:schedule-calendar-transp
     xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">
  <C:opaque/>
</C:schedule-calendar-transp>
                   

9.2. CALDAV:schedule-default-calendar-URL Property

Name:
schedule-default-calendar-URL
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Specifies a default calendar for an Attendee where new scheduling object resources are created.
Protected:
This property MAY be protected in the case where a server does not support changing the default calendar, or does not support a default calendar.
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property is only defined on a scheduling Inbox collection which cannot be moved or copied.
Description:
This property MAY be defined on a scheduling Inbox collection. If present, it contains zero or one DAV:href XML elements. When a DAV:href element is present, its value indicates a URL to a calendar collection that is used as the default calendar. When no DAV:href element is present, it indicates that there is no default calendar. In the absence of this property there is no default calendar. When there is no default calendar the server is free to choose the calendar in which a new scheduling object resource is created. See Section 4.3.
Definition:
<!ELEMENT schedule-default-calendar-URL (DAV:href?)>
                   
Example:
   <C:schedule-default-calendar-URL xmlns:D="DAV:"
        xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">
     <D:href>/home/cyrus/calendars/work/</D:href>
   </C:schedule-default-calendar-URL>
                   

9.3. CALDAV:schedule-tag Property

Name:
schedule-tag
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Indicates whether a scheduling object resource has had a "consequential" change made to it.
Value:
opaque-tag (defined in Section 3.11 of [RFC2616])
Protected:
This property MUST be protected as only the server can update the value.
COPY/MOVE behavior:
This property is only defined on scheduling object resources. It MUST be preserved when a scheduling object resource is copied or moved and the resulting resource is also a scheduling object resource. If the source resource is not a scheduling object resource but the destination resource is, this property MUST be added to the destination resource.
Description:
The CALDAV:schedule-tag property MUST be defined on all scheduling object resources. This property is described in Section 3.2.10.
Definition:
   <!ELEMENT schedule-tag (#PCDATA)>
                   
Example:
   <C:schedule-tag xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"
   >"12345-67890"</C:schedule-tag>
                   

10. XML Element Definitions

10.1. CALDAV:schedule-response XML Element

Name:
schedule-response
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Contains the set of responses for a POST method request.
Description:
See Section 5.
Definition:
    <!ELEMENT schedule-response (response*)>

10.2. CALDAV:response XML Element

Name:
response
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
Contains a single response for a POST method request.
Description:
See Section 5.
Definition:
<!ELEMENT response (recipient,
                    request-status,
                    calendar-data?,
                    DAV:error?,
                    DAV:responsedescription?)>

<!-- CALDAV:calendar-data is defined in Section 9.6 of
RFC 4791 and when used here uses the definition with
content (#PCDATA) only -->

10.3. CALDAV:recipient XML Element

Name:
recipient
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
The calendar user address that the enclosing response for a POST method request is for.
Description:
See Section 5.
Definition:
    <!ELEMENT recipient (DAV:href)>
            

10.4. CALDAV:request-status XML Element

Name:
request-status
Namespace:
urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav
Purpose:
The iTIP "REQUEST-STATUS" property value for this response.
Description:
See Section 5.
Definition:
    <!ELEMENT request-status (#PCDATA)>
            

11. Security Considerations

The process of scheduling involves the sending and receiving of scheduling messages. As a result, the security problems related to messaging in general are relevant here. In particular the authenticity of the scheduling messages needs to be verified. Servers and clients MUST use an HTTP connection protected with TLS as defined in [RFC2818] for all scheduling operations. Clients MUST use the procedures detailed in Section 6 of [RFC6125] to verify the authenticity of the server. Servers MUST make use of HTTP authentication [RFC2617] to verify the authenticity of the calendar user for whom the client is sending requests.

11.1. Preventing Denial of Service Attacks

Servers MUST ensure that clients cannot consume excessive server resources by carrying out "large" scheduling operations. In particular, servers SHOULD enforce CALDAV:max-resource-size, CALDAV:max-instances and CALDAV:max-attendees-per-instance pre-conditions as applicable for scheduling Inbox and Outbox collections.

11.2. Verifying Scheduling Operations

When handling a scheduling operation:

  1. Servers MUST verify that the principal associated with the DAV:owner of the calendar collection in which a scheduling object resource is being manipulated contains a CALDAV:schedule-outbox-URL property value.
  2. Servers MUST verify that the currently authenticated user has the CALDAV:schedule-send privilege, or a sub-privilege aggregated under this privilege, on the scheduling Outbox collection of the DAV:owner of the calendar collection in which a scheduling object resource is being manipulated.
  3. Servers MUST only deliver scheduling messages to recipients when the CALDAV:schedule-deliver privilege, or a sub-privilege aggregated under this privilege, is granted on the recipient's scheduling Inbox collection for the principal associated with the DAV:owner of the calendar collection in which a scheduling object resource is being manipulated.
  4. To prevent impersonation of calendar users, the server MUST verify that the "ORGANIZER" property in an organizer scheduling object resource matches one of the calendar user addresses of the DAV:owner of the calendar collection in which the resource is stored.
  5. To prevent spoofing of an existing scheduling object resource, servers MUST verify that the "UID" iCalendar property value in a new scheduling object resource does not match that of an existing scheduling object resource with a different "ORGANIZER" property value.

11.3. Verifying Busy Time Information Requests

When handling a POST request on a scheduling Outbox collection:

  1. Servers MUST verify that the principal associated with the calendar user address specified in the "ORGANIZER" property of the scheduling message data in the request contains a CALDAV:schedule-outbox-URL property value that matches the scheduling Outbox collection targeted by the request.
  2. Servers MUST verify that the currently authenticated user has the CALDAV:schedule-send privilege, or a sub-privilege aggregated under this privilege, on the scheduling Outbox collection targeted by the request.
  3. Servers MUST only return valid freebusy information for recipients when the CALDAV:schedule-deliver privilege, or a sub-privilege aggregated under this privilege, is granted on the recipient's scheduling Inbox collection for the principal associated with the DAV:owner of the scheduling Outbox collection targeted by the request.

11.4. Privacy Issues

This specification only defines how calendar users on the same server are able to schedule with each other - unauthenticated users have no way to carry out scheduling operations. Access control privileges (as per Section 6) can control which of those users can schedule with others. Calendar users not wishing to expose their calendar information to other users can do so by denying privileges to specific users, or all users, for all scheduling operations, or perhaps only freebusy.

Attendees can also use the Schedule-Reply request header (Section 8.1) with the value set to "F" to prevent notification to an Organizer that a scheduling object resource was deleted. This allows Attendees to remove unwanted scheduling messages without any response to the Organizer.

11.5. Mitigation of iTIP Threats

Section 6.1 of iTIP [RFC5546] defines a set of potential threats in a scheduling system, and in Section 6.2 defines recommendations on how those should be addressed in protocols using iTIP. This specification addresses the iTIP threats in the following manner:

Spoofing the Organizer
Addressed by item 4 in Section 11.2.
Spoofing the Attendee
Addressed by item 2 in Section 11.2 and Section 3.2.2.1.
Unauthorized Replacement of the Organizer
Addressed by item 5 in Section 11.2.
Eavesdropping and Data Integrity
Addressed by requiring TLS.
Flooding a Calendar
Addressed by requirements in Section 11.1
Unauthorized REFRESH Requests
This specification does not support the REFRESH method.

12. IANA Considerations

12.1. Message Header Field Registrations

The message header fields below should be added to the Permanent Message Header Field Registry (see [RFC3864]).

12.1.1. Schedule-Reply

Header field name: Schedule-Reply

Applicable protocol: http

Status: standard

Author/Change controller: IETF

Specification document(s): this specification (Section 8.1)

Related information: none

12.1.2. Schedule-Tag

Header field name: Schedule-Tag

Applicable protocol: http

Status: standard

Author/Change controller: IETF

Specification document(s): this specification (Section 8.2)

Related information: none

12.1.3. If-Schedule-Tag-Match

Header field name: If-Schedule-Tag-Match

Applicable protocol: http

Status: standard

Author/Change controller: IETF

Specification document(s): this specification (Section 8.3)

Related information: none

12.2. iCalendar Property Parameter Registrations

The following iCalendar property parameters should be added to the iCalendar Property Parameter Registry defined in Section 8.3.3 of [RFC5545].

ParameterStatusReference
SCHEDULE-AGENTCurrentRFCXXXX, Section 7.1
SCHEDULE-STATUSCurrentRFCXXXX, Section 7.3
SCHEDULE-FORCE-SENDCurrentRFCXXXX, Section 7.2

12.3. iCalendar REQUEST-STATUS Value Registrations

The following iCalendar "REQUEST-STATUS" values should be added to the iCalendar REQUEST-STATUS Value Registry defined in Section 7.3 of [RFC5546].

Status CodeStatusReference
1.0CurrentRFC XXXX, Section 3.2.9.1
1.1CurrentRFC XXXX, Section 3.2.9.2
1.2CurrentRFC XXXX, Section 3.2.9.3

12.4. Additional iCalendar Elements Registries

This specification adds two new IANA registries for iCalendar elements. Additional codes MAY be used, provided the process described in Section 8.2.1 of [RFC5545] is used to register them.

12.4.1. Schedule Agent Values Registry

The following table has been used to initialize the schedule agent values registry.

Schedule AgentStatusReference
SERVERCurrentRFC XXXX, Section 7.1
CLIENTCurrentRFC XXXX, Section 7.1
NONECurrentRFC XXXX, Section 7.1

12.4.2. Schedule Force Send Values Registry

The following table has been used to initialize the schedule send values registry.

Schedule Force SendStatusReference
REQUESTCurrentRFC XXXX, Section 7.2
REPLYCurrentRFC XXXX, Section 7.2

13. Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following individuals for contributing their ideas and support for writing this specification: Mike Douglass, Lisa Dusseault, Red Dutta, Jacob Farkas, Jeffrey Harris, Helge Hess, Andrew McMillan, Alexey Melnikov, Arnaud Quillaud, Julian F. Reschke, Wilfredo Sanchez Vega, Simon Vaillancourt.

The authors would also like to thank the Calendaring and Scheduling Consortium for advice with this specification, and for organizing interoperability testing events to help refine it.


14. References

14.1. Normative References

[RFC2119]
Bradner, S., “Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels”, BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
[RFC2616]
Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H., Masinter, L., Leach, P., and T. Berners-Lee, “Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1”, RFC 2616, June 1999.
[RFC2617]
Franks, J., Hallam-Baker, P., Hostetler, J., Lawrence, S., Leach, P., Luotonen, A., and L. Stewart, “HTTP Authentication: Basic and Digest Access Authentication”, RFC 2617, June 1999.
[RFC2818]
Rescorla, E., “HTTP Over TLS”, RFC 2818, May 2000.
[RFC3744]
Clemm, G., Reschke, J., Sedlar, E., and J. Whitehead, “Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Access Control Protocol”, RFC 3744, May 2004.
[RFC3864]
Klyne, G., Nottingham, M., and J. Mogul, “Registration Procedures for Message Header Fields”, BCP 90, RFC 3864, September 2004.
[RFC4791]
Daboo, C., Desruisseaux, B., and L. Dusseault, “Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV (CalDAV)”, RFC 4791, March 2007.
[RFC4918]
Dusseault, L., “HTTP Extensions for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)”, RFC 4918, June 2007.
[RFC5234]
Crocker, D. and P. Overell, “Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF”, STD 68, RFC 5234, January 2008.
[RFC5545]
Desruisseaux, B., “Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar)”, RFC 5545, September 2009.
[RFC5546]
Daboo, C., “iCalendar Transport-Independent Interoperability Protocol (iTIP)”, RFC 5546, December 2009.
[RFC6125]
Saint-Andre, P. and J. Hodges, “Representation and Verification of Domain-Based Application Service Identity within Internet Public Key Infrastructure Using X.509 (PKIX) Certificates in the Context of Transport Layer Security (TLS)”, RFC 6125, March 2011.
[W3C.REC-xml-20081126]
Yergeau, F., Paoli, J., Sperberg-McQueen, C., Bray, T., and E. Maler, “Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Fifth Edition)”, World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation REC-xml-20081126, November 2008, <http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/REC-xml-20081126>.

14.2. Informative References

[RFC3283]
Mahoney, B., Babics, G., and A. Taler, “Guide to Internet Calendaring”, RFC 3283, June 2002.
[RFC6047]
Melnikov, A., “iCalendar Message-Based Interoperability Protocol (iMIP)”, RFC 6047, December 2010.

Appendix A. Scheduling Privileges Summary

A.1. Scheduling Inbox Privileges

The following tables specify which scheduling privileges grant the right to a calendar user to deliver a scheduling message to the scheduling Inbox collection of another calendar user. The appropriate behavior depends on the calendar component type as well as the scheduling "METHOD" specified in the scheduling message.

                                 +--------------------------------+
                                 |  METHOD for VEVENT and VTODO   |
   +-----------------------------+---------+-------+-----+--------+
   | Scheduling Inbox Privilege  | REQUEST | REPLY | ADD | CANCEL |
   +-----------------------------+---------+-------+-----+--------+
   | schedule-deliver            |    *    |   *   |  *  |   *    |
   |   schedule-deliver-invite   |    *    |       |  *  |   *    |
   |   schedule-deliver-reply    |         |   *   |     |        |
   |   schedule-query-freebusy   |         |       |     |        |
   +-----------------------------+---------+-------+-----+--------+
        
                                 +----------------------+
                                 | METHOD for VFREEBUSY |
   +-----------------------------+----------------------+
   | Scheduling Inbox Privilege  |       REQUEST        |
   +-----------------------------+----------------------+
   | schedule-deliver            |          *           |
   |   schedule-deliver-invite   |                      |
   |   schedule-deliver-reply    |                      |
   |   schedule-query-freebusy   |          *           |
   +-----------------------------+----------------------+
        

A.2. Scheduling Outbox Privileges

The following tables specify which scheduling privileges grant the right to a Calendar User to perform busy time information requests and to submit scheduling messages to other Calendar Users as the result of a scheduling operation. The appropriate behavior depends on the calendar component type as well as the scheduling "METHOD" specified in the scheduling message.

                                 +--------------------------------+
                                 |  METHOD for VEVENT and VTODO   |
   +-----------------------------+---------+-------+-----+--------+
   | Scheduling Outbox Privilege | REQUEST | REPLY | ADD | CANCEL |
   +-----------------------------+---------+-------+-----+--------+
   | schedule-send               |    *    |   *   |  *  |   *    |
   |   schedule-send-invite      |    *    |       |  *  |   *    |
   |   schedule-send-reply       |         |   *   |     |        |
   |   schedule-send-freebusy    |         |       |     |        |
   +-----------------------------+---------+-------+-----+--------+
        
                                 +----------------------+
                                 | METHOD for VFREEBUSY |
   +-----------------------------+----------------------+
   | Scheduling Outbox Privilege |       REQUEST        |
   +-----------------------------+----------------------+
   | schedule-send               |          *           |
   |   schedule-send-invite      |                      |
   |   schedule-send-reply       |                      |
   |   schedule-send-freebusy    |          *           |
   +-----------------------------+----------------------+
        

Appendix B. Example Scheduling Operations

This section describes some example scheduling operations that give a general idea of how scheduling is carried out between CalDAV clients and servers from the perspective of meeting Organizers and Attendees.

The server is assumed to be hosted in the "example.com" domain, and users whose email address is at the "example.com" domain are assumed to be hosted by the server. In addition, the email addresses in the "example.net" domain are also valid email addresses for calendar users hosted by the server. Calendar users with an email address at the "example.org" domain are assumed to not be hosted by the server.

In the following examples the requests and responses are incomplete and are only for illustrative purposes. In particular, HTTP authentication headers and behaviors are not shown, even though they are required in normal operation.

B.1. Example: Organizer Inviting Multiple Attendees

In the following example, Cyrus invites Wilfredo, Bernard and Mike to a single instance event by simply creating a new scheduling object resource in one of his calendar collections by using the PUT method.

>> Request <<

PUT /home/cyrus/calendars/work/9263504FD3AD.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx
If-None-Match: *

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185254Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Lunch
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
 =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:wilfredo@
 example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@ex
 ample.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-A
 CTION;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:mike@example.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 201 Created
Content-Length: 0
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:54 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:54 GMT
ETag: "d85561cfe74a4e785eb4639451b434fb"
Schedule-Tag: "488177c8-2ea7-4176-a6cb-fab8cfccdea2"
        

Once the event creation has been completed, Cyrus's client will retrieve the event back from the server to get the schedule status of each Attendee, as well as record the Schedule-Tag value for future use. In this example, the server reports that a scheduling message was delivered to Wilfredo, a scheduling message is still pending for Bernard, and the server was unable to deliver a scheduling message to Mike.

>> Request <<

GET /home/cyrus/calendars/work/9263504FD3AD.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:58 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:58 GMT
ETag: "eb897deabc8939589da116714bc99265"
Schedule-Tag: "488177c8-2ea7-4176-a6cb-fab8cfccdea2"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185300Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Lunch
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
 =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=
 1.2:mailto:wilfredo@e
 xample.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=
 1.0:mailto:bernard@example.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-A
 CTION;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=3.7:mailto:mike@example.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

B.2. Example: Attendee Receiving an Invitation

In the following example, Wilfredo's client retrieves and deletes the new scheduling message that appeared in his scheduling Inbox collection after the server automatically processed it and created a new scheduling object resource in his default calendar collection.

>> Request <<

GET /home/wilfredo/calendars/inbox/27d93fc0a58c.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:59:58 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:59:58 GMT
ETag: "da116714bc9926c89395895eb897deab"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
METHOD:REQUEST
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185254Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Lunch
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
 =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:wilfredo@
 example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@ex
 ample.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-A
 CTION;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:mike@example.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

>> Request <<

DELETE /home/wilfredo/calendars/inbox/27d93fc0a58c.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:40:36 GMT 
        

B.3. Example: Attendee Replying to an Invitation

In the following example, Wilfredo accepts Cyrus's invitation and sets an alarm reminder on the event. It uses the If-Schedule-Tag-Match precondition behavior to ensure it does not overwrite any significant changes from the organizer that might have occurred after it retrieved the initial resource data.

>> Request <<

PUT /home/wilfredo/calendars/work/BB64861C2228.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
If-Schedule-Tag-Match: "e78f23ed-0188-4bab-938d-2aeb3324c7e8"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185254Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Lunch
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
 =ACCEPTED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:wilfredo@exam
 ple.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@ex
 ample.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-A
 CTION;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:mike@example.org
BEGIN:VALARM
TRIGGER:-PT15M
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Reminder
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Length: 0
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:57:54 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:57:54 GMT
ETag: "eb4639451b434fbd85561cfe74a4e785"
Schedule-Tag: "8893ee45-eb9d-428f-b53c-c777daf19e41"
        

Once the event modification has been completed, Wilfredo's client will retrieve the event back from the server to get the schedule status of the Organizer.

>> Request <<

GET /home/wilfredo/calendars/work/BB64861C2228.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:03:03 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:02:21 GMT
ETag: "5eb897deabda116714bc9926c8939589"
Schedule-Tag: "8893ee45-eb9d-428f-b53c-c777daf19e41"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T190221Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Lunch
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo";SCHEDULE-STATUS=1.2:mailto:cyrus@ex
 ample.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
 =ACCEPTED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:wilfredo@exam
 ple.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@ex
 ample.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-A
 CTION;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:mike@example.org
BEGIN:VALARM
TRIGGER:-PT15M
ACTION:DISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:Reminder
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

B.4. Example: Organizer Receiving a Reply to an Invitation

On reception of Wilfredo's reply, Cyrus's server will automatically update Cyrus's scheduling object resource, make Wilfredo's scheduling message available in Cyrus's scheduling Inbox collection, and deliver an updated scheduling message to Bernard to share Wilfredo's updated participation status. In this example, Cyrus's client retrieves and deletes this scheduling message in his scheduling Inbox collection.

>> Request <<

GET /home/cyrus/calendars/inbox/c0a58c27d93f.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:05:02 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:04:20 GMT
ETag: "9265eb897deabc8939589da116714bc9"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
METHOD:REPLY
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185754Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:mailto:w
 ilfredo@example.com
REQUEST-STATUS:2.0;Success
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

>> Request <<

DELETE /home/cyrus/calendars/inbox/c0a58c27d93f.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:05:05 GMT
        

Cyrus's client then retrieves the event back from the server with Wilfredo's updated participation status.

>> Request <<

GET /home/cyrus/calendars/work/9263504FD3AD.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:05:02 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:04:20 GMT
ETag: "eb897deabc8939589da116714bc99265"
Schedule-Tag: "132cab27-1fe3-67ab-de13-abd348d1dee3"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T190420Z
DTSTART:20090602T160000Z
DTEND:20090602T170000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Lunch
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
 =ACCEPTED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=2.0:
 mailto:wilfredo@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=1
 .0:mailto:bernard@example.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-A
 CTION;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=3.7:mailto:mike@example.org
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

B.5. Example: Organizer Requesting Busy Time Information

In this example, Cyrus requests the busy time information of Wilfredo, Bernard and Mike.

>> Request <<

POST /home/cyrus/calendars/outbox/ HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
METHOD:REQUEST
BEGIN:VFREEBUSY
UID:4FD3AD926350
DTSTAMP:20090602T190420Z
DTSTART:20090602T000000Z
DTEND:20090604T000000Z
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega":mailto:wilfredo@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux":mailto:bernard@example.net
ATTENDEE;CN="Mike Douglass":mailto:mike@example.org
END:VFREEBUSY
END:VCALENDAR

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:07:34 GMT
Content-Type: application/xml; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<C:schedule-response xmlns:D="DAV:"
       xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">
<C:response>
<C:recipient>
<D:href>mailto:wilfredo@example.com</D:href>
</C:recipient>
<C:request-status>2.0;Success</C:request-status>
<C:calendar-data>BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
METHOD:REPLY
BEGIN:VFREEBUSY
UID:4FD3AD926350
DTSTAMP:20090602T200733Z
DTSTART:20090602T000000Z
DTEND:20090604T000000Z
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega":mailto:wilfredo@example.com
FREEBUSY;FBTYPE=BUSY:20090602T110000Z/20090602T120000Z
FREEBUSY;FBTYPE=BUSY:20090603T170000Z/20090603T180000Z
END:VFREEBUSY
END:VCALENDAR
</C:calendar-data>
</C:response>
<C:response>
<C:recipient>
<D:href>mailto:bernard@example.net</D:href>
</C:recipient>
<C:request-status>2.0;Success</C:request-status>
<C:calendar-data>BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
METHOD:REPLY
BEGIN:VFREEBUSY
UID:4FD3AD926350
DTSTAMP:20090602T200733Z
DTSTART:20090602T000000Z
DTEND:20090604T000000Z
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux":mailto:bernard@example.net
FREEBUSY;FBTYPE=BUSY:20090602T150000Z/20090602T160000Z
FREEBUSY;FBTYPE=BUSY:20090603T090000Z/20090603T100000Z
FREEBUSY;FBTYPE=BUSY:20090603T180000Z/20090603T190000Z
END:VFREEBUSY
END:VCALENDAR
</C:calendar-data>
</C:response>
<C:response>
<C:recipient>
<D:href>mailto:mike@example.org</D:href>
</C:recipient>
<C:request-status>3.7;Invalid calendar user</C:request-status>
</C:response>
</C:schedule-response>
  

B.6. Example: User Attempting to Invite Attendee on behalf of Organizer

In the following example, Cyrus attempts to create, on behalf of Wilfredo, an event with Bernard specified as an Attendee. The request fails since Wilfredo didn't grant Cyrus the right to invite other Calendar Users on his behalf.

>> Request <<

PUT /home/wilfredo/calendars/work/def456.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx
If-None-Match: *

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:3504F926D3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T190221Z
DTSTART:20090602T230000Z
DTEND:20090603T000000Z
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Dinner
ORGANIZER;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega":mailto:wilfredo@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Wilfredo Sanchez Vega";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=A
 CCEPTED:mailto:wilfredo@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=NE
 EDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@exampl
 e.net
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
Content-Type: application/xml; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<D:error xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav">
  <D:need-privileges>
    <D:resource>
      <D:href>/home/wilfredo/calendars/outbox/</D:href>
      <D:privilege><C:schedule-send-invite/></D:privilege>
    </D:resource>
  </D:need-privileges>
</D:error>
        

B.7. Example: Attendee Declining an Instance of a Recurring Event

In the following example, Bernard declines the second recurrence instance of a daily recurring event he's been invited to by Cyrus.

>> Request <<

PUT /home/bernard/calendars/work/4FD3AD926350.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx
If-Schedule-Tag-Match: "7775FB30-7534-489E-A79A-0EA147B933EB"

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Montreal
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20071104T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU
TZNAME:EST
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20070311T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU
TZNAME:EDT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185254Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Montreal:20090601T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Montreal:20090601T160000
RRULE:FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=1;COUNT=5
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Review Internet-Draft
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 ACCEPTED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@exampl
 e.net
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090603T183823Z
RECURRENCE-ID;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T150000
DTSTART;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T160000
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
SUMMARY:Review Internet-Draft
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 DECLINED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@exampl
 e.net
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Length: 0
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:54 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:54 GMT
ETag: "d85561cfe74a4e785eb4639451b434fb"
Schedule-Tag: "488177c8-2ea7-4176-a6cb-fab8cfccdea2"
        

Bernard's participation status update will cause his server to deliver a scheduling message to Cyrus. Cyrus's client will find the following reply message from Bernard in Cyrus's scheduling Inbox collection:

>> Request <<

GET /home/cyrus/calendars/inbox/9263504FD3AD.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:58 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:58 GMT
ETag: "eb897deabc8939589da116714bc99265"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
METHOD:REPLY
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Montreal
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20071104T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU
TZNAME:EST
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20070311T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU
TZNAME:EDT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090603T183823Z
RECURRENCE-ID;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T150000
DTSTART;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T160000
SUMMARY:Review Internet-Draft
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";PARTSTAT=DECLINED:
 mailto:bernard@example.net
REQUEST-STATUS:2.0;Success
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

B.8. Example: Attendee Removing an Instance of a Recurring Event

In the following example, Bernard removes from his calendar the third recurrence instance of a daily recurring event he's been invited to by Cyrus. This is accomplished by the addition of an "EXDATE" property to the scheduling object resource stored by Bernard.

>> Request <<

PUT /home/bernard/calendars/work/4FD3AD926350.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx
If-Schedule-Tag-Match: "488177c8-2ea7-4176-a6cb-fab8cfccdea2"

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Montreal
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20071104T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU
TZNAME:EST
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20070311T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU
TZNAME:EDT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090602T185254Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Montreal:20090601T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Montreal:20090601T160000
RRULE:FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=1;COUNT=5
EXDATE;TZID=America/Montreal:20090603T150000
TRANSP:OPAQUE
SUMMARY:Review Internet-Draft
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 ACCEPTED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@exampl
 e.net
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090603T183823Z
RECURRENCE-ID;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T150000
DTSTART;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Montreal:20090602T160000
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
SUMMARY:Review Internet-Draft
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Cyrus Daboo";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
 mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=
 DECLINED;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:bernard@exampl
 e.net
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

Bernard's deletion of a recurrence instance will cause his server to deliver a scheduling message to Cyrus. Cyrus's client will find the following reply message from Bernard in Cyrus's scheduling Inbox collection:

>> Request <<

GET /home/cyrus/calendars/inbox/6504923FD3AD.ics HTTP/1.1
Host: cal.example.com
        

>> Response <<

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:58 GMT
Last-Modified: Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:58 GMT
ETag: "eb897deabc8939589da116714bc99265"
Content-Type: text/calendar; charset="utf-8"
Content-Length: xxxx

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
METHOD:REPLY
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Montreal
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:20071104T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU
TZNAME:EST
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:20070311T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU
TZNAME:EDT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:9263504FD3AD
SEQUENCE:0
DTSTAMP:20090603T183823Z
RECURRENCE-ID;TZID=America/Montreal:20090603T150000
DTSTART;TZID=America/Montreal:20090603T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Montreal:20090603T160000
SUMMARY:Review Internet-Draft
ORGANIZER;CN="Cyrus Daboo":mailto:cyrus@example.com
ATTENDEE;CN="Bernard Desruisseaux";PARTSTAT=DECLINED:
 mailto:bernard@example.net
REQUEST-STATUS:2.0;Success
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
        

Appendix C. Changes (to be removed by RFC Editor prior to publication)

C.1. Changes in -11

  1. Major editorial changes to remove "cruft" that built up over time, to reduce repetitive statements, and to improve clarity.
  2. SecDir: Added "Preventing Denial of Service Attacks" security sub-section.
  3. SecDir: Added reference to RFC6125 and clarified how clients and server authenticate each other.
  4. SecDir: Added "Mitigation of iTIP Threats" security sub-section.
  5. SecDir: Added new text to privacy sub-section.
  6. Fixed some XML examples.

C.2. Changes in -10

  1. Updated to RFC 6047 reference.
  2. Various minor clarifications to behavior and terminology done.
  3. Clarified that Inbox/Outbox are the server's responsibility to create.
  4. Changed MAY to SHOULD for server rejecting organizer PARTSTAT changes of attendees.
  5. Allow COMPLETED as a valid attendee change.
  6. Allow SCHEDULE-STATUS as a valid attendee change on SCHEDULE-AGENT=CLIENT attendee properties.
  7. COPY or MOVE on a calendar collection now declared to be undefined.
  8. Changed precondition error codes from 409 to 403.
  9. Clarified that rules 5546 must be used when server processes incoming scheduling messages.
  10. default-calendar-delete-allowed -> default-calendar-needed.
  11. Clarified that SCHEDULE-AGENT must be the same on all matching properties.
  12. Added more text justifying the need for calendar-user-type property.

C.3. Changes in -09

  1. Fixed some examples.
  2. Tweaked XML conventions.
  3. Removed description in SCHEDULE-STATUS example values.
  4. Tweaked 3.7 and 3.8 SCHEDULE-STATUS description to indicate it applies to the Organizer as well as Attendee.
  5. Updated to RFC 5545 reference.
  6. AD Review: clarified text about inbox resource deletion being acknowledgment of change.
  7. AD Review: clarified description of freebusy Outbox POST.
  8. AD Review: registered new 1.xx request-status codes and added new restriction on usage as per iTIP.
  9. AD Review: changes SHOULD NOT to MUST NOT for new property parameters when clients send scheduling messages.
  10. AD Review: CALDAV:schedule-calendar-transp now preserved during COPY.
  11. AD Review: changed CALDAV- to CALDAV: in acl descriptions.
  12. AD Review: fixed various minor typos.
  13. AD Review: Added text to new principal properties to indicate that if they are not present, then the user is not enabled for the various scheduling operations.
  14. AD Review: clarified use of CALDAV:calendar-data element in CALDAV:response element.
  15. AD Review: made reference to 5545 IANA registry procedures for the two new element registries.
  16. AD Review: Fixed description of B5. example.
  17. Fixed SCHEDULE-AGENT/SCHEDULE-STATUS behavior for Attendee replies.

C.4. Changes in -08

  1. Added "Updates 4791".
  2. XML conventions changed to match that in CardDAV spec.
  3. Reworded child response behavior for Outbox.
  4. Reworded "octet size".
  5. If-Schedule-Match descriptions changed to remove implication that it is purely a conditional operation.
  6. Schedule-Reply header descriptions generalized to resource removal rather than just HTTP DELETE.
  7. Fixed various examples.

C.5. Changes in -07

  1. Restructured document.
  2. Clarified that CALDAV:schedule-calendar-transp only applies to calendar collection.
  3. Removed CALDAV:schedule-state property on scheduling messages in the scheduling Inbox collection.
  4. Added conditional requests on scheduling object resources.
  5. Added section on handling of PARTSTAT.
  6. Added SCHEDULE-FORCE-SEND iCalendar property parameter.
  7. Added clarification on child resources in scheduling Outbox collections.
  8. Clarified Attendee changes that server MUST allow, and removed restrictions on changes that Attendee MUST NOT do.
  9. Added Example Scheduling Transactions appendix.
  10. Scheduling privileges are no longer required to be non-abstract.
  11. Removed handling of REFRESH requests.
  12. Removed handling of VJOURNAL components.
  13. Completed IANA Considerations section.
  14. Added references to RFC3283 and RFC5234.
  15. Updated references to iCalendar, iTIP and iMIP.

C.6. Changes in -06

  1. Removed distinction between scheduling calendar collections and basic calendar collections - now just have calendar collections.
  2. Clients now "MAY" reload data rather than "SHOULD" reload data.
  3. Fixed <C:recipient> in examples.
  4. Removed CALDAV:attachments-allowed precondition on POST to Outbox as that is no longer relevant.
  5. Added CALDAV:default-calendar-delete-allowed precondition for DELETE.
  6. Relaxed MUST->MAY for Organizer setting PARTSTAT value.
  7. Tweaked restrictions on Create/Modify to emphasize that 4791 restrictions also apply.
  8. Added comment that 'opaque' is the default when the CALDAV:schedule-calendar-transp property is not present.
  9. Description of Schedule-Reply header changed to reflect that it is only relevant for Attendees.
  10. Minor typos fixed.

C.7. Changes in -05

This draft has changed substantially since the -04 version. The primary reason for this change was implementation experience from a number of vendors who implemented products based on the earlier drafts. Experience showed that the client/server interaction was not reliable in keeping scheduling messages synchronized between organizer and attendees. In addition the latency in updates due to clients being offline proved unacceptable to users. These issues led to the redesign of this specification to support a server-based processing model that eliminates all the problems seen previously. Whilst this adds significant complexity to the server in that it needs to be a full blown iTIP processing agent, it does remove a lot of the same complexity from clients, opening up the possibility of supporting complex scheduling behaviors even with "thin" clients.

In the judgement of the authors, we consider this new specification to be a substantial improvement over the old one and believe it represents a stronger protocol that will lead to better interoperability.


Authors' Addresses

Cyrus Daboo
Apple Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
USA
Email: cyrus@daboo.name
URI: http://www.apple.com/
Bernard Desruisseaux
Oracle Corporation
600 Blvd. de Maisonneuve West
Suite 1900
Montreal, QC H3A 3J2
CANADA
Email: bernard.desruisseaux@oracle.com
URI: http://www.oracle.com/