Editing Universal Plug and Play (section)

==Overview==
The UPnP architecture allows device-to-device networking of [[consumer electronics]], [[Mobile phone|mobile]] devices, [[personal computer]]s, and networked [[home appliance]]s. It is a distributed, [[open architecture]] protocol based on established standards such as the [[Internet Protocol Suite]] (TCP/IP), [[HTTP]], [[XML]], and [[SOAP (protocol)|SOAP]]. UPnP ''control points'' (CPs) are devices which use UPnP protocols to control UPnP ''controlled devices'' (CDs).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/embedded/ms898948(v=msdn.10)|title=Using the UPnP Control Point API|date=14 September 2012 |publisher=[[Microsoft Developer Network]]|access-date=11 September 2014}}</ref>

The UPnP architecture supports zero-configuration networking.  A UPnP-compatible device from any vendor can dynamically join a network, obtain an IP address, announce its name, advertise or convey its capabilities upon request, and learn about the presence and capabilities of other devices. [[Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol]] (DHCP) and [[Domain Name System]] (DNS) servers are optional and are only used if they are available on the network. Devices can disconnect from the network automatically without leaving [[state (computer science)|state]] information.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

UPnP was published as a 73-part [[international standard]] ISO/IEC&nbsp;29341 in December 2008.<ref name="uda-v1.0">{{Cite web |date=2008-10-15 |title=UPnP Device Architecture v1.0 |url=http://upnp.org/specs/arch/UPnP-arch-DeviceArchitecture-v1.0.pdf |website=upnp.org |publisher=UPnP Forum}}</ref><ref name="uda-v1.1">{{Cite web |date=2008-10-15 |title=UPnP Device Architecture v1.1 |url=https://openconnectivity.org/upnp-specs/UPnP-arch-DeviceArchitecture-v1.1.pdf |website=openconnectivity.org |publisher=UPnP Forum}}</ref><ref name="uda-v2.0">{{Cite web |date=2020-04-17 |title=UPnP Device Architecture v2.0 |url=https://openconnectivity.org/upnp-specs/UPnP-arch-DeviceArchitecture-v2.0-20200417.pdf |website=openconnectivity.org |publisher=[[Open Connectivity Foundation|OCF]]}}</ref><ref name="igd-v1.0-v2.0">{{Cite web |date=2010-12-10 |title=UPnP InternetGatewayDevice v1.0/v2.0 |url=https://openconnectivity.org/developer/specifications/upnp-resources/upnp/internet-gateway-device-igd-v-2-0/ |website=openconnectivity.org |publisher=UPnP Forum}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iso.org/news/2008/12/Ref1185.html|title=ISO/IEC standard on UPnP device architecture makes networking simple and easy|date=10 December 2008|publisher=[[International Organization for Standardization]]|access-date=11 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.upnp.org/news/documents/UPnPForum_02052009.pdf | title = UPnP Specifications Named International Standard for Device Interoperability for IP-based Network Devices | publisher = [[UPnP Forum]] | date = 5 February 2009 | access-date = 11 September 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401035712/http://upnp.org/news/documents/UPnPForum_02052009.pdf | archive-date=2014-04-01 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Other UPnP features include:
; Media and device independence: UPnP technology can run on many media that support IP, including [[Ethernet]],<ref name=":1" /> [[FireWire]], Infrared ([[IrDA]]), home wiring ([[G.hn]]) and Radiofrequency ([[Bluetooth]], [[Wi-Fi]]<ref name=":1" />). No special [[device driver]] support is necessary; common network protocols are used instead.
; [[User interface]] (UI) control: ''Optionally'', the UPnP architecture enables devices to present a user interface through a [[web browser]] (see [[#Presentation|Presentation]] below).
; [[Operating system]] and [[programming language]] independence: Any operating system and any programming language can be used to build UPnP products. UPnP stacks are available for most platforms and operating systems in both closed- and open-source forms.<ref name=":1" />
; Programmatic control: UPnP architecture also enables conventional application programmatic control.<ref name=":1" />
; Extensibility: Each UPnP product can have device-specific services layered on top of the basic architecture.<ref name=":1" /> In addition to combining services defined by UPnP Forum in various ways, vendors can define their own device and service types, and can extend standard devices and services with vendor-defined actions, state variables, data structure elements, and variable values.