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Introduction to Signaling
The term signaling is used in many contexts. In technical systems, it very often
refers to the control of different procedures. With reference to telephony, signaling means
the transfer of information and the instructions relevant to control and monitor telephony
connections.
Todays global telecom networks are included in very complex technical systems.
Naturally, a system of this type requires extensive signaling, both internally in different
nodes (for example, exchanges) and externally between different types of network nodes.
In this document we will focus on external signaling. Thus, the term signaling in the
following chapters always refers to external signaling traffic.
The main purpose of using signaling in modern telecom networks where different
network nodes must cooperate and communicate with each other is to enable transfer of
control information between nodes in connection with:
- Traffic control procedures as set-up, supervision, and release of telecommunication
connections and services.
- Database communication, for example, database queries concerning specific
services, roaming in cellular networks, dialog.
- Network management procedures, for example, blocking or deblocking trunks.
Traditionally, external signaling has been divided into two basic types:
- Access signaling (for example, Subscriber Loop Signaling). This means signaling
between a subscriber terminal (telephone) and the local exchange.
- Trunk signaling (that is, Inter-Exchange Signaling)
This is used for signaling between exchanges.
CCS was initially meant for telephony only, but has now evolved into non-telephony and
non-connection related applications (for example, location updating of a mobile
subscriber). A dialog with a database or between two databases is a typical application for
CCS in the Mobile Core Network.
Thus, there is a need for a generic system that is able to support a wide variety of
applications in telecommunication. The variety of applications is increasing as new types
of telephony systems and a wider use of databases in the network become necessary
(mobile telephony networks, ISDN, IN, etc.).
Even though the standardization of SS7 is now the responsibility of ITU-T, for traditional
and historical reasons, the system is often called CCITT No. 7 signaling system.
The signaling system used in GSM and WCDMA systems follows the CCITT
recommendations: the modular layer structure allows flexible usage of the specifications.
The interfaces between different levels and the protocols of the functions in each layer are
defined in CCITT SS No.7.
Protocol is a set of definitions and agreements on how to communicate.
The communication between functions always takes place on the same level according to
the protocol for that level. Only functions on the same level can understand each other.
In CCITT Signaling System (SS) No. 7 the control messages are exchanged between
different nodes. These control messages are used by the relevant nodes for call
management purposes, for example, set-up, maintenance, termination, etc. In reality the
signals are data packets, hence, SS7 is a type of packet switching system. SS No.7 only
defines the functions of various levels, but does not dictate the details of implementation.
Other standards than those specified by ITU-T are in use today. The SS7 network in the
USA, for instance, is based on the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard.
In some situations, the differences between these standards may cause interfacing problems
in the SS7 network.
To provide more bandwidth and/or for redundancy, up to 16 links between two SPs can be
used. Links between two SPs are logically grouped for administrative and load-sharing
reasons. A logical group of links between two SP is called a linkset.
- Extended links (E links): connect SSPs and SCPs to an STP pair, as with A links,
except that the pair they connect to is not the normal home pair. Instead, E links connect to
a nonhome STP pair
- Fully associated links (F links): are used to connect network SSPs and/or SCPs
directly to each other without using STPs. The most common application of this type of
link is in metropolitan areas. F links can establish direct connectivity between all switches
in the area for trunk signaling and Custom Local Area Signaling Service (CLASS), or to
their corresponding SCPs.
2.3.1.1. MTP1
Layer 1 defines the physical interface. In Europe, SS7 is generally carried on a timeslot in a
2.048Mbps E1 trunk, generally timeslot 16 (but not necessarily). In North America, SS7
may be carried on either a V.35 synchronous serial interface running at 56 or 64kbps, or
multiplexed on to a 1.544Mbps T1 timeslot The SS7 messages are constructed similar to
HDLC frames (each message being delimited by flag bytes or octets, and containing a
Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC).
2.3.1.2. MTP2
The layer 2 part of the protocol provides reliable transfer of messages between two
adjacent nodes, ensuring that messages are delivered in sequence and error free. The SS7
protocol specifies that empty frames known as Fill in Signal Units (FISU) should be sent
when no signaling information from the upper layers is waiting for transmission, hence the
SS7 receiver always expects to receive frames (information or empty) continuously,
enabling rapid detection of any failure or break in communication.
2.3.1.3. MTP3
Layer 3 provides the message routing and failure handling capabilities for the message
transport. Each SS7 node (this could be a classic switch or a node containing 800 number
translation records) is uniquely identified within a network using an SS7 address called a
Point Code. European networks use 14 bit point codes, North American 24 bit point codes.
A single SS7 link is able to carry traffic for thousands of circuits (depending on traffic a
single SS7 link is normally engineered to control 1000 to 2000 circuits), however, failure
of this single link would disable all of the circuits that are controlled, hence for resilience
and also to increase traffic capacity, more than one signaling channel is normally
provisioned between any two nodes communicating using SS7. The collection of signaling
links between two adjacent nodes is known as a link set, each link set can contain up to 16
signaling links. Figure 3 shows a simple SS7 network containing 3 nodes.
MTP3 provides a reliable message transport service to the higher layer protocols, which
use MTP as a message transport service, hence their generic name, User Parts. In order to
deliver a received message to the correct user part, MTP3 examines the Service Indicator
(SI) which forms part of the Service Information Octet (SIO) in the received message.
The SIO also contains the Network Indicator (enabling identification of a message
travelling on a national or international network).