The Evolution of Signaling

Dan Rothschild Director, Engineering

Contents
Signaling Evolution Overview SS7 Status Sigtran Bearer Independent Call Control Converged Networks NMS Signaling Products

Slide 2

Signaling Evolution Overview

SS7
Call Control Wireless: Mobility, Roaming, SMS IN: Prepaid, Call Mgmt, Ringback High Speed Links Network Services: 800, Calling Name, LNP

Sigtran: SS7/IP

Bearer Independent Call Control BICC

Converged Networks
IP Core SIP IMS H.248 Multi-Access Diameter

1990

2000

2007

Slide 3

Signaling Evolution Drivers

Signaling bandwidth requirements for new services
SMS, MMS Number portability Push-to-talk, voice call continuity Presence, location

Transport evolution from TDM to packet

IP/Ethernet everywhere Lower cost, higher bandwidth

Protocol explosion in standards bodies

IETF: SIP, SIP-T, SIMPLE, SIGTRAN 3GPP: R99 (UMTS) , R4 (IP-core), R5, R6, R7 (IMS), .

Slide 4

Signaling Evolution Stages

Starts in core network
Highly utilized routes replaced for bandwidth/cost reduction Small number of nodes updated/replaced Sigtran or BICC deployed here first

Evolves to access networks

For new services and/or bandwidth Interworking with new networks More equipment impacted: switches, gateways, DSLAMs

Migrates to edge devices last

New service deployments Enhanced service platforms, application servers, media servers
Slide 5

Overview of SS7
Circuit-switched call control: ISUP, TUP Non-circuit services: TCAP, SCCP
IN-service protocols: INAP, AIN, CAMEL Wireless services: MAP mobility, HLR, roaming, SMS Network-based services: 800, calling name, LNP

Signaling Transport: MTP layers 1-3

Optimized for 48/56/64 kbps links High-speed links (full T1/E1) introduced for high-bandwidth paths

Widely deployed in nearly all networks

Wireline and wireless New service deployments still occurring

Slide 6

SS7 Protocol Architecture

BSS HLR MSC Service Node

IS-634/ BSSAP

ANSI-41

GSM MAP

INAP/ CAMEL

ISUP/ TUP

TCAP SCCP MTP Layer 3 MTP Layer 2 MTP Layer 1

Upper layers

Transport layers

Slide 7

SIGTRAN What is it?

Transport of upper layers of SS7 in IP packets Replaces the transport layers of SS7 (MTP, SCCP) Sigtran Architecture Components
SCTP Stream Control Transmission Protocol
Reliable transport for signaling

Adaptation Layers many different ones available

Resides on both SG and IP Node

Inter-working function on SG
Mapping between IP addresses and SS7 point codes Multiplexing SS7 interface to multiple IP Nodes

ISUP, TCAP reside on IP Node (Optional) IPSEC on IP node and SG

Slide 8

SCTP Protocol Characteristics

Reliable transport layer Connection oriented
Multiple control streams per port In-sequence delivery within a stream

Supports multi-homing with fail-over TCP-like congestion avoidance Addresses some of TCPs limitations
High fan-out (large number of connections) Fast detection of failures

Slide 9

Sigtran Adaptation Layers

One for each different signaling protocol
MTP-2 adaptation layers (M2UA/M2PA) MTP-3 adaptation layer (M3UA) SCCP adaptation layer (SUA)

Provides status and network management services in addition to data transfer Upper adaptation layers support various redundancy models
Primary/backup Load sharing

Slide 10

Simple Distributed Gateway Architecture

IWF
SCCP MTP3 PC=10-1-20 SSP MTP2 PC=10-1-1 SUA M3UA SCTP

Application
ISUP M3UA TCAP SUA

IP

SCTP IP
IP=1.2.3.1

STP

SG

MGC

PSTN/SS7
PC=10-1-30 STP IP=1.2.3.10 PC=10-1-255 SSP PC=10-1-10
Slide 11

Packet Network

MGC

IP=1.2.3.2
MGC

IP=1.2.3.3

Current Real World Deployments

AT&T (Cingular)
Used M2PA for STP-to-STP hauling of SS7 links Future plans included:
M3UA for MSCs, SMSCs and SCPs

Vodafone Ireland
SMSCs

KPN/Netherlands
To prepare for IMS infrastructure

China Mobile
SMS traffic again the driver

Just a few examples

Slide 12

BICC Overview
Bearer Independent Call Control Extension to SS7 ISUP for setting up calls over packet bearer networks Can be transported over
SS7 MTP3 or MTP3-b (ATM) Sigtran M3UA/SCTP

Actual bearer setup protocol can be transported independently or tunneled over BICC itself
For RTP/IP bearer networks, SDP can be tunneled over BICC to set up RTP connection

Competes with SIP-T for core network call control

Slide 13

BICC Capability Sets

Capability set 1 (Q.1901)
Basic call control, ATM-orientation Forward or Backward Bearer Setup Codec negotiation + mid-call codec modification Tear-down bearer at end of call or keep for re-use on another call

Capability set 2 (Q.1902.x)

IP bearer set-up support Bearer protocol tunneling Supplementary services Extension to special resource nodes, via H.248

Slide 14

BICC Call Setup with tunneled SDP bearer setup (forward bearer setup)
PSTN-O
ISUP IAM IAM (connect fwd) (tunneled SDP Offer) APM (connect fwd) (tunneled SDP Answer) APM (connected) [optional] IAM ACM

MGC/MG

BICC

MCG/MG

ISUP

PSTN-T

Bearer Established
ACM ACM

ANM ANM ANM

Note: Many other flows possible

Slide 15

BICC in 3GPP rel5 Architecture: MSC-Server to MSC-Server Interface (Nc)

PSTN 2G MS (voice only) BSS A/IuCS Mc BSC BTS 2G+ MS (voice & data) RNS Gr Iub IuPS HSS AuC Gc Gi Gb/IuPS IP/ATM IuCS MSC Server Gs VLR CS-MGW PSTN Mc B C D H GMSC server CN Nb CS-MGW

Abis

PSTN

SS7 IP/ATM IP Network

Gn

RNC Node B 3G UE (voice & data)

SGSN

GGSN IM-MGW IM Gs PSTN

IP
Mg MRF Mc MGCF

Slide 16

CSCF

Converged Networks
Packet-switched IP core network (e.g., IMS)
Voice, video, data Common user profile (HSS)

SIP is the dominant signaling protocol Common services independent of:

Access network Location Device

Interworking with multiple access networks

Circuit switched and packet switched Wireless, broadband, 2G, 3G, .

Proliferation of protocols can be challenging

Slide 17

Example: 3GPP MSC Server Stacks

To User Equipment BSSAP BSS Application Part GSM 08.08 / 08.06 ISUP ISDN User Part ITU Q.76x M3UA MTP3 User Adaptation RFC 4666 MAP Mobile Application Part GSM 09.02 MTP Message Transfer Part (1,2,3) ITU Q.70x MTP3b Message Transfer Part over ATM ITU Q.2210 RANAP RAN Application Part TS 25.413 SAAL Signaling AAL ITU Q.2100 IuCS
CM MM BSSAP SCCP MTP BSSAP+ SCCP MTP3 MTP2 L1 SAAL -NNI RANAP SCCP MTP3b M3UA SSCF-NNI SCTP SSCOP IP v6/v4 CPS AAL5 ATM L2 L1 MAP TCAP SCCP MTP3b SSCF-NNI SSCOP CPS AAL5 ATM L1 CC/SS/SMS MM

HLR
ISUP MTP

Cl.5/4 PSTN

H.248

To Mobile Station Gs

MTP3b M3UA SSCF-NNI SCTP SSCOP Q.2150.1 M3UA IP v6/v4 CPS AAL5 MTP3b SCTP SSCF-NNI ATM L2 SSCOP L1 IP v6/v4 CPS AAL5 BICC ATM L2 L1

Mc

A SCCP Service Connection Control Part ITU Q.71x SCTP Stream Control Transport Protocol RFC 2960 SSCF-NNI Service Specific Coord. Function ITU Q.2140 SSCOP Service Specific Connection Oriented Protocol ITU Q.2110 TCAP Transaction Capabilities Application Part ITU Q.77x

Nc

CC/SS/SMS Call Control, Supp Serv, Short Message Service) MM Mobility Management

Slide 18

NMS Network Signaling Support

SIP

SS7
ISUP BICC TCAP MTP TDM Sigtran M3UA

ISDN/CAS

Natural Access

TX 4000 TX 4000C TX 4000e

Vision Signaling Server

Slide 19

SS7 Signaling Boards

TX Series
Value Proposition
Part of the Open Access family Powerful and flexible solutions for global SS7 applications

TX Series Signaling Boards

Features
Support for a full 32 SS7 links and up to 4 high-speed links (HSL) Software-selectable T1 or E1 (120 ohm) trunks Full node-level redundancy for high availability On-board software, freeing host computer Protocols meet telephony standards, compatible with all major switches Variety of form factors and density
Slide 20

Benefits
Leverage NMSs worldwide SS7 expertise Scalable hardware with minimum host loading Rich and robust API with ITU, ANSI standards Competitively-priced, flexible licensing

Vision Signaling Server

ISUP (ITU and ANSI) signaling for call control
4, 16, or 32 low-speed signaling links (DS0s) 4 high-speed links (HSL) (DS1s)

Vision Signaling Server

Carrier-grade
NEBS-compliant Redundant, fault tolerant configurations AC or DC powered

Slide 21

SIP for Natural Access

Uses the Natural Access NCC Service, API
Common programming model simplifies application development

SIP

Supports important extensions for services, such as call transfer, call hold, and auto attendant Works with the VoIP service to establish media path connections to Natural Access rich media processing resources Implemented with RADVISION SIP stack

Slide 22

ISDN/CAS
Broad range of TDM signaling protocols
ISDN 11 variants including Euro-ISDN, QSIG ECMA 143, NI2, Lucent 5ESS Channel Associated Signaling (CAS)
Worldwide MFC-R2 variants Many others including CAS R1.5, winkstart, SS5, OPS/OPX, European CAS, digital E&M

PSTN Trunking

Multiple versions of CAS and ISDN can run on a board

Selectable during runtime On-board execution enables efficient call processing while offloading the host CPU

Slide 23

Summary
Signaling network evolution towards converged, SIP-based networks is underway
Transition will take many years Operators must leverage existing installed base of SS7 services and equipment

For the next several years, transition technologies are needed to bridge the gap between todays service architectures and converged networks NMS signaling products can help smooth the transition

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Questions?

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N M S C OM M UNI C ATI O N S