.

BULGARIAN

ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES

PROBLEMS

OF ENGINEERING CYBERNETICS AND

, ROBOTICS, 47

47

. 1998 . Sofia

The ISDN Technology Characteristics and Objectives

Mariana Strougarova, Petia Kademova-Katzarova
Institute of Computer and Communication Systems, 1113 Sofia

The ideaof IntegratedServices DigitalNetwork (ISDN)appeared atthe beginningof the 70-ies in Europe. The rapid development of new technologies in telecommunications startedoffitsrealizationandstandardizationinBulgariatoo.

1. What is the idea of ISDN?

TheideaofISDNingeneralistransmissionofdifferenttypesofinformation:voice(typical fortelephonenetworks),data (typicalforcomputernetworks) andimage (typicalfor the TV networks,but thetransmission isone-way)usingone andthe sametransmissionmedia. Specialattentionispaidtothequalityandreliabilityoftransmission-thenetworkisbuilt ondigitalbases,butusingtheexistingtelephonenetwork,evenwhenitisstillananalogue one.The networkprovides some entirely new services: callingnumber identification, automatic waitingonbusyline andconnectingafterit isreleased,switchingto another number,conferencemodeetc.Differentterminalequipment(TE), handlingthe respective functions, is connected through one and the same slot (mixed communication). Actually two networks exist in ISDN: one for the transmission of integrated informationandasecondforlinkscontrol.Thecontrolnetworkislogicallyseparatedfrom the data network and ensures building and disintegration of the line as well as other controllingfunctions.ThechannelsforintegrateddatatransferarecalledB-channels.The control information is transferredover the D-channel. TheD-channel controlsall the available B-channels in parallel. The method is called Common Channel Signaling and thecontrolitselfiscalledOutslotSignaling. Two types of ISDN exist: with Basic Access and with Primary Access. The Basic Access networkconsists oftwo 64kbpsB-channelsand one16 kbpsD-channel,sothe total capacity of the network is 144 kbps. The Primary Access network has 30 B-channels and one D-channel, all being with 64 kbps. The total rate is 2 Mbps.

96

The interface between ISDN users TE and the network is marked as ISPBX - ISDN Private Branch Exchange. The broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) is comparatively new and is used mostly for image transfer(for examplevideo conferencesor LANsinterconnection). TheB-ISDN provides data rate exchange of hundreds of Mbps. ISDN follows theOSI structureof ISO.It providestransport services between two TEs. The B- and D-channels work in parallel and are accessible through a common point TSAP (Transport Service Access Point). The separation of the two types of channels is transparent for the user; they have their own protocols for levels 2 and 3. Each independently attached unitreceives its own TSAP to access the transport level. Each participant in ISDN has only one NSAP point (Network Service Access Point) for the networklevelaccess. The standardized digital communication has to meetthe following basic requirements: voice, data,video andtext tobe transmittedon thesame line; only one connector plug is needed; decreaseof costsontransmittingnon-voice messages; connectionofprivateinstallationsasbranches; decreaseoftime,neededforcallsetup. The telecommunication companiesin different countries areaiming atuniting the alreadyexisting separatenetworks andthefutureones ina singlenetworksoto decrease thecostsandincreasetheefficiencyoflinks. ISDNdraws theinterest towardsitself ofbothpublicandprivateexchanges (PABX). It is transmission media independent, enables both new and old TE to be used and integratesallcurrentandfuturenetworkservices.

2. ISDN Standardization
Thequestionof standardizationisofparticularimportance.Withtheimplementation of ISDNa newgeneration ofTE iscreated, whichto satisfythe requirementsfor integrated servicesnetworkingandtoperformdifferentfunctionsinpublicandprivatenetworks.On theother handthe attachmentof standardizedand specificunits tothe ISDNnetwork has tobepossible. CCITT hasalready accepted to a certain extent the standards for levels 1 and 2 of the OSI model of ISDN. ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute) and ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) are working on standardization of level 3 on European scale (EURO-ISDN). A borderline step in the introduction of the EURO-ISDN has been made by several European countries by introducing their own variants ofthe D-channel protocol on level 3, such as the protocols of theGerman Post 1TR6 and the French protocols VN2/VN3. CCITT gives the following recommendations for ISDN: I.100 general recommendations, I.200 definitionofservices, I.300 networkaspects, I.400 physicalaspectsandtransmissionprotocols, I.500 interfaceswithinthenetwork, I.600 principles fornetworkmaintenance. Thephysical levelof thenetwork isformed accordingto recommendationsI.430 and I.431 for ISDN with Basic and Primary Access respectively. On the D-channel protocol Q.921 is used for level 2 (LAPD) and Q.931 for level 3. On channel B the HDLC X.75

7 Problems of Engineering Cybernetics and Robotocs, 47

97

symmetrical protocol is used forlevel 2 (LAPB) andISO 8280(X.25) - for level3. Level 4isbroughtout asX.224interface. Different functional groups have been defined in the CCITT model, each of them covering similar users functions of ISDN. The NT1 (Network Termination) functional grouprealizestheconnection onthe sideof thepublic network.NT2 ensuresdifferent TE for ISDNto makeuse ofthe cable.For examplea privatetelecommunication installation is a complex and powerful functional group NT2. Sample point S is the boundary between NT2 and TE1 or TA (Terminal Adapter), i.e.theinterface oftheusertowards ISDN.TheS-pointinPrimaryAccessISDNis usually used to connect to mainframe. The S interface performs levels 1 and 2 in the OSI model and satisfiestheincreasingnumberofstandardsonlevel 3. Sample point T separates NT2 from NT1. When TE is directly attached to the public networkinpointNT1,point ScoexistswithT. SandTaretoa greatextentinternationally standardized. S p e ci f i c manufacturers fu ncti ons PrivatestandardsS (ECMA)

Public standards S (ETSI)

Fig. 1

S/T (directconnection)

TE 1

NT 2

NT 1

S
TE 1 I SD N

T S
NT 2 NT 1

R
TE 2 TA

Functional Blocks:

NT 1 NT 2 TE 1 TE 2 TA S T R

Network Termination 1 Network Termination 2 Terminal Equipment 1 (ISDN) Terminal Equipment 2 (non-ISDN) Terminal Adapter User Interface ISDN Interface Auxiliary Interface to the TE Functional Group Inte rface

Sample Points:

Fig. 2

98

One of themajor objectivesof people,working onthe problems of standardization is thecompatibilityofTE, i.e.TEfromdifferentmanufacturersto beusedbothinpublic and privatenetworks.ETSIistheresponsibleinEurope forthe standardizationofpublic ISDN,hence forT andS/T interfaces.ECMA takespart instandardizing private networks anddefines theS andQinterfaces(links betweenISDN installations). Themanufacturersoftelecommunicationinstallationsoffersomespecificservicesto theircustomers, whichare mostlyinteresting forthePABXsusers butnotforthe public network.Thosespecificprivateservices arestandardizedbyECMA.Theresult isthat the standard for the S interface within the boundaries of ECMA covers much larger number offunctions,butithastoremaincompatiblewiththeS/Tinterfaceofthepublicnetwork. Two types of protocols for TE (level 3) are defined in the CCITT recommendations foradditionalservicescontrol:pulseandfunctional.Thepulseprotocoldoesnotrequire the TE to know anything about the call and the handling of the additional service; the intelligenceisinthenetworkitself.ThecommunicationbetweentheTEandthenetwork iswithimpulses,interpretedandhandledbythenetworkThepulseprotocolsmakepossible theearlyintroductionofadditionalISDN-services. Thespecificservices,requiring intelligentinterworkingbetweentheTEand the networkcannotberealizedbypulseprotocols.Thefunctionalprotocol,usedinthatcase, requiresthattheTEreceivesinformationaboutthecalledadditionalservice,asitdoespart of the handling. The communication between the TE and the network is by functional messages. In that case the TE is more intelligent and takes over most of the line management.

3. What are the opportunities ISDN proposes?

Thereis agreat varietyof servicesinISDNsuchas:calling partyidentification, calls selection,callredirection,holdingbackofline,serviceidentification,flexiblebandwidth ondemand,useofD-channelbackup,etc.AutomaticidentificationoftheTEparticipating inthecommunicationis done,sothattheinformationisreceivedbytheappropriateunit. ISDNisalsousedintelemarketing,alarmsignaling,disasterrecovery.Fastercallsetup is possibleinISDNbecause ofout-of-bandsignaling. Here are some more special services ISDN offers. 3.1.CallingPartyIdentification On messaging,the incoming calling partynumber isidentified and is made available to the receiving party as a part of the incoming request. This number can be used for applicationssuchasautomaticcustomerrecordretrieval,customizedcallhandling,call distributiontospecializedparticipants(agents),customercall-back,dial-upsystems security.ISDNcallingpartyidentificationisdeliveredwithadditionalpercallinformation. Itincludesdialednumberidentificationandserviceidentification.Thisgivescustomers much more informationbefore acceptingthe call. 3.2.CallRedirection SelectedcallscanbedistributedbyISDNcustomerstoalternatelocationsusingthedialed numberidentificationorthecallingpartynumberidentificationservices.Whenacall is delivered to a customer premiseswhere it cannot be promptly handled,ISDN customer equipment can release the unanswered call and return it to the network by issuing a standard ISDNbusy lineindication. Thiswill causethe networkto redirectthe callto a predeterminedbythecustomeroverflowlocation.Thecallsetuptimeforthecallingparty isnotperceptiblyincreasedsincethenetworkinvokesimmediately andautomaticallythe

99

alternatedestinationcallredirection(ADCR)service.Callsarecompletedregardlessof whether either location is anISDN one. The ADCRservice canbe usedas acall distributoron networkbase tohelp customers balancetheloadordistributetheincomingcallsbasedonreal-timeevents.Italsohelps more incoming calls to be completed in case of network access facilities or premises malfunctions.Anycall completionproblemsrelatedtotrafficsurges,longabnormalcall holding times,local agent disruptions etc.are treatedby ADCR. 3.3.CallsSelection ISDN customer can dedicate selected B-channels for a specific service when working in real-time, or share it on demand among several services. Channels are allocated to incoming andoutgoing callrequests ona FIFObasis. Overflowand peaktraffic resources can be shared among combined services, eliminating the need for special dedicated overflowcircuits.Thesecircuitsareusedtohandleburstsoftrafficforeachserviceandare idle therest ofthe time.Customers of ISDN can control accessto networkservices, for example, handlingtrafficpeaksforahigh priorityservicebylimiting theuseofalower priorityone.Thebenefitissavingsforthecustomerbecausefewerfacilitiesarerequired. 3.4. Flexible Bandwidth on Demand The service is proposed in ISDN Primary Rate Interface. On customers demand Bchannels can be bundled into groups of 1, 6 or 24 channels. Bandwidth of 64 Kbps, 384 Kbpsor1536Kbpsisofferedrespectively.Therequestforbundlingismadeduringthecall setup.Customersnolongerneedtomaintaindedicatedbroadbandordatafacilities,hence costs are cut. Broadband channel bundling to 384 Kbps or 1536 Kbps on demand is particularlyconvenientforhigh-qualitycolorvideoteleconferencing,computergraphics, CAD, image and data transfers. 3.5. D-Channel Backup The D-channel backup service improves access reliability for ISDN customers. The arrangement is with two D-channels: an active and a spare one. If the prime D-channel fails,thebackuponetakes overimmediately.Allstablecallsare maintainedandnormal callhandlingisresumed. 3.6. User-to-UserInformation Forwarding User-defined,percallinformationis passedthroughthenetwork betweenoriginating and terminatingcall parties.Both partieshavetoterminate onISDN PrimaryRateInterface equipment. This user-defined information is associated withthe standardcall control messagesand isdelivered atthebeginningof thecall withthecallrequest. Thanksto it an ISDN terminal can display the calling party name or a brief message when the phone r i n g s . Typicalexampleof ISDNservicesuse areemergencyresponseanddisasterrecovery centers organized in the USA and some European countries. Emergency response centers arecomputerized alarmmonitoring organizations,using ISDN calling partyand dialed numberidentificationservicestolocateandrespondtodifferentemergenciessuchasbreakins,fire,heatandwatercrisesetc.Thecallingpartynumberofthecustomerindicatesthe location of theemergency. When a call is received at the emergency response center, a databaseimmediatelyretrievesthecustomersfilebasedonthecallingpartyidentification. This file shows the agent the whole necessary information the customers name and address, alist ofpeople tocontact, howto handlethe alarmetc. AutomatedISDNcalling partynumber identificationhasconsiderablyincreasedtheaccuracy oftheserviceas it eliminates humanerror as the majorfactor infalse alarms.

100

UsingISDN servicescustomers havegained accuracy of information,efficiency by shorteningcall holdingtime and faster call set-up, improvedoperation performance, reliability, andreduced costs.The ADCRfeature improvescall completionand telecommunicationsreliability.Customersrevenuesareincreasedbyredirectingandcompleting callsformerlyblockedbytrafficsurges,inefficientlyengineeredcustomeraccessfacilities, orservicedisruptions.Thebroadbandcapabilitiesanduser-to-userinformationtransfer service of ISDN give customer the opportunityto create new servicesand markets.

4. INTERNET and ISDN

ThebasicdifferencebetweenInternetandISDNisthattheformerusesthepacketswitching principleofwork whilethelatterthechannelswitchingone.Theco-existenceofthetwo networks requiresmore computerresources butoffers some advantages too: Theserver canservice morecustomers thanthe numberof theavailable B-channels, becausecustomerssharetransmissionlines.Thisincreasestheefficiencyofthenetwork. Customers of the public ISDNpay just for the time ofreal transmission. The TCP/IP protocols, perceived as in fact industrial standard in computer communications,offerservicesthatcanbeusedwithISDNtoo(forexample,filetransfer, terminalemulation,networkresourcesmanagement).TheInternetprotocoltransmitsdata packets between the end-users as datagrams beingthe optimal way of communication for LANs whileISDN useschannel switchingthrough publicor private exchanges.This means thattheirservicescannotbedirectlyusedbytheIP.Networkaccessshellshavebeencreated. Data transferbetween the mainframe andthe networkis realized through the shell. The protocol,usedintheshell,willdependontherespectivenetworkthemainframeisattached t o . IP expects a datagram service from the network. This interface doesnt have any primitivesforthelinkcontrol,soadriverundertakestotallythefunctions. When no traffic is on the line, disruption of communication may occur on network level,butsessionsonupperlevelsstillexistandarenotfunctionallyaffected. The creation of shell for ISDN access under MS-DOS and UNIX control provides PCusers,havingSointerface,withaccesstoUNIX-servers.Nodifferenceismadewhether the computer is attached directly to theISDN or through aprivate exchange.The MS-DOS computers may work only asclients, whilethe UNIXones can be serversat the same time. TheUNIXservercan bea routerintheInternettoo.Nonetworkfilesystemis needed forthat;theInternetshellisenough.ThiswayallTCP/IPapplicationsareaccessiblefor both MS-DOS and UNIX PCs. In addition, computers that are not attached directly to ISDN can communicate over it in case they are attached through Ethernet to an ISDNEthernet-IProuter.

5. ISDN Communications Optimization

One of the fastest growing areas in data communications is ISDN routing. The field has nowattractedalltheleadinginternetworkingcompanies,becauseefficientroutingofLAN protocols overdial-up ISDNcircuits givestheirusersan opportunityto derivethe full potential costsavings that can be gained by using ISDN. One of the main problems here is thefact that LAN protocols, particularly Novell IPX/SPX,werenotdesignedforoperationoverdial-upcircuitswhereitisimportanttokeep call time to a minimum. They were designed forLANs wherebandwidth iseffectively free oncethe networkhasbeeninstalled. Asa resultthey haveno restrictionsin theiruse of

101

polling to exchange management information. Much of this polling can be eliminated by the so called spoofing technique. It involves the reduction or elimination of polling transmissions overwide arealinksandthelocalemulation ofthe responsesthat devices ateachendofthelinksexpecttoreceive.Thelatterisnecessarytokeepsessionsaliveby givingdevices theimpression thatthe remoteend ofthe linkis communicatingwith them directly.Spoofingalsoinvolvesmaintainingofdialoguebetweenremotedeviceswhichis necessary forthe networkto performits functionefficiently.AsISDN isoften soldas a cheaper alternative to permanent leased circuits for linking remote offices into core backbone networks spoofing becomes very important as part of the broader subject of bandwidth management; a spectrum of techniques for making use of WAN links most cost effectively.Thisconcernsespeciallydial-upservices(ISDNinparticular)whereyoupay for what you use. Besides spoofing, bandwidth management includes also data compression,techniques forminimization ofbandwidth ortime inlong distancelinkstransmiss i o n s ,e t c . Spoofing is normally handled by routers on each LAN. The problem with IPX spoofing isthat thereareseveraltypes ofIPX datapackets thatneed spoofing,and only some of them arecovered by the majority of routers. Therouting informationprotocol (RIP)and theservice advertisingprotocol(SAP) packets are most often spoofed ones. RIP packets specify paths between LANs and help routersto keeptheir tablesup todate, whileSAP packetsadvertise theavailability of servers, printers and other resources on aNetWare LAN. Other IPX packets that need to be spoofed are the serialization packetsNovell license numbers broadcasted by the NetWareserversagainstpiratedcopies,watchdog packets- checkingfor illegalusage of NetWare,SPX packets- anextension of IPX protocol,guaranteeing deliveryof data. Apart from IPX there are some less common protocols needing spoofing, such as Banyan Vines IP, Microsofts WFW over TCP/IP, etc. Theneedforspoofingdoesnotconcernjustthenetworklayerprotocols(suchasIPX), butcanbe requiredatanylevelatwhichmessages aregenerated.Besidesitcanbeapplied atmorethanonelevelatatime,reducingoreliminatinglowlevelnetworkpollsandhigher levelcommunicationbetweenapplications.Theobjectiveisspoofingtoprofitablyprevent unnecessarilyraisedISDNcalls. In order to keep ISDN call time to a minimum some other techniques are needed as well.Theproblemisthatitisimpossibletoeliminatealltransmissionofdata,notdirectly linked to an users application because some management information has to be transmitted for the proper work of the network. However this can have a small impact on the network by compressing andsending it at the right time. Theinformation whichis absolutelyneeded tobe transmittedis therouting tables updates, as they age and eventually totally disappear. Over ISDN, the number of these updates should be keptto aminimum, meanwhileensuring routerstables to be upto date. Besides these updates, the SNMP management systems also generate polls that should be minimized too. Thereare three methods, used for transmittingthe routing table updates and SNMP p o l l s : timed updatesthe longest used method, but it does not work well for ISDN. Updates aretransmitted atpreset intervals,consuming alone20% onaverage ofthe total bandwidth,which isratherunacceptable; triggeredupdates a bettermethod, asupdates aretriggered onlyin caseof some significant changes that have to be reported. The method is not applicable on large networks, becausethere are too many changes to be reported; piggyback updates the optimum solution for ISDN networks. Polls and updates are only transmitted when an ISDN call for user data sending has already been raised. Exception iswhen eithera linkor arouter failureisolatesanISDN routerand theaim is 102

tobringitbackintothenetworkincaseanalternativepath exists. What is the future application of ISDN? ISDN plays an integral role in the development of intelligent networking and premisesapplications.Callredirection,networkcallqueuing,andannouncementsrequire intelligent premisesinteraction. ISDN shares intelligence between the networks and premisesinordertoprovideflexibleandcustom-orientedservices.Theintroductionofnew modern technologies - ATM, Frame relay etc. - in ISDN is a tendency in its future development. In Bulgaria the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company has started the introduction of ISDN services in some public exchanges. Some state institutions and business customerswillbethefirstattachedtothenetwork.

References
1. B i r b e c k, J. ISDN routing: the spoof issue. Telecommunications, August 1995, 106111. 2. C a m p b e l l, R.C., S. J. S o b e l. AT&T aggressively moves ISDN forward. AT&T Technology, 6, 1997, No 1, 2229. 3. S c h n e l l, G. u. a. Bussysteme in der Automatisierungstechnik. Wiesbaden, Verlag Vieweg, 1994. 4. S u l z b a c h e r, N. Datenkommunikation ueber das ISDN zwischen DOS-und UNIX-PCs. Philips Telecommunication Review, 50, 1992, No 2, 2531. 5. W i l l e m s t e i n, R. A. S. ISDN-Schhnittstelle der Tk-Anlage SOPHO-S fuer gemischten Einsatz von herstellerspezifischen und standardisierten Endgeraeten.Philips TelecommunicationReview, 50, 1992, No 2, 3748.

ISDN
, -
, 1113

( ) ISDN . : , . : , , , , , . NT1, NT2, S T OSI. ISDN Internet. . . ISDN . () (). ISDN : ATM, Frame relay . 103