What is SS7? An Introduction to Signaling System 7

SS7 or Signaling System 7 is the dominant protocol used to control the public telephone network. Call routing, number portability, caller-ID, mobile SMS and more are handled using SS7 in the public network. SS7 (along with SIGTRAN for transport), allow application to access public network resources for call control and authentication. During this session, we share some background on SS7, show how it is used in everyday communications, and provide some use cases in popular applications.

1. Extending the Life of SS7 Networks 1 with SIGTRAN and STPs

2. 2 Today’s Presenters: Alan D Percy Chief Marketing Officer [email protected] Marc St-Onge Technical Director of Sales [email protected]

3. 3 What to Expect: Introductions Background SS7 Network Elements Signaling Functions for SS7 The Role of SIGTRAN for transport SS7 & SIGTRAN Use Cases Your Questions A D N E G A

4. TelcoBridges Inc. Manufacturer of VoIP gateways, signaling gateways, and SBC software for carriers and enterprises Employee Owned Founded in 2002 Employees: ~40 Headquarters: Montreal, Canada Hardware & software R&D as well as production of its products in Montreal Sales/Support offices: Montreal, Turkey, Hong Kong 24/7 technical support 4 TelcoBridges HQ

5. Worldwide Success Global carrier network solutions Focus on reliability and service Technology innovator 5

6. What is SS7? An Introduction to Signaling System 7 6

7. 7 SS7 is very much alive! It is the core of the global PSTN It ensures global voice & SMS connectivity And it is growing at 3 to 4% per year SMS traffic is increasing More roaming Increasing number of MVNOs Local number portability, 1-800 numbers

8. 8 Let’s Start at the Beginning… Montreal Telephone Exchange (c. 1895)

9. 9 The Digital Telephone Network The 1970s: Space Flight 1973 Oil Crisis Digital Computing Age Growth of Telephone Service Global Telecommunications Adoption of Digital Telephony Birth of CCITT SS7

10. 10 A Little Background Channel Associated Signaling (CAS) Signaling is carried with the voice path (analog, T1 RBS, E1 R2) Common Channel Signaling (CCS) Signaling is carried separate from the voice path (SS7) Voice Signaling Voice Signaling

11. 11 A Little Background Common Channel Signaling (SS7) Advantages: More efficient use of voice paths/circuit More bandwidth available for signaling More secure More flexible architectures Voice Signaling

12. 12 SS7 Service Switching Points SSP Voice Paths Signaling Links SSP Service Switching Point (SSP) Exchange A Exchange B Link Set From: Engineering Networks for Synchronization, CCS 7, and ISDN by P.K. Bhatnager

13. 13 Point Codes Zone Identification Area/Network Identification Signaling Point Identification 3 bits 8 bits 3 bits Format for International Signaling Point Code (14-bits) Network Identification Network Cluster Cluster Member 8 bits 8 bits 8 bits Format of Point Code for US Network (24-bits)

14. SS7 Signaling Transfer Point Signaling Transfer Point “Router” for SS7 messages Simplifies network topology Allows “Spoke and Hub” 14 SSP Voice/Data Paths Signaling Links SSP Exchange A Exchange B STP Signaling Transfer Point SSP Exchange C

15. SS7 Service Control Point SS7 Node that delivers a service to network Database services: Caller Name database (CNAM) Local number portability Home Location Register (HLR) Toll Free Number database Messaging Services (SMS) 15 SCP SSP Voice/Data Paths Signaling Links SSP Exchange A Exchange B STP Service Control Point SSP Exchange C

16. SS7 Protocol Stack 16 MTP Level 1 MTP Level 2 MTP Level 3 ISUP Physical Data link Network Application Presentation Session Transport SCCP TCAP SS7

17. SS7 Signaling Example 17 ISDN User Originating Exchange Transit Exchange Terminating Exchange ISDN User Setup IAM Setup ACK Info Alert Connect SAM ACM ANM IAM ACM ANM Setup Connect Access Signaling On D-Channel Interoffice Signaling On Signaling Links Access Signaling On D-Channel From: Engineering Networks for Synchronization, CCS 7, and ISDN by P.K. Bhatnager (Part of Called Party Address) (Remaining Address)

18. 18 SS7 Network Architecture SSP C STP 1 STP 2 SCP A STP 3 STP 4 SCP B SSP A SSP B A A A A C F B D D B C A A A A Voice circuit SS7 link SSP = Service Switching Point STP = Signaling Transfer Point SCP = Service Control Point A = Access Link B = Bridge Link C = Cross Link D = Diagonal Link F = Fully Associated - Class 5 switch - Class 4 switch - MSC LNP Database HLR SMSC

19. User Application 19 SS7 Use Case: CNAM Lookup Accessing Caller Name ID database SCP STP CNAM API Terminating Service Provider CNAM Gateway

20. SIGTRAN Transport of SS7 signaling over IP 20

21. SS7 Protocol Stacks 21 MTP Level 1 MTP Level 2 MTP Level 3 ISUP Ethernet IP Physical Data link Network Application Presentation Session Transport SCTP M2PA SCCP TCAP SIGTRAN SS7 MTP Level 3 ISUP SCCP TCAP Ethernet IP SCTP M3UA ISUP SCCP TCAP

22. SIGTRAN standards Defined by the IETF SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) RFC 4960 Message oriented, reliable, in-sequence delivery Supports multi-homing for redundancy M2PA (MTP2 User Peer-to-Peer Adaptation Layer) RFC 4165 Equivalent to SS7 TDM links, but over IP M3UA (MTP3 User Adaptation Layer) RFC 4666 Enables the transport of higher-layer protocols over IP 22

23. 23 SIGTRAN Use Cases Migrate SS7 TDM links to IP Extend the life your STPs using SIGTRAN Modernize your STPs Bridge old and new SS7 networks SS7 link transport via IP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUBj4GUFaiM

24. 1. SS7 link migration 24 - Eliminates recurring cost of leased line - 100% transparent for the switch - Higher reliability due to IP network IP network Transmission network STP STP SS7 Switch M3UA MTP2 TSG800

25. SS7 Solutions From TelcoBridges 25

26. T sig Product Line 26 Confidential Model TSG800 TSG3200 Applications Signaling Gateways & STP Signaling Gateways & STP T1/E1 1-16 64 DS3 - 3 OC3/STM-1 - 1 Ethernet Ports 6 5

27. 27 Intro: Tsig TSG800 Signaling gateway/STP Up to 16 x T1/E1 for SS7 on TDM 6 x GigE ports for SIGTRAN, management, SNMP Redundant power supplies (DC or AC) Low-speed Links High-speed links SIGTRAN associations MTP3 routes SCCP/ GTT MSU/s 64 2 64 512 384 5,000

28. 28 Learn More: More on SS7 at: https://docs.telcobridges.com/tbwiki/SS7 Information on TSG800 at: https://www.telcobridges.com/products/ tsig -signaling-gateways/tsg800 Request a consultation at: https://www2.telcobridges.com/SS7Consult

29. Video Library on YouTube ProSBC Training Modules Recorded webinars How-to Tutorials Customer interviews Frequently Asked Questions Recorded podcasts And more… 29 youtube.com/ telcobridges

30. Enabling the Migration to Cloud Communications 30 www.telcobridges.com www.prosbc.com [email protected] Youtube.com/ telcobridges