CCS7 Overview

Stephanie Sanderson January 18, 2001

In the beginning, there was

PTS (Per-trunk signaling) known as in-band signaling because the signaling and voice/data components are transmitted on the same trunk Requires the voice path to be established completely even if the call does not complete successfully Also known as Channel Associated Signaling (CAS)
Single trunk: carries signaling traffic and voice/data traffic End Office End Office

Now, there is
CCS7 (Common Channel Signaling Number 7) a messagebased signaling protocol that controls the information traveling between signaling points in a network. Two separate paths are used for transmitting information : one path for voice/data, one path for all signaling

Signaling trunk End Office Voice trunks End Office

Advantages of CCS7
Voice/data traffic and signaling traffic travel on separate paths thus increasing bandwidth. Signaling traffic travels faster and can look ahead to make sure long distance and local channels are available. The improved call setup time results in increased network capacity. One signaling link can support several voice/data calls. The voice path is not set up until the signaling indicates a successful call set-up.

Specifications for CCS

CCS7 (Common Channel Signaling #7)
North American standard for telecommunications applications Defined by American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

SS7 (Signaling System #7)

Defined by International Telecommunications Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) ITU-T was formerly the International Consultative Committee for Telephone and Telegraph (CCITT)

CCS7 and SS7 are nearly identical and the terms are used interchangeably.

Entities of CCS7 Network

SSP

Service Switching Point

A switching office with CCS7 voice trunk capability which can interact with service databases.

Service Control Point

SCP SCP SCP

A network database which provides a centralized place for access to network information.

Signal Transfer Point

STP

A tandem point for messages destined to other nodes in the network

More CCS7 Entities

A B

Signaling Link

Signaling connection between two nodes

A B

Link Set Set of links

connection two nodes

Route Signaling path

from one node to another

And More CCS7 Entities

A B

Route Set Set of all

routes from one node to another which is made up of linksets

A B

Associated Signaling
Direct Access

Quasi-Associated Signaling Requires at

least one STP tandem of the signaling messages

CCS7 Network Configuration

E Link

STP SSP
A Link B Link

STP
A Link

SCP SCP SCP SCP

F Link

A Links

C Link

B Links

C Link

A Links

STP SSP
A Link B Link

STP
A Link

SCP SCP

D Link

D Links

D Link

STP
C Link

STP

Example of GSM CCS7 Network

BSS BSS A Link A Link MSC A Link A Link A Link A Link DMS-MSC/VLR SCP A Link C Link STP B Link B Link C Link A Link STP A Link EIR SCP SCP VLR SCP SCP A Link STP B Link STP A Link HLR SCP SCP

BSS A Link

A Link BSS

A Link BSS

A Link BSS

In GSM, the BSS is an Access connection, therefore an A-link

CCS7 Link Notation Terms

A link Access link; SSP or SCP or STP B link Bridge link; interconnects STPs in different regions C link Cross link; connects mated STPs D link Diagonal link; connects primary and secondary STPs in different regions E link Extension link; connects an SSP to an STP in a different region F link Forward link; used for a fully associated link; directly connects an SSP to another SSP, or connects an SSP to an SCP without going through an STP

SS7 Software Architecture

Transaction Capabilities Application Part Layer used to provide services to support database transaction type applications Signaling Connection Control Part Provides additional functions to the MTP to enhance routing capabilities Message Transfer Part Serves as a transport system providing reliable transfer of signaling messages between the network nodes
MAP

TCAP

BSSMAP

DTAP

ISUP

SCCP

MTP Level 3 MTP Level 2 MTP Level 1

The Message Transfer Part

Serves as a transport system providing reliable transfer of signaling messages, in the correct sequence without loss or duplication between two signaling nodes of the network. Enables the significant information of the User Part to be transferred across the SS7 network to the required destination (Q.701) Encompasses the 3 lowest protocol layers:
Level 1: Signaling Data Link Level (Physical Link) Level 2: Signaling Link Level Level 3: Signaling Network Level

MTP Level 1
Concerned with the raw transmission of bits over a physical medium which can be satellite, microwave, fiber optics, etc. Transmission of bits occurs over a bidirectional path, comprised of two data channels operating together in opposite directions at the same data rate. The recommended bit-rate for ANSI is 56 kbps and for CCITT is 64 kbps, although this is dependant on the physical medium used.

MTP Level 2
Together with Level 1, this level provides a signaling link between two directly connected signaling points in the SS7 network. Functions are as follows:
Transfer signaling information in variable length messages (20 279 bytes) called Signaling Units (SU) which come as MSUs, LSSUs, or FISUs Signaling Unit synchronization and alignment Error detection and correction Error monitoring by the FSN, BSN, FIB, BIB Flow Control

MTP Level 2 Message Types

Message Signal Unit (MSU) Used to transfer user signaling information from one SS7 node to another. This is the only signaling unit that is of interest in the upper layers (users) of MTP. Link Status Signal Unit (LSSU) Used to report the status of a signaling unit. It is always placed at the beginning of the transmit queue. Fill In Signal Unit (FISU) Used to fill-in gaps between useful messages. These are sent only when the transmit buffer is empty. FISU is mainly used for monitoring the status of a signaling link in the absence of any signaling traffic.

MTP Level 2 Message Structure

MSU
FIB
Flag 8 Check 16 Signaling Information Field SIO 8 2 LI 6 FSN 7
transmission direction

BIB

BSN 7

Flag 8 bits

LSSU
FIB
Flag 8 Check 16 Status 8 or 16 2 LI 6 FSN 7

BIB

BSN 7

Flag 8 bits

FISU
FIB
Flag 8 Check 16 2 LI 6 FSN 7

BIB

BSN 7

Flag 8 bits

Signaling Unit Fields

Flag This is a specific predetermined byte which delimits two signaling units. Check 16-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) checksum is used for error detection Signaling Information Field (SIF)
User specific signaling message where the user has a specific format for SCCP, TCAP, or ISUP Consists of an integral number of octets (2 272) First seven octects are used for Routing Level (address of the message)

Signaling Unit Fields (cont)

Signaling Information Octet (SIO) Present only in the MSU and indicates:
Different Message Types (Natl vs Intl) Priority of the MSU Additional routing info to the SCCP for routing to different users of TCAP

Length Indicator (LI) Indicates the number of octets between the end of the two unused octects to the start of the check field; Differentiates between the types of the SU:
FISU LI = 0 LSSU LI = 1 or 2 MSU LI = 3 to 63

Signaling Unit Fields (cont)

Status LSSU specific field; Indicates the status of the signaling link to the far end. Sequence Numbers (FSN, BSN) From 0 to 127 and work as follows:
Forward Sequence Number is the sequence number of a message which is sent. Backward Sequence Number is the sequence number of the message which is being acknowledged

Indicator Bits (FIB, BIB) Used in conjunction with FSN and BSN for sequence and error control

MTP Level 3
Ensures reliable transfer of messages, even in the event of signaling link and STP failure. For elaboration, the two parts are:
Signaling Message Handling Signaling Network Management

Signaling Message Handling

Consists of three parts:
Discrimination Determines if the incoming message is destined for the point itself; If not, it will activate the routing function Routing Determines the outgoing signaling link on which an outgoing message is to be sent towards its final destination Distribution Delivers an incoming message to the appropriate MTP user once DISCRIMINATION has determined the message belongs on the node

Routing Level (SMH, cont)

All functions of Signaling Message Handling are based on the routing address encoded in the first 7 bytes of the SIF of the MSU. Routing consists of 3 fields:
Destination Point Code (DPC) Indicates final destination of the message. Originating Point Code (OPC) Indicates the originating node in the network Signaling Link Selector (SLS) When more than one link is available for transmission of a message between two nodes, the SLS id used to select a particular link; Messages which need to be sequenced have the same SLS

Routing Level (cont)

MSU
FIB BIB

Flag

Check

Signaling Information Field

SIO

LI

FSN

BSN

Flag

7 bytes

User Specific Information

Routing Level

3 bits

5 bits SLS

3 bytes Origination Point Code

3 bytes Destination Point Code

ANSI ETSI

Network Identifier Zone

Network Cluster Area Network

Cluster Member Signaling Point

Signaling Network Management

When a failure in a signaling link or STP occurs, reconfigurations are carried out so that the messages are not lost, duplicated or put out of sequence Signaling Network Management does this in three functions:
Signaling Traffic Management Diverts signaling traffic from the unavailable link or route to one or more alternative links or routes Signaling Route Management Distributes information about the signaling network status in order to block or unblock signaling traffic Signaling Link Management Controls the locally connected signaling links by link Activation, Deactivation and Restoration

Signaling Connection Control Part

Enhances services of the MTP by providing addressing capability to User services through routing by DPC and SSN or GT
Subsystem Number (SSN) Local addressing information used by SCCP to identify each of the SCCP users at a node Global Title (GT) Addresses, such as dialed digits, that do not contain information that would allow routing by MTP; Requires translation capability to translate the GT into a DPC and SSN

Services of SCCP
Provides four classes of service beyond addressing enhancements: Class 0 Basic Connectionless Class: User-to-User information blocks (called Network Services Data Units, NSDUs) are delivered independently without sequencing Class 1 Sequenced Connectionless Class: NSDUs are delivered in sequence Class 2 Basic Connection Oriented Class: Transfer of NSDUs is performed by setting up a temporary or permanent signaling connection. Class 3 Flow Control Connection Oriented Class: Capabilities of Class 2 with flow control, the detection of message loss and misqueuing

Transaction Capabilities Application Part

Provides a connectionless environment which can be used by an application at one SS7 node to invoke execution of a procedure in another node Consists of two sublayers: Transaction portion Component Portion

Transaction Portion (TCAP)

Provides means of associating messages with a specific Application Process transaction Consists of the package type and the transaction identifier which uniquely defines the transaction on both sides.
Package Type Transaction ID Transaction Portion

Component 1 Component 2 Component Portion

Component n

Transaction Portion (TCAP,cont)

TCAP defines six package types: Unidirectional Query with permission Query without permission Conversation with permission Conversation without permission Response

Component Portion (TCAP)

Package Type Transaction ID Transaction Portion

Component 1 Component 2 Component Portion

Component n

Ensures components are formatted and exchanged properly Contain either requests for action or a response to a requested action Identifies an operation with instructions for the receiving end Four component types: Invoke, Return Result, Error, Reject

Integrated Services Digital Network User Part (ISDN-UP or ISUP)

Provides the signaling functions that are needed to support the basic bearer service and supplementary bearer service for switched voice and non-voice applications in an ISDN environment MTP layer transfers the signaling information between ISUP parts located at different nodes
MAP

TCAP

BSSMAP

DTAP

ISUP

SCCP

MTP Level 3 MTP Level 2 MTP Level 1

ISUP (cont)
Allows voice and data to be integrated into a single signal All ISUP messages include:
Message Type Mandatory Fixed Part Mandatory Variable Part Optional Part

ISUP Message Format

FIB
Flag Check SIF SIO LI FSN

BIB

BSN

Flag

ISUP Message Max. 272 bytes

Routing Level

Optional Part

Mandatory Variable Part

Mandatory Fixed Part

Message Type

CIC

Telephone User Part (TUP)

Pre-cursor to ISUP (not as smart); Main differences in messaging:
Either IAM or IAI can be used for call setup ISUP REL message contains a certain release cause whereas any number of Unsuccessful Backward Messages are used in TUP

The SIF of the MSU contains TUP specific information and a TUP label

TUP Message Format

FIB
Flag Check SIF SIO LI FSN

BIB

BSN

Flag

TUP Message Information Elements 8x(n-6)

H1 Message Type 4

H0 Message Group 4

Routing Label 40 or 64

SS7 Layers in DMS Software

MTP Level 1: MTP Level 2: MTP Level 3: SCCP: TCAP: ISUP/TUP: LIU7 LIU7 LIU7/LIM LIU7/CM CM CM and DTC7

Tables related to SS7 Datafill

CLLI : Common Line Language Identifier TRKGRP : Trunk Group TRKSGRP : Trunk Subgroup TRKMEM : The members of the trunk group and the physical resource that will be used (ie: which PDTC, which PCM30 of the PDTC, which timeslot of the PCM30) C7NETWRK : The point code of the node and the network to which it belongs C7RTESET : The route sets, the routes within each routeset and the destination point code (DPC). C7LKSET : Defines each link set and associates them with the Far End Point Code (FEPC). C7LINK : Each link in the linkset and it associated HW (LIU7)

Tables related to SS7 Datafill (cont)

C7TIMER : Various Timing Values for SS7 for Error Monitoring (MTP Level 2) ISUPDEST : Associates the CCS7 trunk with the routeset C7TRKMEM : Defines the CIC of each ISUP trunk member ADJNODE : Allows the operating company to identify restrictions present at connected exchanges. The index specified is used in table TRKSGRP. C7UPTMR : Defines the specific user part protocol timer values to be used by the trunkgroup as defined within table TRKSGRP. C7CNGSTN : Congestion Levels data for Signaling Network Management (MTP Level 3) FAILMSG : Associates the cause value received on one protocol type to map to a DMS treatment or release to be applied to another protocol type during an interworking

Tables related to SS7 Datafill (cont)

TMTMAP : Associates what action is to be performed when a DMS treatment is to be applied to a particular protocol type PETATTR : Allows the customer to selectively remove optional ISUP parms from outgoing signals PETSIG : Specifies ISU-T ISUP signaling options PETSERVS : Contains the services for that trunk group LTCINV : PDTCs are defined here as well as the C-side links, the physical location of the PM and hardware LIUINV : Defines the location and properties of the LIU7s LTCPSINV : Defines the P-side of the PM (ie, carriers and spans) CARRMTC : Defines the properties of the carrier C7NETSSN : Defines the far end subsystems or the Remote SS C7LOCSSN : Defines the local subsystem for a particular node

ISUP Message Type Codes

Message Message Description Type IAM SAM INR Initial Address Message Subsequent Address Message Information Request Code (byte) 01 02 03

INF
COT ACM CON

Information
Continuity Address Complete Message Connect

04
05 06 07

FOT
ANM REL SUS

Forward Transfer
Answer Message Release Suspend

08
09 0C 0D

ISUP Message Type Codes (cont)

Message Message Description Type RES RLC CCR RSC BLO UBL BLA UBA GRS Resume Release Complete Continuity Check Request Reset Circuit Blocking Unblocking Blocking Acknowledgement Unblocking Acknowledgement Circuit Group Reset Code (byte) 0E 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

CGB CGU

Circuit Group Blocking Circuit Group Unblocking

18 19

ISUP Message Type Codes (cont)

Message Message Description Type CGBA CGUA CMR CMC RCM FAR FAA FRJ FAD Circuit Group Blocking Acknowledgement Circuit Group Unblocking Acknowledgement Call Modification Request Call Modification Complete Call Modification Reject Facility Request Facility Accepted Facility Reject Facility Deactivated Code (byte) 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F 20 21 22

FAI LPA

Facility Information Loop Back Acknowledgement

23 24

ISUP Message Type Codes (cont)

Message Message Description Type CSVR CSVS DRS PAM GRA CQU CQR CPG USR Closed User Group Selection and Validation Request Closed User Group Selection and Validation Response Delayed Response Pass Along Message Circuit Group Reset Acknowledgement Circuit Query Circuit Query Response Call Progress User-to-User Information Code (byte) 25 26 27 28 29 2A 2B 2C 2D

UCIC CFN

Unequipped Circuit Identification Code Confusion

2E 2F

ISUP Message Type Codes (cont)

Message Message Description Type FAC CRA Facility Circuit Reservation Acknowledgement Code (byte) 33 E9

CRM
CVR CVT

Circuit Reservation Message

Circuit Validation Response Circuit Validation Test

EA
EB EC

EXM

Exit Message

ED

TUP Message Groups

Message Group Description
FAM FSM BSM SBM UBM CSM CCM GRM CNM Forward Access Messages Forward Setup Messages Backward Setup Messages Successful Backward Setup Info Messages Unsuccessful Backward Setup Info Messages Call Supervision Messages Circuit Supervision Messages Circuit Group Supervision Messages Circuit Network Management Messages