Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). It was first defined in 1988 in the CCITT Redbook. Prior to ISDN, the telephone system was viewed as a way to transport voice, with some special services available for data. The key feature of ISDN is that it integrates speech and data on the same lines, adding features that were not available in the classic telephone system. There are several kinds of access interfaces to ISDN defined as Basic Rate Interface (BRI), Primary Rate Interface (PRI) and Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN). ISDN is a circuit-switched telephone network system, which also provides access to packet switched networks, designed to allow digital transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in potentially better voice quality than an analog phone can provide. It offers circuit-switched connections (voice/data), and packet-switched connections (for data), in increments of 64 kilobit/s. A major market application for ISDN in some countries is Internet access, where ISDN typically provides a maximum of 128 kbit/s in both upstream and downstream directions. Channel bonding can achieve a greater data rate; typically the ISDN Bchannels of three or four BRIs (six to eight 64 kbit/s channels) are bonded. In a videoconference, ISDN provides simultaneous voice, video, and text transmission between individual desktop videoconferencing systems and group (room) videoconferencing systems.

ISDN elements
Integrated services refers to ISDN's ability to deliver at minimum two simultaneous connections, in any combination of data, voice, video, and fax, over a single line. Multiple devices can be attached to the line, and used as needed. That means an ISDN line can take care of most people's complete communications needs at a much higher transmission rate, without forcing the purchase of multiple analog phone lines. It also refers to integrated switching and transmission in that telephone switching and carrier wave transmission are integrated rather than separate as in earlier technology.

Basic Rate Interface

The entry level interface to ISDN is the Basic(s) Rate Interface (BRI), a 128 kbit/s service delivered over a pair of standard telephone copper wires. The 144 kbit/s payload rate is broken down into two 64 kbit/s bearer channels ('B' channels) and one 16 kbit/s signaling channel ('D' channel or delta channel). This is sometimes referred to as 2B+D.

Primary Rate Interface

The other ISDN access available is the Primary Rate Interface (PRI), which is carried over an E1 (2048 kbit/s) in most parts of the world. An E1 is 30 'B' channels of 64 kbit/s, one 'D' channel of 64 kbit/s and a timing and alarm channel of 64 kbit/s.

Data channel
The bearer channel (B) is a standard 64 kbit/s voice channel of 8 bits sampled at 8 kHz with G.711 encoding. BChannels can also be used to carry data, since they are nothing more than digital channels. Each one of these channels is known as a DS0. Most B channels can carry a 64 kbit/s signal, but some were limited to 56K because they traveled over RBS lines. This was commonplace in the 20th century, but has since become less so.

Signaling channel
The signaling channel (D) uses Q.931 for signaling with the other side of the link.

X.25
X.25 can be carried over the B or D channels of a BRI line, and over the B channels of a PRI line. X.25 over the D channel is used at many point-of-sale (credit card) terminals because it eliminates the modem setup, and because it connects to the central system over a B channel, thereby eliminating the need for modems and making much better use of the central system's telephone lines.

Frame Relay
In theory, Frame Relay can operate over the D channel of BRIs and PRIs, but it is seldom, if ever, used.

Signalling System No. 7 (SS7)

Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) is a set of telephony signaling protocols which are used to set up most of the world's PSTN calls. The main purpose is to set up and tear down telephone calls. Other uses include number translation, local number portability, prepaid billing mechanisms, SMS, and a variety of other mass market services. It is usually referenced as Signalling System No. 7 or Signalling System #7, or simply abbreviated to SS7. In North America it is often referred to as CCSS7, an abbreviation for Common Channel Signalling System 7. In Germany it is often called as N7 (Signal Isierungs system Nummer 7). There is only one international SS7 protocol defined by ITU-T in its Q.700-series recommendations. There are however, many national variants of the SS7 protocols. Most national variants are based on two widely deployed national variants as standardized by ANSI and ETSI, which are in turn based on the international protocol defined by ITU-T.

History
Common Channel Signaling protocols have been developed by major telephone companies and the ITU-T since 1975; the first international Common Channel Signaling protocol was defined by the ITU-T as Signalling System No. 6 (SS6) in 1977. Signalling System No. 7 was defined as an international standard by ITU-T in its 1980 (Yellow Book) Q.7XX-series recommendations. SS7 was designed to replace SS6, which

had a restricted 28-bit signal unit that was both limited in function and not amenable to digital systems. SS7 has substantially replaced SS6, Signalling System No. 5 (SS5), R1 and R2, with the exception that R1 and R2 variants are still used in numerous nations.
SS5 and earlier systems used in-band signaling, in which the call-setup information was sent by playing special multi-frequency tones into the telephone lines, known as bearer channels in the parlance of the telecom industry. The common channel signaling paradigm was translated to IP via the SIGTRAN protocols as defined by the IETF. While running on a transport based upon IP, the SIGTRAN protocols are not an SS7 variant, but simply transport existing national and international variants of SS7.

Functionality
The term signaling, when used in telephony, refers to the exchange of control information associated with the setup and release of a telephone call on a telecommunications circuit. An example of this control information is the digits dialed by the caller, the caller's billing number, and other call-related information. When the signaling is performed on the same circuit that will ultimately carry the conversation of the call, it is termed channel associated signaling (CAS). This is the case for earlier analogue trunks, MF and R2 digital trunks, and DSS1/DASS PBX trunks.
In contrast, SS7 signaling is termed Common Channel Signaling (CCS) in that the path and facility used by the signaling is separate and distinct from the telecommunications channels that will ultimately carry the telephone conversation. With CCS, it becomes possible to exchange signaling without first seizing a facility, leading to significant savings and performance increases in both signaling and facility usage.

This permits rich call-related services to be developed. Some of the first such services were call management related, call forwarding (busy and no answer), voice mail, call waiting, conference calling, calling name and number display, call screening, malicious caller identification, busy callback. Signaling modes
As well as providing for signaling with these various degrees of association with call set up and the facilities used to carry calls, SS7 is designed to operate in two modes: associated mode and quasi-associated mode.

When operating in the associated mode, SS7 signaling progresses from switch to switch through the PSTN following the same path as the associated facilities that carry the telephone call. This mode is more economical for small networks. When operating in the quasi-associated mode, SS7 signaling progresses from the originating switch to the terminating switch, following a path through a separate SS7 signaling network composed of signal transfer points. This mode is more economical for large networks with lightly loaded signaling links.

Physical network
SS7 separates signalling from the voice circuits. An SS7 network must be made up of SS7-capable equipment from end to end in order to provide its full functionality. The network can be made up of several link types (A, B, C, D, E, and F) and three signaling nodes - Service switching point (SSPs), signal transfer point (STPs), and service control point (SCPs). Each node is identified on the network by a number, a signalling point code. Extended services are provided by a database interface at the SCP level using the SS7 network. The links between nodes are full-duplex 56, 64, 1,536, or 1,984 kbit/s graded communications channels. One or more signaling links can be connected to the same two endpoints that together form a signaling link set. Signaling links are added to link sets to increase the signaling capacity of the link set. SS7 links at higher signaling capacity (1.536 and 1.984 Mbit/s, simply referred to as the 1.5 Mbit/s and 2.0 Mbit/s rates) are called high speed links (HSL) in contrast to the low speed (56 and 64 kbit/s) links. High speed links are specified in ITU-T Recommendation Q.703 for the 1.5 Mbit/s and 2.0 Mbit/s rates, and ANSI Standard T1.111.3 for the 1.536 Mbit/s rate. There are differences between the specifications for the 1.5 Mbit/s rate. High speed links utilize the entire bandwidth of a T1 (1.536 Mbit/s) or E1 (1.984 Mbit/s) transmission facility for the transport of SS7 signaling messages.