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Page 1: IN

IFIP IN '95 CONFERENCE

Copenhagen 28.-31.8.1995

TUTORIAL ON INTELLIGENT NETWORKS

Olli Martikainen*, Juha Lipiäinen**,

Kim Molin***

*Telecom Finland, P.O. Box 106, FIN-00511 Helsinki, FinlandTel. +358 2040 3503, Fax.+358 2040 3251

**Nokia Telecommunications, P.O.Box 33, FIN-02601 Espoo, FinlandTel. +358 0 5116691, Fax. +358 0 5115595

***Lappeenranta University of Technology, Datacommunication Laboratory,P.O.Box 20, FIN-53851 Lappeenranta, FinlandTel. +358 53 624 3613, Fax. +358 53 624 3650

AbstractThe development of telecommunications technology and the need for more advanced services has createdprojects on standardization of international Intelligent Networks (IN). The standards of Intelligent Networksdefine IN in an abstract point of view, so it leaves the service providers the decisions on their ownimplementations. The first standard sets of IN are Bellcore’s AIN.0 and the CCITT’s Capability Set 1 (CS1).They define the basic services of IN, additional features such as rapid service introduction and a flexiblearchitecture that provides future expansion to further IN Capability Sets. The standardization organisations,such as CCITT and ETSI, work hard to help the service providers to implement their IN architecture in order tobe able to provide international IN services. This kind of architecture is better known as Global IntelligentNetwork architecture and it should be taken into consideration already in the early implementations of IN. Thispaper presents some history of telecommunications technology, an overview of IN and its services and someadditional discussion on the future broadband IN.

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Contents

Abbreviations

1. PREFACE 1

2. INTRODUCTION 2

2.1 Early computers and telecommunications 2

2.2 Switching systems development 3

2.3 Turning-points in telecommunications 5

2.3.1 UMTS 6

2.3.2 MEDIA 6

3. COMPUTER CONTROLLED TELECOMMUNICATIONS 8

3.1 CCITT Signalling System No. 7 8

3.1.1 Network Services Part 8

3.1.2 User Part 9

3.1.3 Signalling network structure 9

3.2 Telecommunications Management Network 10

3.2.1 Functional architecture 11

3.2.2 Informational architecture 11

3.2.3 Physical architecture 12

3.3 Intelligent Network 12

3.3.1 The need for IN 12

3.3.2 Definition of Intelligent Network 13

3.4 Numbering and Services 14

4. INTELLIGENT NETWORK ARCHITECTURE 16

4.1 Overview of IN 16

4.1.1. Origins of IN 16

4.1.2. IN standardization 18

4.1.2.1 IN standards bodies 18

4.1.2.1.1 ETSI 18

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4.1.2.1.2 CCITT 18

4.1.2.2 Phased standardization 19

4.1.2.3 Structure of CCITT IN standards 19

4.1.2.4 Capability Set 1 20

4.1.2.5 IN CS1 Services 21

4.2 IN Functional Requirements 21

4.2.1 Service Requirements 22

4.2.2. Network Requirements 24

4.3 IN Conceptual Model 26

4.3.1 Physical Plane 28

4.3.1.1 Physical Entities 28

4.3.1.1.1 SSP 29

4.3.1.1.2 NAP 29

4.3.1.1.3 SCP 29

4.3.1.1.4 AD 30

4.3.1.1.5 IP 30

4.3.1.1.6 SN 30

4.3.1.1.7 SSCP 30

4.3.1.1.8 SDP 31

4.3.1.1.9 SMP 31

4.3.1.1.10 SCEP 31

4.3.1.1.11 SMAP 31

4.3.1.2 Interfaces between PEs 31

4.3.1.2.1 SCP-SSP interface 32

4.3.1.2.2 AD-SSP interface 32

4.3.1.2.3 IP-SSP interface 32

4.3.1.2.4 SN-SSP interface 32

4.3.1.2.5 SCP-IP interface 32

4.3.1.2.6 AD-IP interface 32

4.3.1.2.7 SCP-SDP interface 32

4.3.1.2.8 User interfaces 33

4.3.2 Distributed Functional Plane 33

4.3.2.1 Definition of FEs 34

4.3.2.1.1 CCAF 34

4.3.2.1.2 CCF 34

4.3.2.1.3 SSF 35

4.3.2.1.4 SSF/CCF Model 35

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4.3.2.1.4.1 BCSM 36

4.3.2.1.4.2 Originating BCSM for CS-1 37

4.3.2.1.5 SCF 39

4.3.2.1.6 SDF 40

4.3.2.1.7 SRF 40

4.3.2.1.8 SCEF 40

4.3.2.1.9 SMAF 40

4.3.2.1.10 SMF 40

4.3.2.1.11 SCF Model and its relations 41

4.3.2.2 Mapping FEs to PEs 41

4.3.3 Global Functional Plane 41

4.3.3.1 SIB 42

4.3.3.1.1 Call Instance Data 43

4.3.3.1.2 Service Support Data 43

4.3.3.1.3 The SIB structure 44

4.3.3.1.3.1 Queue SIB 44

4.3.3.2 Basic Call Process 46

4.3.3.3 Global Service Logic 46

4.3.3.4 Relating the GFP to the DFP 46

4.3.4 Service Plane 46

4.3.4.1 Service Features 47

4.3.4.2 Description of CS1 Service Features 48

4.3.4.3 IN service modelling 51

4.3.4.4 Credit Card Calling 52

4.3.4.5 Virtual Private Network 53

4.3.4.6 Universal Personal Telecommunications 54

4.4 The IN-structured network 54

4.4.1 SCE 54

4.4.2 The function of IN 55

4.4.3 IN Application Protocol 56

4.5 Personal Communications Services 57

4.6 Integration of TMN and IN 58

4.6.1 Comparison of IN planes to TMN planes 59

4.7 Globalizing the IN 60

4.8 Future IN Capability Sets 60

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4.9 Current activities of IN 61

5. CHANGES IN BUSINESS 62

5.1 Technology and services 62

5.2 Liberalization, alliances and competition 63

5.3 IN services 64

5.3.1 Benefits of IN 64

5.3.2 Cost structure 65

5.3.2.1 Initial cost of IN 65

5.3.2.2 Operational costs of IN 66

5.3.2.3 Basic call production costs 66

5.3.3 Service portfolio 66

5.3.3.1 Operators capability of offering services 66

5.3.3.2 Sales of service portfolio 66

5.3.3.3 Service development time frames 67

5.4 Evolution of IN capabilities at Telecom Finland 67

5.4.1 Pre-IN 67

5.4.2 Centralized IN 67

5.4.3 Special services 67

5.5 Distribution channels 67

5.6 Changes in enterprises 68

6. BROADBAND INTELLIGENCE AND MEDIA 70

6.1 Broadband networks 70

6.1.1 B-ISDN 70

6.1.1.1 Physical layer 70

6.1.1.2 ATM layer 71

6.1.1.3 ATM Adaption Layer 71

6.1.1.3.1 CBR 72

6.1.1.3.2 VBR 72

6.1.1.3.3 SEAL 72

6.1.1.4 Control plane 72

6.1.1.5 Management of the B-ISDN architecture 72

6.1.2 ATM networks 72

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6.1.2.1 Virtual Channelss and Virtual Paths 73

6.2 Applications for the broadband networks 74

7. BROADBAND IN 76

7.1 Introduction 76

7.2 Telecom Finland BIN Project 76

7.3 BIN Architecture 77

7.3.1 Components 77

7.4 BIN and IN 77

7.5 Broadband services categorizing 78

7.6 Functioning of BIN architecture 78

7.6.1 Requirements of ATM network 79

7.7 Course of BIN events 79

7.7.1 Service request phase 79

7.7.2 Service activation phase 80

7.7.3 Service usage phase 80

7.7.4 Service after-usage phase 80

7.8 BINAP 80

7.8.1 BINAP-messages 80

7.8.2 User identification 81

7.9 CUSTOMER SERVICE PALETTE 81

7.9.1 BIN conceptual model 81

7.10 BIN MIB 82

7.11 TMN and BIN 83

7.12 The hardware configuration 83

7.13 Proposed services 84

8. REFERENCES 85

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ABBREVIATIONS

AAB Automatic Alternative Billing

ABD Abbreviated Dialling

AC Application Context

ACB Automatic Call Back

ACC Account Card Calling

AD Adjunct

AOD Audio On Demand

AP Application Process

ASE Application Service Element

ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation One

ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode

ATT Attendant

AUC Authentication Center

AUTC Authentication

AUTZ Authorization Code

B-IN Broadband IN

B-ISDN Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network

B-OSF Business OSF

B-SCP Broadband Service Control Point

B-SMS Broadband Service Management System

B-SSP Broadband Service Switching Point

BAF Basic Access Function

BCP Basic Call Process

BER Basic Encoding Rules

BRI Basic Rate Interface

BSF Base Station Function

BTF Basic Transit Function

CBR Continuous Bit Rate

CCAF Call Control Agent Function

CCBS Completion of Call to Busy Subscriber

CCC Credit Card Calling

CCF Call Control Function

CCITT Concultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy

CCS Common Channel Signalling

CCSN Common Channel Signalling Network

CD Call Distribution

CD Compact Disk

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CD-ROM Compact Disk-Read Only Memory

CF Call Forwarding

CFC Call Forwarding on BY/DA

CHA Call Hold with Announcement

CID Call Instance Data

CIDFP CID Field Pointer

CLI Calling Line Identity

COC Consultation Calling

CON Conference Calling

CPM Customer Profile Management

CRA Customized Recorded Announcement

CRD Call Rerouting Distribution

CRG Customized Ringing

CS Capability Set

CS1 Capability Set 1

CT2 Cordless Telephone 2

CUG Closed User Group

CW Call Waiting

DC Detection Capability

DCP Destination Point Code

DCR Destination Call Routing

DDD Direct Distance Dialing

DECT Digital European Cordless Telecommunications

DFP Distributed Functional Plane

DTMF Dual Tone Multi-Frequencies

DUP Destinating User Prompter

EC European Community

EF Elementary Function

EIR Equipment Identification Register

ERMES European Radio Message System

ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute

FC Functional Component

FE Functional Entity

FEA Functional Entity Action

FIE Facility Information Element

FMD Follow-Me-Diversion

FPH Freephone

GAP Call Gapping

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GFP Global Functional Plane

GNS Green Number Service

GSL Global Service Logic

GSM Global System for Mobile communications

Groupe Special Mobile

GUI Graphical User Interface

GUS Gravis UltraSound

HDTV High Definition TeleVision

HLR Home Location Register

HP Hewlett Packard

IN Intelligent Network

INA Intelligent Network Architecture

INAP IN Application Protocol

INCM Intelligent Network Conceptual Model

IP Intelligent Peripheral

ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

ITU International Telecommunications Union

IVS INRIA Videonconferencing System

LIM Call Limiter

LOG Call Logging

MACF Multiple Association Control Function

MAP Mobile Application Part

MAS Mass Calling

MCI Malicious Call Identification

MIB Management Information Base

MIT Management Information Tree

MMC Meet-Me-Conference

MPEG Moving Pictures Experts Group

MSC Mobile Services Center

MSCF Mobile Switching Center Function

MTP Message Transfer Part

MWC Multi-Way Calling

N-OSF Network OSF

N_ID Network ID

NAF Network Access Function

Ne-OSF Network element OSF

NEF Network Element Function

NNI Network-to-Node Interface

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NSP Network Services Part

O-O Object-Oriented

OAM Operations And Maintenance

OC-x Optical Carrier level at x

OCS Originating Call Screening

ODR Origin Dependent Routing

OFA Off Net Access

OMAP Operations, Maintenance, and Administration Part

ONC Off Net Calling

ONE One Number

OSF Operations Systems Function

OSI Open Systems Interconnection

OSIRM OSI Reference Model

OUP Originating User Prompter

PABX Private Access Branch eXchange

PCM Pulse Code Modulation

PCS Personal Communications Services

PDH Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy

PE Physical Entity

PIN Personal Identification Number

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PN Personal Numbering

PNP Private Numbering Plan

POI Point Of Initiation

POR Point Of Return

PRI Primary Rate Interface

PRM Premium Rate

PRMC Premium Charging

PSTN Public Switched Telecommunications Network

PTN Personal Telecommunications Number

PVC Permanent Virtual Channel

QOS Quality of Service

QUE Call Queueing

RACE Research and technology development in Advanced Communications technologies in Europe

RBOC Regional Bell Operating Company

REVC Reverse Charging

rN relationship N

ROSE Remote Operations Service Element

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RTP Real-time Transport Protocol

S-OSF Service OSF

S_ID Service ID

SACF Single Association Control Function

SAO Single Association Object

SCCP Signalling Connection Control Part

SCE Service Creation Environment

SCEF Service Creation Environment Function

SCF Service Control Function

SCF Selective Call Forward on Busy/Don’t Answer

SCP Service Control Point

SDF Service Data Function

SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy

SEAL Simple and Efficient Adaptation Layer

SEC Security Screening

SF Service Feature

SIB Service-Independent building Block

SIG Special Interest Group

SLP Service Logic Program

SMS Service Management System

SP Service Plane

SPC Stored Program Control

SPL Split Charging

SRF Specialized Resource Function

SS Service Subscriber

SS7 Signalling System no. 7

SSD Service Support Data

SSF Service Switching Function

SSN Subsystem Number

SSP Service Switching Point

STM Synchronous Transport Module

STP Signalling Transfer Point

SVC Switched Virtual Channel

TCAP Transaction Capabilities Application Part

TCP Transmission Control Protocol

TCS Terminating Call Screening

TDR Time Dependent Routing

Telco Telecommunications Operating Company

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TINA TMN+IN

TMN Telecommunications Management Network

TP Transact Processing system

TRA Call Transfer

U_ID User ID

UAN Universal Access Number

UDP User Datagram Protocol

UDR User-Define Routing

UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

UNI User-to-Network Interface

UP User Part

UPT Universal Personal Telecommunications

VBR Variable Bit Rate

VC Virtual Channel

VCC Virtual Channel Connection

VCI Virtual Channel Identifier

VLR Visitor Location Register

VOD Video On Demand

VOT Televoting

VP Virtual Path

VPI Virtual Path Identifier

VPN Virtual Private Network

WSF Work Station Function

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Tutorial on Intelligent Networks

Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland 1

1. Preface

This Tutorial on Intelligent Networks has been prepared

for the IFIP IN '95 conference in Copenhagen. The first

version of this tutorial appeared in the second Winter

School on Telecommunications in Helsinki, March 1994,

and was then considerably improved for the IFIP TC-6

Workshop on Intelligent Networks in Lappeenranta on

August 1994 and later for SEACOMM'94 in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia. After that some corrections and

modifications have been added, and the authors express

their sincere gratitude for all the help they have obtained.

The tutorial has been written in co-operation with

Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom

Finland, but at present the second author is working with

Nokia Telecommunications.

The tutorial considers Intelligent Networks (IN) from

user, operator and application points of view. It gives

some history of the development of computers and

telecommunications networks towards more advanced

systems and networks that provide additional features, for

example, to the normal telephony services. These

computer controlled telecommunications networks and

architectures that add value to conventional

telecommunications networks are often referred to as

Intelligent Networks. This tutorial provides a presentation

of IN concepts, standards and technologies and gives a

description of the situation today. Also some influential

changes in the area of telecommunications business is

considered. Scenarios of future developments of IN are

provided. The authors of this tutorial are responsible for

the possible errors and mistakes in the text and all critics

and improvements are welcome.

Section 2. describes the history of telecommunications

and its development towards the future techniques. The

changes in the switching systems and some turning-points

in telecommunications are the main concern. The concept

of Computer Controlled Telecommunications is described

in section 3. It also includes signalling network history

and development, management networks for

telecommunications networks, and the need for more

advanced services. The Intelligent Network Architecture

(INA) is presented in section 4. from an abstract point of

view. Also some future plans to expand the architecture

are studied, such as Telecommunications Management

Network and Intelligent Network integration. In section

5. the effects of telecommunications networks

development to the telecommunications business are

studied. Some additional discussion of broadband

networks and possible broadband services in Intelligent

Networks is provided in section 6.

References are given in the text for further reading. For

this reason the references given are not always the

original ones.

This tutorial has been given a permission by the authors

to be used freely in noncommercial educational purposes.

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Tutorial on Intelligent Networks

Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland 2

2. Introduction

2.1 Early computers and telecommunications

It is almost fifty years ago since intelligence first was

introduced in the concept of programmable electronic

calculators. Since then, the development of these

machines towards computers has been rapid. In 1950’s

computers acted as cenralized ‘batch’ processors and

there were no computer networks because of the

insufficient network technology. The programming of

early computers was very difficult because of low level

instructions and primitive user interfaces. However, first

high level languages such as Fortran were introduced

already in 1950's. The batch processor computers worked

in a simple way. They read the paper tapes bit by bit

containing information presented as holes in the paper. So

the Input/Output (I/O) operations of the computers were

far too inefficient to use the analogous

telecommunications network that was provided at that

time. The computers in those days were mainly used to

scientifical calculations that needed no other I/O

operations than instruction and data read, and a printout

function of the calculations. So, early computers were

completely in local use.

The next generation of computer technology followed

from the development of time sharing operating systems

in 1960's. Time sharing made it possible to have multiple

I/O-terminals connected to the computer, which was the

origin of local terminal networks with

datacommunnication protocols. At the same time the use

of computers was started in the process industry, where

computers removed process measurement and control

tasks from humans in the 1960’s. This meant that the I/O

operations of the computers had to be developed further

and they could already communicate with other

instrumentation devices. Later on, the process industry

became heavily computer controlled, and the computer

control of manufacturing was extended largely later in the

1970's. It was also then when the extensive use of

telecommunications networks became possible. This was

supported by digital PCM-transmission technology

(PDH-systems) deployed in the 1960´s and 1970's and

modems with signalling rates of about 300 bauds. In

those days, the telecommunications networks were still

largely non-digital and did not provide bit errorfree data

transfer. Bit errors appeared very often and for this reason

transport protocols at end systems and heavy link and

network protocols between the network nodes were

developed to minimize this unreliability problem.

Figure -1. Transaction processing system.

In 1970’s Transaction Processing systems (TP) were

taken in use in the area of banking. These TP’s

centralized servers located in the main office. The clients

sended requests via the communication network and the

TP answered them with low delay responses. Terminal

networks developed to local area networks (LANs) in the

1980's and packet switched data networks (X.25) were

introduced in late 1970's (Figure ). TP’s with

communication networks was a remarkable development

step and this client-server model is still in use in banking.

At day time, these computer systems work as transaction

processors, but at night they are used in batch processing.

This is because of the daytime heavy load of transaction

requests (even hundreds of thousands of requests per

hour) that arrive from several offices simultaneously.

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Tutorial on Intelligent Networks

Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland 3

The batch functions are for example realizations of the

money transfer requests such as payment of salaries every

month ar any account transfers. These computer systems

need to serve the realtime queries and give responses to

thousands of locations worldwide.

2.2 Switching systems development

From 1870’s to 1950’s, the primary focus of swithing

system development was on producing better

technologies for permitting two people to engage in voice

communications over larger and larger distances and to

make this technology more readily available, cheaper, and

more reliable. During this period the industry moved

from local calls being handled by operators with plug

boards, to step-by-step switches, to panel switches, to

crossbar switches and to Stored Program Controlled

(SPC) switches. It is interesting to remember that in 1925

one of the most significant breakthroughs was the

separation of the connection control activities from the

maintenance of the actual connections during an active

call. This change, over time, allowed the switching

systems to reuse the more complex resources of the

switch (those used for initiating and setting up a call),

thus ending an era of having to duplicate these costly

resources and having them tied up for the entire duration

of a call. One of the major implications of switching

systems development during this period was that almost

all the information about how connections were to be

created resided on the individual switches, specifically,

subscriber data, information about how to provide the

limited functions available at that time, and implicit

network information were all contained in each switch

Benne93.

In the 1950’s, Direct Distance Dialing (DDD) began to be

deployed as a new service, but this was still a

continuation of the general focus to provide

telecommunications connections between two fixed

points. Furthermore, the long development time frames

and the then-available technologies favored producing

this new service by slightly rearranging the internal

structure of the switching systems and “squeezing in” the

new capability. The end result was that DDD increased

considerable network-related data in the local switches

and also added new functions related to the network

connection capabilities into the local switches. On many

of the existing switches, this involved adding specialized

“boxes” to correctly interpret the new dialed numbers and

route them to the correct places for proper DDD

connectivity.

To get some idea of the development of technology

associated with the interconnection aspects of the

telecommunications at that time, we can look at one of

the services we consider basic today. In 1956, the first

undersea cable using repeaters was activated at a cost of

about $6 million/circuit resulting in a cost of about

$75/minute. By 1976, the cost per circuit was reduced by

a hundredfold, thus permitting later developments to

focus more on providing various services beyond

connection. One of the driving forces for more complex

services at this time was the reduction in the cost of the

basic connections so that groups of customers with

specialized needs came to the market asking for

capabilities beyond simple connectivity. This was the

beginning of the transition period in which the structure

of the telecommunications industry was changing away

from the former connection focus toward a new service

focus. However, the pace of change was slow given the

technological problems that still had to be overcome to

provide fast and economical connections with high

quality. Thus, there was no driving need to reorganize

the basic structure of what existed; nor was there any real

guidance as to what kinds of services the customers

would be willing to purchase as a service marketing was

in its infancy Benne93.

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Tutorial on Intelligent Networks

Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland 4

During the 1960’s and 1970’s, the requests for additional

services began to grow, but the pace was rather slow by

today’s standards since the technology to support these

new services was not readily available on the general

market. Since the new SPC-exhanges were able to swith

64 kbps connections transmitted over digital PDH

systems, it was a natural idea to propose this capability as

a basis for data communications. This was the birth of

the ISDN-concept (Integrated Services Digital Network)

where two digital 64 kbps data channels and one digital

16 kbps signalling channel was provided to the

customers. ISDN was an important concept since the

current service-driven thinking was created during its

development. For example, the other 64 kbps channel

could be used for speech and the other for data

transmission simultaneously. The whole capacity of 128

kbps could also be used for a reasonably high quality

compressed real time video connections. The availability

of ISDN growed, however, much slower than was

expected. The reasons for this were the existing large

installation base of analogous switching and transmission

systems incapable to support digital channels. Once

again, it was more economical and easier to “squeeze” the

new capabilities into the existing switching systems than

to change the switches and have to replace the embedded

base with newer technologies. This slow evolution

process was aided by the small market base for the newer

services.

For example, the office automation technologies available

were not very advanced and did not produce digital data

storage and transfer. Also, the derivative technologies

associated with the growth of computers, personal

computers, and microchip technology had not reached a

state where they were demanding telecommunication

services much beyond classical interconnectivity services.

During this period, the efforts to put more and more new

service capabilities onto the switching systems resulted in

a large expansion of the types of information being placed

on the switches, e.g., variations of call models, more

network-related information was brought into the

switches, and data under the control of the end users was

moved onto the switches (speed calling lists, centrex data,

etc.). As this data was moved onto the switches, the

programs to manipulate the data and ensure its integrity

also had to be installed in the switches. This resulted in

the switches becoming also very general data control and

usage systems Benne93.

As we entered the 1980’s, the advanced computer

technology started to penetrate from industrial and office

use also to low end products. Computer technology

became as an embedded technology in customer

equipments such as faxes and portable phones, and as a

control technology for the management and intelligent

control of networks. The computer technology

breakthrough was facilitated by the introduction of open

computer platforms (UNIX and Personal Computers,

PCs), the fast reduction of cost in computing and the

networking of PCs, minicomputers and mainframes. The

PCs provided a general platform for digital customer

premises equipments, capable to communicate via Local

Area Networks and Public Networks. This, in conjunction

with the lowering of transmission and interconnection

service costs, resulted in an exponential growth in the

demand for newer and more flexible telecommunications

services. Another major factor driving toward more

specialized services was the liberalization and

competition in telecommunications business. In the

United States the operator competition started with the

breakup of the Bell System and resulting competition,

where services were the factor that differentiated one

carrier form another. Furthermore, with diversiture, the

former local operating companies were permitted to make

instructions into one anothers’ traditional service areas

and, to do this effectively, they needed to have something

to offer that was not available from the local service

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Tutorial on Intelligent Networks

Lappeenranta University of Technology and Telecom Finland 5

provider. All of these changes resulted in customers being

more aware of what technology provided and demanding

that the telecommunications industry should meet the

new requirements for services Benne93.

The 1990’s and beyond will demand that the

telecommunications industry change its basic ideas about

the structure of their networks and how they will evolve.

Up until the 1980’s, network development was driven by

the need to provide cheap and efficient interconnections

between two fixed points. There was only minor

emphasis on structuring the switching systems to be

readily adaptable to the rapidly changing service

requirements that have appeared in the last decade. Now

that cheap, efficient interconnection capabilities are

available, the relative roles of the interconnection

capabilities and end-user services will be interchanged.

The demand for more and more customer based services

will continue to grow, and there will be an inceasing

demand for having the new services in shorter and shorter

time frames. Thus, the basic structure for the network,

and especially the structure and function of the switching

systems, will change to accomodate this need for rapid

deployment of more and more custom oriented services.

In summary, the telecomunications industry, which has

been interconnection-driven, will, in the future, be

service-driven. In this tutorial we shall discuss these

modern trends more thoroughly..

2.3 Turning-points in telecommunications

Several turning-points can be found in the history of

telecommunications technology (marked as circles in the

figure 2) .

Time1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Batchprocessors

Analogoustelephonyservice

IN

Broadband IN

ISDN

UMTS

B-ISDN

SS7

ATM

Packetdata networks

Modemservices

'Real'computers

PC

Corporationnetworks

NMT

GSM

MEDIA

MBS

Figure -2. The development of telecommunications.

First, the beginning of data transfer by the use of

analogous telephony service was an important stage in the

history. This service was not good for use in corporations

because of its low data transfer speed. Then, there was a

need for a data transfer service that used billing by data

amount while the expences of the analogous telephony

service consisted mainly of the data transfer time. The

packet switched data networks were developed especially

for corporations use. Second, CCITT (Consultative

Committee for International Telephone and Telegraphy)

introduced its seven layer OSI protocol stack SS7 to

replace the analogous signalling system. This was the

corner-stone for the digital telecommunications

technology that is used, for instance, in ISDN (Integrated

Services Digital Network). In the late 1980’s radio

signalling technology was advanced enough to provide

digital telephony service. The GSM (Global System for

Mobile communications) mobile phone technology,

introduced ito use n 1991, is also suitable for low-speed

data transfer. The Intelligent Network is an architecture

capable to integrate all the telecommunications services

mentioned in a flexible way.

The telecommunications networks and wide area

networks used PDH (Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy)

technology in the physical data transfer. At the

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introduction of CCITT’s SDH (Synchronous Digital

Hierarchy) technology the physical data transfer rates

increased remarkably. A new technology, ATM

(Asynchronous Transfer Mode), was introduced to use the

available bandwidth efficiently in the 1992. By the

introduction of ATM it was possible to imagine of such

concepts as B-ISDN (Broadband Integrated Services

Digital Network ), broadband mobility and broadband IN.

These technologies will be discussed more accurately

later on. Broadband infrastructure will make it possible

to introduce advanced value added, mobile and media

services (Figure 2-3).

Figure 2-3. Turnover Value of Service Types

2.3.1 UMTS

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System ) is

intended to be an international standard for global

telecommunication system. It is a third generation mobile

telecommunications system which integrates several

second generation mobile systems like cordless

telephones (CT2 (Cordless Telephone 2) and DECT

(Digital European Cordless Telecommunications)),

mobile telecommunications systems (GSM and PCN) and

radio message systems (ERMES (European Radio

Message System)) Hara93 (Figure 2-4).

Figure 2-4. Evolution of mobile services and systems.

In the next five years the third generation mobile

networks will be developed called the UMTS (Universal

Mobile Telecommunications System). UMTS was

researched in the RACE program of EC (European

Community) and ETSI’s group SGM5, which research

will be continued in the ACTS program of EC. This new

generation is based on application and service oriented

technology that supports on-demand transmission

capacity up to 2 Mbps in various radio environments.

The ultimate goal is to provide seamless end-to-end

services to the user by using a combination of fixed and

wireless/mobile access tecnologies, where a mobile phone

could be used at home, office and elsewhere.

UMTS is an open system which is based on TMN and IN

concepts. The system supports ISDN services and could

be at some degree compatible with B-ISDN with ATM-

switching and possible broadband mobile access. This

system is a very advanced telecommunications system

that supports global mobility and Intelligent Network

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services and is not expected to be introduced before the

year 2000.

There has also been proposals for still higher speed

mobile networks such as MBS (Mobile Broadband

System), which could support bit rates up to 34 Mbps.

However, the architectures of these proposed networks

are still open, and they will depend heavily on how the

control of mobility and intelligence will be distributed

over the network.

2.3.2 MEDIA

With media concept we understand here both radio,

television and cinema, and press and publishing

industries. All these will be available in electronic digital

forms either as stored media or interactively from the

distribution network.

In modern telecommunications the emerging competitive

media services market and the new technological

breakthroughs will bring remarkable changes. The

market changes are due to the integration of

telecommunications and information technology, which

brings interactive real time video and multimedia services

available to users. Examples of these services are digital

interactive TV, video on demand services for banking,

shopping and leasure, electronic press and publishing.

The technological requirements for these services are cost

effective broadband transmission and access

technologies, flexible computer based management and

control of services and networks, switching and service

applications and the support of mobility.

In technology substantial new breakthroughs are going

on. The introduction of cellular radio networks and

mobility is probably the most influential one in the next

few years. The broadband transmission and switching

technology is also maturing and will provide a cost

effective platform for service provision. When the

broadband customer access will be available, interactive

business and consumer services based on video and

multimedia will become possible. Common to all these

developments will be the computer controlled structure of

modern telecommunications, where protocols, application

technology and resource management are key factors.

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3. Computer ControlledTelecommunications

3.1 CCITT Signalling System No. 7

The word ‘signalling’ ment the transfer of analogous

signals in a network, for example in the analogous

telephony network the activation of nonintelligent

switches, just a few decades ago. In the context of

modern telecommunications, signalling can be defined as

the system that enables Stored Program Control

exchanges, network databases, and other “intelligent”

nodes of the network to exchange messages related to call

setup, supervision, teardown (call/connection control

information) Modar90, information needed for

distributed application processing (inter-process

query/response, or user-to-user data) and network

management information.

Just a few decades ago (and even today), the

telecommunications networks used analogous signalling,

based on frequency tones, between network nodes. Some

key attributes of these signalling methods are that they are

inband (i.e. signalling information is conveyed over the

same channel that is used for speech) Modar90; call set-

up times are long (from about 10 to 20 s); limited

information can be transferred resulting, among other

things, in restrictive network routing capabilities.

With the introduction of electronic processors in

switching systems came the possibility of providing

Common Channel Signalling (CCS). This is an out-of-

band signalling method in which a common data channel

is used to convey signalling information related to a

number of trunks. Modar90 CCITT published this new

signalling protocol stack SS7 (Signalling System No. 7)

based on CCITT OSI (Open Systems Interconnection)

Reference Model (OSIRM) in 1980. SS7 is fully digital

and SS7 protocol stack corresponds to the seven layers of

the OSIRM and includes the Application Services and

User Parts (UP) (Figure ). The signalling network

structure component of SS7 is the Network Service Part

(NSP), and it consists of the Message Transfer Part

(MTP) and the Signalling Connection Control Part

(SCCP). The OSIRM layers 4 - 6 are provided by

Intermediate Service Part (ISP) and each User Part.

SS7 is quite an advanced protocol stack. It includes

capabilities for congestion control and overload control. It

also includes features for avoiding congestion by

alternative routing or capacity expansion when heavy

load is detected. With congestion is ment generally,

shortage of resources, which is caused by an excessive

amount of load, or a failure that reduces the installed

capacity of a network element. SS7 also includes

capabilities for sending congestion and overload

indications to the adjacent exchanges or traffic sources.

M3010

Application

Presentation

Session

Transport

Network

Data link

Physical

OSI Reference Model

OMAP ASEs

TCAP

SCCP

SS7 protocol stack

ISP

MTP Level 3

MTP Level 2

MTP Level 1

UP

Figure -1. SS7 protocol architecture.

3.1.1 Network Services Part

MTP consists of levels 1-3 of the SS7 protocol stack and

it provides a connectionless message transfer system that

enables signalling information to be transferred across the

network to its desired destination. Functions are included

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in MTP that allow system failures to occur in the network

without adversely affecting the transfer of signalling

information. So the overall purpose of MTP is to provide

a reliable transfer and delivery of signalling information

across the signalling network and to have the ability to

react and take necessary actions in response to system and

network failures to ensure that reliable transfer is

maintained. The first level of MTP presents the signalling

data link functions. A signalling data link functon is a

bidirectional transmission path for signalling, consisting

of two data channel operating together in opposite

directions at the same data rate. It fully complies with the

OSI’s definition of the physical layer. Level 2 of MTP

presents the signalling link functions. The signalling link

functions correspond to the OSI’s data link layer.

Together with a signalling data link, the signalling link

functions provide a signalling link for the reliable transfer

of signalling messages between two directly connected

signalling points. The third level of MTP presents the

signalling network functions. They correspond to the

lower half of the OSI’s network layer, and they provide

the functions and procedures for the transfer of messages

between signalling points, which are the nodes of the

signalling network. Modar90

SCCP provides additional functions to MTP for both

connectionless and connection-oriented network services.

SCCP enhances the services of the MTP to provide the

functional equivalent of OSI’s network layer. The

addressing capability of MTP is limited to delivering a

message to a node and using a four-bit service indicator

to distribute messages within the node. SCCP

supplements this capability by providing an addressing

capability that uses DPCs (Destination Point Code) plus

Subsystem Numbers (SSN). The SSN is local addressing

information used by SCCP to identify each of the SCCP

users at a node. Modar90

3.1.2 User Part

The User Part forms the most upper layer of the SS7

protocol stack that use the services provided by the lower

layers SCCP and MTP. User Part functions are ISDN-UP,

TCAP (Transaction Capabilities Application Part) and

OMAP (Operations, Maintenance, and Administration

Part). The ISDN-UP is not discussed in this paper. TCAP

refers to the set of protocols and functions used by a set

of widely distributed applications in a network to

communicate with each other. TCAP directly uses the

service of SCCP. Essentially, TCAP provides a set of

tools in a connectionless environment that can be used by

an application at a node to invoke execution of a

procedure at another node and exchange the results of

such invocation. As such, it includes protocols and

services to perform remote operations. It is closely related

to the OSI Remote Operations Service Element (ROSE).

The OMAP of the SS7 protocol stack provides the

applications protocols and procedures to monitor,

coordinate, and control all the network resource that make

communications based on SS7 possible. Modar90

3.1.3 Signalling network structure

Figure -2. CCITT SS7 network structure.

Signalling networks consist of signalling points and

signalling links connecting the signalling points together.

(Figure ) As alluded to earlier, a signalling point that

transfers messages from one signalling link to another at

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level 3 is said to be a STP (Signalling Transfer Point).

Signalling points that are STP’s can also provide

functions higher than level 3, such as SCCP and other

level 4 functions like ISDN-UP. When signalling point

has an STP capability and also provides level 4 functions

like ISDN-UP, it is commonly said to have an integrated

STP functionality. When the signalling point provides

only STP capability, or STP and SCCP capabilities, it is

commonly called a stand-alone STP. Signalling links,

STP’s (stand-alone and integrated), and signalling points

with level 4 protocol functionality can be combined in

many different ways to form a signalling network. The

SS7 Network Services Part protocol is specified

independent of the underlying signalling network

structure. However, to meet the stringent availability

requirements given below (e.g., signalling route set

unavailability is not exceeded ten minutes per year), it is

clear that any network structure must provide

redundancies for the signalling links, which have

unavailabilities measured in many hours per year. In most

cases the STP’s must also have backups. Modar90

The worldwide signalling network is intended to be

structured into two functionally independent levels: the

national and international levels. This allows numbering

plans network management of the international and the

different national network to be independent of one

another. A signalling point can be a national signalling

point, an international signalling point, or both. If it

serves both, it is identified by a specific signalling point

code in each of the signalling networks. Modar90

3.2 Telecommunications Management Network

Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) is a

generic, management-oriented architecture, intended to be

used for all kinds of management services. Appel93 It

has been defined in the CCITT M.3000 series standards.

According to the concept it intends to meet several

purposes: several network and devices, digital and

analogic transmission systems, circuit- and packet

switched data networks, public exchanges and PABX’s

(Private Access Branch Exchange).

TMN is intended to support different management based

areas. These five functional areas are:

Performance management

fault management

configuration management

accounting management

security management

The functionality of TMN consists of the following

subjects: Error! Reference source not found.

the ability to exchange management information

across the boundary between the telecommunications

environment and the TMN environment.

the ability to convert management information from

one format to another so that management

information flowing within the TMN environment

has a consistent nature

the ability to transfer management information

between locations within the TMN environment

the ability to analyse and react appropriately to

management information

the ability to manipulate management information

into a form which is useful and/or meaningful to the

management information user

the ability to deliver management information to the

management information user and to present it with

the appropriate representation

the abilty to ensure secure access to management

information by authorized management information

users

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In TMN architecture there are mainly three architectural

points of view each of which can be taken into account

when TMN network is designed. These aspects are:

fucntional, informational and physical architectures. Each

of them studies the network architecture from different

apects.

3.2.1 Functional architecture

The TMN functional architecture is described with

functional blocks such as the Network Element Function

(NEF), The Operations Systems Function (OSF) and

Work Station Function (WSF). (Figure ) NEFs model all

entities that form the network to be managed. NEFs are to

be located physically on network elements. OSF provide

the TMN functions for processing, storage and retrieval

of management information. They form the core part of

the TMN. Four different OSFs can be identified

according to a hierarchial partitioning into four layers: the

network element management layer, responsible for the

management of a subset of the network elements in the

whole network; the network management layer,

responsible for the technical provision of services

requested by the upper layer. This layer has an overall

view of the network. The service management layer is

responsible for all negotiations and resulting agreements

between a customer and the service offered to this

customer. The business management layer is responsible

for the total enterprise. Therefore, it is possible to identify

different types of OSFs; the NE-OSF, N-OSF, the S-OSF

and the B-OSF. WSF represent the functionalities and

information modelling entities related to the TMN man-

machine communications between the management

system and the human operator. Appel93

Between the function blocks NEFs, OSFs and WSFs

there are different kind of reference points: Q-, F- and X-

type. The Q-type reference point is between OSFs of

contiguous layers or between the OSF and the NEF; the

F-type reference point is between the WSF and the OSF;

and the X-type reference points are between OSFs

belonging to different domains.

Figure -3. TMN Operations Systems functional hierarchy.

Appel93

3.2.2 Informational architecture

TMN informational architecture is based on Object-

Oriented (O-O) point of view. Management systems

exchange information modelled in terms of managed

objects. Managed objects are conceptual views of the

resources that are being managed or may exist to support

certain management functions (e.g. event forwarding or

event logging). Thus, a managed object is the abstraction

of such a resource that represents its properties as seen by

(and for the purposes of) management. A managed object

may also represent a relationship between resources or a

combination of resources (e.g. a network). Error!

Reference source not found.

Management of a telecommunications environment is an

information processing application. Because the

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environment being manages is distributed, network

management is a disributed application. This involves the

exchange of management information between

management processes for the purpose of monitoring and

controlling the various physical and logical networking

resources (switching and trasmission resources). Error!

Reference source not found.

The TMN architecture is based on Manager/Agent

architecture. (Figure ) A manager takes care of the

distributed applications part that issues management

operation directives and receives notifications. The agent

role if the part of the application process that manages the

associated managed objects. The role of the agent will be

to respond to the directives issued by a manager. It will

also reflect to the manager a view of these objects and

emit notifications reflecting the behaviour of these

objects.

Figure -4. Interaction between Manager, Agent and

managed objects.

In TMN the manager uses polling method to get the

information from the agents. The agents store the

statictics information in their databases that are called

MIBs (Management Information Base). A MIB is a

conceptual database structure. It represents the set of

managed objects within a managed system. The structure

of the MIB is often showed in the form of a tree. This tree

is called a Management Information Tree ( MIT). (Figure -

5) The tree is organized in a hierarchical way. At the

upper parts of the tree resides the most meaning attributes

and they are specified more entirely with the lower layer

attributes.

Figure -5. Management Information Tree.

3.2.3 Physical architecture

NEFs identify all the network elements as physical

entities in TMN. Operations Systems (OS) form the core

part of every TMN domain. The TMN physical

architecture is not discussed more accurately in this

paper.

3.3 Intelligent Network

3.3.1 The need for IN

In the past few years the development of

telecommunications networks has been rapid. The

telecommunications network functions before were

controlled mainly by operators. The desire to share data

and distribute application processing among network

elements, the need for standard interfaces between them

Garra93 and user demands for more sophisticated

telecommunications services has changed the controlling

of network elements notably. The telecommunications

network elements today are controlled by the network

operator, the service provider or the customer himself.

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To integrate the control and management of different

services inside the operator, or to be able to provide third

party control and management services, control and

management interfaces with software support are needed.

The development of IN architecture was initiated by

Bellcore in USA almost ten years ago in order to help the

Regional Bell Operating Companies to become more

competitive in deregulated telecommunications

environment. The original goal was to provide network

operators with the ability to introduce, control and

manage services more effectively by using a centralized

database in a Service Control Point (SCP) for controlling

and managing the various network services. Lauta93

The objective of IN is to allow the inclusion of additional

capabilities to facilitate provisioning of service,

independent of the service or network implementation in

a multi-vendor environment. Service implementation

independence allows service providers to define their own

services independent of service specific developments by

equipment vendors [Q1201].

Network implementation independence allows network

and service operators to allocate functionality and

resources within their networks and to efficiently manage

their networks independent of network implementation

specific developments by equipment vendors.

The network architectures, so far, have developed almost

independently of each other. This point of view, of

course, causes the network operators and service

providers to provide independently implemented service

to customers. The basic idea of IN has been that it

facilitates the provisioning of services independently

from the telecommunications networks and equipment

vendors. So, the IN acts as a distributing and centralizing

framework of the telecommunications services. With this

framework, it is possible to introduce advanced customer

oriented services rapidly and cost effectively.

3.3.2 Definition of Intelligent Network

Intelligent Network (IN) is an architectural concept for

the operation and provision of new services which is

characterized by [Q1201]:

- extensive use of information processing techniques;

- efficient use of network resources;

- modularization and reusability of network functions;

- integrated service creations and implementation by means of

the modularized reusable network functions;

- flexible allocation of network functions to physical entities;

- portability of network functions among physical entities;

- standardized communication between network functions vie

service independent interfaces;

- service subscriber 1) control of some subscriber-specific

service attributes;

- service user 2) control of some user-specific service

attributes;

- standardized management of service logic.

IN is applicable to a wide variety of networks, including

but not limited to: public switched telephone network

(PSTN) mobile, packet switched public data network

(PSPDN) and integrated services digital network (ISDN)

- both narrowband-ISDN (N-ISDN) and broadband-ISDN

(B-ISDN).

IN supports a wide variety of services, including

supplementary services, and utilizes existing and future

bearer services (e.g. as those defined in N-ISDN and B-

ISDN contexts).

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3.4 Numbering and Services

The user identification has mainly been based on the

access points of the telecommunications network. The

users’ access points were separateded from each other

with the Network ID (N_ID). This N_ID was at the early

telecommunication systems the telephone number that did

not support any mobility at all. The introduction of

mobile services and third party media services will create

new needs for customer and service identification (Figure

3-6). In Figure 3-6 service identifications can contain

also other service related data than the service or program

identification itself.

Figure 3-6. Numbering Types

The ISDN supplementary services identifications consist

of the following identifiers [Q932]:

Service profile: Service profile refers to the information that the

network maintains for a given user to characterize the service offered

by the network to that user. As an example, this may contain the

association of feature identifiers to specific supplementary services. A

service profile may be allocated to an access interface or to a particular

user equipment or a group of user equipments.

SPID: The service profile identifier is a parameter carried in a service

profile identification information element that is sent from the user to

network to allow network assignment of a USID and TID. A user's

SPID should uniquely identify a specific profile of service

characteristics stored within the network. The SPID will allow the

network to distinguish between different terminals that would otherwise

be indistinguishable (e.g., same N_ID). The SPID value is provided to

the user at subscription time.

USID: User service identifier. A USID uniquely identifies a service

profile on an access interface.

TID: Terminal identifier. A TID value is unique within a given USID.

If two terminals on an interface subscribe to the same service profile,

then the two terminals will be assigned the same service USID.

However, two different TIDs are required to uniquely dentify each of

the two terminals.

EID: Endpoint identifier. The endpoint identifier information element

is used for terminal identification. The endpoint identifier parameters

contain a USID and TID and additional information used to interpret

them.

In OSI environment there are two naming conventions

that can be applied to services, the Object Identifier

specified in the ASN.1 notation [ISO 8824] and the

Distinguished Name specified in the Directory standard

[ISO9594]. The services can be considered as

Application Entity instances, whose names can be

presented using either Object Identifiers or Relative

Distinguished Names [ISO 7498-3]

There can be three main identification types depending on

the roles in the network: N_ID’s, S_ID’s (Service ID) and

U_ID’s (User ID) (Figure 3-7). S_ID defines the service

that is used by the user via the network. U_ID defines

the exact user irrespective of the network. The relation

between user and network ID’s in old telephone networks

is hence U_IDN_ID. The service identification is

dependent on these three types.

In the future there can exist several other relations too.

For example, the mobility of users and services. The user

can move from N_ID to another and use a service that

could be either distributed throughout the

telecommunications network or serve the user as a mobile

service. Also from different U_ID’s can be produced

groups where the telecommunications network is used as

a private network inside the whole telecommunications

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system. As a more advanced telecommunications system,

GSM uses for mobility the relation where each user with

U_ID is attached to a Base Station channel with invisible

N_ID. This relation is updated in roaming and handovers

that the GSM network manages. The Intelligent Network

differentiates the user, network and service from each

other. This description can manage mobility from each of

its components and even of different Intelligent Networks

when IN uses services from other networks.

Figure 3-7 Different relations between identifications.

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4. Intelligent Network Architecture

4.1 Overview of IN

The term Intelligent Networks (IN) is used to describe an

architectural concept which is intended to be applicable to

all telecommunications networks and aims to ease the

introduction and management of new services.

The objective of IN is to allow the inclusion of additional

capabilities to facilitate provisioning of service,

independent of the service or network implementation in

a multi-vendor environment. Service implementation

independence allows service providers to define their own

services independent of service specific developments by

equipment vendors [Q1201].

Network implementation independence allows network

and service operators to allocate functionality and

resources within their networks and to efficiently manage

their networks independent of network implementation

specific developments by equipment vendors.

4.1.1. Origins of IN

The Intelligent Networks is a telecommunications

network services control and management architecture.

In February 1985, Regional Bell Operating Companies

(RBOC) submitted a Request For Information (RFI) for a

Feature Node concept with the following objectives

Ambro89:

Support the rapid introduction of new

services in the network

Help establish equipment and interface

standards to give the RBOCs the widest

possible choice of vendor products

Create opportunities for non-RBOC service

vendors to offer services that stimulate

network usage

As with the past telecommunications technology, it was

not desirable to introduce short term services, because of

the long implementation and development period. Now,

with IN technology it is possible to introduce new

services rapidly without affecting the available services.

IN defines a large set of standards that describe the

interfaces between different network control points. With

only specifying the interfaces IN makes it possible for

vendor systems to provide with different products and ,of

course, for operators to use any of these products in their

network configuration. IN includes also capabilities for

other than operators to introduce new services into the

telecommunications network. This will change the

structure of the telecommunications business, which is

the main concern in the section 5 of this paper.

The IN’s main advantage is the ability to control

switching and service execution from a small set of

Intelligent Network nodes known as Service Control

Points (SCP). SCPs are connected to the network

switches (known as Service Switching Points) via a

standardized interface; CCITT Signalling System No. 7.

The SS7 will facilitate a multi-vendor SCP and SSP

marketplace, and the standardization of application

interfaces allows a multi-vendor software marketplace for

SCP applications (that is, the service control logic and its

related data) (Figure -1). The SSPs detect when the SCP

should handle a service. The SSP forwards a standardized

SS7 (TCAP) message containing relevant service

information. Via the TCAP message, the service control

logic in the SCP directs the SSPs to perform the

individual functions that collectively constitute the

service (such as connecting a subscriber number or an

announcement machine) Ambro89 .

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The IN’s long term goal is the ability to introduce new

services, or change existing services quickly, without

having to adapt SSP software (only parameters or trigger

updates). The adaptation will be confined to the SCP

where parameters or stimuli are updated. This goal was

first planned by Bellcore to be achieved in two stages:

IN/1 and IN/2 Ambro89 IN/1 definitions introduced the

term Intelligent Network in 1986 and in 1987 IN/2

definitions were introduced. In 1988 IN/2 was delayed

and IN/1+ was introduced instead. In 1989 Bellcore

abandoned IN/1+ for several reasons, some being

problems in the technology and lack of multivendor

involvement. Instead a MultiVendor Initiative (MVI)

was started in 1989 to define Advanced Intelligent

Network (AIN). At the same time CCITT and ETSI

started work on IN. The IN basic concepts for a service

dependent architecture were introduced already in IN/1.

The AIN concepts were essentially those of IN/2 defining

a fully service independent architecture with total

separation of service logic from the underlying seitching

system. These principles were accepted also by CCITT

and ETSI work. The AIN Release 1 and CCITT CS1

were published in 1993. Let us finally summarize early

IN/1 and IN/2 outlines.

IN/1 requires updates in the SSP and SCP in order to

support a new service. A typical IN/1 service is the

Green Number Service (GNS) with which a subscriber

can call a number free of charge. The SSPs contain

triggers (such as the value of the dialed digits) that tell

the SSP to send a message to an SCP in order to get

information about the destination to which the call

should be routed. Migration from IN/1 to IN/2 implies

significant changes in the SSPs to accomodate new

services.

Stage 1: IN/1

Once IN/2 is in place, no updates need be made to the

SSPs software when new services are introduced. The

IN/2 triggers advise the SSP whether to complete

execution locally. All SSPs and SCPs contain set of basic

service elements (for example, connect two lines,

disconnect a line). The SCP also contains service

relevant data. These basic service elements are knows as

Functional Components (FC) from which each service

can be contructed. A customer could conceptualize a new

service and the network operator, via the SMS/SCP,

could construct it quite rapidly. Any successful and

widely-used service may be downloaded (via the service

logic) to, but transparent to, the SSPs (if this is more

economic or provides a desired higher grade of service).

This facilitates complete rapid service creation. Rapid

service creation and user programmability will take place

in the SCP and the SMS.

Stage 2: IN/2

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Figure -1. Intelligent Network overview. Homa92

An Intelligent Network is able to separate the

specification, creation, and control of telephony services

from physical switching networks. The key benefit of this

capability is that exchange carriers will be able to rapidly

engineer new revenue-producing services, in response to

market opportunities, without having to rely on lenghty

cycles for implementing them entirely on switching

fabric. Ultimately, service creation, or at least service

customization, can be extended to subscribers Homa92.

The original IN concepts IN/1 and IN/2 were not

considered sufficient to support vendor independence

and open interfaces, and extensive standardization

activities were started in 1989's. The first available

publications were the Advanced Intelligent Network

(AIN), and after that CCITT and ETSI provided their

first draft recommendations. Our presentation here is

mainly based on the CCITT, presently ITU-T,

recommendations.

4.1.2. IN standardization

4.1.2.1 IN standards bodies

The IN standards are defined by ETSI and CCITT. Also,

in the USA, the work is being done by Bellcore, which is

not a standards body but provides the major input to the

American National Standards Institute committee TS.1.

Roger90

4.1.2.1.1ETSI

ETSI was created in 1988 and its members are the

European Telcos (Telecommunications Operating

Company), manufacturers, user representatives and

research bodies. ETSI has two purposes. IN belongs to

the latter category. Roger90

to achieve workable versions of international

standards for the European environment

to define European standards in areas where quick

response is required for technical development

4.1.2.1.2CCITT

Work on international standards for IN began at CCITT

in 1989. Study Group XI.4 is responsible of the

standardation. CCITT expects that the specification and

deployment of IN will continue over a number of study

periods. CCITT name has changed to ITU (International

Telecommunications Union) and there the Special Interest

Group (SIG) is T (ITU-T). Its approach to the

development of IN standards assumes that it is necessary

to start with a minimum set of criteria which are

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sufficiently open ended that they can evolve to meet the

needs of the long-term concept as this becomes a practical

reality. Roger90

Both ETSI and ANSI are keen to ensure that CCITT

recommendations agree substantially with their own

activities, and collaboration between all three bodies is

likely to be an important determinant in the rapid

development of realistic IN standards.

4.1.2.2 Phased standardization

To meet the goals and objectives, CCITT has embarked

on a phased standardation process toward the target IN

architecture (INA) [Q1201]. CCITT works on defining a

set of capabilities for each phase and simultaneously on

evolving the view of the target IN architecture called the

long-term capability set (LTCS) (Figure -2) The IN

subjects of standardization are called Capability Sets

(CS). The Capability Sets involve service creation,

management and interaction and also network

management, service processing and network

internetworking. These CS’s are backwards-compatible

to the previous CS’s so the standardation and

implementation of the services can be progressed through

a sequence of phases Garra93 .

Figure -2. Phased standardation of IN.

4.1.2.3 Structure of CCITT IN standards

The basic standard that defines the framework of other IN

standards is Q.1200 - Q-Series Intelligent Network

Recommendations Structure. The standards have been

numbered so that every new CSx will have a number that

begins with 12x and the description of the CSx

recommendation part y will be numbered also

systematically such as 12xy. (Table -1) So, the principles

introduction for IN CS2 will be recommendation number

Q.1221.

00 - General

10 - CS1 1 - Principles Introduction

20 - CS2 2 - Service Plane (not included forCS1)

30 - CS3 3 - Global Functional Plane

40 - CS4 4 - Distributed Functional Plane

50 - CS5 5 - Physical Plane

60 - CS6 6 - For future use

70 - CS7 7 - For future use

80 - CS8 8 - Interface Recommendations

90 -Vocabulary

9 - Intelligent Network Users Guide

Table -1. IN recommendations structure.

4.1.2.4 Capability Set 1

It has been an international and european wide aim to

define the first step of INA. These recommendations are

gathered into a set called IN Capability Set 1 (CS1).

There are two standardation organisations working on

CS1: CCITT and ETSI. CCITT has gathered these

recommendations into the Q.121y -series. (Table -2)

CCITT’s and ETSI’s standards do not substantially differ

from each other.

CCITT Study Group XI, Working Party XI/4 includes

representatives from most of the important

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telecommunications network operators and equipment

vendors in the world. Study Group XVIII also is involved

in the initial set of IN standards, and is sharing

responsibility for the Introductory Recommendations. At

these meetings, there is an obvious willingness to

strongly focus on achieving a realistic initial set of IN

capability, which is both technically implementable and

commercially deployable.Duran92

RecommendationQ.1200

Q-Series Intelligent NetworkRecommendations Structure

RecommendationQ.1201

Principles of Intelligent NetworkArchitecture

RecommendationQ.1202

Intelligent Network - ServicePlane Architecture

RecommendationQ.1203

Intelligent Network - GlobalFunctional Plane Architecture

RecommendationQ.1204

Intelligent Network - DistributedFunctional Plane Architecture

RecommendationQ.1205

Intelligent Network - PhysicalPlane Architecture

RecommendationQ.1208

Intelligent Network - ApplicationProtocol General Aspects

RecommendationQ.1211

Intelligent Network - Introductionto Intelligent Network CapabilitySet 1

RecommendationQ.1213

Intelligent Network - GlobalFunctional Plane for CS1

RecommendationQ.1214

Intelligent Network - DistributedFunctional Plane for CS1

RecommendationQ.1215

Intelligent Network - PhysicalPlane for CS1

RecommendationQ.1218

Intelligent Network - IntelligentNetwork Interface Specifications

RecommendationsQ.1219

Intelligent Network Users guidefor Capability Set 1

Table -2. IN CS1 recommendations.

In defining IN CS1, CCITT applied the INCM

(Intelligent Network Conceptual Model) using both

“bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches. The former

approach focused on modelling the capabilities of

existing networks in terms of functional and physical

architectures that could evolve the target IN architecture,

given CCITT’s objective of evolving IN from existing

networks. The latter approach was service-driven and it

focused on identifying a set of IN CS1 services and

Service Features. Then driving these down through the

INCM in order to identify the set of service-independent

capabilities for IN CS1, evolvable to the target set of IN

capabilities, and verify that this set could be supported by

the functional and physical architectures defined via the

“bottom-up” approach Garra93.

IN CS1 defines capabilities of direct use to both

manufactures and network operators in support of circuit-

switched voice/data services either defined or in the

process of being defined by CCITT. The primary

characteristic of the target set of IN CS1 services is that

they apply during the setup phase of a call or during the

release phase of a call. CCITT chose this single-ended

service characteristic to limit the operational,

implementation, and control complexity for IN CS1.

Even with this limitation, it may be expected that

equipment suppliers will support interworking of IN CS1

capabilities with existing switch-based services, including

more complex services such as those that apply during the

active phase of a call. For example, IN CS1 routing,

charging, and user interaction capabilities may be used to

customize or improve existing switch-based services to

better satisfy market needs. Garra93

It is anticipated that CS1 recommendations of CCITT and

ETSI will be adopted world-wide. This can help to

develop open interfaces between the SSP (Service

Switching Point) and SCP (Service Control Point), thus

putting into effect one of the important goals of the IN,

namely vendor independence. Lauta93

4.1.2.5 IN CS1 Services

Allthough, by nature, the IN is a service independent

architecture, it is relevant to describe the general CS-1

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service capabilities. The services and Service Features

that are to be supported by CS-1 are fundamental to the

CS-1 Service Building Blocks, call processing model and

service control principles.

The target set of CS-1 defines several services (Table -3)

and service features. A service is a stand-alone

commercial offering, characterized by one or more core

Service Features, and can be optionally enhanced by other

Service Features. A Service Feature is a specific aspect of

a service that can also be used in conjunction with other

services/Service Features as part of a commercial

offering. It is either a core part of a service or an optional

part offered as an enhancement to a service. Q1201 The

service composition and Service Features will be

discussed more precisely later on.

Automatic AlternativeBilling (ABB)

Mass Calling (MAS)

Abbreviated Dialling(ABD)

Malicious CallIdentification (MCI)

Account Card Calling(ACC)

Premium Rate (PRM)

Credit Card Calling(CCC)

Security Screening (SEC)

Call Distribution (CD) Selective Call Forward onBusy/Don’t Answer (SCF)

Call Forwarding (CF) Split Charging (SPL)

* Completion of Call toBusy Subsrciber (CCBS)

Televoting (VOT)

* Conference Calling(CON)

Terminating CallScreening (TCS)

Call ReroutingDistribution (CRD)

User-Defined Routing(UDR)

Destination Call Routing(DCR)

Universal Access Number(UAN)

Follow-Me-Diversion(FMD)

Universal PersonalTelecommunications

(UPT)

Freephone (FPH) Virtual Private Network(VPN)

Note: The service indicated with a * may only be partially

supported in CS1, because they require capabilities

beyond those of type A services.

Table -3. Target set of IN CS1 services.

4.2 IN Functional Requirements

IN functional requirements arise as a result of the need to

provide network capabilities for both customer needs

(service requirements) and network operator needs

(network requirements) [Q1201].

A service user is an entity external to the network that

users its services. A service is that which is offered by an

administration to its customers in order to satisfy a

telecommunications requirement. Part of the service used

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by customers may be provided/managed by other

customers of the network. These are often called as third

party services and their providers as 3rd party service

providers.

Service requirements will assist in identifying specific

services that are offered to the customer. These service

capabilities are also referred to as (telecommunication)

services: Network requirements span the ability to create,

deploy, operate and maintain network capabilities to

provide services.

Service and network requirements can be identified for

the following areas of service/network capabilities:

service creation, service management, network

management, service processing and network

interworking.

- Service creation: An activity whereby

supplementary services are brought into being through

specification phase, development phase and verification

phase.

- Service management: An activity to support the

proper operation of a service and the administration of

information relating to the user/customer and/or the

network operator, Service management can support the

following processes: service development, service

provisioning, service control, billing and service

monitoring.

- Network management: An activity to support

the proper operation of an IN-structured network.

- Service processing consists of basic call and

supplementary service processing which are the serial

and/or parallel executions of network functions in a

coordinated way, such that basic and supplementary

services are provided to the customers.

- Network interworking: A process through

which several networks (IN to IN or IN to non-IN)

cooperate to provide a service.

4.2.1 Service Requirements

The goal of work for IN is to define a new architectural

concept that meets the needs of telecommunication

service providers to rapidly, cost effectively, and vendor-

independently satisfy their existing and potential market

needs for services, and to improve the quality and reduce

the cost of network service operations and management

Garra93. In [Q1201] the following overall service

requirements are given when defining the IN architecture:

- it should be possible to access services by the usual user

network interface (e.g. POTS, ISDN);

- it should be possible to access services that span multiple

networks;

- it should be possible to invoke a service on a call-by-call

basis or for a period of time, in the latter case the

service may be deactivated at the end of the period;

- it should be possible to perform some access control to a

service;

- it should be easy to define and introduce services;

- it should be possible to support services involving calls

between two or more parties;

- it should be possible to record service usage in the network

(service supervision, tests, performance information,

charging);

- it should be possible to provide services that imply the use of

functions in several networks;

- it should be possible to control the interactions between

different invocations of the same service.

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Service requirements for service creation refer to the

network capabilities that are used by network operators

for the provision of service creation services to

customers.

Service requirements for service management refer to the

network capabilities that are necessary for the provision

of service management services to customers.

Service requirements for service processing refer to the

network capabilities that are necessary for the provision,

from a customer's point of view, of basic and

supplementary services by an IN-structured network

[Q1201]. The IN is primarily a network concept that

aims for efficient creation, deploynent and management

of supplementary services that enhance basic services.

Hence, from a customers point of view the provision of

services is transparent, the customer is unaware whether

the service is provided in an IN way. Service processing

requirements can be identified for service and access

capabilities. The service capabilities of IN can be applied

to the support of supplementary services for the following

basic services [Q1201]:

- bearer services including speech, audio and data

- teleservices as telephony, telefax and videotex

- broadband interactive services

- broadband distribution services

The access capabilities of IN should be applicable to all

telecommunications networks, such as Public Switched

telecommunications Networks (PSTN), including

Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN), both

narrowband and broadband, packet-switched public data

networks, and mobile networks. Allthough, IN CS1

enables only the use of PSTN, PLMN (Public Land

Mobile Network) and ISDN, IN should enable service

providers to define their own services, independent of

service-specific developments by equipment suppliers.

CS1 is intended to address services with high commercial

value, focusing at addressing flexible routing, charging,

and user interaction services. The list of benchmark

services and features will be listed later on.

Standardization of these services, however, is not

CCITT’s role. An important characteristic is that the

services will be technologically feasible and

understandable, but do not significantly impact existing

deployed technology. In this context, services have been

categorized by CCITT as follows: Duran92

All type A services are invoked on behalf of and

directly affect a single user. Most type A services

can be invoked only during call setup of tear down

and fall in the category of “single-user, single-

ended (no requirements for representing end-to-end

messaging or control), single point-of-control (no

requirement fro representing interaction points

between multiple service logic programs), and

single-bearer capability (one media profile)”. Type

A services may be used in conjunction with other

services, switch-based or not, of any type, to form

a more complete service package.

Type B services can be invoked at any point during

the call. These services may be invoked on behalf

of and directly impact one or more users. Feature

interaction and arbitration, and topology

manipulation are capabilities that need to be

addressed to deploy these services. Note that it is

possible to use type A capabilities to enhance some

existing type B services.

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The services addressed by CS1 fall under type A services.

The type A category lead to a series of advantages in the

context of CS1 standardization. First, they represent a

wide range of services of proven value. Second, these

services depend on well-understood control relationships

between network components and this represents an

achievable target within required time frame of IN CS1

product deployment in 1993. Finally, complexity in the

transition to rapid service delivery process is minimized

both for service provider and for the equipment

manufacturer Duran92.

4.2.2. Network Requirements

Overall network requirements of IN are stated in [Q1201]

as follows:

- it should be possible to move cost-effectively from existing

network bases to target network bases in a practical and

flexible manner

- it should be possible to reduce redundancies among network

functions in physical entities

- it should be possible to allow for the flexible allocationn of

etwork functions to physical entities

- there is a need for communication protocols that allow

flexibility in the allocation of functions

- it should be possible to create new services from network

functions in a cost and time efficient manner

- it should be possible to quarantee the integrity of the

etwork when new service is being introduced

- it should be possible to manage network elements and

network resources such that quality of service and network

performance can be quaranteed

Network requirements for service creation refer to the

network capabilities that are necessary from a network

operator point of view for the creation of new

supplementary services. The service creation process

consists of specification, development and verification

steps.

Network requirements for service management refer to

the network capabilities that are necessary from a

network operator point of view to support the proper

operation of services

Network requirements for service processing refer to the

network capabilities that are necessary for the provision,

from a network operator point of view, of basic and

supplementary services by an IN-structured network

[Q1201]. The main network requirements for service

processing stem from the inability of network operators

of traditional "non-IN" networks to rapidly create and

deploy new supplementary services. To overcome this

inability the IN aims for:

- rapid service implementations by means of

reusable network functions;

- modularization of network functions;

- standardized communication between network

functions via service independent interfaces.

To achieve the goal of fast service implementation, the IN

Service Processing Model is introduced (Figure 4-3), and

will be studied here in some detail.

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Figure 4-3. IN Service Processing Model.

The three main elements of this model are: the basic call

processes, the "hooks" that allow the basic call processes

to interact with IN service logic, and IN service logic that

can be "programmed" to implement new supplementary

services. For these elements the main principles are

described below:

- The basic call process should be available all

over the network and is designed to support, with optimal

performance, services that do not require special features.

In order to achieve flexibility in service processing, the

basic call process needs to be modularized into service-

independent sub-processes such that these can be

executed autonomously (without interference from the

outside during execution).

- "Hooks" are to be added to the basic call process

forming the links between the individual basic call sub-

processes and the service logic. The "hooks" are able to

start an interaction session with the IN service logic. For

this it should continuously check the basic call process

for the occurrence of conditions on which an interaction

session with IN service logic should be started. During an

interaction session the basic call process can be

temporarily suspended.

- IN service logic uses a programmable software

environment that needs to be developed to allow fast

implementation of new supplementary services. New

supplementary services can be created by means of

"programs" containing IN service logic. The IN service

logic is able, via the "hooks" functionality, to interact

with the basic call process. In this way IN service logic

can control the sub-processes in the basic call process and

the sequencing of these sub-processes.

Thus, by changing logic at the service control point and

modifying network data, a new service that uses existing

network capabilities can readily be implemented.

In addition In service logic can decide to terminate an

interaction session with the basic call process. The basic

call process will then resume its execution as specified by

the IN service logic. In order to allow fast service

implementation, the IN service logic should have a

logical view of the network resources that constitute the

basic call process and additional (specialised) network

functions. For proper service processing, the following

principles apply:

- it should be possible to distribute resources

between services in a well balanced way;

- it should be possible for IN supported services

to share resources with non-IN supported

services;

- it should be possible to provide a different

method of resource data management from the

current embedded method;

- it should be possible to introduce IN supported

services specific resources.

To define an IN architecture including the network

elements within this architecture, there is a need for a call

model that describes the real-time behaviour of call

control capabilities for the provision of basic and

supplementary services. In order to be consistent with the

principles of the above-described IN service processing

model, the IN call model should cover the following

aspects:

- it should specify which basic services can be

supported by the model;

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- it should model the basic call processes (each

individual basic service may require its own IN

basic call process);

- it should describe trigger mechanisms

("hooks") that allow the IN basic call process to

interact with service logic;

- it should provide a logical view (from the

service logic point of view) of call processing

functions and network resources, which as a

consequence allows fast service implemen-

tation;

- it should specify the mechanisms according to

which an IN-basic call process may interact

with the service logic (e.g. single-ended

interactions, simultaneous interactions, service-

logic initiated interactions, etc.);

- it should be evolvable from the existing

technology base.

The CS1 Call Model is presented in detail later in chapter

4.3.2.1.4 of this tutorial. [Q1204]

4.3 IN Conceptual Model

The IN Conceptual Model (INCM) is defined in the

CCITT Recommendation Q.1201. The conceptual model

is divided into four planes and it forms the basis for the

standardation work. The IN conceptual Model was

designed to serve as a modelling tool for the Intelligent

Network. It is also a tool that can be used to design the

IN architecture to meet the following main objectives

Q1201:

service implementation independence

network implementation independence

vendor and technology independence

Each INCM plane represents a different abstract view of

the capabilities provided by an IN-structured network.

These views address service aspects, global functionality,

distributes functionality and physical aspects of an IN (

Figure ).

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Figure 4-4 IN Conceptual Model Error! Reference

source not found.

The Service Plane represents an exclusively service-

oriented view. This view contains no information

whatsoever regarding the implementation of the services

in the network, e.g. an "IN-type" implementation is not

visible. All that is perceived is the network's service-

related behaviour as seen, for example, by a service user.

Services are composed of one or more Service Features

(SFs), which are the "lowest level" of services.

The Global Functional Plane (GFP) models an IN-

structured network as a single entity. Contained in this

view is a global (network-wide) basic call processing

(BCP) SIB, the service independent building blocks

(SIBs), and point of initiation (POI) and point of return

(POR) between the BCP and a chain of SIBs. These are

described in detail in chapter 4.3.3.1.

The Distributed Functional Plane (DFP) models a

distributed view of an IN-structured network. Each

functional entity (FE) may perform a variety of functional

entire actions (FEAs). Any given FEA may be performed

within different functional entities. However, a given

FEA may not be distributed across functional entities.

Within each functional entity, various FEAs may be

performed by one or more elementary functions. The

manner in which elementary functions result in FEAs is

for further study.

Service-independent building blocks (SIBs) are realised

in the distributed functional plane (DFP) by a sequence

of particular FESs performed in the functional entities.

Some of these FEAs result in information flows between

functional entities. The information flows consist of

messages which exhance information between functional

entities. The messages comply with OSI structures and

principles (see chapters 4.3.1.2 and 4.4.3).

The Physical Plane models the physical aspects of IN-

structured networks. The model identifies the different

physical entities and protocols that may exist in real IN-

structured networks. It also indicates which functional

entities are implemented in which physical entities.

The entities contained in adjacent planes of the INCM are

related to each other. The nature of the relationship is as

follows (Q1201):

- Service plane to GF plane: Service features

within the service plane are realised in the GF plane by a

combination of global service logic and SIBs including

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the basic call process SIBs. This mapping is related to the

service creation process.

- GF plane to distributed functional (DF) plane:

Each SIB identified in the GF plane must be present in at

least one FE in the DF plane. A SIB may be realised in

more than one FE. Thus, cooperation of several FEs may

be needed. The service logic in the GF plane maps onto

one or more DSLs in the DF plane. This mapping is

related to the service creation process.

- DF plane to physical plane: FEs identified in the

DF plane determine the behaviour of the physical entities

(PEs) onto which they are m mapped. Each FE must be

mapped onto one physical entity, but, each PE contains

one or more FEs. Relationships between FEs, identified

in the DF plane, are specified as protocols in the physical

plane. DSLs may be dynamically loaded into physical

entities and this mapping is related to the service

management process.

Let us consider the structures of the INCM planes more

thoroughly starting from the physical plane.

4.3.1 Physical Plane

The physical plane is the lowest layer in the IN

architecture. It takes action of how the network itself is

implemented. It describes the physical architecture

alternatives for an IN-structured network in terms of

potential physical systems, referred to as physical entities

(PE), in a network, and interfaces between these Physical

Entities (Figure 4-5). One or more Functional Entities

from the Distributed Functonal Plane may be realized in a

Physical Entity on the physical plane, and one or more

relationships from the Distributed Functional Plane may

map into an interface on the physical plane. The physical

plane architecture describes how functional architecture

map into Physical Entities and interfaces Garra93. Also

the requirement for physical plane architecture is that

vendors must be able to develop Physical Entities based

on the mapping of Functional Entities and the standard

interfaces. Q1201

Figure 4-5. IN Physical Plane Architecture.

4.3.1.1 Physical Entities

The CCITT recommendation Q.1215 defines the Physical

Entities (PE) used by IN. It also describes the interfaces

between PEs and which IN functionalities are included

into them from the Distributed Functional Plane and

which of them are just optional entities.

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4.3.1.1.1SSP

SSP ( Service Switching Point) is a Physical Entity in the

Intelligent Network that provides the switching

functionality. To make IN capabilities available to all

types of access arrangements, we must develop service

management independently of the access arrangements.

This separation of service management from network

access would allow the same network-wide, IN

capabilities to serve a variety of access arrangements,

from analog lines to wireless, and, in the future, to

broadband and other high-speed optical links. Wyatt91 In

addition to providing users with access to the network (if

the SSP is a local exchange) and performing any

necessary switching functionality, the SSP allows access

to the set of IN capabilities. The SSP contains Detection

Capability to detect requests for IN services. It also

contains capabilities to communicate with other PEs

containing SCF, such as SCP, and to respond to

instructions from the other PEs. Functionally, an SSP

contains a Call Control Function, a Service Switching

Function, and, if the SSP is a local exchange, a Call

Control Agent Function. It also may optionally contain

Service Control Function, and/or a Specialized Resource

Function, and/or a Service Data Function. The SSP may

provide IN services to users connected to subtending

Network Access Points. Q1201

The SSP is usually provided by the traditional switch

manufacturers. These switches are programmable and

they can be implemented using multipurpose processors.

The main difference of SSP from an ordinary switch is in

the software where the service control of IN is separated

from the basic call control.

4.3.1.1.2NAP

A NAP ( Network Access Point) is a PE that includes only

the CCAF and CCF functional entities. It may also be

present in the network. The NAP supports early and

ubiquitous deployment of IN services. This NAP cannot

communicate with an SCF, but it has the ability to

determine when IN processing is required. It must send

calls requiring IN processing to an SSP. Q1201

4.3.1.1.3SCP

Functionally, an SCP contains Service Control Function

(SCF) and optionally also Service Data Function (SDF).

The SCF is implemented in Service Logic Programs

(SLP). The SCP is connected to SSPs by a signalling

network. Multiple SCPs may contain the same SLPs and

data to improve service reliability and to facilitate load

sharing between SCPs. In case of external Service Data

Point (SDP) the SCF can access data through a signalling

network. The SDP may be in the same network as the

SCP, or in another network. The SCP can be connected to

SSPs, and optionally to IPs, through the signalling

network. The SCP can also be connected to an IP via an

SSP relay function. Q1201

The SCP comprises the SCP node, the SCP platform, and

applications. The node performs functions common to

applications, or independent of any application; it

provides all functions for handling service-related,

administrative, and network messages. These functions

include message discrimination, distribution, routing, and

network management and testing. For example, when the

SCP node receives a service-related message, it

distributes the incoming message to the proper

application. In turn, the application issues a response

message to the node, which routes it to the appropriate

network elements. Ambro89

The SCP node gathers data on all incoming and outgoing

messages to assist in network administration and cost

allocation. This data is collected at the node, and

transmitted to an administrative system for processing.

Ambro89

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The SCP node also measures the frequency of SCP

hardware and software failures, resource usage, overload

counts, and so on. It provides information needed to

perform maintenance procedures, thus minimizing the

impact of failures on system performance. The node may

take action to prevent and correct the overload at the node

or at a particular application. Ambro89

4.3.1.1.4AD

The Adjunct (AD) PE is functionally equivalent to an

SCP (i.e. it contains the same functional entities) but it is

directly connected to and SSP. Communication between

and Adjunct and an SSP is supported by a high speed

interface. This arrangement may result in differing

performance characteristics for an adjunct and an SCP.

The application layer messages are identical in content to

those carried by the signalling network to an SCP. Q1201

An Adjunct may be connected to more than one SSP and

an SSP may be connected to several Adjuncts.

4.3.1.1.5IP

The IP provides resources such as customized and

concatenated voice announcements, voice recognition,

and Dual Tone Multi-Frequencies (DTMF) digit

collection, and contains switching matrix to connect users

to these resources. The IP supports flexible information

interactions between a user and the network.

Functionally, the IP contains the Special Resource

Function. The IP may directly connect to one or more

SSPs, and/or may connect to the signalling network.

Q1201

An SCP or Adjunct can request an SSP to connect a user

to a resource located in an IP that is connected to the SSP

from which the service request is detected. An SCP or

Adjunct can also request the SSP to connect a user to a

resource located in an IP that is connected to another SSP.

Q1201

4.3.1.1.6SN

The Service Node can control IN services and engage in

flexible information interactions with users. The SN

communicates directly with one or more SSPs, ech with a

point-to-point signalling and transport connection.

Functionally, the SN contains an SCF, SDF, SRF, and an

SSF/CCF. This SSF/CCF is closely coupled to the SCF

within the SN, and is not accessible by external SCFs.

Q1201

In a manner similar to an Adjunct, the SCF in an SN

receives messages from the SSP, executes SLPs, and

sends messages to the SSP. SLP in an SN may be

developed by the same Service Creation Environment

used to develop SLPs for SCPs and Adjuncts. The SRF in

an SN enables the SN to interact with users in a manner

similar to an IP. An SCF can request the SSF to connect a

user to a resource located in an SN that is connected to

the SSP from which the service request is detected. An

SCF can also request the SSP to connect a user to a

resource located in an SN that is connected to an another

SSP. Q1201

4.3.1.1.7SSCP

The SSCP (Service Switching and Control Point) is a

combined SCP and SSP in a single node. Functionally, it

contains an SCF, SDF, CCAF, CCF, and SSF. The

connection between the SCF/SDF functions and the

CCAF/CCF/SSF functions is proprietary and closely

coupled, but it provides the same service capability as an

SSP and SCP separately. This node may also contain SRF

functionality, i.e. SRF as an optional functionality. The

interfaces between the SSCP and other PEs are the same

as the interfaces between the SSP and other PEs, and

therefore will not be explicitly stated. Q1201

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4.3.1.1.8SDP

The SDP contains the customer and network data which

is accessed during the execution of a service.

Functionally, the SDP contains an SDF. Q1201 It

contains data used by Service Logic Programs to provide

individualized services. Functionally, and SDP contains a

Service Data Function. It can be accessed directly by an

SCP and/or SMP, or through the signalling network. It

can also access other SDPs in its own or other networks.

Q1201

4.3.1.1.9SMP

The Service Management Point/Service Management

System performs service management control, service

provision control, and service deployment control.

Examples of functions it can perform are database

administration, network surveillance and testing, network

traffic management, and network data collection.

Functionally, the SMP contains the Service Management

Function and, optionally, the Service Management

Access Function and the Service Creation Environment

Function. The SMP can access all other Physical Entities.

Q1201

A Service Management System is the operations system

through which network operator and service subscriber

personnel manage SCPs and related service applications

(programs and databases) in an IN. More than one SMS

may be associated with the IN; the network operating

company may want a separate SMS for each IN service or

a single SMS for several IN services. Ambro89

Physically, the SMS resides in a multipurpose computer.

Processing power and database size requirements

normally govern the choice of a specific computer. The

SMS manages a private network consisting of switched

and leased line connected to a set of keyboard or display

terminals through which network operator and service

subscriber personnel gain interactive messages to the

system. Ambro89

4.3.1.1.10 SCEP

The Service Creation Environment Point is used to

define, develop, and test an IN service, and to input it into

the SMP. Functionally, it contains the Service Creation

Environment Function. The SCEP interacts directly with

the SMP. Q1201

4.3.1.1.11 SMAP

The Service Management Access Point provides some

selected users, such as service managers and customers,

with access to the SMP. One possible use of the SMAP is

to provide one single point of access for a given user to

several SMPs. The SMAP functionally contains a Service

Management Access Function. The SMAP directly

interacts with the SMP. Q1201

4.3.1.2 Interfaces between PEs

In the Physical Plane Architecture several standardized

interfaces are stated. These interfaces are: SCP-SSP, AD-

SSP, IP-SSP, SN-SSP, SCP-IP, AD-IP, and SCP-SDP.

Existing lower layer protocols are proposed for these

candidate interfaces to carry the application layer

messages required by IN services. As such, the focus of

the standardization effort for CS-1 is on the applications

layer protocols. At the application layer, the message sent

that the different interfaces carry should reflect the same

semantic content, even though the application layer

message may be encoded or formatted differently. For

example, the messages between the SSF in an SSP and

the SCF in an SCP, Adjunct or SN should contain the

same information. The following sections give some

proposed protocols for use on these interfaces. Q1201

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4.3.1.2.1SCP-SSP interface

The proposed underlying protocols platform for the

interface between an SCP and an SSP is Transaction

Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) on Signalling

Connection Control Part (SCCP)/Message Transfer Part

(MTP) of SS7. Q1201 So, the SCP-SSP interface in CS-1

is using CCITT SS7 protocol stack to communicate

(signal) with each other. The interface could also be

something else at the lowest layer protocols of the SS7 in

order to achieve, for example, high-speed signalling

between these PEs. That is why, the IN standardization is

mainly focused on the application layer protocols.

4.3.1.2.2AD-SSP interface

The proposed underlying protocol platform for the AD-

SSP interface is TCAP. The physical interface has not

been specified, but a number of alternative standard

protocols could be used.

4.3.1.2.3IP-SSP interface

This interface is used for communications between an IP

and an SSP as well as for communication between an IP

and an SCP which is being relayed through an SSP. The

proposed underlying protocol platform for the interface

between an IP and an SSP is ISDN Basic Rate Interface

(BRI), Primary Rate Interface (PRI) (or both), or SS7.

Q1201

If a BRI or PRI is used, the ISDN D-channel connecting

an IP to an SSP carries application layer information

between an SCF and an SRF, and supports the setup of B-

channel connections to the IP. Information is passed from

an SCF to an SRF (e.g. collected information and billing

measurements) is embedded in the Facility Information

Element (FIE). The FIE can be carried by a number of

Q.931 messages, like SETUP and DISCONNECT. The

FIE can also be carried by the FACILITY message in

Q.931. This possibility provides for the flexibility to

convey application layer information without affecting

the connection state of the call. Q1201

4.3.1.2.4SN-SSP interface

The proposed underlying protocol platform for the

interface between an SN and an SSP is ISDN BRI, PRI

(or both). An SN and an SSP exchange application layer

messages over an ISDN D-channel using common

element procedures of CCITT Recommendations Q.932.

This communication may occur on a separate D-channel

from the channel that carries the common element

procedure messages. These channels may also be

separate. Q1201

4.3.1.2.5SCP-IP interface

The proposed underlying protocol platform for an

interface between an SCP and an IP is TCAP on

SCCP/MTP of the SS7 protocol stack. Q1201

4.3.1.2.6AD-IP interface

The proposed underlying protocol platform between an

AD and an IP is TCAP. The physical interface has not

been specified, but a number of alternative standard

protocols could be used. Q1201

4.3.1.2.7SCP-SDP interface

The proposed underlying protocol platform for the

interface between an SCP and an SDP is TCAP on

SCCP/MTP of SS7 protocol stack. In existing systems

the SCP - SDP interfaces have been implemented in

many proprietary ways, a typical one being a fast remote

operations protocol using a Local Area Network (LAN).

Q1201

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4.3.1.2.8User interfaces

A user is an entity external to the IN that uses IN

capabilities. IN users may employ the access interfaces

described below to invoke various IN service capabilities.

For example, users can affect the routing of a call, send

and receive information from the network, screen calls,

and update service parameters. Users are served by

existing network interfaces. Q1201

It is important to ensure that IN should continue to

support existing services and capabilities. In addition, the

current restrictions imposed by each of the interface

technologies described below must be considered when

deploying IN services. For example, calling party

information may or may not be available at a given

interface and, therefore, may or may not be provided to

the SCF. Q1201

End users are using analogue interface signalling, or

ISDN access signalling arrangements. IN user-network

interactions include providing stimuli, such as off-hook or

DTMF digit signalling, which determine further IN

action. Q1201

Out-of-band (i.e. D_channel) signalling provides ISDN

users with additional capabilities for accessing potential

IN services. When originating a call, an ISDN user

identifies the bearer capability to be associated with the

call. IN service logic can use this information to

determine how the call should be handled (e.g. how to

route the call). Q1201

4.3.2 Distributed Functional Plane

The global Distributed Functional Plane (DFP) is of

primary interest to network designers and providers. It

describes the functional architecture of an IN-structured

network in terms of units of network functionality (Figure

4-6). These functionalities are referred to as Functional

Entities (FE). The information that flows between

Functional Entities are referred to as relationships (rN).

The functional entities are described independently of

how the functionality is physically implemented or

deployed in the network. SIB’s on the global functional

plane are realized on the Distributed Functional Plane by

a sequence of Functional Entity Actions (FEA) and

resulting information flows. Garra93

Figure 4-6. Distributed functional plane architecture.

The DFP architecture provides flexibility to support a

large variety of services and facilitates the evolution of IN

by organizing the functional capabilities in an open-ended

and modular strtucture to achieve service independence.

The DFP architecture is vendor/implementation

independent, thereby providing the flexibility for multiple

physical networking configuration and placing no

constraints on national network architecture beyond the

network and interface standards which will be developed

for IN structured networks. The definition of the DFP

architecture initially accomodates service execution

capabilities and will accomodate service creation and

service and network management capabilities when they

become available. Q1201

A Functional Entity is a unique group of functions in a

single location and a subset of the total set of functions

required to provide a service. One or more Functional

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Entities can be located in the same Physical Entity.

Different Functional Entities contain different functions,

and may also contain one or more of the same functions.

In addition, one Functional Entity cannot be split between

two Physical Entities; the Functional Entity is mapped

entirely within a single Physical Entity. Finally, duplicate

instances of a FE can be mapped to different PEs, though

not the same PE. Q1201

4.3.2.1 Definition of FEs

This section gives a description of the Functional Entities

at the Distributed Functional Plane related to IN service

execution and how they are mapped to the Physical Plane

architecture.

4.3.2.1.1CCAF

The CCAF is the Call Control Agent Function that

provides access for users. It is the interface between user

and network call control functions. It has the following

characteristics: It Q1201

a) provides for user access, interacting

with the user to establish, maintain,

modify and release, as required, a call or

instance of service;

b) accesses the service-providing

capabilities of the Call Control

Function, using service requests (e.g.

setup, transfer, hold, etc.) for the

establishment, manipulation and release

of a call or instance of service;

c) receives indications relating to the call

or service from the CCF and relays

them to the user as required;

d) maintains call/service state information

as perceived by this functional entity;

4.3.2.1.2CCF

The CCF is the Call Control Function in the network that

provides call/connection processing and control. It Q1201

a) establishes, manipulates and releases

call/connection instances as “requested”

by the CCAF;

b) provides the capability to associate and

relate CCAF functional entities that are

involved in a particular call and/or

connection instance (that may be on SSF

requests);

c) manages the relationship between CCAF

functional entities involved in a call (e.g.

supervises the overall perspective of the

call and/or connection instance);

d) provides trigger mechanism to access IN

functionality (e.g. passes events to the

SSF);

e) is managed, updated and/or otherwise

administred for its IN-related functions

(i.e. trigger mechanisms) by a Service

Management Function;

4.3.2.1.3SSF

The SSF is the Service Switching Function, which,

associated with the CCF, provides the set of functions

required for interaction between the CCF and Service

Control Function. It Q1201

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a) extends the logic of the CCF to include

recognition of service control triggers

and to interact with the SCF;

b) manages signalling between the CCF

and the SCF;

c) modifies call/connection processing

functions (in the CCF) as required to

process requests for IN provided service

usage under the control of the SCF;

d) is managed, updated and/or otherwise

administred by an SMF;

4.3.2.1.4SSF/CCF Model

The SSF/CCF model described below include the Basic

Call Manager (BCM), the IN-Switching Manager (IN-

SM), the Feature Interactions Manager (FIM)/Call

Manager (CM), the relationship of the BCM to the IN-

SM, the relationship of the BCM and IN-SM to the

FIM/CM, and the functional separation provided in the

SSF/CCF (Figure 4-7). [Q1214]

a) BCM - The entity in the CCF that provides basic call

and connection control to establish communication paths

for users and interconnects such communication paths,

that detects basic call and connection control events that

can lead to the invocation of IN service logic instances or

should be reported to active IN service logic instances,

and that manages CCF resources required to support basic

call and connection control. The BCM interacts with the

FIM/CM as described in the FIM/CM description below.

b) IN-SM - The entity in the SSF that interacts with the

SCF in the course of providing IN service features to

users. It provides the SCF with an observable view of

SSF/CCF call/connection processing activities, and

provides the SCF with access to SSF/CCF capabilities

and resources. It also detects IN call/connection

processing events that should be reported to active IN

service logic instances, and manages SSF resources

required to support IN service logic instances. The IN-SM

interacts with the FIM/CM as described below.

c) FIM/CM - The entity in the SSF that provides

mechanisms to support multiple concurrent instances of

IN service logic instances on a single call. In particular,

the FIM/CM can prevent multiple instances of IN an

non-IN service logic instances from being invoked. The

ability of the FIM/CM to arbitrate between multiple

instances of IN and non-IN service logic instances is for

further study. The FIM/CM integrates these interactions

mechanisms with the BCM and IN-FM to provide the

SSF with a unified view of call/service processing

internal to the SSF for a single call.

d) BCM Relationship to IN-SM - The relationship that

encompasses the interaction between the BCM and the

IN-SM, through the FIM/CM. The information flow

related to this interaction is not externally visible and is

not standardized for CS-1. However, an understanding of

this subject is required to identify how basic call and

connection processing and IN call/connection processing

may interact.

e) BCM and IN-SM Relationships to FIM/CM - The

relationships that encompass the interaction between the

BCM and FIM/CM, and the IN-SM and the FIM/CM.

The information flows related to these interactions are not

externally visible and are not standardized for CS-1.

However, an understanding of this subject is required in

order to unify the BCM, IN-SM and FIM/CM.

f) Functional Separation in the SSF/CCF. The functional

separation of processes and resources in the SSF/CCF

that provides a means of handling service logic instance

interactions for CS-1. This functional separation services

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to isolate single-ended service logic instances related to

the calling party from single-ended service logic instances

related to the called party for the same call. Within the

scope of CS-1, there is no functionality in the SSF for

handling service feature interactions between the separate

SSF calling party processes and SSF called party

processes.

SSF

CCF

SCF Access Manager

IN Switching StateModel Instance< IN-SSM >> IN-SSM Events >< REsource Control >

Basic Call Manager< BCSM >< Basic Call Triggers >< Basic Call Events >

SRF

IN Local Resource DataManager

IN LocalResource data

Non-IN FeatureManager FIM/CM

Basic CallResource dataManager

CCAF

Basic CallResource data Bearer Control CCAF

SCF

SLPI A

IN-SM

BCM

Figure 4-7. SSF/CCF Model

4.3.2.1.4.1 BCSM

The BCSM is a high-level finite state machine description

of CCF activities required to establish and maintain

communication paths for users. As such, it identifies a set

of basic call and connection activities in a CCF and

shows how these activities are joined together to process

a basic call and connection (i.e., establish and maintain a

communication path for a user). [Q1214]

Many aspects of the BCSM are not externally visible to

IN service logic instances. However, aspects of BCSM

will be the subject of standardization. As such, the BCSM

is primarily an explanatory tool for providing a

representation of CCF activities that can be analysed to

determine which aspects of the BCSM will be visible to

IN service logic instances, if any, and what level of

abstraction and granularity is appropriate for this

visibility.

The BCSM identifies points in basic call and connection

processing when IN service logic instances are permitted

to interact with basic call and connection control

capabilities. In particular, it provides a framework for

describing basic call and connection events that can lead

to the invocation of IN service logic instances or should

be reported to active IN service logic instances, for

describing those points in call and connection processing

at which these events are detected, and for describing

those points in call and connection processing when the

transfer of control can occur.

Figure 4-8 shows the key components that have been

identified to describe a BCSM, to include: Points in Call

(PICs), Detection Points (DPs), transitions, and events.

PICs identify CCF activities required to complete on or

more basic call/connection states of interest to IN service

logic instances. DPs indicate points in basic call and

connection processing at which transfer of control can

occur. Transitions indicate the normal flow of basic

call/connection processing from one PIC to another.

Events cause transitions into and out of PICs.

Information Flows [Q1214] (e.g. between SSF/CCF and

SCF) corresponding to Events and PICs are represented

by Operations [Q1218] and modelled as Application

Service Elements (ASEs), these application protocol

related concepts are discussed in more detail in chapter

4.4.3.

The BCSM for CS-1 should model existing switch

processing of basic two-party calls, and should reflect the

functional separation between the originating and

terminating portions of calls. In addition, though CCAF

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functionality is not explicitly modelled in the BCSM, a

mapping is required between access signalling events and

BCSM events, for each access arrangement supported by

CS-1.

Since the BSCM is generic, it may describe events that do

not apply to certain access arrangements. It is important

to understand and describe how each access arrangement

applies to the BCSM.

1. O_Null & Authorize Origination attempt

2. Collect Info

1

3. Analyze Info

2

4. Routing & Alerting

5. O_Active

7

3

4

5

6

8

9

106. Exception

Orig. Attempt_Authorized

Collected_Info

O_Abandon

Analyzed_Info

O_Disconnect

O_Mid_Call

Route_Select_Failure

O_Called_Party_Busy

O_No_Answer

Key: Transition

Detection Point (DP)

Point in Call (PIC)

Figure 4-8. Originating BCSM for CS1

4.3.2.1.4.2 Originating BCSM for CS-1

As an axample we describe here the originating half of

the BCSM for CS1. It corresponds to that portion of the

BCSM associated with the originating party (see Figure

4-8). The description for each of the PICs in the

originating half of the BCSM are described below

[Q1214]:

1) O_Null&Authorize_Origination_Atempt

Entry Event: Disconnect and clearing of a previous call (DPs 9 -

0_Disconnect and 10 - O_Abandon), or default handling of exeptions

by SSF/CCF completed.

Functions:

- Interface (line/trunk) is idled (no call exists, no call reference exists,

etc.) Supervision is being provided.

- Given an indication from an originating party of a desire to place an

outgoing call (e.g., offhook, Q.931 Setup message, ISDN-UP IAM

message), the authority/ability of the party to place the call with given

properties (e.g., bearer capability, line restrictions) is verified. The types

of authorization to be performed may vary for different types

of originating resources (e.g., for lines vs. trunks).

Exit Event:

- Indication of desire to place outgoing call (e.g., offhook, Q.931 Setup

message, ISDN-UP IAM message) and authority/ability to place

outgoing call verified (DP 1 - Origination_Attempt_Authorized)

- Authority/ability to place outgoing call denied (Exception)

Corresponding Q.931 Call State: 0. Null

2) Collect_Information

Entry Event: Indication of desire to place outgoing call (e.g., offhook,

Q.931 Setup message, ISDN-UP IAM message) and authority/ability to

place outgoing call verified (DP1-Origination_Attempt_ Authorized)

Functions:

- Initial information package/dialling string (e.g., service codes,

prefixes, dialled address digits) being collected from originating party.

Information being examined according to dialling plan to determine end

of collection. No further action may be required if an en bloc signalling

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method is in use (e.g., an ISDN user using en bloc signalling, an

incoming SS No. 7 trunk).

Exit Events:

- Availability of complete initial information package/dialling string

from originating party. (This event may have already occurred in the

case of en bloc signalling, in which case the waiting duration in this PIC

is zero.) (DP 2- Collected_Info)

- Originating party abandons call. (10 - O_Abandon)

- Information collection error has occurred (e.g., invalid dial string

format, digit collection time-out) (Exception)

3) Analyze_Information

Entry Event: Availability of complete initial information

package/dialling string from originating party. (DP 2 - Collected_Info)

Function: Information being analysed and/or translated according to

dialling plan to determine routing address and call type (e.g., local

exchange call, transit exchange call, international exchange call).

Exit Events:

- Availability of routing address and nature of address. (DP 3 -

Analyzed_Info)

- Originating party abandons calls. (DP 10 - O_Abandon)

- Unable to analyse and translate dial string in the dialling plan (e.g.,

invalid dial string) (Exception)

4) Routing and Alerting

(encompasses the following general BCSM PICs: Select_Route,

Authorize_Call_Setup, Call_Sent, and O_Alerting)

Entry Events:

- Availability of routing address and call type. (DP 3 - Analyzed_Info)

Functions:

- Routing address and call type being interpreted. The next route is

being selected. This may involve sequentially searching a route list,

translating a directory number into physical port address, etc. The

individual destination resource out of a resource group (e.g., a multi-line

hunt group, a trunk group) is not selected. In some cases (e.g., an

analogue line interface), a single resource (not a group) is selected.

- Authority of originating party to place this particular call being

verified (e.g., checking business group restrictions, toll restrictions,

route restrictions). The types of authorization checks to be performed

may depend upon the type of originating resource (e.g., line vs. trunk).

- Call is being processed by the terminating half BCSM. Continued

processing of call setup (e.g., ringing, audible ring indication) is taking

place. Waiting for indication from terminating half BCSM that the call

has been answered by terminating party.

Exit Events:

- Indication from the terminating half BCSM that the call is accepted

and answered by terminating party (e.g., terminating party goes offhook.

Q.931 Connect message received. ISDN-UP Answer message received)

(DP 7 - O_Answer)

- Unable to select a route (e.g., unable to determine a correct route, no

more routes on route list) or indication from the terminating half BCSM

that call cannot be presented to the terminating party (e.g., network

congestion) (DP 4 - Route_Select_Failure)

- Indication from the terminating half BSCM that the terminating party

is busy (DP 5 - O_Called_Party_Busy)

- Indication from the terminating half BCSM that the terminating party

does not answer within a specified time period (DP 6 - O_No_Answer)

- Originating party abandons call (DP 10 - O_Abandon)

- Authority of calling party to place thiscall is denied (e.g., business

group restriction mismatch, toll restricted calling line) (Exception)

Corresponding Q.931 Call State: 4. Call Delivered

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5) O_Active

Entry Event: Indication from the terminating half BCSM that the call is

accepted and answered by terminating party. (DP 7 - O_Answer)

Function: Connection established between originating and terminating

party. Message accounting/charging data may be being collected. Call

supervision is being provided.

Exit Events:

- A service/service feature request is received from the originating party

(e.g., TDMF, hook flash, ISDN feature activator, Q.931 HOLD or

RETrieve message). (DP 8 - O_Mid_Call)

- A disconnect indication (e.g., onhook, Q.931 Disconnect message, SS7

Release message) is received from the originating party. or received

from the terminating party via the terminating half BCSM. (DP -

O_Disconnect)

- A connection failure occurs (Exception)

6) O_Exception

Entry Event: An exception condition is encountered (as described above

for each PIC)

Function: Default handling of the exception condition is being provided.

This includes general actions necessary to ensure no resources remain

inappropriately allocated, such as

- If any relationships exist between the SSF and SCF(s), send an Error

information flow to the SCF(s) closing the relationships and indicating

that any outstanding call handling instructions will not run to

completion (e.g., see Annex B).3

- If an SCF previously requested that call parameters be provided at the

end of the call (see the Call Information Request information flow in

section 6), these should be included in the Error information flow.

- The SSF/CCF should make use of vendor-specific procedures to

ensure release of resources within the SSF/CCF so that line, trunk, and

other resources are made available for new calls.pt PIC).

Exit Event: Default handling of the exception condition by SSF/CCF

completed (Transition to O_Null & Authorize_Origination_Attempt)

4.3.2.1.5SCF

The SCF is a function that commands call control

functions in the processing of IN provided and/or custom

service requests. The SCF may interact with other

functional entities to access additional logic or obtain

information (service or user data) required to process a

call/service logic instance. It. Q1201

a) interfaces and interacts with SSF/CCF,

SRF and SDF functional entities;

b) contains the logic and processing

capability required to handle IN

provided service attempts;

c) interfaces and interacts with other SCFs,

if necessary;

d) is managed, updated and/or otherwise

administered by an SMF;

4.3.2.1.6SDF

The SDF contains customer and network data for real

time access by the SCF in the execution of an IN

provided service. It Q1201

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a) interfaces and interacts with SCF as

required;

b) interfaces and interacts with other SDFs,

if necessary;

c) is managed, updated and/or otherwise

administered by an SMF;

4.3.2.1.7SRF

The SRF provides the specialized resources required for

the execution of IN provided services (e.g. digit receivers,

announcements, conference bridges, etc.). It Q1201

a) interfaces and interacts with SCF and

SSF (and with the CCF);

b) is managed, updated and/or otherwise

administered by an SMF;

c) may contain the logic and processing

capability to receive/send and convert

information received from users;

d) may contain functionality similar to the

CCF to manage bearer connections to

the specialized resources;

4.3.2.1.8SCEF

This function allows services provided in Intelligent

Network to be defined, developed, tested an input to

SMF. Output of this function would include service logic,

service management logic, service data template and

service trigger information. Q1201

4.3.2.1.9SMAF

This function provides an interface between service

managers and the SMF. It allows service managers to

manage their services (through access to the SMF).

Q1201

4.3.2.1.10 SMF

This function allows deployment and provision of IN

provided services and allows the support of ongoing

operation. Particularly, for a given service, it allows the

coordination of different SCF and SDF instances Q1201.

a) billing and statistic information are

received from the SCFs, and made

available to authorized service managers

through the SMAF;

b) modifications in service data are

distributed in SDFs, and it keeps track

of the reference service data values;

The SMF manages, updates and/or administers service

related information in SRF, SSF and CCF Q1201.

4.3.2.1.11 SCF Model and its relations

The model of the Service Conrol Function and its relation

to other functional entities is shown in Figure 4-9. The

prime function of SCF is the execution of Service Logic

provided in the form ofService Logic Processing

programs (SLPs), and it includes also the SLP execution

supporting functions, such as Service Logic

selection/interaction management, functional entity

access management and SLP provisioning managemant.

[Q1214]

The SCF platform provides a Service Logic Execution

Environment (SLEE) on which the SLPs run to provide

service processing. An SLP is a service application

program invoked by the SLEE and is used to realize

service processing under the control of of thr SLEE. The

Service Logic Execution Manager (SLEM) is the

functionality of SLEE that handles and controls the

service logic execution action. It contains the SLP

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Instances (SLPIs), Service Logic Selection/Interaction

Manager and Resource Manager.

SLPI is a service application program instance invoked

by the SLEE and is used to realize service processing.

SLPI is a dynamic entity that actively controls the flow of

service execution and invokes other SCF functional

routines. Functional routines are the functionality of SCF

to cause a sequence of Functional Entity Actions. This

sequence of Functional Entity Actions provides the

functionality defined for a Service Independent Building

Block (SIB) on the Global Functional Plane. The SIB

concept will be discussed in more detail in chapter

4.3.3.1.

SCF

SLP Library

SLP ManagerService Logic Execution Environment (SLEE)

Serv. LogicSelection/InteractionManager

SLP Instances

Resource Manager

FunctionalRoutine Mgr

Functional Routine Lib.

SCF Data Access Manager+ SD Obj.Lib + Ntw Res.Data

Functional Entity Access Manager

SMF SSF SRF SDF

Service Logic Execution Manager

Figure 4-9. SCF Model

4.3.2.2 Mapping FEs to PEs

The mapping of Distributed Functional Plane FEs to

Physical Plane Architecture PEs is described here. Also a

typical scenario of such mapping is shown here. (Table -

4) Q1201

PE:s SCF SSF/CCF SDF SRF

SCP C C

SN C C C C

AD C C

SSP O C O O

IP C

SDP C

SSCP C C C O

NAP C (CCF

only)C: CoreO: Optional: Not allowed

Table -4. Typical scenarios of FE to PE mapping.

4.3.3 Global Functional Plane

The Global Functional Plane (GFP) is of primary interest

to service designers. Wyatt91 The Global Functional

Plane plane models network functionality from a global,

or network-wide, point of view. As such, the IN

structured network is said to be viewed as a single entity

in the GFP. In this plane, services and Service Features

are redefined in terms of the broad network functions

required to support them. These functions are neither

service nor Service Feature specific and are referred to as

SIB’s (Service-Independent building Block). Q1201

Services identified in the service plane are decomposed

into their service features then mapped onto one or more

SIBs in the GFP. Each SIB is similarly mapped onto one

or more FEs in the Distributed Functional Plane Q1201

(Figure 4-10).

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Figure 4-10. Service decomposition.

4.3.3.1 SIB

IN CS1 contains 14 SIB’s that include algorithm, charge,

compare, translate, basic call process, among others. In

principle many other services described in CCITT

Recommendations Q.1211 could be specified. Raat93

SIBs are standard reusable networkwide capabilities

residing in the Global Functional Plane, used to create

services. As such they are global in nature and their

locations need not to be considered as the entire network

is regarded as a single entity. A Service Feature is

provided by a combination of one or more SIBs. SIBs

have the following characteristics:

SIBs are defined completely independent from

any physical architecture considerations

Each SIB has a unified and stable interface,

with one or more inputs an one or more outputs

SIBs are reusable, monolithic, building blocks,

describing a single complete activity, and used

by the service designer to create services

A SIB can exist independently, or it can coexist with

other SIBs in the same network element. IN-based

services can be distinguished from one another by the

sequence of SIB functions and by the specific parameters

within each SIB. IN CS1 describes 13 SIBs plus a

specialized SIB called Basic Call Process (Table -5).

Algorithm Screen

Charge Service Data Management

Compare Status Notification

Distribution Translate

Limit User Interaction

Log Call Information Verify

Queue

Table -5 The CS1 SIBs.

Basic Call Process (BCP) identifies the normal call

process from which IN services are launched, including

Points Of Initiation (POI) and Points Of Return (POR)

which provide the interface from the BCP to Global

Service Logic (GSL). The GSL describes how SIBs are

chained together to describe Service Features. The GSL

also describes interaction between the BCP and the SIB

chains. Q1201 (Figure 4-11) By definition, SIBs,

including the BCP, are service independent and cannot

contain knowledge of subsequent SIBs. Therefore, GSL

is the only element in the GFP which is specifically

service dependent.

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Figure 4-11. Modelling of Global Functional Plane.

In order to chain SIBs together, knowledge of the

connection pattern, decision options, and data required by

SIBs must be available. Therefore, the pattern of how SIB

are chained together must be maintained within the GFP,

and described in the GSL. The GSL described

subsequential SIB chaining, potential branching, and

where branches rejoin.When an IN supported service is to

be invoked, its GSL is laucnhed at the POI by a triggering

mechanism from the BCP. At the end of chain of SIBs,

the GSL also describes returning point to the BCP by

indicating the specific POR. For a given service or

Service Feature at least one POI is required. However,

depending upon the logic required to support the service

or Service Feature, multiple PORs may be defined.

Q1201

In order to describe Service Features with these generic

SIBs, some elements of service dependency is needed.

Service dependency can be described using data

parameters which enable a SIB to be tailored to perform

the desired functionality. Data parameters are specified

independently for each SIB and are made available to the

SIB through GSL. Two types of data parameters are

required for each SIB, dynamic parameters called Call

Instance Data (CID) and static parameters called Service

Support Data (SSD). Q1201

4.3.3.1.1Call Instance Data

Call Instance Data defines dynamic parameters whose

value will change with each call instance. They are used

to specify subscriber specific details like calling or called

line information. This data can be: made available from

the Basic Call Process SIB (e.g. Calling Line

Identification), generated by a SIB (e.g. translated

number), or entered by the subscriber (e.g. dialled number

or a PIN code). Q1201

Associated with each CID value is a logical name which

is referred to as the CID Field Pointer (CIDFP). If a SIB

requires CID to perform its function, there will be an

associated CIDFP assigned through SSD. For instance,

the Translate SIB’s CID which defines what is to be

translated is called Information. Q1201

Since the CID value can vary with each call instance,

Service Features can be written with data flexibility. In

the above Translate SIB example, one Service Feature

may require translation of a calling number, while another

Service Feature will require translation of the called

number. In both cases, the data required by the SIB is

specified by the information Calling Line Identity (CLI),

but the CIDFP-info changes. Q1201

4.3.3.1.2Service Support Data

Service Support Data defines data parameters required by

a SIB which are specific to the Service Feature

description. When a SIB is included in the GSL of a

service description, the GSL will specify the SSD values

for the SIB. SSD consists of the following parts: Q1201

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Fixed Parameters These are data parameters

whose values are fixed for all

call instances. For instance, the

“File Indicator” SSD for the

Translate SIB need to be

specified uniquely for each

occurrence of that SIB in a

given Service Feature. The

“File Indicator” SSD value is

then said to be fixed, as its

value is determined by the

service/Service Feature

description, not by the call

instance.

Field Pointers Field Pointers identify which

CID is required by the SIB, and

in doing so provide a logical

location for that data. They are

signified by “CIDFP-xxxx”

where “xxxx” names the data

required. For instance,

“CIDFP-info” for the Translate

SIB will specify which CID

element is to be translated. If

more than one CID is required

by a SIB to perform its

function, then the SSD data

parameters will contain

multiple Field Pointers.

4.3.3.1.3The SIB structure

A SIB contructs of both input and output parts (Figure 4-

11). The input part consists of three distinct elements: one

logical starting point, Service Support Data which defines

parameters which are specified by the service description,

and Call Instance Data which are specific to that call

instance. The output part consist of two distinct elements:

one or more logical end points and CID which defines

data parameters specific to that call instance which results

from the execution of that SIB and are required by other

SIBs or the BCP to complete the call service instance.

Figure 4-12. Graphic representation of a SIB. Q1201

4.3.3.1.3.1 Queue SIB

As an example of SIB representation the Queue SIB is

described (Figure 4-12). Q1201 The Queue SIB example

has been described, because it is a multipurpose SIB

which can be used in several Service Features at the

Service Plane. The task of the Queue SIB is to provide

sequencing of IN calls to be completed to a called party.

The Queue SIB provides all the processing needed to

provide queueing for a call, and will specifically: pass the

call if resources are available, queue the call, play

announcements to a caller on queue, and when resources

become available, dequeue the call.

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Figure 4-13. The Queue SIB graphic representation.

The input parameters for the Queue SIB has been

described in the Table -6. The Queue SIB can be used

everywhere the queueing of calls is needed. The Logical

Start indicates the execution for the SIB.

The output parameters are also specified in the Q1201.

The Logical End indicates the result of the execution. The

parameters for Queue SIB are: Resource available, Call

party abandon, Queue timer expiry, Queue full, and an

error. Q1201 The Call Instance Data has the following

parameters and the meanings of output data: Time Spent

in Queue (identifies the total time that a particular call

was queued), Error Cause (identifies the specific

condition which caused an error during the operation of

the SIB). In Error Cause the following errors have been

identified: Invalid Max Active, Invalid Max Number,

Invalid Max Time, Invalid Announcement Parameters,

and Invalid Call Reference.

SSD - Max Active

Specifies the maximum number of active

calls allowed for the resource.

- Max Number

Specifies the maximum number of calls

allowed on queue at a given time.

- Max Time

- Specifies the maximum time the call may

remain on the queue.

- Announcement Parameters

Specify the control values for

announcements. The control values which

can be specified are: Announcement ID

(specifies which announcement is to be

sent), Repetition Requested (specifies if the

announcement is to be repeated), Repetition

Interval (specifies the delay period in

seconds between repetitions) and Maxium

Repetitions (specifies the maximum number

of times the announcement will be

repeated).

- CIDFP-Resource

This CID Field Pointer specifies which Call

Instance Data identifies the resource.

- CIDFP-Error

This CID Field Pointer specifies where in

output Call Instance Data the error cause

will be written.

CID - Call Reference

Identifies the specific call which is a

candidate for queueing.

- Resource

Specifies the data associated with the

CIDFP-Resource which identifies the

resource for which the call will be queued.

Table -6 Queue SIB input resources.

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4.3.3.2 Basic Call Process

The Basic Call Process is responsible for providing basic

call connectivity between parties in the network. The

BCP can be viewed as a specialized SIB which then

provides basic call capabilities including connecting call

with appropriate disposition; disconnecting calls, with

appropriate disposition; and retaining CID for further

processing of that call instance. Q1201

The need for specific POI/POR functionality is that the

same chain of SIBs may represent a different service if

launched from a different point in the BCP. Similarly, the

same chain of SIBs launched from the same point may

represent a different service if returned to the BCP at a

different point. Q1201

4.3.3.3 Global Service Logic

The Global Service Logic can be defined as the “glue”

that defines the order in which SIBs will be chained

together to accomplish services. Each instance of global

service logic is (potentially) unique to each individual

call, but uses common elements, comprising specifically:

BCP interaction point (POI and POR); SIBs; logical

connections between SIBs, and between SIBs and BCP

interaction points; input and output data parameters,

service support data and call instance data defined for

each SIB. Q1201 The GSL will then chain together these

elements (SIBs) to provide a specific service.

4.3.3.4 Relating the GFP to the DFP

This section describes the mapping of the elements of the

Global Functional Plane to the Distributed Functional

Plane. Functions in the GFP are distributed to Functional

Entities in the DFP. These FEs are related by information

flows, which are use to send information between FEs.

Table -7 shows the CS1 SIBs and indicates the FEs

involved for each SIB. Q1201

Functional Entities

SIB SSF/SCF SCF SRF SDF

Algorithm

Charge

Compare

Distribution

Limit

Log Call

Information

Queue

Screen

Service Data

Management

Status

notification

Translate

User

Interaction

Verify

Basic Call

Process

Table -7. Relating the GFP to the DFP.

4.3.4 Service Plane

The Service Plane (SP) is of primary interest to service

users and providers. It describes services and Service

Features from a user perspective, independent of how the

service is implemented or provisioned in the network.

Garra93

The Service Plane illustrates that IN supported services

can be described to the end user or subscriber by means

of a set of generic blocks called Service Features. A

service is a stand-alone commercial offering,

characterized by one or more core Service Features, and

can be optionally enhanced by other Service Features.

Q1201

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The Service Plane represents an exclusively service-

oriented view. This view contains no information

whatsoever regarding the implementation of the services

in the network (for instance, an IN type of

implementation is invisible). All that is perceived is the

network’s service-related behaviour as seen, for example,

by a service user. Q1201 In other words, the Service

Plane provides users and service providers a

implementation-independent architecture.

4.3.4.1 Service Features

The services are constructed of Services Features. A

Service Feature is a specific aspect of a service that can

also be used in conjuntion with other services/Service

Features as a part of commercial offering. It is either a

core part of a service or an optional part offered as an

enhancement to a service Q1201 (Table -8).

* Automatic Call Back(ACB)

Closed User Group(CUG)

* Call Hold withAnnouncement (CHA)

Customer ProfileManagement (CPM)

* Call Transfer (TRA) Customized RecordedAnnouncement (CRA)

* Call Waiting (CW) Customized Ringing(CRG)

* Consultation Calling(COC)

Follow-Me Diversion(FMD)

* Meet-Me Conference(MMC)

Mass Calling (MAS)

* Multi-Way Calling(MWC)

Originating CallScreening (OCS)

ABbreviated Dialing(ABD)

Off-Net Access (OFA)

Attendant (ATT) Off-Net Calling (ONC)

Authentication (AUTC) One Number (ONE)

Authorization Code(AUTZ)

Origin DependentRouting (ODR)

Call Distribution (CD) Originating UserPrompter (OUP)

Call Hold withAnnouncement (CHA)

Personal Numbering(PN)

Call Forwarding (CF) Premium Charging(PRMC)

Call Forwarding inBY/DA (CFC)

Private Numbering Plan(PNP)

Call Gapping (GAP) Reverse Charging(REVC)

Call Limiter (LIM) Split Charging (SPLC)

Call Logging (LOG) Terminating CallScreening (TCS)

Call Queueing (QUE) Time Dependent Routing(TDR)

Note: The service indicated with a * may only be partially

supported in CS1, because they require capabilities

beyond those of type A services.

Table -8. Set of Benchmark IN CS1 Service Features.

So, the services are comprised of one or more Service

Features. A Service Feature is the smallest part of a

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service that can be perceived by the service user. These

SFs can also be used as building blocks in the

specification and design of new, more complex services.

SFs are are comprised of one or more SIBs which are

described in the Global Functional Plane. All individual

telecommunication services identified in the Service

Plane should be described as seen from the user’s

viewpoint without reference how the services are

implemented in the network (for example, how the

Physical Plane looks like) Q1201. The Service Features

are described in detail in the next chapter.

4.3.4.2 Description of CS1 Service Features

The CS1 Service Features are described in [Q1211] as

follows:

Abbreviated Dialling (ABD)

Description No.1

This feature allows the definition of abbreviated dialling

numbers with a VPN. For the users of the VPN, the abbreviated

dialling numbers are not subjected to call restrictions, e.g., a VPN

user may not be allowed to access the Off-net Calling service

feature but can reach an off-net number via this feature.

Description No. 2

This feature allows the definition of abbreviated dialling digit

sequences to represent the actual dialling digit sequence, i.e., a two

digit sequence may represent a complete dialling sequence for a

private or public numbering plan.

Description No. 3

This service feature is an originating line feature that allows

business subscribers to dial others in their company using a short

numbering, even if the calling user's line and the called user's line

are served by different switches.

Attendant (ATT)

This service feature allows VPN users to access an attendant

position within the VPN for providing VPN service information

(e.g., VPN numbers). The attendant(s) can be accessed by dialling a

special access code.

Authentication (AUTC)

This service feature allows for the verification that a user is

allowed to exercise certain options in a telephone network. In other

words, the request made by the user is authentic and should be

granted.

Authorization Code (AUTZ)

This service feature allows a VPN user to override calling

restrictions of the VPN station from which the call is made.

Different sets of calling privileges can be assigned to different

authorization codes and a given authorization code can be shared

by multiple users.

Automatic Call Back (ACB)

This service feature allows the called party to automatically

call back the calling party of the last call directed to the called

party.

Call Distribution (CD)

This service feature allows the served user to specify the

percentage of calls to be distributed among two or more

destinations. Other criteria may also apply to the distribution of

calls to each destination.

Call Forwarding (CF)

This service feature allows the user to have his incoming

calls addressed to another number, no matter what the called party

line status may be.

Call Forwarding on Busy/Don't answer (CFC)

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This service feature allows the called user to forward

particular calls if the called user is busy or does not answer within a

specified number of rings.

Call Gapping (GAP)

Description No. 1

This service feature allows the service provider to

automatically restrict the number of calls to be routed to the

subscriber.

Description No. 2

This service feature allows to restrict the number of calls to a

served user to prevent congestion of the network.

Call Hold with Announcement (CHA)

The Call Hold with Announcement service feature allows a

subscriber to place a call on hold with options to play music or

customized announcements to the held party.

Call Limiter (LIM)

Description No. 1

This service feature allows a served user to specify the

maximum number of simultaneous calls to a served user's

destination. If the destination is busy, the call may be routed to an

alternative destination.

Description No. 2

This service feature enables to count the sunning calls to the

subscriber and to reject all the new calls when a threshold of

simultaneous calls is reached. As an option, this threshold may be

real-time managed by the subscriber.

Associated with Call Volume Distribution or Call

Distribution, it allows the rerouting of the new calls.

Call Logging (LOG)

This service feature allows for a record to be prepared each

time that a call is received to a specified telephone number.

Call Queueing (QUE)

Description No. 1

This service feature allows a served user to have calls

meeting busy at the scheduled destination to be placed in a queue

and connected as soon as free condition is detected. Upon entering

the queue, the caller hears an initial announcement informing the

caller that the call will be answered when a line is available.

Description No. 2

This service feature enables the subscriber, when a call

encounters a terminating trigger such as a busy condition or a

specified number of rings to queue that call, a specific

announcement being sent to the calling party.

Call Transfer (TRA)

The Call Transfer service feature allows a subscriber to place

a call a hold and transfer the call to another location.

Call Waiting (CW)

This service feature allows the called party to receive a

notification that another party is trying to reach his number while he

is busy talking to another calling party.

Closed User Group (CUG)

This service feature allows the user to be a member of a set

of VPN users who are normally authorized to make and/or receive

calls only within the group. A user can belong to more than one

CUG. In this way a CUG can be defined so that certain users are

allowed wither to make calls outside the CUG, or to receive calls

from outside the CUG, or both.

Consultation Calling (COC)

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The Consultation Calling service feature allows a subscriber

to place a call on hold, in order to initiate a new call for

consultation.

Customer Profile Management (CPM)

This service feature allows the subscriber to real-time

manage his service profile, i.e., terminating destinations,

announcements to be played, call distribution, an so on.

Customized Recorded Announcement (CRA)

This service feature allows a call to be completed to a

(customized) terminating announcement instead of a subscriber

line. The served user may define different announcements for

unsuccessful call completions due to different reasons (e.g., caller

outside business hours, all lines are busy).

Customized ringing (CRG)

This service feature allows the subscriber to allocate a

distinctive ringing to a list of calling parties.

Destinating User Prompter (DUP)

This service feature enables to prompt the called party with a

specific announcement. Such an announcement may ask the called

party to enter an extra numbering, e.g., through Dual-Tone Multi-

Frequency (DTMF), or a voice instruction that can be used by the

service logic to continue to process the call.

Follow-Me Diversion (FMD)

Description No. 1

This service feature allows a VPN user to change the routing

number of his/her VPN code via a DTMF phone. The updated

number can be another VPN code or a PSTN number.

Description No. 2

With this service feature, a user may register for incoming

calls to any terminal access. When registered, all incoming calls to

the user will be presented to this terminal access. A registration for

incoming calls will cancel any previous registration. Several users

may register for incoming calls to the same terminal access

simultaneously. The user may also explicitly de register for

incoming calls.

Mass Calling (MAS)

This service feature allows processing of huge numbers of

incoming calls. generated by broadcasted advertisings or games.

Meet-Me Conference (MMC)

This service feature allows the user to reserve a conference

resource for making a multi-party call. indicating the date, time, and

conference duration. At the specified date and time, each participant

in the conference has to dial a designated number which has been

assigned to the reserved conference resource, in order to have

access to that resource, and therefore, the conference.

Multiway Calling (MWC)

This service feature allows the user to establish multiple,

simultaneous telephone calls with other parties.

Off-Net Access (OFA)

This service feature allows a VPN user to access his or her

VPN from any non-VPN station in the PSTN by using a Personal

Identification Number (PIN). Different sets of calling privileges can

be assigned to different PINs, and a given PIN can be shared by

multiple users.

Off-Net Calling (ONC)

This service feature allows the user to call outside the VPN

network. Calls from one VPN to another are also considered off-

net.

One Number (ONE)

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This feature allows a subscriber with two or more

terminating lines in any number of locations to have a single

telephone number. This allows businesses to advertise just one

telephone number throughout their market area and to maintain

their operations in different locations to maximize efficiency. The

subscriber can specify which calls are to be terminated on which

terminating lines based on the area the calls originate.

Origin Dependent Routing (ODR)

This service feature enables the subscriber to accept or reject

a call, and in case of acceptance, to route this call, according to the

calling party geographical location. This service feature allows the

served user to specify the destination installation(s) according to the

geographical area from which the call was originated.

Originating Call screening (OCS)

This service feature allows the served user to bar calls from

certain areas based on the District Code of the area from which the

call is originated.

Originating User Prompter (OUP)

Description No. 1

This service feature allows a served user to provide an

announcement which will request the caller to enter a digit or series

of digits via a Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) phone or

generator. The collected digits will provide additional information

that can be used for direct routing or as a security check during call

processing.

Description No. 2

This service feature enables to prompt the calling party with

a specific announcement. Such an announcement may ask the

calling party to enter an extra numbering (e.g., through DTMF) or a

voice instruction that can be used by the service logic to continue to

process the call.

Personal Numbering (PN)

This service feature supports a UPT number that uniquely

identifies each UPT user and is used by the caller to reach that UPT

user. A UPT user may have more than one UPT number for

different applications (e.g., a business UPT number for business

calls and a private UPT number for private calls), however, a UPT

user will have only one UPT number per charging account.

Premium Charging (PRMC)

This service feature allows for the pay back of the part of the

cost of a call to the called party, when he is considered as a value

added service provider.

Private Numbering Plan (PNP)

This service feature allows the subscriber to maintain a

numbering plan within his private network, which is separate from

the public numbering plan.

Reverse Charging (REVC)

This service feature allows the service subscriber <(e.g.,

freephone) to accept to receive calls at its expense and be charged

for the entire cost of the call.

Split Charging (SPLC)

This service feature allows for the separation of charges for a

specific call, the calling and called party each being charged for one

part of the call.

Description No. 1

This service feature enables the subscriber to accept or reject

a call, and in case of acceptance, to route this call, according to the

time,

Description No. 2

This service feature allows the-served user to apply different

call treatments based on time of day, day of week, day of

year, holiday, etc.

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4.3.4.3 IN service modelling

The idea of IN architecture, especially the Service Plane

architecture, is to allow customers to make services for

his own communications needs with Service Features or

may combine a number of services together. Perhaps the

user want to make services with additional capabilities,

use the combination as a means to providing

communications to other parties.

In recommendation Q.1211 a the following services have

been described for the use of IN Capability Set 1

Intelligent Network (Table 4-9):

Abbreviated Dialling ABD

Account Card Calling ACC

Automatic Alternative Billing AAB

Call Distribution CD

Call Forwarding CF

Call Rerouting Distribution CRD

* Completion of Call to Busy Subscriber CCBS

* Conference Calling CON

Credit Card Calling CCC

Destination Call Routing DCR

Follow-Me Diversion FMD

Freephone FPH

Malicious Call Identification MCI

Mass Calling MAS

Originating Call Screening OCS

Premium Rate PRM

Security Screening SEC

Selective Call Forward on Busy/Don't Answer SCF

Split Charging SPL

Televoting VOT

Terminating Call Screening TCS

Universal Access Number UAN

Universal Personal Telecommunications UPT

User-Defined Routing UDR

Virtual Private Network VPN

Note: The service indicated with a * may only be partially

supported in CS1, because they require capabilities

beyond those of type A services.

Table 4-9. IN CS1 Services

Let us consider the following basic servces in detail:

Credit Card Calling (CCC), Virtual Private Network

(VPN) and Universal Personal Telecommunications

(UPT). These services are mapped to service features

according to Table 4-10 [Q1211].

CCC VPN UPT

ABD o oATTC oAUTZ C o CAUT oCD oLOG o o oQUE oTRA oCUG oCOC oCPM o oCRA o oCRG oDUP oFMD o COFA oONC oOUP C o oPN CPNP CSPLC CTDR o o

C= Core Service Feature

o = Optional Service Feature

Table 4-10. Service Mappings

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4.3.4.4 Credit Card Calling

The recommendation Q.1211 describes CCC as follows

Q1201:

1) The CCC service allows subscribers to place calls

from any normal access interface to any destination

number and have the cost of those calls charged to

the account specified by the CCC number.

2) The service allows the caller to be automatically

charged on a bank card account, for any type of

outgoing call. The caller has to dial his card number

and a PIN (Personal Identification Number), then

the called number. As an option forward calls may

be allowed, without dialling again card number and

PIN

4.3.4.5 Virtual Private Network

The private networks allow users to access remote

applications that are run by other users or, more

frequently, by the network operator itself. The VPN

service is based on the public telecommunications

networks that it uses to contruct the service. CCITT

describes VPN service as follows:

1) This service permits to build a private network by

using the public network resources. The subscriber’s

lines, connected on different network switches,

constitute a virtual PABX, including a number of

PABX capabilities, such as Private Numbering Plan,

call transfer, call hold, and so on.

As an option, to each private user, either a class of

service or specific rights and privileges may be

attributed. As another option, a private user may

access his private network from any point in the

network keeping, after authentication, his class of

service or his specific rights and privileges.

2) This service permits the use of public network

resources to provide private network capabilities

without necessarily using dedicated network

resources. The subscriber’s lines, connected to

different network switches, constitues a virtual

private network that may include private network

capabilities, such as dialling restrictions, Private

Numbering Plan (PNP), holl, call transfer, and so

on.

A PNP may provide a group of users the capability

to place call by using digit sequences having

different structures and meaning than provided by

the public numbering plan, or PNP may utilize the

public numbering plan’s digit sequences, structures

and meaning.

3) VPN allows a subscriber to define and use a

PNNP for communication across one or more

networks between nominated user access interfaces.

A PNP provides a group of users the capability to

place calls by using digit sequences having different

structures and meanings than provided by the public

numbering plan.

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4.3.4.6 Universal Personal Telecommunications

In fixed telecommunications networks, subscribers are

associated with the Network Access Point of the terminal,

the point of attachement (network access or line

identification). In mobile telecommunication networks,

subscribers can move with their terminal and they are

associated with the terminal in use (terminal

identification). Vande92 The subscriber is then charged

with the use of a personal identification number. CCITT

describes UPT service as follows:

1) UPT is a mobility service which enables

subscribers to make use of telecommunications

services on the basis of a unique Personal

Telecommunications Number (PTN) across multiple

networks at any network access. The PTN will be

translated to an appropriate destination number for

routing based on the capabilities subscribed to by

each Service Subscriber (SS).

2) This service provides personal mobility by

enabling a user to initiate any type of service and

receive any type of call on the basis of a unique and

personal network-independent number, across

multiple networks, at any user-network access

(fixed, movable or mobile), irrespective of

geographic location, limited only by terminal and

network capabilities.

4.4 The IN-structured network

The IN concept is an extension of, rather than a

replacement for, traditional service control. Since an IN

primarily affects only the internal service processing of

switching systems, it should have little influence on the

signalling procedures of a traditional network. Therefore,

we can place intelligent nodes in existing networks

without affectting traditional network operations or

capabilities. Wyatt91

The Intelligent Network consists of integrated hardware

and software distributed throughout the service providers

network. Thanks to the new technologies, service

providers will be able to create their own services.

Nerys91 Compared to the convenient

telecommunications network architecture, IN forms an

excellent and fast way of introducing services.

IN promises to change the way vendors, telephone

companies, and customers run their businesses and work

with one another. Nerys91 Today, vendors develop a

product that delivers a certain service, then sell it to

telecommunications operators. With IN, vendors will

develop software “building blocks” Nerys91, then deliver

these to telephone companies who assemble them to

create new services.

4.4.1 SCE

The Service Creation Environment capability of IN

enables effective service creation. Service Creation

Environments enable network and service providers to

create new revenue-generating services that are

independent of equipment vendor’s deployment

schedules. Many administrations are asking vendors of IN

equipment to provide them with Service Creation

Environment capabilities. This is also true of large service

subscribers, who prefer to control the operation of their

IN-based services. In the current Service Creation

Environment, service subscribers can control services

using existing capabilities or modifying parameters

within these capabilities. Current Service Creation

Environments are user friendly and support updates of

service control points and service circuit nodes. The next

generation of Service Creation Environment will also

support updates of intelligent peripherals and Adjuncts.

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Because SIBs are being defined for the IN, it is now

possible to develop a Service Creation Environment

platform to support new services and direct them to

appropriate Physical Entities. In addition, new SCEs must

provide extensive validations for new IN-based services

so they do not have an adverse effect on the overall

operation of the network or the subscribers services.

Wyatt91

The service designers are staff members of the provider’s

company. They have to create new services by definite

and unambiguous descriptions. Such descriptions are

called Service Logic Programs (SLP). After deployment

of a new service in the network, one can buy or subscribe

to such a service. Abram92

The services are determined by single Service Features.

Following the ETSI framework this should be reflected in

the service representation: each SLP should be composed

from SIBs. Abram92 The interface for composition of

new services may differ. The interface might be an

advanced specification language for the construction of

SIBs and their interfaces/(inputs and outputs). However,

it is possible to build a Graphical User Interface (GUI) on

the top of the specification language and by so ease and

speed up the introduction of new IN services.

4.4.2 The function of IN

The SSP and SCP communicate via CCITT No.7

signalling links using the services of the TCAP, SCCP

and MTP. M3010 However, at the top of this protocol

stack is the IN Application Protocol (INAP).

Figure 4-14 shows how network functions can be grouped

in a physical entity. For example, we can package the

Service Resource Function in a Service Switching Point,

Service Circuit Node, or Intelligent Peripheral, based on

traffic or customer demands. Similarly the Service

Control Function can reside in the service control point,

service circuit node, or the service switching point

Wyatt91 In the middle, the signalling network performs

the signalling transfer function.

Figure 4-14. Physical mapping of IN functions.Wyatt91

With the above capabilities a description of how IN really

functions is made. An example of the Green Number

Service (GNS or freephone) is shown here.

A service user dials the number, such as 800-beginning.

While translating the number the local exchange detects a

trigger in the SSP database telling it that this 800 number

(in this example 800-NXX-7800) is a pseudo-number

which must be translated Ambro89 by an SCP. The 800-

based numbers are usually known as IN numbers. The

local exchange (SSP) sends a TCAP message (containing

the number dialled and other information) over the SS7

network to an SCP. The SCP uses the 800 number to

access a database containing the 800 number’s

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corresponding directory number (Figure 4-15). (This

number does not have to be static, but it could depend on

factors like day, time of day, origination, and so on).

After accessing the database, the SCP sends the directory

number (in this example 305-NXX-8800) to the local

exchange in another TCAP message. The local exchange

uses the directory number to execute translation and

routing to the subscriber called. .

Figure 4-15. IN-based Green Number Service.

This principles of trigger detection and database dialog

are the basis of all proposed IN services. Ambro89 The

above example showed also the flexibility of Intelligent

Network architecture. If new 800 numbers are added,

updating need only be done in the SCP database. Also the

possibility of mobility shows that IN-like architecture is

quite developed and can handle also the future needs.

The task of a Service Management Station is to manage

the IN-services. In the above example the SMS could

have keeped track of the charging of the service usage.

The service user would not have been charged because of

the freephone capability. Instead, the service would have

been charged and provided with a charging report from

the SMS.

4.4.3 IN Application Protocol

The IN Application Protocol (INAP) is intended to be

used between the following four functions: SSF, SCF,

SDF and SRF. The INAP in CS1 is ment to be using the

SS7 protocol stack, but it does not imply that only this

signalling protocol should be used. Q1201

Figure 4-16. INAP Protocol Architecture.

The INAP protocol architecture is based on the OSI

Application Layer Structure (Figure 4-16). A physical

entity has either single interactions or multiple co-

ordinated (not discussed here) interactions with other

physical entities. The Single Asociation Control Function

provides a co-ordination function using Application

Service Elements (ASEs), which includes the ordering of

operations supported by ASE’s (based on the order of

received primitives) [Q1218]. The SAO represent the

SACF plus a set of ASE’s to be used over a single

interaction between a pair of Physical Entities. If there

were need for multiple interactions, the use of MACF

(Multiple Association Control Function) would be

acceptable. In this case, MACF would provide a co-

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ordinating function among several SAO’s, each of which

interacts with an SAO in a remote PE. Q1201

Figure 4-17. Operation description.

Each ASE supports one or more operations. Information

flows of [Q1214] are in principle mapped one to one with

operations. For example, the operations corresponding to

the information flows of the Originating BCSM for CS1

(Figure 4-8) are the following:

- Origination Attempt Authorized

- Collect Information

- Collected Information

- Analyze Information

- Analyzed Information

- Route Select Failure

- OCalled party Busy

- O_No Answer

- ODisconnect

- OAnswer

- O_Mid Call

Description of each operation is tied with the action of

corresponding FE modelling. Each operation is specified

using the operation macro described in Figure 4-17. The

use of Application Context (AC) negotiation mechanism

allows the two communicating entities to identify exactly

what their capabilities are and also what the capabilities

required on the interface should be. This should be used

to allow evolution through Capability Sets. If the

indication of a specific application context is not

supported by a pair of communicating FE’s, some

mechanism to pre-arrange the context must be supported.

Q1201

In the CCITT New Recommendation Q.1218 the INAP

and TCAP messages are specified using the Abstract

Syntax Notation One (ASN.1). The encoding rules which

are applicable to the defined abstract syntax are the Basic

Encoding Rules (BER).

Also an another IN Application layer protocol is available

there. This application layer protocol handles and

manages the mobility of users and is called the Mobile

Application Part (MAP). The MAP is not discussed

further in this paper.

4.5 Personal Communications Services

PCS (Personal Communications Services) is an important

area of Intelligent Networks. The Service Control Points

maintains the Home Location Register (HLR), which is

the home database for mobile services user, while the

local exchange, serving as a Service Switching Point,

maintains the Mobile Switching Center and visitor

Location Register. Using wireless or wire-line terminals,

subscribers have access to the IN and Personal

Communications Services.

Mobile services has been defined, for example, by ETSI’s

GSM group. The GSM architecture consists of a Home

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Location Register, the Equipment Identification Register

(EIR), and the Authentication Center (AUC), all of which

can be maintained at a central node in the network. The

central node’s master file contains the wireless

customer’s records. Local records for wireless customers

are maintained at the Visitor Location Register (VLR).

The VLR information can be located in the Mobile

Switching Center (MSC) or in the adjunct. Mobility

services have strong synergies with evolving IN

architecture. An IN control structure offers a robust

platform to support PCS applications. Many of the

conceptual model requirements for the IN apply to PCS.

Integrating PCS services on an IN platform potentiallly

reduces an administration’s operations, maintenance, and

training costs. In addition, we can provide many new

services for PCS using IN service features. Wyatt91

From an IN architectural perspective, we can view

wireless access as a technology (such as ISDN or

Broadband ISDN) that service subscribers can use to

access the network. This network can be fully integrated

with the local exchanges or provided as an overlay

architecture. The IN can flexibly separate call and

connection control from the underlying access

infrastructure. As such, an IN platform also can support

PCS applications. From a network entity viewpoint, the

network access function is conceptually similar to a base

sation system in the mobile communications world. The

service switching functionality could be implemented in a

Mobile Switching Center, allowing that center to interact

with service control residing in other network elements

(e.g. HLR that resides in the SCP and VLR that resides in

adjuncts) Wyatt91 (Figure 4-18).

Figure 4-18. PCS applications supported by an IN.

Wyatt91

4.6 Integration of TMN and IN

IN is a generic, service-oriented architecture, intended to

be used for all kinds of services (real-time or

management) on top of call-control type services. TMN is

a generic, management-oriented architecture, intended to

be used for all kinds of management services. Obviously,

the IN and TMN architectures overlap. For instance, one

TMN application such as billing and one IN application

such as Freephone must be tightly related because

Freephone billing should be handled in a consistent way

with TMN billing. This shows that, unless both IN and

TMN architectures are made more consistent, the

interconnection of IN and TMN applications would be

difficult. It is not possible to support two independent

architectures while applications on both architectures

must interoperate. Also, IN is just one part of the whole

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network, and as such should be managed with TMN. The

integration of TMN and IN can be considered as an

evolution path to TINA Appel93 .

Figure 4-19. The TMN and IN concept. Wyatt91

Figure 4-19 shows network-related functions required for

IN architecture: the Basic telecommunications network,

Intelligent Network, and the Telecommunications

Management Network. Wyatt91

The Basic telecommunications network is commonly

known as the Public-Switched Telephone Network

(PSTN), this network controls basic telecommunications

services (for example, local and transit/toll switching,

voice and data calls) offered to a user. It detects whether

control of a call should be transferred to the IN. The

Intelligent Network manages intelligent

telecommunications services offered to a user. It includes

specialized telecommunications functions, such as

customized announcements, voice regognition,

encryption, and network reource assignments. At present,

TMN controls telecommunications support for basic

telecommunications network and IN functions. In the

future, TMN will include functions such as service

creation, service provisioning, service deployment, and

service management. Wyatt91

Both in TMN and IN, the challenge is to ensure a global

consistency of all interconnected applications, while

allowing for evolution of some applications. This shows

that while IN and TMN architecture are to be integrated,

they both must evolve towards a unified target

architecture to be more flexible. Appel93

4.6.1 Comparison of IN planes to TMN planes

The IN Conceptual Model represents different points of

view to the users, customers and operators. The TMN

planes describe, however, different management-related

aspects. The correspondence of these architectures is

shown in this section.

The Service Plane represents the service from the user’s

point of view. The TMN architecture does not directly

provide with this kind of aspects. The Global Functional

Plane represents with the service designer’s point of view

of the services. The TMN architecture does not directly

provide with aspects of Global Functional Plane.

Distributed Functional Plane represents the fucntional

parts of the IN architecture and the relations between

them. This is quite the same as the TMN architectures

Functional Architecture. The relations between DFP parts

corresponds to the TMN Informational Architecture. The

lowest layer of IN architecture corresponds straight to the

Physical Plane architecture of INCM (Figure 4-20).

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Figure 4-20. Correspondence of IN planes and TMN

architecture planes.

In order to avoid multiple definitions of management it is

possible that IN will be managed through TMN concept.

This is very well stated, because TMN has been widely

accepted as a telecommunications management concept.

4.7 Globalizing the IN

The standards and research activities for Intelligent

Networks so far have focused mostly on its provision in

one closed network, emphasizing the interaction of

exchange and service control functions Fujio93. Take the

UPT service, for example. A UPT user would move from

one location to another inside a network and also over

multiple networks, possibly with different capabilities. In

such a case, coordinated provision of the service over a

wide area is essential to guarantee UPT users with

personal mobility. Also the VPN service plays an

important role in the importance of globalization Fujio93.

IN has thus far been developed to provide various

enhanced services with proprietary technologies in many

networks. Consequently, many different implementations

of IN are now available in the world. To provide the same

level of service capabilities in different networks and in

the multivendor environment, however, standardation

activities for IN are taking place in the CCITT and

regional organizations. Fujio93

4.8 Future IN Capability Sets

The main CS1 capabilities support flexible routing,

flexible charging and flexible user interaction [Q1211].

Only limited mid-call interruption facilities are supported.

It is not expected that significant capability will be

provided within CS1 for services occurring during the

active phase of call, for multiparty or multimedia

services, for services requiring the direct manipulation of

call topology such as mobility or conference calling or

non call associated signalling as needed in mobility.

Such capabilities, as well as standards for SMF and SCEF

capabilities, are expected to be provided in CSs beyond

CS1, starting with CS2, on which work began in 1992.

Refinements of CS1 will continue during 1994. The CS2

with non-call associated signalling, SDF and management

interfaces will be available in 1995. CS3 providing

terminal mobility is to be completed in 1997.

Thus, the work beyond CS1 will provide support of

mobility, multimedia calling; support of services affecting

a call in the active phases where several subscribers may

be affected (Type B Services); standards for feature

interaction mechanisms; standards for creation,

deployment, and management of service logic; and

support for complex call topology management.

However, it seems to be so that CS2 will continue to

address only Type A services.

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Besides multimedia calls, other service examples are

advanced, networked conferencing capabilities and

possibly network resource usage reconfiguration during a

call. In order for such capabilities to be realized, the

issues identified earlier, and others, will need to be

addressed and solved. Duran92

Beyond the need to support additional capabilities for

types of services more complex than a single-ended,

single point of control category, there will be need to

specify further interfaces than was possible for CS1.

Standardization of a SLEE, in parallel with a SCE, and

standard representation for service logic and service data,

which is needed for multivendor implementability, also

will be required. Duran92

Future directions of IN include a distributed architecture

using the service-independent platform capabilities of the

IN. This platform should allow us to introduce emerging

technologies and applications transparently into the

network. Wyatt91

4.9 Current activities of IN

The Intelligent Network concept and innovation is

accepted worldwide. The early innovativions came from

the United States of America which was the first country

to introduce this kind of telecommunications network

architecture. The IN architecture and services provided by

Telcos in USA have been most advanced. The other

countries in the world are still trying to gather the gap.

The hardware manufacturers have provided the

telecommunications operating companies with IN

components. These components are as the base for

current and future IN architecture. A typical scenario of

this is the digitalization of switches in the telephone

network. The use of Common Channel Signalling System

No.7 becoming common. The software providers or

Telecommunications Operating Companies are making

software for IN components, such as SCP. Also the TMN

architecture and its implementation, and the use of TMN

in managing the Intelligent Network architecture and the

services are under development.

In Finland, the state owned Telecommunications

Operating Company (Telecom Finland Ltd) is doing

much work in the above areas. The Telecom Finland

Intelligent Network architecture has been using Bellcore

components, and the CS1 upgrade is coming shortly. The

SS7 network is ready for use and the Open SCP

architecture will become available soon. The problems

are still in the management and the service creation areas.

The independent service creation by customers that

require advanced IN capabilities will require quite a lot

time. When the integration of TMN and IN will be more

entirely accepted and TMN applications management

implemented, the problems concerning remotely creatable

and configurable services by the customer will be

solvable. For this purpose R&D co-operation with

operators and hardware and software manufacturers will

be needed.

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5. Changes in business

5.1 Technology and services

The most important trends in the area of business are the

increased use of computers in business and globalization

of the markets. The telecommunications industry can be

divided into telecommunications hardware suppliers and

the providers of telecommunications services (operators,

software houses, etc.). The development of tele-

communications business depends on changes in the

industry, changes in the telecommunications technology

and the development of telecommunications services

Martik93.

There has been several major changes in the development

of telecommunications technology. The development of

mobility and higher interconnection bandwidth between

network nodes play an essential role in the changes of

networks and their services. In the eaely

telecommunications, the most important need for the

telecommunications networks was the analogical

telephony service. Later on, at the end of 1980's, with the

use of optical fiber in the transmission systems, the

available bandwidth increased and the customer expences

decreased. Telecommunications networks are becoming

multiservice networks, as already has been specified with

ISDN, and will provide advanced services based on

mobility and broadband in addition to the digital

telephony service.

The past telecommunications technology was mainly

based on dedicated devices with nonflexible architecture.

At the time of reconfiguration of these devices several

changes had to be made to the architecture (programs and

possibly also hardware). As these changes were costly, it

was obvious that the life cycles of the services were quite

large and not much customer orientation was possible.

An example of hardware changes in telecommunications

is the cable technology. The average bandwidth of the

transmission systems seem to multiply by factor 10 in a

decade. The copper cables that were used by past

telecommmunications systems needed a lot of

replacement when runned out of capacity. The situation is

however different when optical fiber is used. Optical fiber

is a flexible transmission media that can be several times

reconfigured, because the bandwidth can be increased

only by changing the active devices that use the fiber. The

physical raw bandwidth provided by optical cables will

be far beyond reach in the near future. Optical fiber also

provides expences that are almost independent of the

bandwidth.

Figure -1. Technology transform. Martik93

Faster changes of markets have decreased the life cycle of

products. The corporations have to spend more money on

product development than before and to seek for partners

to share the expences in the product development.

[Martik93] The need for more versatile services is

obvious.

The Intelligent Network telecommunications structure

will change the market areas. As the computer prices go

down relative to the performance of the unit, the IN nodes

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and components will be mainly based on computer

architectures than dedicated electronic devices, which

was a great market area in the 'past' telecommunications

business. The selling of hardware will not be the most

important area of business in telecommunications rather

the selling of intelligent nodes, which consist of cost

effective standard hardware technology, but running a

high-technology service oriented software. So software

will propably become the largest area of business within

telecommunications. The service management area of the

IN will become an important area of business to the

service providers and operators. These things will change

the market views in computers and software.

1980 1990 2000 2010

data

speech mobile

advancedservices

personalcommunication

Figure -2. The development of the telecommunications

service business.

Today about 80% of the telecommunications services are

telephony traffic and other services, such as data

transmission and value added services, about 20% of the

turnover. It has been expected that 50% of the

telecommunications services value are telephony traffic

and the rest advanced services in the year 2010.

Martik93

The main part of the future data traffic will be produced

by the LAN’s (Local Area Network) where multimedia

(e.g. video, voice and data integration) data is transmitted.

Some of the voice traffic today will move to multimedia

data traffic between workstations. The multimedia

services that are provided by the telecommunications

networks are called internationally Advanced Services.

The voice and data traffic will integrate together with the

broadband services and Intelligent Networks. However,

the Advanced Services need broadband networks while

the mobile communications networks today do not

provide enough bandwidth for these services. That is why

these services will be first introduced at the wireless

telecommunications systems and in radio technology after

the demanded bandwidth resources are available.

The main benefits of the IN architecture are the

possibilities to improve the quantity, and to develop new

sources, of revenue. This is particularly desirable in an

environment with a high penetration of available services

per capita. For most environments, the IN will be a

stimulation or basis for revenue generation, both the short

and long term. Ambro89

5.2 Liberalization, alliances and competition

The most important trends in the area of business are the

increased use of computers in business and globalization

of the markets. Martik93 This means that the use of

telecommunications networks will be growing a lot in the

future within domestic markets and also a great deal

within international markets. The organizations need

more and more the services provided by

telecommunications networks eg. in order to

communicate with computers from one subsidiary to

another. The liberalization of telecommunications

business in several countires will increase the life cycle of

services and decrease the price that is taken from the so

called 'hardware' level services, such as telephony service

or simple data transfer service. The formation of

continental and intercontinental alliances, for example, in

Europe has driven down the prices of services in several

countries.

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The competition with telecommunications services will

certainly increase. Service providers in the past

introduced quite similar services, because the rigid

technology enabled just non-value added services and

there was hardly any tools for differentiation. Broadband

switched transmission and access by ATM leave quite

much differentiation space for the services, and the value

is transferred from the pure interconnection to the mobile,

value added and media services (Figure 5-3).

Figur

e 5-3. Value addition of services.

The prices of raw interconection service in the past were

dominant. They have decreased very rapidly in the past

couple years. Such kind of a decrease, according to my

opinion, will happen to every non-value adding

telecommunications service. They can be said to become

a 'every man's' tool. IN adds quite much value to the

telephony service and the services of it will be quite

highly-priced at the beginnning. ATM itself does not add

any value to conventional data transfer except speed, but

broadband IN itself makes possible to create fast and

effectively broadband services. (Figure 5-3). In future it

seems to be that the non-value added services become

very cheap. It could also happen that the prices would be

the same as we have for using roads, where the fees are

taken as taxes in each country. The use of

telecommunications networks fees would be perhaps per

year basis fixed costs, not per minute as variable costs as

we are used to now. Instead, the value-added services will

fill the place of former interconnection services. We are

going to pay more and more for the contents or data

inside the service than for the technology itself and the

expences that has accumulated in the technological

Research & Development period.

5.3 IN services

5.3.1 Benefits of IN

The concept of Intelligent Networks has been developed

to achieve some major goals. These are:

Rapid service introduction, which for the

operator means an ability to meet a market

window, niche market or to adapt to specific

customer requirements. This goal is targeted

for revenue growth.

Standard interfaces, which for the operator

means multi-vendor capability. This goal is

more related to cost efficiency and high profit

rather than revenue.

Flexible network architecture , which could

allow operators to configure and develop their

networks more freely to meet market

requirements, bypassing dominant vendors.

Integrated management integrating the needs

of the service management into a single logical

network management.

In business terms the above things are expected to happen

after introducing IN: Increase in revenues, through a

capability to offer new services to the customers; lower

level of investments, when standard products are

available from several sources; and decrease of

operational cost, due to the integrated management of

services and networks impacting on the number of human

resources required to operate the network.

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In reality these goals are very hard to achieve. IN is not

the answer for the management problems, nor will it

automatically generate new revenue. It can be part of the

solution, but there is much to do before these goals can be

met. Too often required enhancements in other

information systems, and redesigning of the operations

and organizational structure are neglected or at least are

not taken into account, when IN investment/introduction

is planned.

5.3.2 Cost structure

5.3.2.1 Initial cost of IN

The level of investment required for introducing IN

network concepts into the network is a relative issue. For

large international operators IN investment can normally

be justified based of a cost/benefit calculations made for

one service only. For a smaller operator IN is usually a

major investment, which may be critical to do. If IN is

introduced as a major network concept through the

network, IN will have a significant impact on the

operators on the level of the investment, which is required

for network development.

Initial IN investments/expences can be broken down as

follows:

IN element (60 - 70 % of total investment)

This includes necessary basic hardware and software

components which are required for IN, and is

around 50-60 % of total purchasing expences. Most

of this is needed for software, concentional

hardware is minor part of investment. The cost

structure of IN element consists of hardware and

basic software (20%; basic SSP including hardware

and software (typically a switch), IN application in

SSP, SCP and SMS including basic hardware and

software, and other equipment and software required

for operating IN), and IN specific software (40%;

SCP and SMS applications).

Project expences (30 - 40 % of total investment)

Project expences are higher than usual. This is due

to the complicated nature of IN concept

implementation commonly taking more resources

for integration than traditional network development

projects. The project expences can include: project

management, system specification, system

integration, system testing, and system deployment.

Integration expences (? % of total investment)

This part of expences depends on the size of IN

system, its planned level of integration with other

systems and so forth. The level of these expences in

the initial introductory phase of IN is generally

difficult to estimate. Often, integration issues such

as: integration of IN with current network

management systems and integration of IN with

current customer service systems are handled only

after the first IN application is taken into use.

It is difficult to give a formula on how to define exact

portions of these expences for IN projects. IN expences

tend to always be a specific case which is dependent on

the operators market, techical, economical and other

environmental issues. The most significant point is that

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with currently available IN products, portion of

investment which consist of standard hardware and

software components is relatively low and the major part

of the investment consists of special/tailored software and

project running expences.

5.3.2.2 Operational costs of IN

When examining operational costs, attention shall be paid

to those operational costs which are directly related to

operations and management of IN platform components,

comprising of hardware and software maintenance

charges and other operational costs.

Associated operational costs are significant portion of the

total costs. The main parts of these costs are marketing,

sales, R&D for the customer end of the product and the

costs for supporting systems.

5.3.2.3 Basic call production costs

IN services need local loop, trunk transmission and the

switching machinery in operation before IN based

revenue generation can be put into operation. The

operator/services provider have to include these expences

until it is possible to calculate the total IN call production

costs, which then have to be covered by incoming cash

flow to be able to run financially successful operation.

5.3.3 Service portfolio

IN seems to be the only vehicle, which offers operators

new tools to provide extended call handling capabilities.

The capabilities may be regarded as a basic element of

the modern products concept. IN makes it possible to add

value to basic call handling. These more flexible network

services may be packaged to suit for different market

segments relatively easily. In this respect IN has proven

to be a useful concept. However, it is not evident that IN

based services automatically generate new traffic and

revenue.

5.3.3.1 Operators capability of offering services

That in IN has made it possible to offer new services to

the customers cannot be denied. But one has to remember

that the possibility of utilizing switches as service

platforms still exists. An operator’s capability to

introduce new services, which are based on IN

technology is largely dependent on the operator’s

capability to manage the complex composition of IN

software and how an IN implementation supports the

flexible management of data in the system. It can be

questioned, if operators have made a good choice in

coming dependent of software houses, as has typically

happened, rather than switch vendors what concerns their

service development capabilities.

How capable the operators are in the services arena is

heavily dependent on the software strategy which is

adopted when decision of building IN facilities has been

made. Again in this respect operators vary largely.

5.3.3.2 Sales of service portfolio

Cannibalism still exists and this is especially common

within telecom service sector. Voice services offered by

Telco’s have not developed significantly since the 1960’s.

It can be assumed that basic demand for the utilization of

telephones has always existed. IN has facilitated in

packaging service features in new combinations. These

combinations have been developed to standard IN

services such as Premium Rate, Freephone, Calling Card,

UPT, VPN and so forth. But have these IN services

generated new revenues ? Definitely to some extent, but

all the credit can be given to the IN concept, and when

evaluating the economical impact of IN, this matter has to

be considered.

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5.3.3.3 Service development time frames

Inmaterial nature of the telecommunications service

allows better interaction with the consumers when

developing the service products compared with, for

example, manufactuing industry. In this respect, IN has

great potential. Utilization of this potential requires a

comprehensive SCE environment. Useful SCE

environments have been on the market only a short while

and unfortunately these products typically support a

restricted range of products from a single source.

Service development life cycles have shortened and there

are products available in the market, which make it

possible to take an experimential approach to service

development.

5.4 Evolution of IN capabilities at Telecom

Finland

5.4.1 Pre-IN

Telecom Finland was one of the first operators in Europe

to offer IN-type services to its customers. The first

services (Freephone, Premium Rate) were developed on

switch based solutions in mid of the 1980’s. Successful

implementation of these services was based on the

expertise Telecom Finland has in digital switching.

Through the early implementations Telecom Finland has

been able to gain a dominent position in the enhanced

services market in Finland. In this first phase services

were developed in close co-operation with the customers

of Telecom Finland. Switches were used as service

platforms to avoid unnecessary investments of IN. Some

of these early implementations are still deployed.

5.4.2 Centralized IN

Soon after the first IN implementations Telecom Finland

started to investigate potential IN concepts, which could

provide more sophisticated management and a greater

capacity for IN services. At the beginning of 1990’s

Telecom Finland made a contract to purchase a real IN

solution, which consisted of dedicated SSP, SCP and

SMS elements. At this time all the business indicators

justified investments of this size. Altogether the IN

project lasted for three years and it was a risky project

financially.

5.4.3 Special services

The start of open competition put pressure on Telecom

Finland to speed up the development of IN services. This

challenge was met with purchasing more IN capabilities

and developing competance inside Telecom Finland to

rapidly develop new services. For the special services an

additional node with SCE capabilities was purchased.

With this investment, Telecom Finland was able to reduce

time for services development down to acceptable level.

Limited new services can now be developed in days,

more sophisticated ones in months.

5.5 Distribution channels

There has been a major change in accomodities'

distribution. Here we however, refer to services.

Telecommunications organizations today and in the past

used to distribute the so called raw services via

telecommunications networks. They created their revenue

according to the amount of telephony calls were dialled in

their network, where they served as operators. What is

important to notice is that the service provider actually

was located in the different place than the paying

customer. Telecommunications can such gain quite

effective and cheap distribution channel, if the prices of

raw data transfer goes noticeably down.

The same approach as above can also be brought to the

broadband services eg. high-speed image transfer. Think

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about the following medical situation: a nurse is taking

photos of a patient. The nurse itself does not have the

skills or knowledge to appraise the condition of the

patient. She could use a doctor who is residing 100

kilometres away from the medical centre to give some

advice. The only thing is that the doctor would have to

take a flight to that centre (expensive) or the nurse would

have to send it by post (too slow). One solution for this

problem, in the future, would be the use of high-speed

data transfer to transfer the digitized images to the

organization, where the doctor actually works. The

broadband networks would also enable some

videotelephony calls or videoconferencing with the

experts that are more aware of the problem.

The above was just an example to describe the changes in

distribution channels. The facts that telecommunications

networks provide to telecommunications service

organizations are that: their services are better available

for customer (any time of day and in the future anywhere

globally), they are fast reachable (customers don't have to

wait eg. for the slow post service) and they are quite

cheap reachable or at least the variable expences that are

included in the service usage (the same can not be said of

the fixed part eg. the equipment to have broadband data

transfer and the service platforms). This kind of

distribution channel stimulates the professionals on the

market to market new types of services and this way to

have an effect to the price that the customer needs to pay.

The problems today are that the technology is not yet

quite advanced in order to make these kinds of services

possible in massive or wanted scale. Some pilot research

projects have been made or are being made on these

areas, but any broadband services are actually

implemented yet.

5.6 Changes in enterprises

The major changes of organizational structures in this

century will also be reflected in network and service

operator structures (Figure 5-4). At the beginning of the

20th century there was emphasis in the production of raw

materials and agriculture. Then the society became more

industrialized and the industrial organizations grew up to

vertically integrated firms. The large scale mass

production and product differentiation were the main

paradigms since the 1930's. The growth was sought from

diversification to new synergic areas.

special

basic

1900-1950Vertical Integration

1970:Diversification

Basic

1990:Networks of Enterprises

Figure 5-4. Changes in enterprise structure.

The present and future organizations are more like

networks of enterprises, where the main organization

itself is broken up into smaller units and they utilize

external firms as subcontractors and distribution channels.

This kind of business structure is typically found in many

design and high-technology industries. The organizations

have to focus into their strongest areas to be able to be

competitive. Since there must be both cost advantage of

mass production and market based differentiation present,

the areas outside the company focus must be obtained

from partners, who provide their part of the final concept.

So, the value obtained by the end user is combined from

the different value attributes provided by a network of

several companies.

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The telecommunications industry is based on high-

technology development and also much subcontracting

are used nowadays. The number of subcontractors used

will increase in the future. An telecommunications

service organization could actually be like the following:

It uses networks operators to provide digital access to the

customers and large service and media providers as

contractors to produce the services. It rents the needed

physical computer and network equipments itself and

uses own computer programmer's to program the wanted

logic for customer and service management. The

organization itself would just co-ordinate and design the

service provision and distribution and keep the functions

alive. The structure would be a network of enterprises,

each enterprise specialising on its most qualified areas.

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6. Broadband intelligence andmedia

6.1 Broadband networks

The emergence of optical transmission technique has

provided more higher transfer rates and reliable transfer

for the networks. The bit error propability has moved

approximately from 10 6− in the copper based signalling

technique to 10 9− and even better in the optical

transmission technique. This has started projects on

defining new applications based on optical transmission

media.

Just a few years ago the telecommunications systems

used mainly PDH technique in the transmission systems.

This technique did not enable high-speed data transfer

and would have caused several problems when used in

high-speed data transmission. With CCITT's new SDH

technique these problems can be bypassed. SDH

technique provides a synchronous digital data transfer

based on optical transmission media, where one bit can be

exactly pointed at the destination station from the media

stream and also in the switches between the link. The

switches can then process the frames in SDH at real-time

(In practice with only a few bits delay) and forward them.

This is one reason why SDH technique is used in many

broadband networks at the physical layer of their protocol

stacks.

6.1.1 B-ISDN

B-ISDN (Broadband Integrated Services Digital

Network) is a concept specified by CCITT. The lower

parts of the B-ISDN reference model layers are

standardized, but the user and network management parts

of the B-ISDN appear to be on the whole at the draft

stage. More innotation on the standardization work has

been shown from the ATM Forum. The ATM Forum

consists of members of several existing enterprises in the

area of telecommunications and regional telephony

operators.

Figure -1. B-ISDN reference model.

B-ISDN concept is based on the integration of different

kind of services. The reference model describes several

layers: physical, ATM, AAL (ATM Adaption Layer)

layers and the upper layer protocols. B-ISDN uses out-of-

band signalling to separate the user and signalling data.

6.1.1.1 Physical layer

The physical layer involves the packetization of the user

data into the physical medium slots. In Europe, CCITT’s

SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) technique is used,

while ANSI’s (American National Standards Institute)

SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) is used in the

USA. However, SDH and SONET do not differentiate by

their contents. The transmission technique is based on

synchronous data transfer in optical cable and several

transmission speeds are specified. SONET describes the

different speed levels as OC-x’s (Optical Carrier level at

x) while STM-x’s (Synchronous Transport Module) are

specified in SDH. These levels are multipliants of the

basic level OC-1 (51.840 Mbit/s) and STM-1 (155.520

Mbit/s).

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Today the level OC-3 is used and ATM equipments for

the speed of approximately 622 Mbit/s (OC-12) will be

introduced in the very near future (some switches already

available in 1994). The gigabit transmission speeds, such

as 2.488 Gbit/s (OC-48), will first be used in backbone

networks and SONET standards are scalable up to almost

10 Gbit/s transmission rates, which are expected to be in

use in the future.

6.1.1.2 ATM layer

ATM is defined in the standard I.121 and is based on the

fast packet switching technique. It mixes the good effects

of the conventional circuit switching and the packet

switching tehcnique used in data packet networks. This

new technique is called cell transmission. Cell

transmission uses short, fixed length packets and in ATM

the cell structure of 5 bytes of header and 48 bytes of data

is used. While ATM relies on the optical transmission

technique, only a cheksum that notices one sequentially

appearing error is provided for the header part. The use of

such short cells enable shorter delays in the network

switching nodes than the use of variable length long

packets. And, so can the applications of the ATM

networks get smaller changes in the arrival times between

the packets at the destination (known as jitter). This is

quite obvious in the use of isochronous data streams

produced by applications, such as video conferencing

(realtime digitized uncompressed images + voice). So the

task of ATM layer is to split the upper layer data in to

such 48 byte cells and add the needed 5 bytes in the

header, which include the destination address and some

other functionalities not described in this paper.

Figure -2. ATM cell structure.

6.1.1.3 ATM Adaption Layer

AAL provides with more advanced functionalities than

ATM layer to the user. For instance, a checksum is

provided for the whole ATM packet.

Inserting payload data into the 48-byte information field

of the ATM cell is accomplished by the ATM Adaption

Layer. The AAL is what gives ATM the flexibility to

carry entirely different types of services within the same

frame format. It is important to understand that the AAL

is not a network process but instead is performed by the

network terminating equipment. Thus, the network’s task

is only to route the cell from one point to another,

depending on its header information. It should be noted

that up to four bytes may be used by the adaptation

process itself with some AAL types, leaving 44 bytes for

payload information. Forum93

Several AAL layers have been standardized: CBR

(Constant Bit Rate) services, connection-oriented and

connectionless VBR (Variable Data Transfer) data

transfer, and Simple and Efficient Adaptation Layer

(SEAL). Forum93

There are very widely spread protocol architectures, such

as TCP/IP, in use today. The existing UDP (User

Datagram Protocol), TCP (Transmission Control

Protocol) and the newest RTP (Real-time Transport

Protocol) (under research in the Internet organization)

will not be thrown away until a very advanced solution is

readily available. One candidate solution would be the

HSTP (High-Speed Transfer Protocol) that is provided by

CCITT, but it has just received the draft stage. Some

major conclusions can be drawn from the charasteristics

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of HSTP. It uses flexible flow control methods eg.

different type of flow control method to different

situation, it supports quite efficiently parallel

implementation of the protocol itself and it is in several

ways optimized to high-speed data transfer. So, it is likely

that AAL will not be used at the beginning of ATM era.

AAL will be used when there are sophisticated user

interfaces available for AAL data transfer.

6.1.1.3.1CBR

CBR is a service is type 1. (AAL1) service of AAL. It

handles traffic where there is strong timing relation

between the source and the destination. Examples include

PCM-encoded voice traffic, contant bit rate video, and the

emulation of public network ciruits (e.g. the transport for

E1 links).

6.1.1.3.2VBR

VBR defines the AAL3/4 service. It is fairly complex

layer that can handle VBR (i.e. bursty) data both with and

without pre-establishing an ATM link. Examples for the

connection-oriented type include large file transfers like

CAD files or data backup. The connectionless type is

intended for short, highly bursty transfers as might be

generated by LANs.

6.1.1.3.3SEAL

SEAL defines the AAL5 service. It may be looked at as a

simplified version of AAL3/4 that is designed to meet the

requirements of local, high-speed LAN implementations.

AAL5 is intended for connectionless or connection-

oriented VBR services.

6.1.1.4 Control plane

This plane has a layered structure and perform the call

control and connection control functions. It deals with the

signalling necessary to set up, supervise and release calls

and connections. I321 In other words, ATM uses

signalling protcol to make up the virtual path from the

source to the destination. It is the same way the

conventional telecommunications network, such as

telephony network, handles the connection opening.

Every component (ATM switches) along the virtual path

is indicated of the connection opening so no enhanced

routing has to be done at the network nodes.

6.1.1.5 Management of the B-ISDN architecture

This part of B-ISDN are has not yet been standardized.

CCITT has made some approaches to B-ISDN

management point of view.

The management plane provides two types of functions,

namely Layer Management and Plane Management

functions. The Plane Management performs management

functions related to a system as a whole and provides co-

ordination between all the planes. Plane Management has

no layered structure. Layer Management performs

management functions (e.g. meta-signalling) relating to

resources and parameters residing in its protocol entities.

Layer Management handles the Operation And

Maintenance (OAM) information flows specific layer

concerned. I321

6.1.2 ATM networks

The ATM networks will be based on a hierarchial basis,

such as the conventional telecommunications networks.

The layout of the architecture seems to be like the normal

telephony network, but the technology is able to provide

with some very enhanced services not applicable in the

conventional telephony network.

A very much simplified example for the structure of an

ATM network is shown here. (Figure ) It is important to

understand that the various UNI (User-to-Network

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Interface) and NNI (Network-to-Node Interface)

connections could be carried via different physical media,

such as the existing Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy

(PDH) layers or the new SDH. Several standards have

been defined on how to interface the physical layers, and

work is continuing to specify additional physical layers to

be used to transport ATM cells. Forum93 (Figure 6-3)

ATMswitch

ATMswitch

ATMswitch

Figure -3. ATM network architecture.

6.1.2.1 Virtual Channels and Virtual Paths

The concepts Virtual Channel (VC) and Virtual Path (VP)

are affected when ATM cells are transported through the

entire network. (Figure 6-4)

A VC is mostly known as VCC (Virtual Channel

Connection). A VCC is set up between any source and

any destination in the ATM network, regardless of the

way it is being routed across the network. Fundamentally,

ATM is a connection-oriented technology. The way the

network sets up the connection is therefore by means of

signalling, i.e. by transmitting a set-up request, which

passes across the network to the destination. If the

destination agrees to form a connection, the VCC is set

up between the two end-systems. A mapping is defined

between the Virtual Channel Identifiers (VCI)/ Virtual

Path Identifiers (VPI) of both UNIs, and between the

appropriate input link and the corresponding output link

of all intermediate switches. Forum93

A VCC is a connection between two communicating

ATM end entities. It may consist of a concatenation of

several ATM VC links. All communication proceeds

along this same VCC which preserves cell sequence and

provides a certain Quality Of Service (QOS). Note that

the Virtual Channel Identifier in the ATM cell header is

assigned per network entity-to-entity link, i.e. it may

change across the network within the same Forum93

VCC.

VC1

VC2

VC3

VC4

VC5

VC6

VC7

VC1

VC2

VC3

VC4

VC5

VC6

VC7

VC1

VC2

VC3

VC4

VC5

VC6

VC7

VC1

VC2

VC3

VC4

VC5

VC6

VC7

VC1

VC2

VC3

VC4

VC5

VC6

VC7

VC1

VC2

VC3

VC4

VC5

VC6

VC7

VP1

VP2

VP1

Figure -4. Virtual Channels and Virtual Paths.

A Virtual Path groups VCs carried between two ATM

entities and may also involve many ATM VP links. The

VCs associated with a VP are globally switched without

unbundling or processing the individual VC in any way

or changing their VCI numbers. Thus, the cell sequence

of each VC is still preserved, and the QOS of the VP

depends on that of its most demanding VC. As the cell

address mechanism uses both the VCI and the VPI,

different VPs may also use the same VCI without

conflict. A cell may also not be associated with any VP.

In this case, it would have a null VPI and only a unique

VCI. Forum93

By means of VCs and VPs, virtual circuits can be set up

either permanently (by using so-called ‘Permanent

Virtual Channel’ (PVC)) or on demand (‘Switched

Virtual Channel’ (SVC)). It is likely that VPs will be used

mostly between switches (i.e. across NNIs) to carry

across large numbers of virtual circuits. In any case, all

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the ATM switch has to do is to identify, on the basis of

the cell’s VPI, VCI or both, which output a received cell

needs to be routed to, and what the new VPI/VCI on this

output link is. The operation of an ATM network is

therefore very simple and inherently can scale to very

high speeds. Forum93

ATM network technique may look quite simple at the

first look. Actually what makes the ATM netowork more

complex is the network management. ATM is

connection-oriented virtual circuit network, which uses

signalling links to establish a ATM connection between

source and destinations stations. The signalling schemes

in the UNI and NNI become quite complex. What is more

complex is the management of the high-speed data

stream. The ATM network supports QoS-concept for the

users. These mechanisms come quite complex if they are

fully implemented.

6.2 Applications for the broadband networks

The explosive growth of available link bandwidth for

applications has changed and will change even more the

nature of the computer applications. The applications will

be even more parallelized, and concerning the multimedia

applications, several multimedia servers will be located in

the highly distributed network architecture.

Just a few broadband applications to mention, it is quite

sure that hundreds of them will exist in the future. (Figure

6-5) First applications could perhaps be high-quality

visual telephones that use just a slight compression

technique to pack the moving high-quality images.

Because of the large available bandwidth it is possible to

send images with no compression at all. Of course, the

normal telephony service can be provided in broadband

networks.

It is also expectable that TV companies will not just

broadcast TV programs in the future. With high-capacity

broadband networks TV corporations can then multicast

digital (such as HDTV (High Definition TeleVision))

programs to the customers. This will provide the

customers to independently of each other to subscribe TV

programs from the TV companies. The greatest advantage

for the customers will be that the charging can be done

according to watched programs eg. 'on demand basis'.

Movies on demand that is often called Video On Demand

(VOD). The solution for people not knowing how to

program their VCRs is that they don’t have to anymore;

the telecable companies - the result of the telephone and

cable company mergers - download whatever program

people want to watch. People buy or rent movies from

the infotainment service providers LAN94. The

difference between the TV multicasting is that VOD

provides a service that can unicast movies to the

customers. Both of these services belong to the category

of Pay-per-View. So, the videorent corporations no

further have to keep video cassettes in the store, but a

large store capacity of data, such as CD-ROMs (Compact

Disk-Read Only Memory), etc.

Some additional services might be provided to the

customers, such as video shopping, interactive games,

education, and information publishing. In videoshopping

people interact directly with the video catalogs, checking

availability and pricing with the stores’ databases.

LAN94 The network’s high-speed nature makes it

practical and close to realistic to play interactive VR

(Virtual Reality) games, which are particularly popular

and need a lot of computer capacity. In education the

high-speed networks bring classes and research materials

to people everywhere. With interactive information

publishing, you can find as little or as much information

as you want just by asking your navigation software for

help.

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Figure -5. Some broadband network applications.

Telephony This service is just the normal

telephony service via the ATM

network. It uses an

audiograbber to encode the

voice at both of the stations.

Video telephony This service is an advanced

telephony service mixed with

video. It uses the videocameras

and a videograbber to grab the

moving videoimage.

Audio On Demand This service (AOD) would act

like as listening to a

conventional CD player. The

customer requests the server

for a CD audio sample and

then the server begins sending

the digitized audio samples to

client. The service would

include PLAY and STOP

functions.

Video On Demand VOD is similar to AOD, but in

addition to voice also moving

picture is transferred. In future,

it might be competing with the

video rent business. The

service would include PLAY

and STOP functions.

Video

Conferencing

This service is almost the same

as the video telephony service,

but this needs multicasting

capabilities, where video

telephony needed only

unicasting.

Table -1. Some possible broadband services.

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7. Broadband IN

7.1 Introduction

The Intelligent Network concept now involves with

narrowband ISDN and other slow speed networks.

Broadband IN (BIN) is a concept for the use of high-

speed transmission technique in the Intelligent Network

structure. This is possible in IN because of its flexible

architecture. IN provides computer controlled

telecommunications and in B-IN, IN controls, for

example, the function of ATM switches. The standards

for the IN&B-ISDN access has not yet been introduced,

so BIN focuses just on controlling the high-speed

switches theoretically.

ATMswitch

ATMswitch

Userstation

Serviceprovider

DB DB

ATMnetworkaccess

ATMnetworkaccess

DB

DB

ATM Signallingprotocol Q.2391

Figure 7-1. The Broadband IN concept.

The Broadband IN is a concept where the Intelligent

Network structure is used to manage and control high-

speed network technologies, such as ATM switches.

(Figure 7-1) The user is accessed via a high-speed

interface, such as an ATM interface. When the user wants

to use BIN services he connects to a specified BIN

service number eg. ATM address via the ATM interface

and waits for the control unit to make the service ready

for use. If the service reach model would be as in

conventional IN, then the switching point would notice a

BIN call and forward with a message to the control unit.

However, a different vie to this is brought in the Telecom

Finland BIN project.

7.2 Telecom Finland BIN Project

Telecom Finland and Lappeenranta University of

Technology (LUT) has started on a project to research

broadband, ATM-based, Intelligent Network oriented

architecture Broadband Intelligent Network. The research

considers the future broadband multimedia services and

their designed implementation according to this

architecture. BIN has not been standardized or even

implemented yet but being now in the pilot design phase.

BIN is a name for the project, which started in march

1994 at Telecom Finland.

The objects of the project refer quite much to the

conventional narrowband IN ie. fast service introduction

and decrease the resources needed to implement

broadband services. The main objects concerning the

architecture have been centralized customer charging

techniques and multiservice offerings at single service

points. The goal of BIN of user point of view is that the

user does not have to be aware of the technical

implementation of the service used.

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7.3 BIN Architecture

7.3.1 Components

BIN components are BSSs (Broadband Service

Subscriber), BSPs (Broadband Service Provider), BSCPs

(Broadband Service Control Point), BSMPs (Broadband

Service Management Point) and BSSPs (Broadband

Service Switching Point) (Figure 7-2). BSSs, BSPs and

BSCPs are connected to BSSPs, which form the ATM-

network. BSMP is connected to BSCP and is not tied to

any physical implementation technique.

BSCP

User Work-station

MIB

MIB

BSS

User service palette

Charging

User identification

Servicepalettes

BSSP

MIB

MIB

Provider Work-station

BSP MIB

Directorystructure

Icons

BSCPSL

Screen

BSSPmanagement

NTS

CC

BSMP

BSSPBSSP

BSSP

BSP identification

List of BSP:s

Iconmanager

Connect

BSP

Hyper-media

lib.

D-HDTVVOD

AOD

BSP Service Logics

Home-shop

Generic Service Logics

Iconmanager

DBDB

Multimediadata

Broadband specific Service Logics

QoSmanager

UPT

“UPT”-parameters

Iconmanager

F

igure 7-2. BIN Architecture.

Several service providers, which would use different

protocols and managing architectures, could be designed.

If done this way, every service provider should

implement their own mechanisms of charging and

managing services. One advantage of this architecture

would be quite simple interface to the end user and one

disadvantage quite complex service introduction.

Intelligent Networks have centralized service

management architecture, whereby components can be

distributed from each other. The objective of this project

is to have a centralized model, where the users (BSS)

could use services provided by BSPs and have a

centralized service management system. The BSS station

itself would be a sophisticated computer or programmable

device with appropriate resources to use the broadband

multimedia data.

BSMP contains customer identification and charging

information, a list of BSPs known to it and possibly a

customer service palette. In BSCP are the general

Service Logics (SL) also existing in conventional IN,

which can be used in several services, such as broadband

equivalents of CC (Credit Calling), NTS (Number

Translation Service ), and UPT (Universal Personal

Telecommunications). In addition, broadband services

have SLs for controlling icons and QoS (Quality of

Service) -parameters, and SL for a connection initializer.

BSS has possibly an own customer service palette, icon

manager, SL for BSCP, and a screen handler for showing

the multimedia data. In BSP lie the actual multimedia

databases (DB) and icon databases. Also the SLPs for

broadband services are located there.

7.4 BIN and IN

In conventional narrowband IN the user has a simple

interface to the network ie. either from the SSP (Service

Switching Point) or the NAP (Network Access Point ). The

highly simplified function of CS1 (Capability Set 1) IN is

that the user is connected via SSP or NAP to the SS7

(Signalling System No. 7) network, which forms the

signalling network of the IN. The user dials a phone

number, which is then generated to a message and

transferred to the nearest SSP. If the number begins with

a 0700 or 0800, SSP knows that the user chose an IN

number. In this case, SSP triggers an IN call, otherwise

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the call setup procedure is just as for a normal call. SSP

forms the intelligent part of conventional IN. SSP triggers

the IN call and forwards an INAP (Intelligent Network

Application Protocol) message to the SCP (Service

Control Point) via the SS7 network using the services of

TCAP (Transaction Capabilities Application Part). SCP

then have control on the next step eg. sends a control

message to SSP.

In BIN the function of BSCP is different from SSP and

SCP. The BSSP (Broadband Service Switching Point)

(here ATM switch) does not notice the BIN service

request and send it to the B-SCP (Broadband Service

Control Point) as it would, if the BIN would operate as a

conventional IN.

BSSP is in point of fact a simple high-speed switch

architecture eg. ATM-switch. The functions of such a

switch is to route the 53-byte cell from input end to

output end according to the Virtual Circuit Identifiers

(VCI) and Virtual Path Identifiers (VPI) and the

information that has been configured in its routing tables.

The switch is not intelligent like conventional IN switch,

because it does not trigger an IN call. It handles any data

in the cells transparently. Compared to the SS7 network's

64 Kbit/s capacity ATM-network forwards cells at a

much higher rate ie. 155 Mbit/s.

SSP solutions are mainly based on hardware solutions.

They can not be programmed as easily as computers. In

BIN however, BSSP performs all the functions needed to

create broadband services. While BSSP being simple, the

BSCP has to be quite complex. The end nodes, BSS and

BSP, are thus also quite complicated. This means that

application layer protocol BINAP is tranferred between

all the end nodes unlike in conventional IN, where INAP

is mainly used between SSP and SCP.

7.5 Broadband services categorizing

In fact the few services shown in table 7-1 are in a way

quite similar to each other. They could be grouped into

three different categories: controlled file transfer1

based

AOD and VOD, hypermedia database2

based

hypermedia library and homeshopping, and single- or

multi-party3

calls. By doing this controlling of the

services can be done in a similar way. There does not

have to be different controlling mechanisms for every

service provided. The controlling mechanism (BINAP) of

BIN services will be discussed later on.

AOD

VOD

Hypermedia

library

Homeshopping

Videotelephony

Videoconf-

erencing

Table 7-1. Some broadband services.

7.6 Functioning of BIN architecture

The main idea of BIN architecture is that the user does

not directly communicate with the service provider with

BINAP messages. BSCP, which forms the controlling

part of the BIN, processes the BINAP message sent to it,

makes statistics, and controls other points by sending

BINAP messages to them. The advantage of this kind of

architecture is that the end systems (BSS and BSP) do not

have to be as complex as the controlling systems. The

main intelligence of a service lies in BSCP and BSP,

where are the BSLs (Broadband Service Logic). BSS has

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mainly the intelligence of requesting a service and

interpretating BINAP messages sent to it.

BIN consists of two data streams: the management data

stream and multimedia data stream. BSS communicates

only with BSCP, but BSCP is responsible for

communicating with all the other components. Below the

transport layer BSS does communicate with the BSP, but

it gives upwards only data indications. (Figure 7-3)

ATM

BSCP

BSS BSP

User

Transportlayer

Transportlayer

DB

Transportlayer

Management

Data stream

Figure 7-3. Management and data stream separated.

7.6.1 Requirements of ATM network

The signalling protocol itself is not quite developed yet as

it should be in order to establish BIN architecture using

ATM. The BSS uses the ATM signalling protocol

(Q.2391) to set up the path to the destination, which is

BSCP or it could use the PVCs that are available to

BSCP. However, the BIN architecture suggests to use

BSCP to establish the path between BSP and BSS.

Q.2931 signalling protocol does not define these kind of

functions. Q.2931 UNI version 3.0 does not define a third

parties connection setup as it should be. UNI 4.0, which

should be introduced in late 1994, should contain the

third party connection setup function defined.

7.7 Course of BIN events

Let us consider the event flow of BIN events.

BIN Service Logic

Directory browsing

Icon browsing Icon activation Conn. synchron. Service logicUser identification

Icon creation

Service paletteprocess

Service activation

Charging

Figure 7-4. Course of BIN events.

7.7.1 Service request phase

User identification :

The user sends a BINAP message to BSCP and gives

sufficient identification information of him/herself. The

user has to know the ATM-address (CCITT NSAP

(Network Service Access Point), 20 bytes) of BSCP.

BSCP then fetches more accurate information about the

user, whereby the location of the customer service palette

is also found. If the user information is not found in the

BSMP in case, the user must give the address of his/her

Home BSCP (HBSCP). This enables usage of broadband

services from mobile stations.

Directory browsing :

In case of a new user, requesting of a service is proceeded

via directory browsing. BSCP knows one or more BSPs.

BSCP sends a BINAP message to BSS, which contains a

hypermedia document with links to BSPs. (Figure 7-5)

The first level of the hypermedia document contains the

BSPs (located at BSCP) and next levels contain all the

information the BSP has to offer, which are fetched by

BSCP from the BSP in case. BSCP does not have to

know all the services every BSP has to offer, but knowing

the addresses of the BSPs is sufficient. By using the

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identification information of the user, the BSCP may

filter the information given to the user.

The hypermedia documents residing in BSPs contain

structured information about the type of service. The

types are controlled file transfer, hypermedia database or

single- and multiparty calls.

BSCP-ROOT_id

Telecom Finland SonyHPYNokia BIN Services Inc.

Media DB

XmosaicVOD AOD

Jazz Rock

Elvis Michael Jackson

Action Comedy

Stallone Schwarznegger

Cobra TerminatorRocky 1Real services

F

igure 7-5. The structure of directory tree.

Service palette process :

When the user has chozen the 'real' service, an icon can

be created to the customer service palette either to BSMP

or BSS. When such a service palette exists containing

icons and an accurate description of the parameters of the

service, may the service be executed via icon browsing

and activation. This enables much simpler and faster

usage of broadband services, because of icons' graphical

presentation and short-way execution process.

7.7.2 Service activation phase

After activation of the icon or 'real' service BSS informs

BSCP of it, which sends BSP a BINAP message

containing sufficient information about the icon or 'real'

service. In BSP the BSL for the service is executed. In

BSCP the QoS-manager is initialized for this connection,

which has received the QoS-parameters from the BSS.

The QoS-parameters are also negotiated with BSP and if

the user has too little network capacity, the BSP might

reject the service usage. The QoS-parameters could be the

limit values with what BSS could possibly function.

7.7.3 Service usage phase

This phase is highly dependent of the type of service

requested. For example, controlled file transfer type of

service could have the functions of PLAY and STOP.

During the service execution phase the QoS-manager is

responsible for the quality parameters of the service. The

parties inform BSCP of the changes in service quality,

which then tries to restore the values.

7.7.4 Service after-usage phase

After the service has been used, the user should inform

BSCP of the connection closing. BSCP then starts the

controlled connection close phase. BSCP has stored the

necessary information about the service usage eg. actual

usage time and ability to perform with the requested QoS-

parameters. The actual time here means eg. in controlled

file transfer the time between PLAY and STOP functions

summed through the whole session. The charging

information is then added to the MIB (Management

Information Base) in the BSMP of the user.

7.8 BINAP

7.8.1 BINAP-messages

BIN uses BINAP application protocol to communicate

with the external parties of BSCP. BINAP-messages have

been categorized into the following subclasses:

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INITIALIZATION:

User identification

Customer service palette

Directory handling

SERVICE USAGE:

Service type dependent control

messages during the service

usage

QoS-messages

SERVICE CLOSE:

Controlled closing messages

Customer charging

7.8.2 User identification

An example of an ASN.1 coded BINAP-message is given

here of the user identification, which BSS sends to BSCP

as the first message:

ServiceSubscribe ::= PRIVATE 1

SEQUENCE {

serviceUser

USERTYPE

}

USERTYPE ::= SEQUENCE {

name 0 NAME,

hbscp 1

HBSCPLOCATION,

account 2

ACCOUNTNUMBER

OPTIONAL

}

NAME ::= SEQUENCE {

forname 0 OCTET

STRING( SIZE(30)),

surname 1 OCTET

STRING( SIZE(30))

}

.

.

.

7.9 CUSTOMER SERVICE PALETTE

7.9.1 BIN conceptual model

The BIN conceptual model does not correspond with the

conventional IN conceptual model and it is divided into

to three planes: user, network and service planes. (Figure

7-6) The user plane contains the information about the

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user. The network plane defines all the possible networks

that the user system can interface with. The service plane

indicates all the possible services that the user can make

use of. The BIN conceptual model shows the correllations

of the three planes. The correlation between user and

network planes is such that the user has allowed networks

which can be accessed. The user and service plane

correllation defines the services that the user have

subscribed or installed. The network and service plane

correllation defines the services that can be provided in

the networks that the user is allowed to access.

USER PLANE

NETWORK PLANE

SERVICE PLANE

USER

ATM PLMNPOTSISDN

VOD UPTVideotel. AOD CC

Figure 7-6. BIN conceptual model.

7.10 BIN MIB

BIN MIB is the customer personal service palette and it

should be structured according to BIN conceptual model.

(Figure 7-7) The location of such a database can be either

in BSS itself or in HBSCP's BSMP.

This section just provides with a visio of the Broadband

IN Management Information Base (MIB) structure. The

idea is such that the customer will be provided with the

capability of remotely to configure his own service

palette that in telecommunications management language

is better known as a MIB. This MIB would contain all his

BIN service parameters and they could be configured

with the use of TMN at any time. Such parameters, in for

instance the videoconferencing service, would be the

names of the members of the conferencing group and

their corresponding network addresses in the lower layer

of MIB tree hierarchy. So, the customer BIN service

parameters could be described in the structure of a MIB

tree.

Customer ID

VOD

James Bond

Videoconferencing

Mike 546546

Jack 8797896

Sue 12325432Cliffhanger

Cape Fear

HDTVH.261

Figure 7-7. Visio of BIN MIB.

Actually the icons form the basis of this BIN MIB

framework. They contain all the information of the

service that has to be known by BSCP in order to be able

to execute the service. They include for example in VOD,

the BSP and its address, used picture formats and used

network. On the other hand, the allowed networks are

also listed with necessary parameters eg. transmission

speed. (Figure 7-8)

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BIN MIB is designed to be managed with TMN

(Telecommunications Management Network) architecture.USER

VODAOD

MPEG 2 Mbit/sADPCM

ICONS NETWORKS

ATM PSTN ISDN IPHomeshop

USERPLANE

SERVICE PLANE NETWORK PLANE

64 kbit/s9.6 kbit/s8 Mbit/s

GSM

9.6 kbit/sH.261Anttila

ICONS

Stockmann

ATM

ATMISDN

IP

BSP-x

NSAP Address

BSP-x

ISDN Address NSAP Address

BSP-x

BSP-x

IP Address

Figure 7-8. A framework of BIN MIB.

7.11 TMN and BIN

In the previous sections were discussed about the

Broadband IN services. The services were static services

which could not be configured by the customer. The

meaning of this stage was just to have a view of BIN and

its possibilities. The next step is to have a remotely

configurable service database where the customer could

configure, for instance his VOD service table, remotely

and get the true VOD service capabilities. The aim of this

stage is to have a TMN configurable BIN service

parameters. The customer’s configure would affect the

BSCP database (MIB) and naturally also the BSMS,

because of the charging. (Figure 7-9)

B-IN MIB

Customer ATMswitch

Serviceproviders

VODHome shopping

TMN

Figure 7-9. The use of TMN in BIN.

7.12 The hardware configuration

The hardware configuration will consist of three Intel

386/486 (Linux) workstations (at first only one; without

the ATM network). Two of the workstations have a

videocamera with a videograbber and a Gravis

UltraSound (GUS) audiograbber. In the near future these

workstation will also have an adapter to ATM network

(i.e. an ATM card). A special videosoftware will be

driven in the two workstations, for instance IVS (INRIA

Videoconferencing System). The third workstation will be

kept as a Broadband Intelligent Network component B-

SCP, where the control software in driven. (Figure 7-10)

One of the workstations would contain the ATM network

simulator, which would forward cells with the aid of

VCIs. The network simulator would be static eg. use

PVCs and no signalling configurations could be 'on the

flight'.

Vide

ogr

abb

er

ATM switch

B-SSP

ATM

Linux workstation

B-SCP

ATM

ada p

ter

Grav

is Ult

raso

und

Linux workstation

Camera

Micro

pho

ne

Vid

eogr

abbe

r

ATM

ada p

ter

Grav

is Ult

raso

und

Linux workstation

Camera

Micr

o pho

neClient

Server

DB

Q.2391

- Video On Demand .

Figure 7-10. The BIN hardware configuration.

7.13 Proposed services

The aim of this project is to provide (server part) an

ordinary customer (client part) with BIN services. The

services in table 7.1 will at least be able to be provided.

The easisest one is the ordinary telephony service, and the

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difficultest is the videoconferencing which would need

multicasting capabilities from the Linux kernel and some

changes in the IVS videosoftware. The user interface

would such be implemented with the aid of 'old' software.

The BINAP messages would be implemented with CASN

ASN.1 compiler and the programming itself with the

CVOPS (C-language based Virtual OPerating System)

and later with the object-oriented telecommunications

software tool OVOPS (Object Virtual Operations

System). Here are some designed implementation

methods of certain services.

Videotelepho

ny

The IVS software is used to

encode and decode the audio and

video stream according to the

H.261 standard. The Graphical

User Interface is used to show the

moving images on to the screen.

VOD It would be using the IVS

videosoftware where the client

would request the B-SCP with a

service (a video) and the server

would then send it along the

ATM network to the client either

encoded with H.261 or MPEG

(Moving Pictures Experts

Group).

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8. References

Abram92 Abramowski, St., et al., A Service

Creation Environment for Intelligent

Networks, Philips Research Laboratiories

Aachen, 1992

Ambro89 Ambrosch, W., The Intelligent Network ,

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Siemens, Germany, 1989

Appel93 Appeldorn, Menso, Kung, Roberto, et al.,

TMN + IN = TINA, IEEE

Communications Magazine, April, 1993

Benne93 Bennett, Ronnie Lee, Switching Systems

in the 21st Century, IEEE

Communications Magazine, Vol. 31, 3,

1993

Duran92 Duran, Jose, International Standards for

International Networks, IEEE

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1992

Forum93 ATM Forum, Introduction to ATM, The

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Fujio93 Fujioka, Masanobu, Kikuta, Hiroyuki, et

al., Globalizing IN for the New Age,

IEEE Communications Magazine, April,

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Garra93 Garrahan, James, Russo, Peter, et al.,

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Homa92 Homa, Jonathan, Intelligent Network

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I321 CCITT Study Group XVIII, B-ISDN

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LAN94 LAN Magazine Editors, 2010: The

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Lehti93 Lehtinen, Pekka, Performance and

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M3010 CCITT Study Group IV, M.3010:

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Management Network, 1993

Martik93 Martikainen, Olli, Telecommunications

‘93 (In Finnish), Telecom Finland, 1993

Modar90 Modaressi, Abdi, Skoog, Ronald,

Signalling System No: 7: A Tutorial,

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[Molin] Molin, K., Martikainen, O., Intelligent

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Intelligent Networks, AT&T

Technology, vol. 6, no. 2, 1991

[Pfyff94] Pfyffer, H.K., Standardizations activities

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1994

Q931 CCITT Recommendation Q.931, ISDN

USer-Network Interface layer 3

Specification for Basic Call Control,

CCITT 1992

Q932 CCITT Recommendation Q.932,

Generic Procedures for the Control of

ISDN Supplementary Services, CCITT

1992

Q1201 CCITT Recommendation I.312/Q.1201,

Principles of Intelligent Network

Architecture, CCITT, 1992

Q1202 CCITT Recommendation Q.1202:

Intelligent Network Service Plane

architecture, October, 1992

Q1203 CCITT Recommendation Q.1203:

Intelligent Network Global Functional

Plane architecture, October, 1992

Q1204 CCITT Recommendation Q.1204:

Intelligent Network Distributed

Functional Plane architecture, COM

XI-R 208-E, April, 1992

Q1205 CCITT ITU-T Recommendation

Q.1205: Intelligent Network Physical

Plane architecture, March, 1993

Q1211 CCITT Recommendation Q.1211:

Introduction to Intelligent Network

Capability Set 1, COM XI-R 210-E,

April, 1992

Q1213 CCITT Recommendation Q.1213:

Global Functional Plane for Intelligent

Network CS1, COM XI-R 211-E, April,

1992

Q1214 CCITT Recommendation Q.1214 &5:

Distributed Functional Plane for

Intelligent Network CS1, COM XI-R

213-E, April, 1992

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Q1215 CCITT Recommendation Q.1215:

Physical plane for Intelligent Network

CS-1, COM XI-R 216-E, April, 1992

Q1218 CCITT Recommendation Q.1218:

Interface Recommendation for

Intelligent Network CS1, COM XI-R

217-E, April, 1992

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Broadband Integrated Services Digital

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