| draft-ietf-sigtran-m3ua-03 Description: Request For Comments
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Network Working Group G. Sidebottom, L. Ong, Guy Mousseau
INTERNET-DRAFT Nortel Networks
Ian Rytina
Ericsson
Hanns-Juergen Schwarzbauer
Siemens
Ken Morneault
Cisco
Mallesh Kalla
Telcordia
Normand Glaude
Performance Technologies
Expires in six months June 2000
SS7 MTP3-User Adaptation Layer (M3UA)
<draft-ietf-sigtran-m3ua-03.txt>
Status of This Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all
provisions of Section 10 of RFC 2026. Internet-Drafts are working
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Abstract
This Internet Draft defines a protocol for supporting the transport of
any SS7 MTP3-User signalling (e.g., ISUP and SCCP messages) over IP
using the services of the Stream Control Transmission Protocol. Also,
provision is made for protocol elements that enable a seamless operation
of the MTP3-User peers in the SS7 and IP domains. This protocol would be
used between a Signalling Gateway (SG) and a Media Gateway Controller
(MGC) or IP-resident Database. It is assumed that the SG receives SS7
signalling over a standard SS7 interface using the SS7 Message Transfer
Part (MTP) to provide transport.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction.......................................................3
1.1 Scope.........................................................3
1.2 Terminology...................................................3
1.3 M3UA Overview.................................................5
1.4 Functional Areas.............................................10
1.5 Sample Configurations........................................18
1.6 Definition of M3UA Boundaries................................21
2. Conventions.......................................................22
3. M3UA Protocol Elements............................................22
3.1 Common Message Header........................................22
3.2 Transfer Messages............................................24
3.3 SS7 Signalling Network management (SSNM) Messages............26
3.4 Application Server Process Maintenance Messages..............32
3.5 Management Messages..........................................40
4. Procedures........................................................44
4.1 Procedures to Support the Services of the M3UA Layer.........44
4.2 Procedures to Support the M3UA Services in Section 1.4.2.....44
4.3 Procedures to Support the M3UA Services in Section 1.4.4.....45
4.4 Procedures to Support the M3UA Services in Section 1.4.3.....52
5. Examples of M3UA Procedures.......................................54
5.1 Establishment of Association and Traffic
Between SGs and ASPs.........................................54
5.2 ASP traffic Fail-over Examples...............................56
5.3 M3UA/MTP3-User Boundary Examples.............................57
6. Security..........................................................61
6.1 Introduction.................................................61
6.2 Threats......................................................61
6.3 Protecting Confidentiality...................................62
7. IANA Considerations...............................................62
8. Acknowledgements..................................................62
9. References........................................................62
10. Author's Addresses...............................................65
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1. Introduction
1.1 Scope
There is a need for SCN signalling protocol delivery from an SS7
Signalling Gateway (SG) to a Media Gateway Controller (MGC) or IP-
resident Database as described in the Framework Architecture for
Signalling Transport [1]. The delivery mechanism should meet the
following criteria:
* Support for the transfer of all SS7 MTP3-User Part messages (e.g.,
ISUP, SCCP, TUP, etc.)
* Support for the seamless operation of MTP3-User protocol peers
* Support for the management of SCTP transport associations and traffic
between an SG and one or more MGCs or IP-resident Databases
* Support for MGC or IP-resident Database process fail-over and load-
sharing
* Support for the asynchronous reporting of status changes to
management
In simplistic transport terms, the SG will terminate SS7 MTP2 and MTP3
protocols and deliver ISUP, SCCP and/or any other MTP3-User protocol
messages over SCTP transport associations to MTP3-User peers in MGCs or
IP-resident Databases.
1.2 Terminology
Application Server (AS) - A logical entity serving a specific Routing
Key. An example of an Application Server is a virtual switch element
handling all call processing for a unique range of PSTN trunks,
identified by an SS7 DPC/OPC/CIC_range. Another example is a virtual
database element, handling all HLR transactions for a particular SS7
DPC/OPC/SCCP_SSN combination. The AS contains a set of one or more
unique Application Server Processes, of which one or more is normally
actively processing traffic.
Application Server Process (ASP) - A process instance of an Application
Server. An Application Server Process serves as an active or standby
process of an Application Server (e.g., part of a distributed virtual
switch or database). Examples of ASPs are processes (or process
instances of) MGCs, IP SCPs or IP HLRs. An ASP contains an SCTP end-
point and may be configured to process signalling traffic within more
than one Application Server.
Association - An association refers to an SCTP association. The
association provides the transport for MTP3-User protocol data units and
M3UA adaptation layer peer messages.
IP Server Process (IPSP) û A process instance of an IP-based
application. An IPSP is essentially the same as an ASP, except that it
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uses MU3A in a peer-to-peer fashion. Conceptually, an IPSP does not use
the services of a signalling gateway.Signalling Gateway Process (SGP) û
A process instance of a Signalling Gateway. It serves as an active,
standby or load-sharing process of a Signalling Gateway.
Signalling Process û A process instance that uses M3UA to communicate
with other signalling process. An ASP, a signalling gateway process and
an IPSP are all signalling processes.
Routing Key: A Routing Key describes a set of SS7 parameter and
parameter values that uniquely define the range of signalling traffic to
be handled by a particular Application Server. For example, where all
traffic directed to an SS7 DPC, OPC and ISUP CIC_range(s) or SCCP SSN is
to be sent to a particular Application Server, that SS7 data defines the
associated Routing Key. Routing Keys are unique in the sense that a
received SS7 signalling message cannot be directed to more than one
Routing Key. Also, a Routing Key cannot extend across more than a
single SS7 DPC, in order to more easily support SS7 Management
procedures. It is not necessary for the parameter range values within a
particular Routing Key to be contiguous. For example, an ASP could be
configured to support call processing for multiple ranges of PSTN trunks
that are not represented by contiguous CIC values.
Routing Context û An Application Server Process may be configured to
process traffic related to more than one Application Server, over a
single SCTP Association. At an ASP, the Routing Context parameter
uniquely identifies the traffic associated with each Application Server
that the ASP is configured to support. There is a 1:1 relationship
between a received Routing Context value and a Routing Key entry at the
sending node. Therefore the Routing Context can be viewed as an index
into a sending node's Message Distribution Table containing the Routing
Key entries.
Fail-over - The capability to re-route signalling traffic as required to
an alternate Application Server Process, or group of ASPs, within an
Application Server in the event of failure or unavailability of a
currently used Application Server Process. Fail-back may apply upon the
return to service of a previously unavailable Application Server
Process.
Signalling Point Management Cluster (SPMC) - A complete set of
Application Servers represented to the SS7 network under the same SS7
Point Code. SPMCs are used to sum the availability / congestion /
User_Part status of an SS7 destination point code that is distributed in
the IP domain, for the purpose of supporting MTP3 management procedures
at an SG. In some cases, the SG itself may also be a member of the
SPMC. In this case, the SG availability / congestion / User_Part status
must also be taken into account when considering any supporting MTP3
management actions.
MTP û The Message Transfer Part of the SS7 protocol
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MTP3 û MTP Level 3, the signalling network layer of SS7
MTP3-User - Any protocol normally using the services of the SS7 MTP3
(e.g., ISUP, SCCP, TUP, etc.).
Network Appearance û The Network Appearance identifies an SS7 network
context for the purposes of logically separating the signalling traffic
between the SG and the Application Server Processes over a common SCTP
Association. An example is where an SG is logically partitioned to
appear as an element in four separate national SS7 networks. A Network
Appearance implicitly defines the SS7 Point Code(s), Network Indicator
and MTP3 protocol type/variant/version used within a specific SS7
network partition. A physical SS7 route-set or link-set at an SG can
appear in only one network appearance. The Network Appearance is not
globally significant and requires coordination only between the SG and
the ASP.
Network Byte Order: Most significant byte first, a.k.a Big Endian.
Layer Management û Layer Management is a nodal function that handles the
inputs and outputs between the M3UA layer and a local management entity.
Host - The computing platform that the ASP process is running on.
Stream - A stream refers to an SCTP stream.
1.3 M3UA Overview
1.3.1 Protocol Architecture.
The framework architecture that has been defined for SCN signalling
transport over IP [1] uses multiple components, including a common
signalling transport protocol and an adaptation module to support the
services expected by a particular SCN signalling protocol from its
underlying protocol layer.
Within the framework architecture, this document defines an MTP3-User
adaptation module suitable for supporting the transfer of messages of
any protocol layer that is identified to the MTP Level 3 layer, in SS7
terms, as a user part. The list of these protocol layers include, but
is not limited to, ISDN User Part (ISUP) [2,3,4], Signalling Connection
Control Part (SCCP) [5,6,7] and Telephone User Part (TUP) [8]. TCAP
[9,10,11] or RANAP [12] messages are transferred transparently by the
M3UA as SCCP payload, as they are SCCP-User protocols.
It is recommended that the M3UA use the services of the Stream Control
Transmission Protocol (SCTP) [13] as the underlying reliable common
signalling transport protocol. This is to take advantage of various SCTP
features such as:
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- Explicit packet-oriented delivery (not stream-oriented);
- Sequenced delivery of user messages within multiple streams,
with an option for order-of-arrival delivery of individual
user messages,
- Optional multiplexing of user messages into SCTP datagrams;
- Network-level fault tolerance through support of multi-homing
at either or both ends of an association;
- Resistance to flooding and masquerade attacks; and - Data
segmentation to conform to discovered path MTU size.
Under certain scenarios, such as back-to-back connections without
redundancy requirements, the SCTP functions above may not be necessary.
In these cases, it is acceptable to use TCP as the underlying common
transport protocol.
1.3.2 Services Provided by the M3UA Layer
The M3UA Layer at an ASP provides the equivalent set of primitives at
its upper layer to the MTP3-Users as provided by the MTP Level 3 to its
local users at an SS7 SEP. In this way, the ISUP and/or SCCP layer at
an ASP is unaware that the expected MTP3 services are offered remotely
from an MTP3 Layer at an SG, and not by a local MTP3 layer. The MTP3
layer at an SG may also be unaware that its local users are actually
remote user parts over M3UA. In effect, the M3UA extends access to the
MTP3 layer services to a remote IP-based application. The M3UA does not
itself provide the MTP3 services.
The M3UA Layer may also be used for point-to-point signalling between
two IP Server Processes (IPSPs). In this case, the M3UA provides the
same set of primitives and services at its upper layer as the MTP3.
However, in this case the expected MTP3 services are not offered
remotely from an SG. The MTP3 services are provided but the procedures
to support these services are a subset of the MTP3 procedures due to
the simplified point-to-point nature of the IPSP to IPSP relationship.
1.3.2.1 Support for the transport of MTP3-User Messages
The M3UA provides the transport of MTP-TRANSFER primitives across an
established SCTP association between an SG and an ASP and between IPSPs.
The MTP-TRANSFER primitives are encoded as MTP3-User messages with
attached MTP3 Routing Labels as described in the message format sections
of the SCCP and ISUP recommendations. In this way, the SCCP and ISUP
messages received from the SS7 network are not re-encoded into a
different format for transport to/from the server processes. As well,
all the required MTP3 Routing Label information (OPC, DPC, SIO) is
available at the ASP and the IPSP as is expected by the MTP3-User
protocol layer.
The M3UA does not impose a 272-octet user information block limit as
specified by the SS7 MTP Level 3 protocol. Larger information blocks
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can be accommodated directly by M3UA/SCTP, without the need for an upper
layer segmentation/re-assembly procedure as specified in recent SCCP or
ISUP versions. However, in the context of an SG, the maximum 272-octet
block size must be followed when inter-working to a SS7 network that
does
not support the transfer of larger information blocks to the final
destination. This avoids potential ISUP or SCCP fragmentation
requirements at the SG. However, if the SS7 network is provisioned to
support the Broadband MTP [20] to the final SS7 destination, the
information block size limit may be increased past 272 octets.
1.3.2.2 Native Management Functions
The M3UA provides management of the underlying SCTP transport protocol
to ensure that SG-ASP and IPSP-IPSP transport is available to the degree
called for by the MTP3-User signalling applications.
The M3UA provides the capability to indicate errors associated with
received M3UA messages and to notify, as appropriate, local management
and/or the peer M3UA.
1.3.2.3 Inter-working with MTP3 Network Management Functions
At the SG, the M3UA must also provide inter-working with MTP3 management
functions to support seamless operation of the user SCN signalling
applications in the SS7 and IP domains. This includes:
- Providing an indication to MTP3-Users at an ASP that a remote
destination in the SS7 network is not reachable.
- Providing an indication to MTP3-Users at an ASP that a remote
destination in the SS7 network is now reachable.
- Providing an indication to MTP3-Users at an ASP that messages to a
remote MTP3-User peer in the SS7 network are experiencing SS7
congestion
- Providing an indication to MTP3-Users at an ASP that a remote MTP3-
User peer is unavailable.
The M3UA layer at an ASP may initiate an audit of the availability or
the congested state of remote SS7 destinations. This information is
requested from the M3UA at the SG.
1.3.2.4 Support for the management of SCTP associations between the SG
and ASPs.
The M3UA layer at the SG maintains the availability state of all
configured remote ASPs, in order to manage the SCTP Associations and the
traffic between the SG and ASPs. As well, the active/inactive state of
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remote ASPs is also maintained - Active ASPs are those currently
receiving traffic from the SG.
The M3UA layer may be instructed by local management to establish an
SCTP association to a peer M3UA node. This can be achieved using the M-
SCTP ESTABLISH primitive to request, indicate and confirm the
establishment of an SCTP association with a peer M3UA node.
The M3UA layer may also need to inform local management of the status of
the underlying SCTP associations using the M-SCTP STATUS request and
indication primitive. For example, the M3UA may inform local management
of the reason for the release of an SCTP association, determined either
locally within the M3UA layer or by a primitive from the SCTP.
Also the M3UA layer may need to inform the local management of the
change in status of an ASP or AS. This can be achieved using the M-ASP
STATUS or M-AS STATUS primitives.
1.3.3 Signalling Network Architecture
A Signalling Gateway is used to support the transport of MTP3-User
signalling traffic received from the SS7 network to multiple distributed
ASPs (e.g., MGCs and IP Databases). Clearly, the M3UA protocol
description is not designed to meet any performance and reliability
requirements for such transport. However, the conjunction of
distributed architecture and redundant networks does allow for reliable
transport of signalling traffic over IP. The M3UA protocol is flexible
enough to allow its operation and management in a variety of physical
configurations, enabling Network Operators to meet their performance and
reliability requirements.
To meet the stringent SS7 signalling reliability and performance
requirements for carrier grade networks, these Network Operators should
ensure that no single point of failure is present in the end-to-end
network architecture between an SS7 node and an IP-based application.
This can typically be achieved through the use of redundant SGs,
redundant hosts, and the provision of redundant QOS-bounded IP network
paths for SCTP Associations between SCTP End Points. Obviously, the
reliability of the SG, the MGC and other IP-based functional elements
also needs to be taken into account. The distribution of ASPs within
the available Hosts must also be considered. As an example, for a
particular Application Server, the related ASPs should be distributed
over at least two Hosts.
Here is one example of a physical network architecture relevant to SS7
carrier-grade operation, in the IP network domain, shown in Figure 1
below:
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SG MGC
Host#1 ************** ************** Host#1
= * ********__*__________________________*__******** * =
SG1 * * SGP1 *__*_____ _______________*__* ASP1 * * MGC1
* ******** * \ / * ******** *
* ********__*______\__/________________*__******** *
* * SGP2 *__*_______\/______ _____*__* ASP2 * *
* ******** * /\ | | * ******** *
* : * / \ | | * : *
* ******** * / \ | | * ******** *
* * SGPn * * | | | | * * ASPn * *
* ******** * | | | | * ******** *
************** | | | | **************
| | \ /
Host#2 ************** | | \ / ************** Host#2
= * ********__*_____| |______\/_______*__******** * =
SG2 * * SGP1 *__*_________________/\_______*__* ASP1 * * MGC2
* ******** * / \ * ******** *
* ********__*_______________/ \_____*__******** *
* * SGP2 *__*__________________________*__* ASP2 * *
* ******** * * ******** *
* : * SCTP Associations * : *
* ******** * * ******** *
* * SGPn * * * * ASPn * *
* ******** * * ******** *
************** **************
Figure 1 û Physical Model
In this model, each host has many application processes. In the case of
the MGC, an ASP may provide service to one or more application server,
and is identified as an SCTP end point. In the case of the SG, a pair
of signalling gateway processes may represent, as an example, a single
network appearance, serving a signalling point management cluster.
This example model can also be applied to IPSP-IPSP signalling. In this
case, each IPSP would have its services distributed across 2 hosts or
more, and may have multiple server processes on each host.
In the example above, each signalling process (SGP, ASP or IPSP) is the
end point to more than one SCTP association, leading to many other
signalling processes. To support this, a signalling process must be
able to support distribution of M3UA messages to many simultaneous
active associations. This message distribution function is based on the
status of provisioned routing keys, the availability of signalling
points in the SS7 network, and the redundancy model (active-standby,
load-sharing, n+k) of the remote signalling processes.
For carrier grade networks, Operators should ensure that under failure
or isolation of a particular signalling process, stable calls or
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transactions are not lost. This implies that signalling processes need,
in some cases, to share the call or transaction state information with
other signalling processes. In the case of ASPs performing call
processing, coordination may also be required with the related Media
Gateway to transfer the MGC control for a particular trunk termination.
However, this sharing or communication is outside the scope of this
document.
This model serves as an example. M3UA imposes no restrictions as to the
exact layout of the network elements, the message distribution
algorithms and the distribution of the signalling processes. Instead,
it provides a framework and a set of messages that allow for a flexible
and scalable signalling network architecture, aiming to provide
reliability and performance.
1.4 Functional Areas
1.4.1 Signalling Point Code Representation
Within an SS7 network, a Signalling Gateway is charged with representing
a set of nodes in the IP domain into the SS7 network for routing
purposes. The SG itself, as a physical node in the SS7 network, must be
addressable with an SS7 Point Code for MTP3 Management purposes. The SG
Point Code will also be used for addressing any local MTP3-Users at the
SG such as an SG-resident SCCP function.
An SG may be logically partitioned to operate in multiple SS7 network
Appearances. In such a case, the SG must be addressable with a Point
Code in each network appearance, and must represent a set of nodes in
the IP domain into each SS7 network. Alias PCs may also be used within
an SG network appearance, but SG MTP3 management messages to/from the
SS7 network will not use the alias PCs.
The M3UA places no restrictions on the SS7 Point Code representation of
an AS. Application servers can be represented under the same PC of the
SG, their own individual Point Codes or grouped with other applications
for Point Code preservation purposes. A single Point Code may be used
to represent the SG and all the ASPs together, if desired.
If an ASP or group of ASPs is available to the SS7 network via more than
one SG, each with its own Point Code, the ASP(s) can be represented by a
Point Code that is separate from any SG Point Code. This allows these
SGs to be viewed from the SS7 network as "STPs", each having an ongoing
"route" to the same ASP(s). Under failure conditions where an ASP
becomes unavailable from one of the SGs, this approach enables MTP3
route management messaging between the SG and SS7 network, allowing
simple SS7 re-routing through an alternate SG without changing the
Destination Point Code Address of SS7 traffic to the ASPs.
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+--------+
| |
+------------+ SG 1 +--------------+
+-------+ | SS7 links | "STP" | IP network | ----
| SEP +---+ +--------+ +---/ \
| or | | ASPs |
| STP +---+ +--------+ +---\ /
+-------+ | | | | ----
+------------+ SG 2 +--------------+
| "STP" |
+--------+
Note: there is no SG to SG communication shown, so each SG can be
reached only via the direct Linkset from the SS7 network.
The following example shows a signalling gateway partitioned into two
network appearances.
SG
+-------+ +---------------+
| SEP +--------------| SS7 Ntwk |M3UA| ----
+-------+ SS7 links | "A" | | / \
|__________| +-----------+ ASPs |
| | | \ /
+-------+ | SS7 Ntwk | | ----
| SEP +--------------+ "B" | |
+-------+ +---------------+
1.4.2 Message Distribution
1.4.2.1 Address Translation and Mapping at the SG
In order to direct messages received from the SS7 MTP3 network to the
appropriate IP destination, the SG must perform address translation and
mapping functions using information from the received MTP3-User message.
To support this message distribution, the SG must maintain the
equivalent of a network address translation table, mapping incoming SS7
message information to an Application Server for a particular
application and range of traffic. This is accomplished by comparing
elements of the incoming SS7 message to provisioned Routing Keys in the
SG. These Routing Keys in turn make reference to an Application Server
that is enabled by one or more ASP. These ASPs provide dynamic status
information to the SG using various management messages defined in the
M3UA protocol. Possible SS7 address/routing information that comprise a
Routing Key entry includes, for example, the OPC, DPC, SIO found in the
MTP3 routing label, or other MTP3-User specific fields such as the ISUP
CIC, SCCP subsystem number, or TCAP transaction ID. Some example routing
keys are: the DPC alone, the DPC/OPC combination, the DPC/OPC/CIC
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combination, or the DPC/SSN combination. The particular information
used to define an M3UA Routing Key is application and network dependent,
and none of the above examples are mandated.
An Application Server contains a list of one or more ASPs that are
capable of processing the traffic. This list is assumed to be dynamic,
taking into account the availability status of the individual ASPs in
the list, configuration changes, and possible fail-over mechanisms. The
M3UA protocol includes messages to convey the availability status of the
individual ASPs as input to a fail-over mechanism.
Normally, one or more ASPs is active in the ASP (i.e., currently
processing traffic) but in certain failure and transition cases it is
possible that there may not be an active ASP available. Both load-
sharing and backup scenarios are supported.
When there is no Routing Key match for an incoming SS7 message, a
default treatment must be specified. Possible solutions are to provide
a default Application Server at the SG that directs all unallocated
traffic to a (set of) default ASP(s), or to drop the messages and
provide a notification to management. The treatment of unallocated
traffic is implementation dependent.
1.4.2.2 Address Translation and Mapping at the ASP
In order to direct messages to the SS7 network, the ASP must also
perform an address translation and mapping function in order to choose
the proper SGP for a given message. This is accomplished by observing
elements of the outgoing message, SS7 network status, SGP availability
and network appearance configuration tables.
A Signalling Gateway contains a list of one or more SGPs that are
capable of routing SS7 traffic. As is the case with ASPs, this list can
be dynamic, taking into account the availability status of the
individual SGPs, configuration changes and fail-over mechanisms.
1.4.3 SS7 and M3UA Interworking
In the case of SS7 and M3UA inter-working, the M3UA adaptation layer is
designed to provide an extension of the MTP3 defined user primitives.
1.4.3.1 Signalling Gateway SS7 Layers
The SG is responsible for terminating MTP Level 3 of the SS7 protocol,
and offering an IP-based extension to its users.
>From an SS7 perspective, it is expected that the Signalling Gateway (SG)
transmits and receives SS7 Message Signalling Units (MSUs) to and from
the PSTN over a standard SS7 network interface, using the SS7 Message
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Transfer Part (MTP) [14,15,16] to provide reliable transport of the
messages.
As a standard SS7 network interface, the use of MTP Level 2 signalling
links is not the only possibility. ATM-based High Speed Links can also
be used with the services of the Signalling ATM Adaptation Layer (SAAL)
[17,18]. It is possible for IP-based links to be present, using the
services of the MTP2-User Adaptation Layer (M2UA) [19]. These SS7
datalinks may be terminated at a Signalling Transfer Point (STP) or at a
Signalling End Point (SEP). Using the services of MTP3, the SG may be
capable of communicating with remote SS7 SEPs in a quasi-associated
fashion, where STPs may be present in the SS7 path between the SEP and
the SG.
Where ATM-based High Speed Links are used in the SS7 network, it is
possible for the SG to use the services of the MTP-3b [20] for reliable
transport to and from an SS7 SEP or STP. The maximum Service Data Unit
(SDU) supported by the MTP-3b is 4096 octets compared to the 272-octet
maximum of the MTP3. However, for MTP3-Users to take advantage of the
larger SDU between MTP3-User peers, network architects should ensure
that MTP3-b is used end-to-end between the SG and the SS7-resident peer.
1.4.3.2 SS7 and M3UA Inter-Working at the SG
The SG provides a functional inter-working of transport functions
between the SS7 network and the IP network by also supporting the M3UA
adaptation layer. It allows the transfer of MTP3-User signalling
messages to and from an IP-based Application Server Process where the
peer MTP3-User protocol layer exists.
The Signalling Gateway must maintain knowledge of SS7 node and
Signalling Point Management Cluster (SPMC) status in their respective
domains in order to perform a seamless inter-working of the IP-based
signalling and the SS7 domains. For example, SG knowledge of the
availability and/or congestion status of the SPMC and SS7 nodes must be
maintained and disseminated in the respective networks, in order to
ensure that end-to-end operation is transparent to the communicating SCN
protocol peers at the SS7 node and ASP.
When the SG determines that the transport of SS7 messages to an SPMC is
encountering congestion, the SG may optionally inform the MTP3 route
management function (by an implementation-dependent mechanism). This
information is used by the MTP3 to mark the route to the affected
destination as congested and to trigger MTP Transfer Controlled (TFC)
messages to any SS7 SEPs generating traffic to the congested DPC, as per
current MTP3 procedures.
When the SG determines that the transport of SS7 messages to all ASPs in
a particular SPMC is interrupted, then it may similarly optionally
inform the MTP3 route management function. This information is used by
the MTP3 to mark the route to the affected destination as unavailable,
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and in the case of a signalling transfer point, to send MTP Transfer
Prohibited (TFP) messages to the relevant adjacent SS7 nodes, according
to the local SS7 network procedures.
When the SG determines that the transport of SS7 messages to an ASP in a
particular SPMC can be resumed, the SG may similarly optionally inform
the MTP3 route management function. This information is used by the
MTP3 to mark the route to the affected destination as available, and in
the case of a signalling transfer point, to send MTP Transfer Allowed
(TFA) messages to the relevant adjacent SS7 nodes, according to the
local SS7 network procedures. In some SS7 network architectures,
sending TFP and TFA messages from the SG into the SS7 network should be
suppressed. As an example, in the case where the SG is seen by the
adjacent SS7 nodes as an SEP (i.e., in ANSI MTP terms the SG is
connected via A-links or F-links), TFP or TFA messages would not
normally be expected by the adjacent SS7 node.
In the case of SS7 user part management, it is required that the MTP3-
User protocols at ASPs receive indications of SS7 signalling point
availability, SS7 network congestion and User Part availability as would
be expected an SS7 SEP node. To accomplish this, the MTP-PAUSE, MTP-
RESUME and MTP-STATUS indication primitives received at the MTP3 upper
layer interface at the SG need to be made propagated to the remote MTP3-
User lower layer interface at the ASP. These indication primitives are
also made available to any existing local MTP3-Users at the SG, if
present.
It is important to clarify that MTP3 management messages such as TFPs or
TFAs received from the SS7 network are not "encapsulated" and sent
blindly to the ASPs. Rather, the existing MTP3 management procedures
are followed within the MTP3 function of the SG to re-calculate the MTP3
route set status and initiate any required signalling-route-set-test
procedures into the SS7 network. Only when an SS7 destination status
changes are MTP-PAUSE or MTP-RESUME primitives invoked. These
primitives can also be invoked due to local SS7 link set conditions as
per existing MTP3 procedures.
1.4.3.2 Application Server
A cluster of application servers is responsible for providing the
overall support for one or many SS7 upper layers. From an SS7
standpoint, a signalling point management cluster (SPMC) must provide
complete support for the upper layer service for a given point code. As
an example, such a SPMC providing MGC capabilities must provide complete
support for ISUP for a given point code, according to the local SS7
network specifications.
This measure is necessary to allow the SG to accurately represent the
signalling point on the local SS7 network.
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1.4.3.3 IPSP
Since IPSPs use M3UA in a point-to-point fashion, there is no concept of
routing of messages beyond the remote end. Therefore, SS7 and M3UA
inter-working is not necessary for this model.
1.4.4 Redundancy Models
The network address translation and mapping function of the M3UA layer
supports signalling process fail-over functions in order to support a
high availability of call and transaction processing capability.
1.4.4.1 Application Server Redundancy
All MTP3-User messages (e.g., ISUP, SCCP) incoming to an SG from the SS7
network are assigned to a unique Application Server, based on the
information in the message and the provisioned Routing Keys.
The Application Server is, in practical terms a list of all ASPs
actively configured to process a range of MTP3-User traffic defined by
Routing Keys. One or more ASPs in the list are normally active (i.e.,
handling traffic) while any others may be unavailable or inactive, to be
possibly used in the event of failure or unavailability of the active
ASP(s).
The fail-over model supports an "n+k" redundancy model, where "n" ASPs
is the minimum number of redundant ASPs required to handle traffic and
"k" ASPs are available to take over for a failed or unavailable ASP. A
"1+1" active/standby redundancy is a subset of this model. A simplex
"1+0" model is also supported as a subset, with no ASP redundancy.
At the SG, an Application Server list contains active and inactive ASPs
to support ASP load-sharing and fail-over procedures. The list of ASPs
within a logical Application Server is kept updated in the SG to reflect
the active Application Server Process(es).
To avoid a single point of failure, it is recommended that a minimum of
two ASPs be in the list, resident in separate hosts, and therefore
available over different SCTP Associations. For example, in the network
shown in Figure 1, all messages to DPC x could be sent to ASP1 in Host1
or ASP1 in Host2. The AS list at SG1 might look like this:
Routing Key {DPC=x) - "Application Server #1"
ASP1/Host1 û State=Up, Active
ASP1/Host2 û State=Up, Inactive
In this "1+1" redundancy case, ASP1 in Host1 would be sent any incoming
message with DPC=x. ASP1 in Host2 would normally be brought to the
active state upon failure of, or loss of connectivity to, ASP1/Host1. In
this example, both ASPs are Up, meaning that the related SCTP
association and far-end M3UA peer is ready.
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The AS List at SG1 might also be set up in load-share mode:
Routing Key {DPC=x) - "Application Server #1"
ASP1/Host1 û State = Up, Active
ASP1/Host2 û State = Up, Active
In this case, both the ASPs would be sent a portion of the traffic. For
example the two ASPs could together form a database, where incoming
queries may be sent to any active ASP.
Care must be exercised by a Network Operator in the selection of the
routing information to be used as the Routing Key for a particular AS.
For example, where Application Servers are defined using ranges of ISUP
CIC values, the Operator is implicitly splitting up control of the
related circuit groups. Some CIC value range assignments may interfere
with ISUP circuit group management procedures. Similarly, within an AS,
if a load-balancing algorithm were to use CIC values to balance the load
across the ASPs, the span of circuit contol assigned to particular ASPs
must also be weighed against the ISUP circuit group management
procedures.
In the process of fail-over or fail-back, it is recommended that in the
case of ASPs supporting call processing, stable calls do not fail. It
is possible that calls in "transition" may fail, although measures of
communication between the ASPs involved can be used to mitigate this.
For example, the two ASPs may share call state via shared memory, or may
use an ASP to ASP protocol to pass call state information.
1.4.4.2 Signalling Gateway Redundancy
Signalling Gateways may also be distributed over multiple hosts. Much
like the AS model, SGs are comprised of one or more SG processes (SGP),
distributed over one or more hosts, using an active/standby or a load-
sharing model. An SGP is viewed as a remote SCTP end-point from an ASP
perspective.
It is therefore possible for an ASP to route signalling messages
destined to the SS7 network using more than one SGP. In this model, a
signalling gateway is deployed as a cluster of hosts acting as a single
SG. A primary/back-up redundancy model is possible, where the
unavailability of the SCTP association to a primary SGP, or the
unavailability of the SS7 destination node from the primary SGP, could
be used to reroute affected traffic to an alternate SGP. A load-sharing
model is possible, where the signalling messages are load-shared between
multiple SGPs.
It may also be possible for an AS to use more than one SG to access a
specific SS7 end point, in a model that resembles an SS7 STP mated pair.
Typically, SS7 STPs are deployed in mated pairs, with traffic load-
shared between them. Other models are also possible, subject to the
limitations of the local SS7 network provisioning guidelines.
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>From the perspective of an ASP, a particular SG is capable of
transferring traffic to an SS7 destination if an SCTP association with
the SGP is established, the SGP has received an indication from the ASP
that it is actively handling traffic for that destination, and the SG
has not indicated that the destination is inaccessible. When an ASP is
configured to use multiple SGPs or SGs for transferring traffic to the
SS7 network, the ASP must maintain knowledge of the current capability
of the SG to handle traffic to destinations of interest. This
information is crucial to the overall reliability of the service, for
both active/standby and load-sharing model, in the event of failures,
recovery and maintenance activities. The ASP may also use this
information for congestion avoidance purposes.
1.4.5 Management Inhibit/Uninhibit
Local Management at an ASP or SG may wish to stop traffic across an SCTP
association in order to temporarily remove the association from service
or to perform testing and maintenance activity. The function could
optionally be used to control the start of traffic on to a newly
available SCTP association.
1.4.6 Congestion Management
The M3UA Layer is informed of local and IP network congestion by means
of an implementation-dependent function (e.g., an implementation-
dependent indication from the SCTP of IP network congestion). When an SG
determines that the transport of SS7 messages to a Signalling Point
Management Cluster (SPMC) is encountering congestion, the SG may
optionally trigger SS7 MTP3 Transfer Controlled management messages to
originating SS7 nodes. The triggering of SS7 MTP3 Management messages
from an SG is an implementation-dependent function.
At an ASP, congestion is indicated to local MTP3-Users by means of an
MTP-Status primitive indicating congestion, to invoke appropriate upper
layer responses, as per current MTP3 procedures.
1.4.7 SCTP Stream Mapping.
The M3UA at both the SG and ASP also supports the assignment of
signalling traffic into streams within an SCTP association. Traffic
that requires sequencing must be assigned to the same stream. To
accomplish this, MTP3-User traffic may be assigned to individual streams
based on the SLS value in the MTP3 Routing Label or the ISUP CIC
assignment, subject of course to the maximum number of streams supported
by the underlying SCTP association.
The use of SCTP streams within M3UA is recommended in order to minimize
transmission and buffering delays, therefore improving the overall
performance and reliability of the signalling elements. The
distribution of the MTP3 user messages over the various streams should
be done in such
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a way to minimize message mis-sequencing, as required by the SS7 User
Parts.
1.4.8 Client/Server Model
The SG takes on the role of server while the ASP is the client. ASPs
must initiate the SCTP association to the SG.
The SCTP (and UDP/TCP) Registered User Port Number Assignment for M3UA
is 2905.
1.5 Sample Configurations
1.5.1 Example 1: ISUP message transport
******** SS7 ***************** IP ********
* SEP *---------* SG *--------* ASP *
******** ***************** ********
+------+ +------+
| ISUP | (NIF) | ISUP |
+------+ +------+-+------+ +------+
| MTP3 | | MTP3 | | M3UA | | M3UA |
+------| +------+ +------+ +------+
| MTP2 | | MTP2 | | SCTP | | SCTP |
+------+ +------+ +------+ +------+
| L1 | | L1 | | IP | | IP |
+------+ +------+ +------+ +------+
|_______________| |______________|
SEP - SS7 Signalling End Point
SCTP - Stream Control Transmission Protocol
NIF û Nodal Inter-working Function
In this example, the SG provides an implementation-dependent nodal
inter-working function (NIF) that allows the MGC to exchange SS7
signalling messages with the SS7-based SEP. The NIF within the SG
serves to transport messages within the SG between the MTP3 and M3UA.
This nodal inter-working function has no visible peer protocol with
either the MGC or SEP. It also provides network status information to
one or both sides of the network.
For internal SG modeling purposes, at the NIF level, SS7 signalling
messages that are destined to the MGC are received as MTP-TRANSFER
indication primitives from the MTP Level 3 upper layer interface and are
sent to the local M3UA-resident message distribution function for
ongoing routing to the final IP destination. MTP-TRANSFER primitives
received from the local M3UA network address translation and mapping
function are sent to the MTP Level 3 upper layer interface as MTP-
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TRANSFER request primitives for on-going MTP Level 3 routing to an SS7
SEP. For the purposes of providing SS7 network status information the
NIF also delivers MTP-PAUSE, MTP-RESUME and MTP-STATUS indication
primitives received from the MTP Level 3 upper layer interface to the
local M3UA-resident management function.
1.5.2 Example 2: SCCP Transport between IPSPs
******** IP ********
* IPSP * * IPSP *
******** ********
+------+ +------+
|SCCP- | |SCCP- |
| User | | User |
+------+ +------+
| SCCP | | SCCP |
+------+ +------+
| M3UA | | M3UA |
+------+ +------+
| SCTP | | SCTP |
+------+ +------+
| IP | | IP |
+------+ +------+
|________________|
This example shows an architecture where no Signalling Gateway is used.
In this example, SCCP messages are exchanged directly between two IP-
resident IPSPs with resident SCCP-User protocol instances, such as RANAP
or TCAP. SS7 network inter-working is not required, therefore there is
no MTP3 network management status information for the SCCP and SCCP-User
protocols to consider. Any MTP-PAUSE, -RESUME or -STATUS indications
from the M3UA to the SCCP should consider only the status of the SCTP
Association and underlying IP network.
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1.5.3 Example 3: SG resident SCCP layer, with remote ASP
******** SS7 ***************** IP ********
* SEP *---------* *--------* *
* or * * SG * * ASP *
* STP * * * * *
******** ***************** ********
+------+ +---------------+ +------+
| SCCP-| | SCCP | | SCCP-|
| User | +---------------+ | User |
+------+ | _____ | +------+
| SCCP | | | | | | SCCP |
+------+ +------+-+------+ +------+
| MTP3 | | MTP3 | | M3UA | | M3UA |
+------| +------+ +------+ +------+
| MTP2 | | MTP2 | | SCTP | | SCTP |
+------+ +------+ +------+ +------+
| L1 | | L1 | | IP | | IP |
+------+ +------+ +------+ +------+
|_______________| |______________|
STP - SS7 Signalling Transfer Point
In this example, the SG contains an instance of the SS7 SCCP protocol
layer that may, for example, perform the SCCP Global Title Translation
(GTT) function for messages logically addressed to the SG SCCP. If the
result of a GTT for an SCCP message yields an SS7 DPC or DPC/SSN address
result of an SCCP peer located in the IP domain, the resulting MTP-
TRANSFER request primitive is sent to the local M3UA-resident network
address translation and mapping function for ongoing routing to the
final IP destination.
Similarly, the SCCP instance in an SG can perform the SCCP GTT service
for messages logically addressed to it from SCCP peers in the IP domain.
In this case, MTP-TRANSFER messages are sent from the local M3UA-
resident network address translation and mapping function to the SCCP
for GTT. If the result of the GTT yields the address of an SCCP peer in
the SS7 network then the resulting MTP-TRANSFER request is given to the
MTP3 for delivery to an SS7-resident node.
It is possible that the above SCCP GTT at the SG could yield the address
of an SCCP peer in the IP domain and the resulting MTP-TRANSFER
primitive would be sent back to the M3UA for delivery to an IP
destination.
For internal SG modeling purposes, this may be accomplished with the use
of an implementation-dependent nodal inter-working function within the
SG that effectively sits below the SCCP and routes MTP-TRANSFER messages
to/from both the MTP3 and the M3UA, based on the SS7 DPC or DPC/SSN
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address information. This nodal inter-working function has no visible
peer protocol with either the ASP or SEP.
Note that the services and interface provided by the M3UA are the same
as in Example 1 and the functions taking place in the SCCP entity are
transparent to M3UA. The SCCP protocol functions are not reproduced in
the M3UA protocol.
1.6 Definition of M3UA Boundaries
1.6.1 Definition of the boundary between M3UA and an MTP3-User.
>From ITU Q.701 [2]:
MTP-TRANSFER request
MTP-TRANSFER indication
MTP-PAUSE indication
MTP-RESUME indication
MTP-STATUS indication
1.6.2 Definition of the boundary between M3UA and SCTP
The upper layer primitives provided by the SCTP are provided in [13]
1.6.3 Definition of the Boundary between M3UA and Layer Management
M-SCTP ESTABLISH request
M-SCTP ESTABLISH indication
M-STCP ESTABLISH confirm
M-SCTP RELEASE request
M-SCTP RELEASE indication
M-SCTP RELEASE confirm
M-SCTP STATUS request
M-SCTP STATUS indication
M-ASP STATUS request
M-ASP STATUS indication
M-AS-STATUS request
M-AS-STATUS indication
M-NOTIFY indication
M-ERROR indication
M-ASP-INHIBIT request
M-ASP-UNINHIBIT request
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2.0 Conventions
The keywords MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD
NOT, RECOMMENDED, NOT RECOMMENDED, MAY, and OPTIONAL, when they appear
in this document, are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].
3.0 M3UA Protocol Elements
The general M3UA message format includes a Common Message Header
followed by zero or more parameters as defined by the Message Type. For
forward compatibility, all Message Types may have attached parameters
even if none are specified in this version.
3.1 Common Message Header
The protocol messages for MTP3-User Adaptation require a message
structure that contains a version, message type, message length, and
message contents. This message header is common among all signalling
protocol adaptation layers:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Version | Reserved | Message Class | Message Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Message Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| |
All fields in an M3UA message MUST be transmitted in the network byte
order, unless otherwise stated.
M3UA Protocol Version: 8 bits (unsigned integer)
The version field contains the version of the M3UA adaptation layer.
The supported versions are:
Value Version
----- -------
1 Release 1.0
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Message Class: 8 bits (unsigned integer)
The following list contains the Message Type Classes for the defined
messages.
0 Management (MGMT) Message
1 Transfer Messages
2 SS7 Signalling Network Management (SSNM) Messages
3 ASP State Maintenance (ASPSM) Messages
4 ASP Traffic Maintenance (ASPTM) Messages
5 to 255 Reserved
Message Type: 8 bits (unsigned integer)
The following list contains the message types for the defined
messages.
Management (MGMT) Message
0 Error (ERR)
1 Notify (NTFY)
2 to 255 Reserved for Management Messages
Transfer Messages
0 Reserved
1 Payload Data (DATA)
2 to 255 Reserved for Transfer Messages
SS7 Signalling Network Management (SSNM) Messages
0 SS7 Network Isolation (S7ISO)
1 Destination Unavailable (DUNA)
2 Destination Available (DAVA)
3 Destination State Audit (DAUD)
4 SS7 Network Congestion State (SCON)
5 Destination User Part Unavailable (DUPU)
6 to 255 Reserved for SSNM Messages
ASP State Maintenance (ASPSM) Messages
0 Reserved
1 ASP Up (UP)
2 ASP Down (DOWN) 3 Heartbeat (HEARTBEAT)
4 ASP Up Ack (UP ACK)
5 ASP Down Ack (DOWN ACK)
6 to 255 Reserved for ASPSM Messages
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ASP Traffic Maintenance (ASPTM) Messages
0 Reserved
1 ASP Active (ACTIVE)
2 ASP Inactive (INACTIVE)
3 ASP Active Ack (ACTIVE ACK)
4 ASP Inactive Ack (INACTIVE ACK)
5 to 255 Reserved for ASPTM Messages
Reserved: 5 bits
Should be set to all '0's and ignored by the receiver.
Message Length: 32-bits (unsigned integer)
The Message Length defines the length of the message in octets, not
including the header.
3.2 Variable-Length Parameter Format
M3UA messages consist of a Common Header followed by zero or more
variable-length parameters, as defined by the message type. The
variable-length parameters contained in a message are defined in a Tag-
Length-Value format as shown below.
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Parameter Tag | Parameter Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
/ Parameter Value /
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Parameter Tag: 16 bits (unsigned integer)
Tag field is a 16-bit identifier of the type of parameter. It takes a
value of 0 to 65534.
The value of 65535 is reserved for IETF-defined extensions. Values
other than those defined in specific parameter description are
reserved for use by the IETF.
Parameter Length: 16 bits (unsigned integer)
The Parameter Length field contains the size of the parameter in
bytes, including the Parameter Tag, Parameter Length, and Parameter
Value fields. The Parameter Length does not include any padding
bytes.
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Parameter Value: variable-length.
The Parameter Value field contains the actual information to be
transferred in the parameter.
The total length of a parameter (including Tag, Parameter Length and
Value fields) MUST be a multiple of 4 bytes. If the length of the
parameter is not a multiple of 4 bytes, the sender pads the Parameter
at the end (i.e., after the Parameter Value field) with all zero
bytes. The length of the padding is NOT included in the parameter
length field. A sender should NEVER pad with more than 3 bytes. The
receiver MUST ignore the padding bytes.
3.2 Transfer Messages
The following section describes the Transfer messages and parameter
contents.
3.2.1 Payload Data Message (DATA)
The Data message contains the SS7 MTP3-User protocol data, which is an
MTP-TRANSFER primitive, including the complete MTP3 Routing Label. The
Data message contains the following variable length parameters:
Network Appearance Optional
Protocol Data Mandatory
The following format MUST be used for the Data Message:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 1 | Length = 8 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Network Appearance* |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 3 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
/ Protocol Data /
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Network Appearance: 32-bits (unsigned integer)
The optional Network Appearance parameter identifies the SS7 network
context for the message, for the purposes of logically separating the
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signalling traffic between the SG and the Application Server Process
over a common SCTP Association. An example is where an SG is
logically partitioned to appear as an element in four different
national SS7 networks.
In a Data message, the Network Appearance defines the SS7 Point Codes
used, the SS7 Network Indicator value and MTP3/MTP3-User protocol
type/variant/version used within the SS7 network partition. Where an
SG operates in the context of a single SS7 network, or individual
SCTP associations are dedicated to each SS7 network context, or the
Network Indicator in the SIO of the MTP-Transfer primitive is
sufficient, the Network Appearance parameter is not required.
The Network Appearance parameter value assigned according to network
operator policy. The values used are of local significance only,
coordinated between the SG and ASP.
Where the optional Network Appearance parameter is present, it must
be the first parameter in the message as it defines the format of the
Protocol Data field.
Protocol Data: variable length
The Protocol Data field contains the MTP3-User application message,
which is in effect an MTP-TRANSFER primitive. As defined for a
specific value of the Protocol Identifier, this will include the MTP-
User Data and includes the MTP Routing Label (SS7 OPC, DPC, SLS), and
the SIO (Service Indicator, Network Indicator & optional Message
Priority codes). Note: in the case of ISUP messages, the Circuit
Identification Code is also included.
3.3 SS7 Signalling Network Management (SSNM) Messages
3.3.1 Destination Unavailable (DUNA)
The DUNA message is sent from the SG to all concerned ASPs to indicate
that the SG has determined that one or more SS7 destinations are
unreachable. The MTP3-User at the ASP is expected to stop traffic to
the affected destination through the SG initiating the DUNA as per the
defined MTP3-User procedures.
The DUNA message contains the following parameters:
Network Appearance Optional
Affected Destination Mandatory
Info String Optional
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The format for DUNA Message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 1 | Length =8 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Network Appearance* |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 5 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Mask | Affected DPC 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| ... |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Mask | Affected DPC n |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Network Appearance: 32-bit unsigned integer
The optional Network Appearance parameter identifies the SS7 network
context for the message, for the purposes of logically separating the
signalling traffic between the SG and the Application Server Process
over a common SCTP Association. An example is where an SG is logically
partitioned to appear as an element in four different national SS7
networks.
In an SSNM message, the Network Appearance parameter defines the format
of the Affected DPC(s) in the Affected Destination parameter. The DPC
point code length (e.g., 14-, 16-, or 24-bit) and sub-field definitions
(e.g., ANSI 24-bit network/cluster/member, ITU-international 14-bit
zone/region/signal_point, many national field variants, ...) are fixed
within a particular Network Appearance. Where an SG operates in the
context of a single SS7 network, or individual SCTP associations are
dedicated to each SS7 network context, the Network Appearance parameter
is not required and the format of the Affected DPC(s) is understood
implicitly.
The format of the Network Appearance parameter is an integer, the values
of which are assigned according to network operator policy. The values
used are of local significance only, coordinated between the SG and ASP.
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Where the optional Network Appearance parameter is present, it must be
the first parameter in the message as it defines the format of the
Affected DPCs in the Affected Destination parameter.
Affected Destination: 24-bits
The Affected Destination parameter contains one or more Affected
Destination Point Codes, each a three-octet parameter to allow for 14-,
16- and 24-bit binary formatted SS7 Point Codes. Affected Point Codes
that are less than 24-bits, are padded on the left to the 24-bit
boundary. The encoding is shown below for ANSI and ITU Point Code
examples.
ANSI 24-bit Point Code:
0 1 2 3----->
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Mask | Network | Cluster | Member |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|MSB-----------------------------------------LSB|
ITU 14-bit Point Code:
0 1 2 3----->
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Mask |0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0|Zone | Region | SP |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|MSB--------------------LSB|
It is optional to send an Affected Destination parameter with more than
one Affected DPC but it is mandatory to receive it. All the Affected
DPCs included must be within the same Network Appearance. Including
multiple Affected DPCs may be useful when reception of an MTP3
management message or a linkset event simultaneously affects the
availability status of a list of destinations at an SG.
Mask: 8-bits
The Mask parameter is used to identify a contiguous range of Affected
Destination Point Codes, independent of the point code format.
Identifying a contiguous range of Affected DPCs may be useful when
reception of an MTP3 management message or a linkset event
simultaneously affects the availability status of a series of
destinations at an SG. For example, if all DPCs in an ANSI cluster are
determined to be unavailable due to local linkset unavailability, the
DUNA could identify potentially 256 Affected DPCs in a single Affected
DPC field.
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The Mask parameter is an integer representing a bit mask that can be
applied to the related Affected DPC field. The bit mask identifies how
many bits of the Affected DPC field is significant and which are
effectively "wildcarded". For example, a mask of "8" indicates that the
last eight bits of the DPC is "wildcarded". For an ANSI 24-bit Affected
DPC, this is equivalent to signalling that all DPCs in an ANSI Cluster
are unavailable. A mask of "3" indicates that the last three bits of
the DPC is "wildcarded". For a 14-bit ITU Affected DPC, this is
equivalent to signaling that an ITU Region is unavailable.
Info String: variable length
The optional INFO String parameter can carry any meaningful 8-BIT ASCII
character string along with the message. Length of the INFO String
parameter is from 0 to 255 characters. No procedures are presently
identified for its use but the INFO String may be used by Operators to
identify in text form the location reflected by the Affected DPC for
debugging purposes.
3.3.2 Destination Available (DAVA)
The DAVA message is sent from the SG to all concerned ASPs to indicate
that the SG has determined that one or more SS7 destinations are now
reachable. The ASP MTP3-User protocol is expected to resume traffic to
the affected destination through the SG initiating the DUNA.
The DAVA message contains the following parameters:
Network Appearance Optional
Affected Destination Mandatory
Info String Optional
The format and description of DAVA Message parameters is the same as for
the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
3.3.3 Destination State Audit (DAUD)
The DAUD message can be sent from the ASP to the SG to audit the
availability/congestion state of SS7 routes to one or more affected
destinations. See Section 3.4.3 for the audit procedures.
The DAUD message contains the following parameters:
Network Appearance Optional
Affected Destination Mandatory
Info String Optional
The format and description of DAUD Message parameters is the same as for
the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
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Multiple Affected Destination Point Codes parameters may optionally be
included in a DAUD message. However all the Affected Destination Point
Codes must be part of the same Network Appearance.
3.3.4 SS7 Network Congestion (SCON)
The SCON message can be sent from the SG to all concerned ASPs to
indicate that the congestion level in the SS7 network to one or more
destinations has changed.
The SCON message contains the following parameters:
Network Appearance Optional
Affected Destination Mandatory
Congestion Level Mandatory
Info String Optional
The format for SCON Message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 1 | Length =8 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Network Appearance* |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 5 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Cong. Level 1 | Affected DPC 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| ... |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Cong. Level n | Affected DPC n |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The format and description of the Network Appearance, Affected
Destination and Info String parameters is the same as for the DUNA
message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
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Congestion Level: 8-bits (unsigned integer)
The valid values for the optional Congestion Level parameter are shown
in the following table.
0 No Congestion or Undefined
1 Congestion Level 1
2 Congestion Level 2
3 Congestion Level 3
The congestion levels are as defined in the national congestion method
in the ITU MTP recommendation [14] or in the ANSI MTP standard [15].
For MTP congestion methods that do not employ congestion levels (e.g.,
the ITU international method, the parameter is always "Undefined".
3.3.5 Destination User Part Unavailable (DUPU)
The DUPU message is used by an SG to inform an ASP that a remote peer
MTP3-User User Part (e.g., ISUP or SCCP) at an SS7 node is unavailable.
The DUPU message contains the following parameters:
Network Appearance Optional
Affected Destination Mandatory
Unavailability Cause Mandatory
MTP3-User Identity Mandatory
Info String Optional
The format for DUPU Message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 1 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Network Appearance* |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 5 | Length = 8 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Cause | User | Affected Destination |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The format and description of the Network Appearance, Affected
Destination and Info String parameters is the same as for the DUNA
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message (See Section 3.3.2.1.) One exception is that the Affected
Desination parameter in the DUPU message can only contain one Affected
DPC.
Unavailability Cause: 4-bits (unsigned integer)
The Unavailability Cause parameter provides the reason for the
unavailability of the MTP3-User. The valid values for the
Unavailability Cause parameter are shown in the following table. The
values agree with those provided in the SS7 MTP3 User Part Unavailable
message. Depending on the MTP3 protocol used in the network context,
additional values may be used û the specification of the relevant MTP3
protocol variant/version is definitive.
0 Unknown
1 Unequipped Remote User
2 Inaccessible Remote User
MTP3-User Identity: 4-bits (unsigned integer)
The MTP3-User Identity describes the specific MTP3-User that is
unavailable (e.g., ISUP, SCCP, ...). The valid values for the MTP3-User
Identity are shown below. The values agree with those provided in the
SS7 MTP3 User Part Unavailable message and Service Indicator. Depending
on the MTP3 protocol used in the network context, additional values may
be used û the specification of the relevant MTP3 protocol
variant/version is definitive.
Value Description
00 - 02 Reserved
03 SCCP
04 TUP
05 ISUP
06 û 08 Reserved
09 Broadband ISUP
10 Satellite ISUP
3.4 Application Server Process Maintenance (ASPM) Messages
3.4.1 ASP Up (ASPUP)
The ASP UP (ASPUP) message is used to indicate to a remote M3UA peer
that the Adaptation layer is ready to receive traffic or maintenance
messages.
The ASPUP message contains the following parameters:
Adaptation Layer Identifer Optional
Protocol Identifier Optional
INFO String Optional
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The format for ASPUP Message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 2 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Adaptation Layer Identifier* |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
Adaptation Layer Identity: 32-bits ()
The optional Adaptation Layer Identifier (ALI) is a string that
identifies the adaptation layer. This string must be set to "M3UA"
which results in a length of 8. The ALI would normally only be used in
the initial ASP Up message across a new SCTP association to ensure both
peers are assuming the same adaptation layer protocol.
3.4.2 ASP Up Ack
The ASP UP Ack message is used to acknowledge an ASP-Up message received
from a remote M3UA peer.
The ASPUP Ack message contains the following parameters:
Adaptation Layer Identifier (optional)
Protocol Identifier (optional)
INFO String (optional)
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The format for ASPUP Ack Message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag =2 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Adaptation Layer Identifier* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag =4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
The format and description of the optional Adaptation Layer Identifier
(ALI) parameter is the same as for the ASP-UP message. (See Section
3.4.1)
3.4.3 ASP Down (ASPDN)
The ASP Down (ASPDN) message is used to indicate to a remote M3UA peer
that the adaptation layer is not ready to receive traffic or maintenance
messages.
The ASPDN message contains the following parameters:
Reason Mandatory
INFO String Optional
The format for the ASPDN message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Reason |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag =4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
Reason: 32-bit (unsigned integer)
The Reason parameter indicates the reason that the remote M3UA
adaptation layer is unavailable. The valid values for Reason are shown
in the following table.
1 Processor Outage
2 Management Inhibit
3.4.4 ASP Down Ack
The ASP Down Ack message is used to acknowledge an ASP-Down message
received from a remote M3UA peer.
The ASP Down Ack message contains the following parameters:
Reason Mandatory
INFO String Optional
The format for the ASPDN Ack message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Reason |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
The format of the Reason parameter is the same as for the ASP-Down
message. (See Section 3.4.3)
3.4.5 ASP Active (ASPAC)
The ASPAC message is sent by an ASP to indicate to a remote M3UA peer
that it is Active and ready to process signalling traffic for a
particular Application Server
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The ASPAC message contains the following parameters:
Type Mandatory
Routing Context Optional
INFO String Optional
The format for the ASPAC message is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag =6 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Routing Context* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Type: 32-bit (unsigned integer)
The Type parameter identifies the traffic mode of operation of the ASP
within an AS. The valid values for Type are shown in the following
table.
1 Over-ride
2 Load-share
Within a particular Routing Context, only one Type can be used. The
Over-ride value indicates that the ASP is operating in Over-ride mode,
where the ASP takes over all traffic in an Application Server (i.e.,
primary/back-up operation), over-riding any currently active ASP in the
AS. In Load-share mode, the ASP will share in the traffic distribution
with any other currently active ASPs.
A node that receives an ASPAC with an incorrect Type for a particular
Routing Context will respond with an Error Message (Cause: Invalid
Traffic Handling Mode.
Routing Context:
The optional Routing Context parameter contains (a list of) integers
indexing the Application Server traffic that the sending ASP is
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configured/registered to receive. There is one-to-one relationship
between an index entry and an SG Routing Key or AS Name. Because an AS
can only appear in one Network Appearance, the Network Appearance
parameter is not required in the ASPAC message.
An Application Server Process may be configured to process traffic for
more than one logical Application Server. From the perspective of an
ASP, a Routing Context defines a range of signalling traffic that the
ASP is currently configured to receive from the SG. For example, an ASP
could be configured to support call processing for multiple ranges of
PSTN trunks and therefore receive related signalling traffic, identified
by separate SS7 DPC/OPC/CIC_ranges.
The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
3.4.6 ASP Active Ack
The ASPAC Ack message is used to acknowledge an ASP-Active message
received from a remote M3UA peer.
The ASPAC Ack message contains the following parameters:
Type Mandatory
Routing Context Optional
INFO String Optional
The format for the ASPAC Ack message is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 6 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Routing Context* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
The format of the Type and Routing Context parameters is the same as for
the ASP-Active message. (See Section 3.4.5).
3.4.7 ASP Inactive (ASPIA)
The ASPIA message is sent by an ASP to indicate to a remote M3UA peer
that it is no longer processing signalling traffic within a particular
Application Server.
The ASPIA message contains the following parameters:
Type Mandatory
Routing Context Optional
INFO String Optional
The format for the ASPIA message parameters is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 6 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Routing Context* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The Type parameter identifies the traffic mode of operation of the ASP
within an AS. The valid values for Type are shown in the following
table.
Value Description
0x1 Over-ride
0x2 Load-share
Within a particular Routing Context, only one Type can be used. The
Over-ride value indicates that the ASP is operating in Over-ride mode,
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and will no longer handle traffic within an Application Server (i.e., it
is now a backup in a primary/back-up arrangement). The Load-share value
indicates that the ASP is operating in Load-share mode and will no
longer share in the traffic distribution with any other currently active
ASPs.
A node that receives an ASPIA with an incorrect Type for a particular
Routing Context will respond with an Error Message (Cause: Invalid
Traffic Handling Mode.
The format and description of the optional Routing Context and Info
String parameters is the same as for the ASPAC message (See Section
2.3.3.3.)
3.4.8 ASP Inactive Ack
The ASPIA Ack message is used to acknowledge an ASP-Inactive message
received from a remote M3UA peer.
The ASPIA Ack message contains the following parameters:
Type Mandatory
Routing Context Optional
INFO String Optional
The format for the ASPIA Ack message is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Type |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 6 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Routing Context* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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The format and description of the optional Info String parameter is the
same as for the DUNA message (See Section 3.3.2.1.)
The format of the Type and Routing Context parameters is the same as for
the ASP-Inctive message. (See Section 3.4.7).
3.4.9 Heartbeat (BEAT)
The Heartbeat message is optionally used to ensure that the M3UA peers
are still available to each other. It is recommended for use when the
M3UA runs over a transport layer other than the SCTP, which has its own
heartbeat.
The BEAT message contains no parameters.
3.5 Management Messages
3.5.1 Error (ERR)
The Error message is used to notify a peer of an error event associated
with an incoming message. For example, the message type might be
unexpected given the current state, or a parameter value might be
invalid.
The ERR message contains the following parameters:
Error Code Mandatory
Diagnostic Information Optional
The format for the ERR message is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Error Code |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 7 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Diagnostic Information* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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Error Code: 32-bits (unsigned integer)
The Error Code parameter indicates the reason for the Error Message.
The Error parameter value can be one of the following values:
Invalid Version 0x1
Invalid Network Appearance 0x2
Invalid Adaptation Layer Identifier 0x3
Invalid Message Type 0x4
Invalid Traffic Handling Mode 0x5
Unexpected Message Type 0x6
Protocol Error 0x7
Diagnostic Information: variable length
When included, the optional Diagnostic information can be any
information germane to the error condition, to assist in identification
of the error condition. In the case of an Invalid Network Appearance,
Adaptation Layer Identifier or Traffic Handling Mode, the Diagnostic
information includes the received parameter. In the other cases, the
Diagnostic information may be the first 40 bytes of the offending
message.
In the case of an Invalid Version Error Code, the Common Header contains
the supported Version.
Error messages are not generated in response to other Error messages.
3.5.2 Notify (NTFY)
The Notify message used to provide an autonomous indication of M3UA
events to an M3UA peer.
The NTFY message contains the following parameters:
Status Type Mandatory
Status Identification Mandatory
Routing Context Optional
INFO String Optional
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The format for the NTFY message is as follows:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Status Type | Status Identification |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 6 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| Routing Context* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Tag = 4 | Length |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
\ \
| INFO String* |
\ \
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Status Type: 16-bits (unsigned integer)
The Status Type parameter identifies the type of the Notify message.
Following are the valid Status Type values:
1 Application Server state change (AS_State_Change)
2 Other
Status Information: 16-bits (unsigned integer)
The Status Information parameter contains more detailed information for
the notification, based on the value of the Status Type.
If the Status Type is AS_State_Change the following Status Information
values are used:
1 Application Server Down (AS_Down)
2 Application Server Up (AS_Up)
3 Application Server Active (AS_Active)
4 Application Server Pending (AS_Pending)
5 Alternate ASP Active
6 Insufficient ASPs
These notifications are sent from an SG to an ASP upon a change in
status of a particular Application Server. The value reflects the new
state of the Application Server.
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If the Status Type is Other, then the following Status Information
values are defined:
1 Insufficient ASP resources active in AS
This notification is not based on the SG reporting the state change of
an ASP or AS. For the value defined the SG is indicating to an ASP(s)
in the AS that another ASP is required in order to handle the load of
the AS.
The format and description of the optional Routing Context and Info
String parameters is the same as for the ASPAC message (See Section
3.4.6.)
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4.0 Procedures
The M3UA layer needs to respond to various local primitives it receives
from the SCTP and M3UA-User layers and Layer Management as well as the
messages that it receives from the peer M3UA layers. This section
describes the M3UA procedures in response to these events.
4.1 Procedures to support the services of the M3UA layer
4.1.1 Receipt of primitives from the M3UA-User
On receiving an MTP-Transfer primitive from an upper layer, or the nodal
inter-working function at an SG, the M3UA layer will send a
corresponding Data message (see Section 2) to its M3UA peer. The M3UA
layer must fill in various fields of the common and specific headers
correctly.
At an SG, the M3UA address translation and mapping function determines
the Application Server (AS) based on the information in the incoming
message. From an ordered list of ASPs within the AS table, an Active
ASP is selected and a Data message is constructed and issued on the
corresponding SCTP Association. If more than one ASP is active (i.e.,
traffic is to be load-shared across all the active ASPs), one of the
active ASPs from the list is selected. The selection algorithm is
implementation dependent but could be roud-robin or based on, for
example, the SLS or ISUP CIC. The appropriate selection algorithm must
be chosen carefully as it is dependent on application assumptions and
understanding of the degree of state coordination between the active
ASPs in the AS.
In addition, the message needs to be sent on the appropriate SCTP
stream, again taking care to meet the message sequencing needs of the
signalling application.
4.1.2 Receipt of primitives from the Layer Management
On receiving these primitives from the local Layer Management, the M3UA
layer will send the corresponding management message (Error) to its
peer. The M3UA layer must fill in the various fields of the common and
specific headers correctly.
4.2 Receipt of Peer Management messages
Upon receipt of Management messages, the M3UA layer must invoke the
corresponding Layer Management primitive indications (M-ERROR ind.) to
the local layer management.
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4.3 Procedures to support the M3UA services in Section 1.4.4
These procedures support the M3UA management of SCTP Associations
between SGs and ASPs.
4.3.1 State Maintenance
The M3UA layer on the SG maintains the state of each AS, in each
Application Server that it is configured to receive traffic, as input to
the M3UA address translation and mapping function.
4.3.1.1 ASP States
The state of each ASP, in each AS that it is configured, is maintained
in the M3UA layer in the SG. The state of a particular ASP in a
particular AS changes due to events. The events include:
* Reception of messages from the peer M3UA layer at the ASP
* Reception of some messages from the peer M3UA layer at other ASPs
in the AS
* Reception of indications from the SCTP layer
* Switch-over Time triggers
The ASP state transition diagram is shown in Figure 4. The possible
states of an ASP are:
ASP-DOWN: The remote M3UA peer at the ASP is unavailable and/or the SCTP
association is down. Initially all ASPs will be in this state.
ASP-UP: The remote M3UA peer at the ASP is available (and the SCTP
association is up) but application traffic is stopped.
ASP-ACTIVE: The remote M3UA peer at the ASP is available and application
traffic is active (for a particular Routing Context or set of Routing
Contexts).
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Figure 4: ASP State Transition Diagram
+-------------+
+----------------------| |
| Alternate +-------| ASP-ACTIVE |<------------+
| ASP | +-------------+ |
| Takeover | ^ | |
| | ASP | | ASP |
| | Active | | Inactive | ASP
| | | v |Takeover
| | +-------------+ |
| | | |-------------+
| +------>| ASP-UP |-------------+
| +-------------+ |
| ^ | |
ASP Down/ | ASP | | ASP Down / | ASP
SCTP CDI | Up | | SCTP CDI | Down/
| | v | SCTP
| +-------------+ | CDI
| | | |
+--------------------->| |<------------+
| ASP-DOWN |
+-------------+
SCTP CDI: The local SCTP layer's Communication Down Indication to the
Upper Layer Protocol (M3UA) on an SG. The local SCTP will send this
indication when it detects the loss of connectivity to the ASP's peer
SCTP layer.
Ts: Switch-over Time Triggers. This timer is configurable by the
0perator on a per AS basis.
4.3.1.2 AS States
The state of the AS is maintained in the M3UA layer on the SG.
The state of an AS changes due to events. These events include:
* ASP state transitions
* Recovery timer triggers
The possible states of an AS are:
AS-DOWN: The Application Server is unavailable. This state implies that
all related ASPs are in the ASP-DOWN state for this AS. Initially the AS
will be in this state.
AS-UP: The Application Server is available but no application traffic is
active (i.e., one or more related ASPs are in the ASP-UP state, but none
in the ASP-Active state).
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AS-ACTIVE: The Application Server is available and application traffic
is active. This state implies that one ASP is in the ASP-ACTIVE state.
AS-PENDING: An active ASP has transitioned from active to inactive or
down and it was the last remaining active ASP in the AS. A recovery
timer T(r) will be started and all incoming SCN messages will be queued
by the SG. If an ASP becomes active before T(r) expires, the AS will
move to AS-ACTIVE state and all the queued messages will be sent to the
active ASP.
If T(r) expires before an ASP becomes active, the SG stops queuing
messages and discards all previously queued messages. The AS will move
to AS-UP if at least one ASP is in ASP-UP state, otherwise it will move
to AS-DOWN state.
Figure 5: AS State Transition Diagram
+----------+ one ASP trans to ACTIVE +-------------+
| |---------------------------->| |
| AS-UP | | AS-ACTIVE |
| |<--- --| |
+----------+ \ / +-------------+
^ | \ Tr Expiry, / ^ |
| | \ at least one / | |
| | \ ASP in UP / | |
| | \ / | |
| | \ / | |
| | \ /-------/ | |
one ASP | | all ASP / one ASP | | Last ACTIVE
ASP
trans | | trans to / \ trans to | | trans to UP or
to UP | | DOWN / -------\ ACTIVE | | DOWN
| | / \ | |
| | / \ | |
| | / \ | |
| | /all ASP \ | |
| v / trans to \ | v
+----------+ / DOWN \ +-------------+
| |<-/ --| |
| AS-DOWN | | AS-PENDING |
| | | (queueing) |
| |<----------------------------| |
+----------+ Tr Expiry no ASP +-------------+
in UP state
Tr = Recovery Timer
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4.3.2 ASPM procedures for primitives
Before the establishment of an SCTP association the ASP state at both
the SG and ASP is assumed to be "Down".
As the ASP is responsible for initiating the setup of an SCTP
association to an SG, the M3UA layer at an ASP receives an M-SCTP
ESTABLISH request primitive from the Layer Management, the M3UA layer
will try to establish an SCTP association with the remote M3UA peer at
an SG. Upon reception of an eventual SCTP-Communication Up confirm
primitive from the SCTP, the M3UA layer will invoke the primitive M-SCTP
ESTABLISH confirm to the Layer Management.
The M3UA layers at the SG will receive an SCTP-Communication_Up
indication primitive from the SCTP when the association is successfully
set up. The M3UA layer will then invoke the primitive M-SCTP ESTABLISH
indication to the Layer Management.
Once the SCTP association is established and assuming that the local
M3UA-User is ready, the local ASP M3UA Application Server Process
Maintenance (ASPM) function will initiate the ASPM procedures, using the
ASP-Up/-Down/-Active/-Inactive messages to convey the ASP-state to the
SG - see Section 4.3.3.
If the M3UA layer subsequently receives an SCTP-Communication Down
indication from the underlying SCTP layer, it will inform the Layer
Management by invoking the M-SCTP STATUS indication primitive. The state
of the remote ASP will be moved to "Down".
At an ASP, the Layer Management may try to re-establish the SCTP
association using M-SCTP ESTABLISH request primitive.
4.3.3 ASPM procedures for peer-to-peer messages
All ASPM messages are sent on a sequenced stream to ensure ordering.
SCTP stream '0' is used.
4.3.3.1 ASP-Up
After an ASP has successfully established an SCTP association to an SG,
the SG waits for the ASP to send an ASP-Up message, indicating that the
ASP M3UA peer is available. The ASP is always the initiator of the ASP-
Up exchange.
When an ASP-Up message is received at an SG and internally the ASP is
not considered locked-out for local management reasons, the SG marks the
remote ASP as 'Up'. The SG responds with an ASP-Up Ack message in
acknowledgement. The SG sends an-Up Ack message in response to a
received ASP-Up message even if the ASP is already marked as "Up" at the
SG.
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If for any local reason the SG cannot respond with an ASP-Up Ack, the SG
responds to an ASP-Up with a ASP-Down message.
At the ASP, the ASP-Up Ack message received from the SG is not
acknowledged by the ASP. If the ASP does not receive a response from
the SG, or an ASP-Down is received, the ASP may resend ASP-Up messages
every 2 seconds until it receives an ASP-Up Ack message from the SG.
The ASP may decide to reduce the frequency (say to every 5 seconds) if
an ASP-Up Ack is not received after a few tries.
The ASP must wait for the ASP-Up Ack message from the SG before sending
any ASP traffic control messages (ASPAC or ASPIA) or Data messages or it
will risk message loss. If the SG receives Data messages before an ASP
Up is received, the SG should discard.
4.3.3.2 ASP-Down
The ASP will send an ASP-Down to an SG when the ASP is to be removed
from the list of ASPs in all Application Servers that it is a member.
The SG marks the ASP as "Down" and returns an ASP-Down Ack message to
the ASP if one of the following events occur:
- an ASP-Down message is received from the ASP,
- another ASPM message is received from the ASP and the SG has
locked out the ASP for management reasons.
The SG sends an ASP-Down Ack message in response to a received ASP-Down
message from the ASP even if the ASP is already marked as "Down" at the
SG.
If the ASP does not receive a response from the SG, the ASP may send
ASP-Down messages every 2 seconds until it receives an ASP-Down Ack
message from the SG or the SCTP association goes down. The ASP may
decide to reduce the frequency (say to every 5 seconds) if an ASP-Down
Ack is not received after a few tries.
4.3.3.3 M3UA Version Control
If an ASP-Up message with an unsupported version is received, the
receiving end responds with an Error message, indicating the version the
receiving node supports.
This is useful when protocol version upgrades are being performed in a
network. A node upgraded to a newer version should support the older
versions used on other nodes it is communicating with. Because ASPs
initiate the ASP-Up procedure it is assumed that the Error message would
normally come from the SG.
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4.3.3.4 ASP-Active
Anytime after the ASP has received an ASP-Up Ack from the SG, the ASP
sends an ASP-Active (ASPAC) to the SG indicating that the ASP is ready
to start processing traffic. In the case where an ASP is
configured/registered to process the traffic for more than one
Application Server across an SC |
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