Building Fault-tolerant SS7 Systems Using the Intel® NetStructure™ SIU520 SS7 Signaling Gateway Application Note

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Figure 15. Dual LAN Operation on the SIU520

Failure of IP Subnetwork

Problem — Should one subnetwork go down due to a network component failure, the hosts connected to the SIU over the other subnetworks will remain active and attempt to preserve half of the total system capacity.

Solution — There are two Ethernet ports on the SIU520. This allows splitting the IP connections between the SIU and the application hosts onto two physically separated subnetworks, as shown in Figure 15. This eliminates the risk of losing all IP connectivity in the event of a switch/router/hub failure in the LAN.

Details — “Failure of Application”, below, shows how to take advantage of the dynamic configuration features offered by the SIU520 to failover the affected application hosts to the surviving subnetwork.

Failure of Application

Problem —The failure of an application host leads to the loss of a portion of system resources.

Solution —The most basic feature ensuring this is that the application can be deployed on multiple hosts. In a software release bigger than v1.06, the SIU520 supports up to 64 hosts. For circuit-switched applications, failure of a host generally means loss of the physical trunk interface; hence, there is no need of transferring the logic to other (surviving) hosts. More sophisticated features are

available to allow TCAP-based applications to failover to other hosts.

Details — For TCAP-based applications, the SIU allows operation of multiple application hosts interfacing directly to TCAP, hence giving a certain level of resiliency in the user application space. Two methods are available for this purpose and are explained here.

TCAP Resiliency Based on Dialogue Groups

Fixed ranges of TCAP dialogues can be created in the SIU520 configuration file and assigned to different application hosts. (TCAP dialogue groups are defined using the TCAP_CFG_DGRP command in config.txt. More information about this command can be found in the Intel NetStructure SIU520 Developer’s Manual.) The application program running on each host must therefore ensure that only dialogue identifiers from the assigned range are used. Optionally, a TCAP-user layer such as MAP, INAP, or IS41 can run on each application host to provide some application part functionalities. Figure 16 describes such a distributed architecture where TCAP transactions are handled by four different hosts, each of them running MAP and a MAP application. The total number of TCAP dialogues for the whole system is 16,384 and this number does not depend on the number of hosts.

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Intel SIU520 SS7 manual Failure of IP Subnetwork, Failure of Application
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SIU520 SS7 specifications

The Intel SIU520 SS7 is a significant advancement in the realm of telecommunications, specifically designed for seamless signaling in a wide array of telecommunication infrastructures. As a part of Intel's pioneering suite of products, the SIU520 plays a critical role in managing signaling for telephony systems that require efficient handling of SS7 protocols.

One of the main features of the SIU520 is its support for the SS7 signaling protocol, which is pivotal for the establishment and management of telephone calls over traditional circuit-switched networks. With its robust design, the SIU520 ensures reliability in signaling, contributing to the reduction of call set-up times and the minimization of errors, thus enhancing the overall quality of communication services.

The SIU520 incorporates advanced technologies such as high-speed data processing capabilities, allowing it to handle multiple signaling messages concurrently. This is particularly important in environments with high call volumes, where efficient processing can significantly affect the performance of telecommunication services. Furthermore, the architecture of the SIU520 is designed for scalability, enabling easy integration into existing infrastructures while accommodating future expansions as demand increases.

Another characteristic that sets the SIU520 apart is its support for various signaling types beyond standard SS7, including ISDN and SIP. This makes it a versatile tool for service providers aiming to offer diverse services, such as voice, video, and data communications. The SIU520 is also designed with a focus on interoperability, which ensures that it can effectively communicate with equipment from different manufacturers, thus providing flexibility in deployment.

In terms of security features, the SIU520 is architected to withstand common threats in the communication landscape. It employs encryption and authentication protocols to safeguard signaling traffic, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected during transmission.

In summary, the Intel SIU520 SS7 represents a robust and flexible signaling solution crucial for modern telecommunications. With its support for multiple protocols, high processing speeds, scalability, and secure communication capabilities, it stands as a testament to Intel's commitment to advancing telecommunication technologies and enhancing the efficiency and reliability of communication networks worldwide.
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