14
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry Case Studies
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Case Studies
Algeria
Austria
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
Congo
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Egypt
France
Germany
Greece
Guinea
Libya
Lithuania
Finland
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Case Studies
SIP Trunking, Extending Services, Generating Revenue
and Adding Value to incumbent infrastructures. Discover
how Squire Technologies’ extensive SS7 VoIP experience,
has enabled companies worldwide to deliver modern
innovative solutions.
1. Providing SIP Trunks.
With the continued accelerated growth in VoIP technologies
carriers and ISPs are now actively offering clients SIP Trunks as a
lower cost alternative to traditional PSTN interconnect.
2. Extending lifecycle of SS7 equipment
Carriers/ISPs can offer new innovative services on existing
SS7 equipment by providing a bridge to SIP based media and
application servers. Examine how you can build innovative new
services on incumbent SS7 equipment.
3. Offering Least Cost Routing
Discover how to deploy Least Cost Routing (LCR) solutions and
see how carriers operate Wholesale telephony services and ISPs
can provide value added telephony services to their business
clients.
4. Low cost entry to SS7 interconnect
Reuse Media Gateway equipment you already own or take
advantage of the large second hand market for leading
manufacturers Cisco, AudioCodes and Alcatel–Lucent to deploy a
low cost SS7 interconnect.
5. Innovative GSM VoIP interconnect
Here is one example of a GSM/VoIP hybrid network solution.
With the increasing rollout of WIFI wireless networks it offers
ISPs / operators the opportunity to offer cost saving on VoIP
calls on SIP enabled GSM Handsets.
6. Innovative GSM VoIP interconnect
Looking to provide a GSM service in remote locations with no
mobile coverage? One solution is to deploy mini base stations
hooked up to satellite networks.
PSTN Protocols
SS7
ISUP
TUP
NUP
ITUT
ETSI
ANSI
ISDN
CAS
R2
VoIP Protocols
SIP
H.323
MGCP
Megaco
H.248
Radius
SIGTRAN
M3UA
M2UA
IUA
SUA
1. Providing SIP TrunksWhat is a SIP Trunk?
In a traditional PSTN interconnect a “trunk”
is typically defined as an E1/T1 interconnect
which provides 30/24 channels of voice/
data to a client. A SIP Trunk is a collection/
grouping of VoIP channels/ports made
available to a client to interconnect voice/
data.
SIP Trunk benefits :-
Reduced cost•
Security of service via VPN•
Guaranteed IP Bandwidth•
Billing•
Intelligent routing•
DDI or DID (Direct Inward Dialling) •
support
Unlike a PSTN interconnect a SIP Trunk
can consist of 1 or more SIP channels/
ports – the actual number made available
depends on the service offering and the
end clients bandwidth requirements. A SIP
trunk provides the guaranteed IP bandwidth
needed to deliver the number of channels/
ports offered over the selected VoIP codec.
In comparison to fixed ISDN line, the main
driver is a significant reduction of telephony
costs to the end customer and the ability
to provide highly managed services such as
intelligent call routing, billing and security of
service through a VPN connection.
SIP Trunk Configuration 1 - PSTN over SS7/ISDN
There are a number of network topologies
that allow carrier/ISPs to offer SIP Trunks. The
first to consider is deploying a PSTN Media
Gateway that connects to PSTN over SS7/
ISDN and offers the SIP Trunking directly to
the end client over a VPN. In order for an
end client VoIP PBX to communicate to the
PSTN Media Gateway, it needs to ‘register’
with the Media Gateway over SIP.
The SVI_MG provides full support for the
registration process, which once completed
then allows uni-directional calls between the
PSTN and clients VoIP PBX/end point.
As part of this process the gateway will
store the relevant DDI/DID (Direct Inward
Dialling) against a registered SIP device to
allow routing to the client’s VoIP equipment
through the PSTN.
Carriers/ISPs need to provide a billing
platform to invoice clients for calls, either
integrating the PSTN Media Gateway into
their existing billing platform via CDRs,
RADIUS or SQL interfaces provided on the
SVI_MG or by purchasing the fully integrated
Wholesale Billing package.
This configuration also allows carriers/ISPs
to offer a more intelligent value added
service by offering Least Cost Routing (LCR)
enabling the routing of client calls to the
most cost effective end carrier. Again this
service can be offered by integrating the
SVI_MG into the clients LCR engine over
RADIUS / SQL or by using the LCR engine
offered on the SVI_MG.
VPN
LCR Least Cost
Routing
Billing Platform
VoIP PBX
VPN
SIP Trunk
Mitel Avaya Asterisk
SS7 / ISDN Gateway
VoIP Gateway
CDRs
RADIUS
SQL
Carrier Carrier Carrier
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malawi
Malaysia
Malta
Mongolia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
North America
Mexico
Pakistan
Russia
Seychelles
Sudan
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Togo
Turkey
UK
Carrier Grade Products Worldwide
1. Providing SIP TrunksSIP Trunk Configuration 2 - Utilising a Session Board Controller
An alternative configuration is to deploy the
PSTN Media Gateway in conjunction with
a Session Board Controller (SBC) as shown.
This allows carriers/ISPs to utilise incumbent
equipment, using the SBC to offer the
VPN connection to the end client with the
SIP Registration process and SIP Signalling
occurring directly between the SS7 Media
Gateway and the Session Board Controller.
As with configuration 1 the carrier/ISP
can also add a Billing Platform and Least
Cost Routing (LCR) functionality either by
integrating over RADIUS, SQL, CDRs or using
the built in LCR and billing engines on the
SVI_MG.
VPN
VoIP PBX
SIP Trunk
Mitel Avaya Asterisk
SBC
SS7 / ISDN Gateway
VoIP Gateway
LCR Least Cost
Routing
Billing Platform
CDRs
RADIUS
SQL
VPN
SBC Session Board
Controller e.g. ACME
Carrier Carrier Carrier
SIP Trunk Configuration 3 - Pure VoIP Environment
The third configuration to consider is
the provision of SIP Trunks in a pure VoIP
environment. As shown in the network
diagram the deployment of a Class 4
SoftSwitch allows carriers/ISPs to offer SIP
Trunks. The required SIP signalling is done
via the Class 4 SoftSwitch with the RTP/RTCP
Media transmitted directly between the 2
end points.
With the addition of a Least Cost Routing
Engine (3rd party or integrated) this allows
carriers/ISPs to offer the value added service
of low cost national or international calls.
As with configuration 1 and 2 the carrier/
ISP will need to consider whether to use an
integrated or 3rd party Billing platform.
SIP Trunk
SME Small/Medium Enterprises
Carrier Carrier
Carrier
VoIP PBX VoIP
Gateway
Class 4 SoftSwitch
CDRs
RADIUS
SQL
Testimonial - SVI_MG SS7 to VoIP Media Gateway
“The SVI_MG_8000 ticked all the boxes in terms of redundancy, scalability, powerful routing
functionality and coupled with Squire Technologies dedicated installation and support services made
this our gateway of choice.” - Eloquant
PSTN Protocols
SS7
ISUP
TUP
NUP
ITUT
ETSI
ANSI
ISDN
CAS
R2
VoIP Protocols
SIP
H.323
MGCP
Megaco
H.248
Radius
SIGTRAN
M3UA
M2UA
IUA
SUA
2. Extending lifecycle of SS7 equipmentSS7 Switch to SIP Media
As shown in the diagram an SS7 Media
Gateway passes SS7 calls, both signalling
and voice/data (if appropriate) to a SIP
based media server, allowing carriers/ISPs
to rapidly deploy new services such as IVR,
conferencing, speaker identification, DTMF
tone detection.
Typical incumbent SS7 switches
Ericsson AXE10•
Siemens EWSD•
ZTE•
Nortel DMS•
This allows carriers/ISPs to take full
advantage of the latest industry leading SIP
based services and controlling technologies
i.e. VoiceXML, SOAP, Java/J2EE.
SIP Media Servers/App Servers.
Asterisk•
IP Media•
ProsodyX•
SIP SER•
SS7 Media Gateway
PSTN
SIP Media Server Application Server Incumbent
SS7 Switch
Ericsson AXE10 Siemens EWSD Nortel DMS ZTE
SS7 ISDN switch
A second configuration to consider is to
deploy a bridge between the SS7 and ISDN
as many equipment manufacturers provide
their platform solely with an ISDN interface
i.e. video platforms, IVR, lawful intercept
applications etc.
As shown the SVI-9225 SS7 - ISDN Protocol
Converter provides a seamless interface
between SS7 and ISDN. The strength of the
SVI-9225 as a bridge is that it provides a
transparent switch for the bearer channels
carrying voice and data.
The SVI-9225 switches any bearer channel
on any E1/T1 to any other bearer channel
on any other E1/T1 - it does not terminate
or transcode bearer channels, making this
an ideal application to seamlessly pass voice
and data from an ISDN network into an SS7
network.
Typical incumbent SS7 switches
Ericsson AXE10•
Siemens EWSD•
ZTE•
Nortel DMS•
SS7 ISDN Protocol
Converter
PSTN
Video Gateway IVR
Lawful Intercept Applications
Incumbent SS7 Switch
Ericsson AXE10 Siemens EWSD Nortel DMS ZTE
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Testimonial - SVI_9225 SS7 ISDN PRI Protocol Converter
“The unit has been successfully deployed in the network and has worked without fault since
deployment.” - Ericsson
Algeria
Austria
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
Congo
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Egypt
France
Germany
Greece
Guinea
Libya
Lithuania
Finland
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Carrier Grade Products Worldwide
3. Offering Least Cost Routing (LCR)What is Least Cost Routing (LCR)?
A number of clients have used Squire
Technologies’ products to deliver a Least
Cost Routing (LCR) service. Carriers
worldwide provide A–Z lists of countries they
provide call routing to and the associated
rates for each destination.
A Least Cost Routing (LCR) service allows a
client on a per call basis, to route a call to
the carrier offering the lowest cost route to
that destination.
This service is adopted by carriers who use
it in their primary business model to offer a
Wholesale LCR, and is also adopted by ISPs
wanting to offer a value added telephony
service to existing and new clients.
VoIP Only LCR Deployment 1
The client’s customers are typically SMEs
connecting to the Class 4 SoftSwitch via
their VoIP PBXs. A customer therefore makes
an outbound call to a specific destination
(e.g. Holland) and the Class 4 SoftSwitch will
then attempt to match the destination to the
A-Z lists provided by the carriers, selecting
the least cost option.
If a carrier destination is unavailable
because the route is congested, temporarily
unavailable etc, then the SoftSwitch will
automatically select the next lowest cost
route offered and then route the call
accordingly.
The SVI_C4 Class 4 SoftSwitch offers an
integrated LCR Database and Wholesale
Billing Platform but can also be integrated
into clients existing LCR Engine/Billing
Platform over RADIUS/SQL. A typical
deployment will also need to integrate to a
national “Charging Database” that contains
the billing rates for 0800, premium rate
numbers etc. This is typically done by either
using SQL or lookups through an SS7 IN
(Intelligent Network)
VoIP Customer 2
PBX
VoIP Gateway
Class 4 SoftSwitch
Least Cost Routing
Billing Platform
VoIP Customer 1
PBX
SIP / H323
SIP / H323
VoIP Carrier 2
PSTN Carrier 3
VoIP Carrier 1
Charging Database
SIP / H323
SIP / H323
RADIUS
SQL/SS7 IN
PSTN Protocols
SS7
ISUP
TUP
NUP
ITUT
ETSI
ANSI
ISDN
CAS
R2
VoIP Protocols
SIP
H.323
MGCP
Megaco
H.248
Radius
SIGTRAN
M3UA
M2UA
IUA
SUA
3. Offering Least Cost Routing (LCR)PSTN VoIP LCR Deployment 2
In this example the core functionality of the
least cost routing is identical to example
1, but in this example a Media Gateway is
deployed.
The SVI_MG allows clients to connect to a
VoIP network and traditional PSTN network
over SS7/ISDN/CAS/R2 – the LCR Engine,
Billing and SIP Registration functionality are
fully integrated into the SVI_MG product.
VoIP Customer 2
VoIP Gateway
Media Gateway
Least Cost Routing
Billing Platform
VoIP Customer 1
PBX
SQL/SS7 IN
SIP / H323
ISDN / SS7
PSTN Carrier 2
VoIP Carrier 3
PSTN Carrier 1
Charging Database
ISDN / R2 / CAS
SIP / H323 RADIUS
SS7
4. Low cost entry to SS7 interconnectSS7 Interconnect
One of the main drivers for clients to gain
an SS7 interconnect is often the lower call
rates offered by SS7 carriers over other PSTN
interconnects ( i.e. ISDN).
The return-on-investment for clients can
be substantial but obviously needs to be
offset by the investment in specialised SS7
equipment.
Squire Technologies provide a software-only
solution that can be deployed in conjunction
with market leading Media Gateways to
offer SS7 interconnect.
Coupled with a flexible payment plan that
allows clients to spread the investment over
6 or 12 months the SVI_MGC SS7 Media
Gateway Controller product offers a true
carrier grade solution at affordable prices.
Typical SS7 requirement
A client was operating a VoIP wholesale
business using Cisco 5350s, 5400s to
provide PSTN interconnect over ISDN. The
client used a 3rd party billing package to
invoice clients and an SNMP tool to provide
network monitoring.
Their requirement was to move their PSTN to
SS7 to take advantage of the lower call rates
on offer.
The Cisco 5350s and 5400s do not
provide native SS7 support, and the client
wanted the new SS7 solution to seamlessly
integrate into their billing and operational
environment.
The client needed a rapid deployment and
due to their remote location they were keen
to avoid the shipment of goods through
customs if possible.
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malawi
Malaysia
Malta
Mongolia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
North America
Mexico
Pakistan
Russia
Seychelles
Sudan
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Togo
Turkey
UK
Carrier Grade Products Worldwide
4. Low cost entry to SS7 interconnectPSTN to SS7 solution
To facilitate a rapid, remote deployment
the client decided to provide a standard PC
based server recommended by the Squire
installation team and loaded the required
Red Hat Linux OS as per installation manual
supplied by Squire Technologies.
The SVI_MGC (Media Gateway Controller)
software was then loaded remotely from the
Squire Technologies UK HQ.
As shown the Cisco gateways provide
the E1/T1 connections to the physical SS7
network, and are controlled by the SVI_MGC
Media Gateway Controller over MGCP/
SLT. The SVI_MGC’s centralised routing
engine provides seamless interworking and
interconnects between SS7, SIP and H.323.
Media Gateway Controller
SS7 VoIP
Dell Server
Remote Install
Cisco 5400
To provide a completely operational solution
the SVI_MGC was integrated into the clients
existing billing platform over RADIUS and
direct integration into the client’s network
monitoring and statistics was achieved over
SNMP.
The client initially required the SVI_MGC
Media Gateway Controller to run 16 E1s of
traffic (480 simultaneous calls).
As their service grew the client decided to
upgrade this capability by a further 8 E1s.
To do this they simply acquired an additional
8 E1 capacity Media Gateway (Cisco,
AudioCodes, or Alcatel-Lucent compliant
gateway) and then purchased an additional
8E1 (240 simultaneous calls) call license
from Squire Technologies, which was simply
upgraded through the issue of a software
license key.
Media Gateway Controller
Network Monitoring Tool
3rd Party Billing Application
Testimonial - SVI_MGC SS7 Media Gateway Controller
“Once we realised this software only alternative, making the decision was easy. Squires then
demonstrated how quickly and simply we could be making calls” - Sky C&C, Mongolia
PSTN Protocols
SS7
ISUP
TUP
NUP
ITUT
ETSI
ANSI
ISDN
CAS
R2
VoIP Protocols
SIP
H.323
MGCP
Megaco
H.248
Radius
SIGTRAN
M3UA
M2UA
IUA
SUA
5. Innovative GSM VoIP Hybrid NetworkGSM VoIP Hybrid Network
As a mobile user moves from different
locations and comes into contact with
accessible wireless networks (i.e. in the
office, at home) a GSM handset can
automatically register over the Wi-Fi network
with a VoIP carrier allowing calls to be made
and received over VoIP.
Once a mobile user moves out of range of
the Wi-Fi network any calls are automatically
switched back over the GSM network.
As can be seen from the network
deployment diagram, when the GSM
handset moves into the range of an
accessible Wi-Fi network it automatically
attempts to register the handset with a
SoftSwitch in the VoIP network over SIP.
On successful registration the SoftSwitch
also updates the GSM networks HLR (Home
Location Register) to indicate it is “roaming”
on an alternative network.
VoIP PSTN
GSM
GSM HLR Home Location Register
GSM call VoIP call over SIP
SS7
SS7 over E1 SIP
SIP
SoftSwitch
Inbound and outbound calls can then be
made to and from the GSM handset, over
the VoIP network using SIP. Outbound calls
that are destined for the PSTN network
are routed from the SoftSwitch over SIP to
the SVI_MG (SS7 Media Gateway), which
provides the inter-op to the PSTN over an
SS7 interconnect.
Conversely calls made to the handset from
the PSTN are routed to the SVI_MG over SS7
and onwards to the handset over SIP. The
SVI_MG (SS7 Media Gateway) provides full
interworking between SS7 and SIP and the
transcoding of voice data from TDM G711 to
VoIP codecs G711, G729, G723 etc.
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Testimonial - SVI_MG SS7 to VoIP Media Gateway
Squire Technologies’ team helped us to work with Cable & Wireless staff moving the MGW through
the detailed lab testing and network acceptance testing in record time.” CEO Stour Marine UK
Algeria
Austria
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
Congo
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Egypt
France
Germany
Greece
Guinea
Libya
Lithuania
Finland
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Carrier Grade Products Worldwide
6. Private GSM Network DeploymentGSM in non-traditional locations
In remote locations with no mobile GSM
coverage i.e. boats and oil rigs, one way
to offer an on-board mobile service is to
deploy a mini GSM base station. These mini
base stations mimic the behaviour of base
stations in larger land based mobile operator
networks.
For example, when an oil rig worker switches
on his/her mobile phone it registers with the
mini base station over GSM as it would on
dry land.
On making a call, the call is made to the
mini base station, which then converts the
GSM call signalling to VoIP SIP signalling
and transparently passes the voice/data over
standard GSM encoded codecs AMR, EFR etc
to a satellite.
The satellite transmission is directed to a
land based VoIP Media Gateway, which then
converts the SIP to ISDN or SS7 signalling
and the GSM encoded voice/data to the
standard PSTN G711 codec.
Media Gateway
ISDN / SS7 G711
GSM
GSM call from non traditional location
Land based network location
PSTN
SIP AMR / EFR
IP Base Station
SIP AMR / EFR
Testimonial - SVI_MG SS7 to VoIP Media Gateway
“The SVI_MG_8000 ticked all the boxes in terms of redundancy, scalability, powerful routing
functionality and coupled with Squire Technologies dedicated installation and support services made
this our gateway of choice.” - Eloquant
PSTN Protocols
SS7
ISUP
TUP
NUP
ITUT
ETSI
ANSI
ISDN
CAS
R2
VoIP Protocols
SIP
H.323
MGCP
Megaco
H.248
Radius
SIGTRAN
M3UA
M2UA
IUA
SUA
Product Range
The SVI_MGC SS7 Media Gateway Controller enables SS7 on
leading VoIP Media Gateways using industry based standards -
MGCP, MEGACO H.248, SIGTRAN, SIP, SIP-I, SIP-T and H.323.
The SVI_MG SS7 VoIP Media Gateway enables cost effective,
scalable SS7 and PSTN network breakout to VoIP networks,
allowing carriers to realise the cost and performance benefits of
integrating into an SS7 network.
The SVI_C4 Class 4 Softswitch provides to both carrier and
enterprise markets a high performance, scalable Class 4
SoftSwitch enabling the delivery of secure, reliable VoIP traffic
and services over multiple IP networks.
The SVI_9225 SS7 to ISDN PRI Protocol Converter product
provides cost-effective, scalable SS7 to ISDN PRI conversion with
optional R2/CAS signalling support, allowing carriers to benefit
integrating into an SS7 network.
The SVI_9220 SS7 to SS7 Signalling Only Converter provides,
at its core, a powerful, scalable SS7 to SS7 Signalling engine
delivering high performance SS7 Signalling only conversion with
support for up to 128 SS7 Signalling links, dual redundancy and
fully featured OA&M.
With low cost, reliable, high bandwidth IP networks available
for distribution of signalling equipment, the SS7 Signalling
Gateway provides the means to bridge the SS7 network from the
traditional PSTN and Mobile TDM interconnects to IP.
All purchased products are supplied with 6 months support free of charge,
giving email and web access to the support team.
Testimonial - SVI_9220 SS7 to SS7 Signalling Only Converter
“It was a pleasure working with Squire and we are hoping to have more business in the near
future,” - Alcatel Lucent
Signalling Specialists to the Telecoms Industry
Squire Technologies 64 High West Street
DorchesterDorset DT1 1XAUnited Kingdom
T. +44 1305 757314
F. +44 1305 757309
© 2009 Squire Technologies.
All rights reserved.
Product Range
SS7 Media Gateway Controller - SVI_MGC
SS7 to VoIP Media Gateway - SVI_MG
Class 4 Softswitch - SVI_C4
SS7 ISDN PRI Protocol Converter - SVI_9225
SS7 to SS7 Signalling Only Converter - SVI_9220
SS7 Signalling Gateway - SVI_SG
