Introduction to Switches, Routers, Firewalls & Servers

A network Switch is a small hardware device that joins multiple computers together within one local area network (LAN). Technically, network switches operate at layer 2 (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model. Unlike Hubs, network switches are capable of inspecting data packets as they are received, determining the source and destination device of each packet and forwarding them appropriately. Layer 2 switches are installed in the enterprise for high-speed connectivity between end stations at the data link layer. L2 switches act as IP end nodes for Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) management, Telnet, and Web based management. Layer 3 switches are routers that do Layer 3 forwarding in hardware. Router is a more sophisticated network device than switch or a hub. Like hubs and switches, network routers are small, box-like pieces of equipment to which multiple network computers are connected. Routers join multiple area networks (LANs and WANs) on the Internet or on a large corporate network. Routers for home networks (often called broadband routers) join the home (LAN) to the Internet (WAN) for the purpose of Internet connection sharing. Hubs or switches are not capable of joining multiple networks or sharing an Internet connection. Cisco and Juniper are leaders in manufacturing of switches and routers. A blade server is a high-density server used in a clustering of servers that are dedicated to multiple task, such as: File sharing, virtualization, clustering Web hosting, web page serving and caching SSL encrypting of web communication Transcoding of web page content for smaller displays Streaming audio and video content Blade servers can also manage to include load balancing and failover capabilities. Blade servers allow more processing power in less rack space, simplifying cabling and reducing power consumption and management through a single interface. IBM & HP are the leaders in manufacturing of blade servers. Other competitors include Sun Microsystems, Dell and Cisco.

Chapter 3: WAN Technologies

WAN Topologies
WAN topologies consists of both LAN and WAN. The particular WAN topology will depend upon the number of sites to connect, distance between the sites and existing infrastructure. Peer-to-Peer: WAN with single interconnection points for each location is arranged in a peer-to-peer topology each one connected to another one through dedicated circuits. This topology is best option for organizations with only a few sites and the capability to use dedicated circuits that are leased from a telecommunications provider, such as an ISP. Ring : In Ring WAN topology, each site is connected to two other sites so that the entire WAN forms a ring pattern. This architecture is similar to the ring LAN topology, except that a Ring WAN topology connects locations rather than local nodes. The advantages of a Ring WAN over a peer-to-peer WAN are twin fold- a single cable problem will not affect the entire network, and routers at any site can redirect data to another route if one route becomes too busy. Star: In Star WAN topology, a single site acts as the central connection point for several other sites which provides separate routes for data between any two sites. Star WANs are more reliable than the peer-to-peer WAN or ring WAN and provides shorter data paths between any two sites. Mesh: A mesh WAN topology has many directly interconnected nodes to its destination. If there is issue with any connection, routers can redirect data easily and quickly. Mesh WANs are the most fault-tolerant type of WAN configuration because they provide multiple routes for data. Only drawback to a mesh WAN is the cost factor. To reduce cost implement partial mesh in which critical WAN nodes are directly interconnected and secondary nodes are connected through star or ring topologies. Partial-mesh WANs are more practical than full-mesh WANs. Tiered: Tiered WAN topologies is hierarchical hybrid topology. In a Tiered WAN topology, WAN sites connected in a star or ring formations are interconnected at different levels with the interconnection points being organized into layers.

Layer 3 protocols- X.25, ATM, FR, ISDN,PPP, MPLS

X.25 is a global standard found in older networks. X.25 had an original maximum transfer speed of 56Kbps later increased to 64Kbps with the digital version. X.25 is a packet-switching technology. It uses different routes to get the best possible connection between the sending and receiving device at a given time. As conditions on the network change, such as increased network traffic, so do the routes that the packets take. Each packet is likely to take a different route to reach its destination during a single communication session. The devices that make it possible to use X.25 service are called packet assemblers/ dissemblers (PADs). A PAD is required at each end of the X.25 connection. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a cell-based switching protocol that uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing that organizes digital data into 53-byte cell units. ATM differs from other technologies based on packetswitched networks (such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet), in which variable sized packets/frames are used. ATM has properties of both circuit switched and small packet switched networking, making it suitable for wide area data networking as well as real-time media transport. Frame relay is WAN protocol that operates at Physical and Data link layers of the OSI model. FR works between DTE and DCE devices using packet switching and Permanent Virtual Circuits(PVC). The connection is identified by a Data Link Connection Identifier(DLCI) Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) is a digital service running over existing telephone networks. ISDN can support both data and voice simultaneously. ISDN provides upto 128Kbps with a PPP multilink connection to corporate networks or internet. PPP is a successor to SLIP, provides router to router and host to network connections over synchronous(ISDN) and asynchronous circuits(dial-up). It uses LCP to maintain the data link, authentication using either PAP or CHAP and compression. MPLS belongs to family of packet-switched networks, is highly scalable, protocol agnostic, data-carrying protocol. In an MPLS network, data packets are assigned labels. Packet-forwarding decisions are made solely on the basis of this label, without the need to examine the packet itself, due to which end-to-end circuits across any type of transport medium using any protocol can be created. This eliminates dependence on a particular Data Link Layer technology, such as ATM, FR, SONET or Ethernet and eliminate the need for multiple Layer 2 networks to satisfy different types of traffic. Subscribers with different access links can be aggregated on an MPLS edge without changing their current circuit, as MPLS is independent of access technologies.

Chapter 4: IP Addressing
Need for IP addressing, Addressing classes
When TCP/IP was introduced in 1980, it had two level addressing scheme. IPv4 was introduced and offered adequate scalability. IPv4 Address 32 binary bits, four octets of 8-bits separated by a period. Hierarchically organized

Network ID, Host ID decided by address class and subnet mask. 3 Address classes:
Class A: 1 byte network, 3 bytes host (1-126, subnet mask:255.0.0.0) Class B: 2 bytes network, 2 bytes host (128-191, subnet mask:255.255.0.0) Class C: 3 bytes network, 1 byte host (192-223, subnet mask:255.255.255.0) Class D: (224-239, reserved for multicast) Class E: (240-255, reserved)

For example:
Class A address, 10.10.5.21 Class A 127 possible networks, 16777214 hosts per network Class B --16384 possible networks, 65534 hosts per network Class C 2097152 possible networks, 254 hosts per network

Public & private addressing

TCP/IP is the dominant protocol in the world. Most network applications and operating systems have build their applications/networks around TCP/IP, even if they do not require internet connectivity. Internet host require globally unique IP address. However, private host that are not connected to internet can use any valid address, as long as it is unique within the private network. RFC1918 set aside the following three blocks of IP address for private addressing scheme.

Class A range- 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 CIDR prefix10.0.0.0/8 Class B range- 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 CIDR prefix172.16.0.0/16 Class C range- 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 CIDR prefix192.168.0.0/16
Rest of IP address not belonging to above three blocks of IP address falls under public IP addressing scheme.

Chapter 5: Routing and Switching fundamentals

Routing protocols & Routed protocols
What is a Routing Protocol ?
It is language spoken by routers to exchange routing information Between the devices. Typically runs on the WAN. Examples are BGP, OSPF, SNMP, Telnet

What are Routed Protocols ?

Language used by computer systems to talk to one another. Examples of Routed protocols are TCP/IP, Apple talk, Novell IPX

Static routing & Dynamic routing

Static routing is the process of manually entering routes into a device's routing table via a configuration file which is loaded when the routing device starts up. In static routing, any route that is configured manually must be updated or reconfigured manually to fix or repair any lost connectivity. Dynamic routing protocols are supported by IOS running on the routing device (the router), which dynamically learn network destinations and how to get to them and also advertise those destinations to other routers. Dynamic routing will 'learn' the routes to all networks that are directly connected to the device. Also router will learn routes from other routers that run the same routing protocol. Dynamic routing protocols learns 'best route' information and forward this information to other routers running the same routing protocol. This gives dynamic routing protocols the ability to adapt to logical network topology changes, equipment failures or network outages 'on the fly'.

Basics of Switching
Switching is a technology that reduces congestion in Ethernet, Token Ring and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) LANs by various traffic management techniques. Unlike Bridges used in homes/ small office, Switches connect LAN segments in large enterprise networks, reduces collision in domains as each switch port is in different collision domain and selectively forward traffic to the appropriate segments. This cause Switch to operate at much higher speeds than bridges and support various new functionality such as VLANs, Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), VTP, etc.. The most commonly used LAN media is Ethernet having maximum bandwidth of 10Mbps. Fast Ethernet(100Mbps), Gigabit Ethernet(1000Mbps) throughputs are also available in higher end switches. MAC address table is used to determine the segment on which a datagram needs to be transmitted, thereby reducing traffic on each segment. Two different forwarding techniques in switching: store-and-forward switching and cut-through switching. In Store-and-forward switching, an entire frame must be received before it is forwarded through the switch. Latency is relative to the frame sizethe larger the frame size, the longer the delay through the switch. Cut-through switching allows the switch to begin forwarding the frame when enough of the frame is received to make a forwarding decision. This reduces latency through the switch.

Chapter 6: Introduction to device configuration

Hostname, Interface configuration, routing

From the lesson learned till now, you should be able to do basic configuration on routers & switches. Cisco IOS is the operating system software that comes with Cisco routers. Junos is the operating system software that comes with Juniper routers. Cisco IOS interface provides 6 basic modes of operation- User EXEC mode, Privileged EXEC mode, Global Configuration mode, ROM Monitor mode, Setup mode, RXBoot mode. In User EXEC mode limited examination of router information is possible. Eg: Router> In Privileged EXEC mode, detailed examination, testing, debugging and file manipulation is possible. Eg. Router# Global configuration mode allows you to change high level router configuration. Router(config)# ROM Monitor mode is automatically entered if the IOS does not exist or the boot sequence is interrupted. Eg. > or rommon> In Setup mode, dialog box is provided to help out in router setup configuration. In RXBoot mode, helper software is present which helps in router boot, when it cannot find IOS image in flash. Eg: Router<boot> There are 5 different password that can be used for securing router: Enable Secret, Enable password, VTY password, AUX password, Console password. Router(config)#enable secret <secret> Router(config)#enable password <password> Router(config)#line vty 0 4 Router(config-if)#login Router(config-if)#password <password> Router can be assigned a hostname by entering the following command at the global configuration prompt. Router(config)# hostname <router name> If no name is entered the default name Router will be used. Each interface can be assigned a description to help identify the interface. Router(config-if)#description <description name> To save configuration done in router: Router# copy run start (current configuration stored into NVRAM) Router# copy run tftp (current configuration uploaded to TFTP drive) To enable IP routing: Router(config)#ip routing Add static IP route with: ip route<network><mask> <address|interface> <mask> <admin distance> To enable IP on an interface- Router(config-if)#ip address <ip address><subnet mask>

Chapter 7: Basic Security concepts

Network Address Translation (NAT) & Port Translation (PAT)

NAT as defined by RFC 1631 is the process of swapping inside local IP address with a globally unique IP address in the IP packet header. NAT is used so that hosts that are privately addressed by RFC 1918 addresses can access the internet. NAT translations can occur dynamically or statically. When an outside host sends a response, NAT does the following: A. Receives it B. Checks the current table of network address translations C. Replace the destination global IP address with original inside IP source. In a enterprise/ISP network if all the computer systems uses private IP addresses, then the NAT router needs a very large set of globally unique IP addresses with Static NAT. Another option is Overloading of NAT pools. Overloading allows NAT to scale to support many clients with only a few public IP addresses. Example: A network with three different hosts connects to a web server using TCP. The same network will have three TCP connections from the same client. All six connections connect to the same server IP address and same TCP port (80, the well-known port for web services). In each case, the web server differentiates between the various connections because their combined IP address and port numbers are unique. The advantage of NAT is their capability to use Port Address Translation (PAT), which allows multiple inside address to map to same global address. NAT router keeps track of different conversations by mapping TCP and UDP port numbers. NAT overload can use more than 65,000 port numbers, allowing it to scale without needing multiple global IP addresses.

Firewall
Firewall is a system or group of systems that enforces an access control policy between two or more networks. Firewall can block traffic and permit traffic using access control policy. Firewall enforces policy, imposes the policy on everything behind it. Firewall keeps unwanted traffic out of network, while still allowing users from inside to communicate freely with the outside network. Firewall are configured to protect against unauthenticated, unauthorized traffic into entering inside network. Firewall cannot provide protection of the network, if any internal system is connected to any external system, directly bypassing the firewall. Three types of firewalls: Network Layer, Application Layer and Hybrid firewalls. Network Layer firewall is a router capable of examining the packet headers traversing through them. Application layer firewalls are hosts running proxy servers, which permit no traffic directly between networks.

Summary
From these lessons, you should have learned Fundamentals of networking How to do basic configuration on routers.

Voice

Typical Telecom Network

The main elements of a Telecom Network are: Switching Centers Nodes in the network. Routes the call (Switches) in the Network Transmission Links in the network. Provides the connectivity in the network. End Equipments Users interface to the network. Customer Premises equipment.

Voice How it is carried

Analog Voice
Electrical signal varies one to one with voice signal on a continuous basis. More susceptible to noise

Digital Voice
Sampling Quantizing Encoding Transmitting Switching Receiving Decoding Reconstruction (D to A conversion)

Voice Coding

Analog signal is converted to Digital using PCM

Sampling/ Nyquist Theorem: A signal must be sampled at a minimum of twice its maximum frequency in order to be reconstructed in an analog format without major loss of information. For voice signals, a maximum frequency of 4000 Hz provides adequate clarity and contains the majority of the information while conserving transmission bandwidth. Thus, a 4000 Hz voice signal must be sampled at at least 8000 samples per second. Each amplitude value (sample) is expressed as a 13-bit code word". An 8-bit byte is formed by comparing the sample to a "companding characteristic", which is a non-linear formula. Internationally, a companding characteristic known as "A-law" is used, intended to provide optimum signalto-noise performance over a wide range of signal levels. In North America, encoding is done according to the -law. These 8-bit words occur 8000 times per second for the 64 kbit/s digital bit stream. Data is generally transmitted at a rate of 64kbit/s. Recommendation G.703 provides requirements for different interfaces. For each direction of transmission, three signals can be carried across the interface: 64kbit/s information, 64 kHz timing, and 8 kHz timing. The 8 kHz timing signal is not mandatory.

To transmit voice in a digital medium such as a 2.048 Mbit/s line, the analog voice signal needs to be transformed into a binary format, then converted into a bit stream suitable for digital transmission.

Access Network
EXTERNAL INFRASTRUCTURE - PHYSICAL MAKEUP Access Node
RTE ASDH NTE DSLAM WDM OTE PAIRGAIN ETC. RADIO ANTENNA

CUSTOMER PREMISES
LINE OF SIGHT

DP

O F F

M D F

NTE
DP

PCP/SCP

OTE

JOINT BOX PAIR GAIN BLOWN FIBRE &

CABLE CHAMBER
INTERMEDIATE ELECTRONICS

TUBE JOINT `E`SIDE JOINT `D`SIDE SECONDARY DUCT SPLICE TPON SPLITTER

PRIMARY DUCT

LINE LENGTH LINE CHARACTERISTICS

= COPPER = FIBRE

Access network is the part of the telecom network which is closest to the customer. It starts from the switch and includes the access nodes. The main advantages of the access nodes are multiplexing, consolidating the traffic. The link between the switch and the access node is fibre , so quality of the signal is better with the access node. The media between the access node and the customer could be copper, fibre, or coaxial cable or wireless.

Switches
Switches perform the function of call routing Various types of exchanges are:

Basic purpose of the switch is to switch over the voice of one person to another.
Call Setup and Routing Call Supervision Operations and Maintenance Records call data for Billing Information

Manual Human intervention required at most stages. High dependency on efficiency of personnel. Difficult to manage as number of subscribers and the traffic handled by the exchanges increased. Step by step Electromechanical (Strowger exchange and Cross bar) Switching is through lots of moving parts responding to electrical signals. Use some basic circuitry for operational control Electronic All the functions of the early day operator are performed by computers with help of Stored Programs. Offers a wide range of services Contains the users service information. Contains the network rerouting information Provides the path for information flow. Sets up and monitor the calls

Basic Components Switching Module Administrative Module Communication Module Switch Vendors and equipment models Lucent - 5ESS Siemens EWSD Alcatel OCB Fujitsu Fetex Nortel DMS Ericsson - axe Some more functions are: When the user lifts the receiver, issue a dial tone Sense the digits of the dialed number For incoming calls, sense the called number and check if the called party is busy Issue ring to the called party From exchange to subscribers premises, ensure that the received call is routed to the correct subscriber.

Perform Line testing if required. Has intelligence in form of programmed tables. Determine where the call should go ( routing tables ) Find the optimum route to destination Actual switching of calls across different switching equipments Service to subscribers as per pre-decided classes. Eg whether the customer is entitled to certain services or not ( service tables ) Maintain records of calls This provides the man machine interface whereby the configuration of the Switch can be altered Add / modify information in tables Change class of service Put in new lines or trunks Remote diagnosis and maintenance of the Switch Monitor traffic

Switching Topologies
Class 1 Exchanges were international gateways - handing off and receiving traffic from outside the country Class 2 Exchanges were tandem exchanges which interconnected whole regions of the network. Class 3 Exchanges were tandem exchanges connecting major population centres within particular network. Class 4 Exchanges were tandem exchanges connecting the various areas of a city or towns in a region. Class 5 Exchanges were those to which endusers telephone lines would connect.

1
2 2

Signaling
Signaling is the control information exchanged between two network elements. During the call signaling comes into picture at the following stages Initiation of the call, eg, going off hook, dialing the number During the call, checking the credit limit Ending the call, releasing all resources Types CAS ( Channel associated signaling, In band Signaling) CCS (Common Channel Signaling, Out of band signaling) Line or Subscriber Signaling Trunk Signaling Common Channel Signaling (CCS) Signaling is carried in a separate channel, hence the term out-of-band signaling Uses common signaling channel for many lines SS7 - used worldwide ISDN - used worldwide DASS 2 - used in the UK Information carried as messages in packet form A major advantage of CCS is that one signaling link supports many trunks (transmission paths between switches). This stresses the need for reliability. If one link crashes, many routes are out of service. Thus, redundancy is a key element of signaling systems.

Channel Associated Signaling (CAS) Voice & signaling share the same path

Voice & Signaling

Common Channel Signaling (CCS) Voice & signaling carried on separate facilities

Voice

Signaling

SS7
SS7 is the currently prevalent type in signaling
The SS7 protocols have been developed by AT&T since 1975 and defined as standard by ITU-T during 1981 in ITU-T's Q.7XX-series recommendations. SS7 was designed to replace Signalling System #5 (SS5), Signalling System #6 (SS6) and R2, all of which are ITU standards defined by ITU-T prior to SS7 and were once in widespread international use. SS7 has substantially replaced SS6, SS5 and R2, with the exception that R2 variants are still used in numerous nations. SS5 and earlier used in-band signaling, where the call-setup information was sent by playing special tones into the telephone lines (known as bearer channels in the parlance of the telecom industry). This led to a number of security problems when users discovered on certain telephone switching equipment that they could play these tones into the telephone handset and control the network even without the "special keys" on an operators handset. So-called phreakers experimented with fooling the telephone exchanges by sending their own usergenerated signaling tones from small electronic boxes known as blue boxes. Modern designs of telephone equipment that implement in-band signaling protocols explicitly keep the enduser's audio paththe so-called speech pathseparate from the signaling phase to eliminate the possibility that the MF tones used for signaling are introduced by the end-user, which defeats the blue-box phreaking technique.

SS7 moved to a system in which the signaling information was out-of-band, carried in a separate signaling channel. This avoided the security problems earlier systems had, as the end user had no connection to these channels. SS6 and SS7 are referred to as so-called Common Channel Interoffice Signalling Systems (CCIS) or Common Channel Signaling (CCS) due to their hard separation of signaling and bearer channels. However it also required a separate channel dedicated solely to signaling, but due to the rapid rise in the number of available channels at the same time this was a moot point. There are two essential components to all telephone calls. The first, and most obvious, is the actual contentour voices, faxes, modem data, etc. The second is the information that instructs telephone exchanges to establish connections and route the content to an appropriate destination. Telephony signaling is concerned with the creation of standards for the latter to achieve the former. These standards are known as protocols. SS7 or Signaling System Number 7 is simply another set of protocols that describe a means of communication between telephone switches in public telephone networks. They have been created and controlled by various bodies around the world, which leads to some specific local variations, but the principal organization with responsibility for their administration is the International Telecommunications Union or ITU-T. Signalling System Number 7 (SS#7 or C7) is the protocol used by the telephone companies for interoffice signaling. In the past, in-band signaling techniques were used on interoffice trunks. This method of signaling used the same physical path for both the call-control signaling and the actual connected call. This method of signaling is inefficient and is rapidly being replaced by out-of-band or common-channel signaling techniques.

To understand SS7 we must first understand something of the basic inefficiency of previous signaling methods utilized in the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Until relatively recently, all telephone connections were managed by a variety of techniques centered on in band signaling. A network utilizing common-channel signaling is actually two networks in one: 1. First there is the circuit-switched "user" network which actually carries the user voice and data traffic. It provides a physical path between the source and destination. 2. The second is the signaling network which carries the call control traffic. It is a packet-switched network using a common channel switching protocol. The original common channel interoffice signaling protocols were based on Signalling System Number 6 (SS#6). Today SS#7 is being used in new installations worldwide. SS#7 is the defined interoffice signaling protocol for ISDN. It is also in common use today outside of the ISDN environment. The primary function of SS#7 is to provide call control, remote network management, and maintenance capabilities for the inter- office telephone network. SS#7 performs these functions by exchanging control messages between SS#7 telephone exchanges (signaling points or SPs) and SS#7 signaling transfer points (STPs). The switching offices (SPs) handle the SS#7 control network as well as the user circuit-switched network. Basically, the SS#7 control network tells the switching office which paths to establish over the circuit-switched network. The STPs route SS#7 control packets across the signaling network. A switching office may or may not be an STP.

SS7 Protocols
The SS7 network is an interconnected set of network elements that is used to exchange messages in support of telecommunications functions. The SS7 protocol is designed to both facilitate these functions and to maintain the network over which they are provided. Like most modern protocols, the SS7 protocol is layered. 1 Physical Layer (MTP-1) This defines the physical and electrical characteristics of the signaling links of the SS7 network. Signaling links utilize DS0 channels and carry raw signaling data at a rate of 56 kbps or 64 kbps. 2 Message Transfer PartLevel 2 (MTP-2) The level 2 portion of the message transfer part (MTP Level 2) provides link-layer functionality. It ensures that the two end points of a signaling link can reliably exchange signaling messages. It incorporates such capabilities as error checking, flow control, and sequence checking. 3 Message Transfer PartLevel 3 (MTP-3) The level 3 portion of the message transfer part (MTP Level 3) extends the functionality provided by MTP level 2 to provide network layer functionality. It ensures that messages can be delivered between signaling points across the SS7 network regardless of whether they are directly connected. It includes such capabilities as node addressing, routing, alternate routing, and congestion control. 4 Signaling Connection Control Part (SCCP)

The signaling connection control part (SCCP) provides two major functions that are lacking in the MTP. The first of these is the capability to address applications within a signaling point. The MTP can only receive and deliver messages from a node as a whole; it does not deal with software applications within a node. While MTP network-management messages and basic call-setup messages are addressed to a node as a whole, other messages are used by separate applications (referred to as subsystems) within a node. Examples of subsystems are 800 call processing, calling-card processing, advanced intelligent network (AIN), and custom local-area signaling services (CLASS) services (e.g., repeat dialing and call return). The SCCP allows these subsystems to be addressed explicitly. 5 ISDN User Part (ISUP) ISUP user part defines the messages and protocol used in the establishment and tear down of voice and data calls over the public switched network (PSN), and to manage the trunk network on which they rely. Despite its name, ISUP is used for both ISDN and nonISDN calls. In the North American version of SS7, ISUP messages rely exclusively on MTP to transport messages between concerned nodes.

6 Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) TCAP defines the messages and protocol used to communicate between applications (deployed as subsystems) in nodes. It is used for database services such as calling card, 800, and AIN as well as switch-to-switch services including repeat dialing and call return. Because TCAP messages must be delivered to individual applications within the nodes they address, they use the SCCP for transport. 7 Operations, Maintenance, and Administration Part (OMAP) OMAP defines messages and protocol designed to assist administrators of the SS7 network. To date, the most fully developed and deployed of these capabilities are procedures for validating network routing tables and for diagnosing link troubles. OMAP includes messages that use both the MTP and SCCP for routing.

Traffic Engineering Basics- Erlang

Erlang : Traffic is measured in the Unit called Erlang. Calculations of Erlang: One Time Slot /Circuit/Channel, continuously occupied for one hour constitutes 1 Erlang. In general the traffic per circuit has been taken for calculation as 0.7 Erlang 1 Channel = 0.7 Erlang 1 E1 = 21 Erlang ( 30 Channels *0.7 ) Which means an E1 is dimensioned to carry the traffic of only 21 Erlang. For 10 E1s 210 Erlang, 20 E1s 420 Erlang and so on. Common Terms in Erlang Calculation : In Normal practice we define the volume of Traffic carried in terms of Milli Erlangs & Deci-Erlangs since it will be ease for calculation . To convert Milli Erlang to Erlang just divide the value by 1000. To convert Deci-Erlang to Erlang divide the Value by 10.

NGN
Calling Party

MGC

Called Party

Switch

SS7 SS7

STP

STP

SS7

Switch

MGW

MGW

Next Generation Network(NGN) is the next stage in the evolution of switches from circuit switching to packet switching. A Packet-based network able to provide telecommunication services Able to make use of multiple broadband, * MGC Media Gateway Control QoS-enabled transport technologies Decomposed architecture with service-relatedfunctions independent from underlying * STP Signalling Transfer Point transport-related technologies. * H.248 Signalling between MGC and MGW

NGN Network
Advantages of NGN Network A Soft switch (i.e. call agent, call server or media gateway controller) is a software based switching & control solution that runs on industry standard open platforms to provide the functionality of a traditional TDM switch in modular, distributed fashion. VoIP (voice over IP - that is, voice delivered using the Internet Protocol) is a term used in IP Telephony for the delivery of voice . information using the Internet Protocol (IP). In general, this means sending voice information in digital form in discrete packets rather than in the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Avoids the need to install a switch in each location. Instead a Media Gateway is installed serving the purpose of Point Of Presence(POP). Uniformity is achieved in configuration, database management, hardware maintenance by the installation of centralized soft-switch at any desired location. Drastic reduction in the floor space required for a switch. Redundancy can be achieved by coming up with another soft-switch at another geographical location More voice calls can be carried within a lesser bandwidth compared to circuit switching through the packetisation of the TDM voice calls to voice packets. This results in a significant reduction in the operational expenditure thus by increasing the revenues. Dynamic call routing is possible through the inclusion of routers into the architecture. Advanced GUI enables quick, convenient and effective interface with the MGC and the MGWs.

GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications It is a wireless method for providing telephony services, along with data services Main components of the network are: MSC and BSS Frequency bands used are 900 MHz and 1800 MHz and the channel separation is 200 KHz Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying GMSK is the modulation technique.
BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS

BSC

BSC A interface

PSTN

GSM Components
Mobile services Switching Center (MSC) Base Station Controller (BSC) Base Transmission Station (BTS) Home Location Register (HLR) Visitor Location Register (VLR) Authentication Centre (AuC) Equipment Identity Register (EIR)

Mobile services Switching Center (MSC)

MSC is the central component of the network subsystem. The MSC performs the telephony switching functions for the mobile network. It controls calls to and from other telephony and data systems, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), public data networks, private networks and other mobile networks. It is connected to BSS via A-interface. Gateway functionality enables an MSC to contact a networks HLR in order to route a call to a Mobile Station (MS). Such an MSC is called a Gateway MSC (GMSC). MSC BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BSCBSCA interface MSC connectivity with BSS Home Location Register (HLR) The HLR is a centralized network database that stores and manages all mobile subscriptions belonging to a specific operator. Call routing and roaming capability is provided by the MSC in association with HLR and VLR. It acts as a permanent store for a persons subscription information until that subscription is canceled. The information stored includes: Subscriber identity Subscriber supplementary services Subscriber location information Subscriber authentication information The HLR can be implemented in the same network node as the MSC or as a stand-alone database. If the capacity of a HLR is exceeded by the number of subscribers, additional HLRs may be added.

Visitor Location Register (VLR) Information about all the mobile subscribers currently located in an MSC service area is stored in the VLR database.. Thus, there is one VLR for each MSC in a network. A VLR may be in charge of one or more MSCs areas. The VLR temporarily stores subscription information so that the MSC can service all the subscribers currently visiting that MSC service area. The VLR can be regarded as a distributed HLR as it holds a copy of the HLR information stored about the subscriber. When a subscriber roams into a new MSC service area, the VLR connected to that MSC requests information about the subscriber from the subscribers HLR. The HLR sends a copy of the information to the VLR and updates its own location information. When the subscriber makes a call, the VLR will already have the information required for call set-up.

Authentication Center (AUC) The main function of the AUC is to authenticate the subscribers attempting to use a network. It stores an identity key for each mobile subscriber registered with the associated HLR. In this way, it is used to protect network operators against fraud. The AUC is a database connected to the HLR, over an interface denoted the Hinterface , which provides it with the authentication parameters and ciphering keys used to ensure network security. Equipment Identity Register (EIR) The EIR is a database that contains one or several databases which store(s) the IMEIs used in the GSM system. This helps to block calls from stolen, unauthorized, or defective MSs. The mobile equipment may be classified as "white listed", "grey listed" and "black listed" and therefore may be stored in three separate lists. It should be noted that due to subscriber-equipment separation in GSM, the barring of MS equipment does not result in automatic barring of a subscriber.

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