scope:

SCOPE, PURPOSE, AND APPLICATION

General

This chapter specifies Transaction Capabilities (TC) for Signalling System Number 7 (SS7). The term, Transaction Capabilities refers to the Application layer protocol, called Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP), plus the supporting Presentation, Session, and Transport layers, called the Application Service Part (ASP). To date, only SS7 MTP plus SCCP transport has been considered.

NOTE - For MTP, see -T1.111-2001, Signalling System Number 7 (SS7) - Message Transfer Part (MTP). For SCCP, see T1.112-2001, Signalling System Number 7 (SS7) - Signalling Connection Control Part (SCCP).

Any standard OSI Network layer may be used in place of the MTP plus SCCP, provided that performance requirements of the services being supported by the higher layers can be met.

This chapter may contain requirements that reference other American National Standards. If so, when the American National Standards referenced in the requirements are superseded by revisions, the revisions shall apply.

Definition of Transaction Capabilities

Transaction Capabilities in the SS7 protocol are functions that control non-circuit-related information transfer between two or more signalling nodes via a signalling network.

Scope of Transaction Capabilities

Transaction Capabilities in a SS7 network should be considered for use between:

Exchanges;

Exchanges and network service centers -- e.g., databases, service control points, Operation, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P) centers; and

Subscribers and network service centers (in conjunction with the subscriber access protocol -- e.g., CCITT Recommendation Q.931¹.

Although Transaction Capabilities in a SS7 network could be considered for use between subscribers, the standardization of subscriber-to-subscriber information content is outside the scope of SS7.

Furthermore, Transaction Capabilities in a SS7 network may interwork with a transaction-oriented information transfer originated in or destined for networks using other data communications protocols.

Transaction Capabilities provides a set of procedures that can be used for a variety of services, thereby avoiding the inefficiency of creating specific procedures tailored to a particular need. Thus, Transaction Capabilities provides a framework for a common approach to new services within a network as well as a framework for service architecture for cooperative internetwork services.

Scope of the Specification of Transaction Capabilities

This specification is intended to provide, in an open-ended manner, the capabilities needed to support present and near-term ISDN and non-ISDN services requiring transactions among exchanges, service control points, and databases. Extension to other cases should be straightforward within the framework of Transaction Capabilities.

This specification addresses TC procedures relying on a connectionless network service.

The specification itself is general in nature. Some internetwork services are seen to have sufficient interest across multiple networks that common agreements as to how they will operate across network boundaries are seen as desirable.

¹ T1.607 corresponds to CCITT Recommendation Q.931. All CCITT (now ITU-T) Recommendations are available from the International Telecommunications Union. < http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/ >.