scope:

This standard addresses Operations, Administration, Maintenance, and Provisioning (OAM&P) for internetwork connections employing Common Channel Signalling (CCS) based on Signalling System Number 7 (SS7) protocol used in North America. The internetwork connection may be either within or between North American countries.

This standard presents principles, specifies requirements, describes architectures and protocol procedures, and identifies strategies for performance of OAM&P functions, including compatibility verification and gateway screening.

It identifies procedures, actions, and responsibilities for performance of functions for management of network interconnections. In addition, it identifies responsibilities requiring bilateral (carrier-to-carrier) agreements for administrative control of OAM&P functions. No attempt is made to specify agreements or assign responsibilities.

The accomplishment of the OAM&P functions takes advantage of the SS7-protocol-provided capabilities augmented by Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) capabilities. The protocol-provided capabilities include signalling network and traffic management functions that permit real time detection of failures, automatic recovery, and service restoration. The TMN functionality provides constant monitoring and control of the signalling points as managed entities of the TMN.

The use of the SS7 network to provide message transport service for the TMN traffic has not been addressed. This subject involves protocol-related issues that are considered beyond the scope of this standard. This standard assumes the use of a separate data network for transport of the intra- and inter- TMN traffic. However, limited TMN capabilities exist currently through the use of OMAP protocol in SS7.

In addition, this standard does not address conformance testing. Further, it does not provide details of compatibility testing including test scripts for compatibility verification. These subjects will be addressed in future standards.

NOTE - The term management is used in the context of performance (and supervision of the performance) of functions relating to SS7 network interconnections. The functions necessary for SS7 interconnections relate to Operations, Maintenance Administration, Provisioning, and Security

This standard uses material from the following American National Standards on SS7 protocol:

T1.111-1996, Message Transfer Part (MTP).¹

T1.112-1996, Signalling system number 7 (SS7) - Signalling connection control part (SCCP).¹

T1.113-1995, Signalling System Number 7 (SS7) - Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) User Part.¹

T1.116-2000, Signalling System Number 7 (SS7) - Operations, Maintenance, and Administration Part (OMAP).¹

to form the basis or establish the context for discussion of OAM&P functions. In addition, such material is used to clarify the working of the protocol to facilitate definition of OAM&P functions.

Although SS7 definitions are included in this document, as well as in T1.110-1999, Signalling System Number 7 (SS7) - General Information, the definitions in this document are tailored to the SS7 operations environment.

NOTE - The above-mentioned American National Standards are to be used as the definitive reference documents for SS7-protocol-related issues. Protocol-related standards are listed as references in clause 2.

Purpose

This standard provides a uniform basis for management of OAM&P functions for network interconnections employing CCS based on SS7 protocol. It recommends acceptable norms of performance of the functions mentioned above for delivery of cross-border services as well as services requiring interoperation of CCS facilities between networks. Recognizing that achievement of acceptable levels of availability of CCS services to the end user will require a high level of satisfactory performance of the above-mentioned functions on an end-to-end basis, this standard serves to provide a uniform set of functions for management of CCS network on an end-to-end basis.

¹ This document is available from the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, 1200 G Street N.W., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005.<http://www.atis.org>