Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. What is Signaling?

2. What is Out-of-Band Signaling?

3. Signaling Network Architecture

4. The North American Signaling Architecture

5. Basic Signaling Architecture

6. SS7 Link Types

7. Basic Call Setup Example

8. Database Query Example

9. Layers of the SS7 Protocol

10. What Goes Over the Signaling Link

11. Addressing in the SS7 Network

12. Signal Unit Structure

13. What are the Functions of the Different Signaling Units?

14. Message Signal Unit Structure

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

Definition
Signaling System 7 (SS7) is an architecture for performing out-of-band signaling in support of the call-establishment, billing, routing, and information-exchange functions of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). It identifies functions to be performed by a signaling-system network and a protocol to enable their performance.

This tutorial was authored by Art Doskow, Senior Member of Technical Staff–Signaling and Control Architecture Evolution, Bell Atlantic.