IN Forum in form

New companies, new products launch from IN World Forum

Besides technical forums, speeches, sessions and flamingoes, the IN World Forum, hosted by the International Engineering Consortium in Miami, provided a launchpad for several new SS7-related products.

Performance Technologies and Intelli-Net announced products based on stream control transmission protocol (SCTP), a newly adapted transport protocol currently in the RFC stage in the IETF. Brooktrout Technology added a series of SS7 products, and S-Link—a new company financed in part by Nortel Networks—introduced its Savvi SG signaling gateway.

Performance Technologies introduced its SEGway SS7/IP interworking device, possibly the first public deployment of SCTP-based products. The SEGway is an SS7 link replacement solution that lets network operators offload signaling traffic carried over dedicated SS7 links onto IP networks, including, in some cases, the Internet.

“The target here is to enable companies to start eliminating all their TDM circuits for SS7-embedded networks cost-effectively,” said Reg Cable, vice president of signaling systems for Performance Technologies.

Comfone AG, a Swiss GSM roaming service enabler, has deployed SEGway in its long-haul SS7 network as part of a trial to extend service to countries where it previously could not justify the cost of dedicated SS7 links.

Performance Technologies' target for initial deployment will be with carriers with expensive, long-distance dedicated circuits. “In a lot of cases, we will be eliminating 1500 miles of dedicated SS7 link facilities with a couple of cost-effective boxes,” Cable said. “Ultimately, we think there is a business case for eliminating all SS7 backbone networks.”

The latest signaling news
Product	Supports
Brooktrout Technology
NS700 Interface cards 7 access feature	32 SS7 links on eight T-1/E-1 interfaces Complete SS7 protocol stack Use of other high-level stacks
IntelliNet
SS7oIP gateway	Will support SCTP
Performance Technologies
SEGway interworking device	Used to replace dedicated linksRequires no point codes Can represent multiple SS7 elements
S-Link
Savvi SG signaling gateway Savvi ST tunneling gateway	Standards-based, modular architecture Single-unit chassis Requires no point code Connects SS7 devices over IP networks
Source: Company reports

Performance Technologies also is beginning to build SCTP support into its signaling gateway products.

IntelliNet Technologies announced an SCTP-based signaling product in production with an unnamed service provider and will begin full-scale rollout in May. The company's SS7oIP gateway also will incorporate the SCTP protocol

“One of the biggest benefits of SCTP is that it supports multi-homing,” said Anjan Ghosal, CEO of IntelliNet. “You can route to multiple destinations, and if one of those destinations breaks down, the system will automatically route the message to the backup destination.”

SCTP provides fault tolerance at the transport layer and below and is expected to help drive the adoption of SS7-over-IP solutions.

S-Link hopes to solve other problems in the SS7/IP space with its Savvi SG Signaling Gateway. Founded in 1998, S-Link has developed a modular, standards-based gateway that supports evolutions within the standards bodies or developments in the next generation networks.

“Nobody comes to the telco market without a pretty solid business case,” said John Curtis, product manager for S-Link's gateway products. S-Link's case is argued with its open, client/server architecture, which the company says will support any media gateway controller, softswitch, IP database or other client.

Earlier this month, S-Link introduced its Savvi ST Tunneling Gateway, which provides connectivity between switches, databases and control points without the need for point codes, which identify each element in an SS7 network.

Brooktrout Technology launched its NS700 series of SS7 products to complement its media-processing and line-interface products. Two new solutions will help reduce implementation risks by ensuring compatibility of SS7 signaling with its other products. NS700 series cards support as many as 32 SS7 links and a complete protocol stack. Customers also can use someone else's high-level protocol stack and use the NS700 cards for lower level protocols.

“The world is moving inexorably from a proprietary implementation model to an open model, which is our sweet spot,” said Alan Greenfield, vice president of marketing in Brooktrout's new public network group.