Newsletter: GL Releases SS7 Protocol Analyzer with INAP CS-2 Decode

Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA - March 23, 2009 - GL Communications Inc., announced today the release of enhanced SS7 Protocol Analyzer with INAP CS-2 decode. Speaking to media, Mr. Karthik Ramalingam, Senior Manager at GL said, "SS7 and INAP (Intelligent Network Application Part) permit intelligent features to be added quickly to PSTN and mobile networks without affecting transmission and switching portions of the network. Examples of intelligent features are "toll free numbers", "number portability", and "pre-paid telephone calls". Capability Set 2 (CS-2) is an enhancement over Capability Set 1 (CS-1)".

He added, "SS7 (Signaling System 7) separates the information required to set up and manage telephone calls in the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) onto a separate packet switched network (Signaling Network). The main protocols include MTP (Message Transfer Part - Level 1 to 3), SCCP (Signaling Connection Control Part), and ISUP (ISDN User Part)". GL supports Real-time, Off-line and Remote SS7 protocol analyzer functions. In real-time and off-line analysis modes, information is presented in the following layers:

Raw HDLC Frame data as a hexadecimal and ASCII octet dump
MTP2 and MTP3 information
ISUP, TUP, SCCP etc. information

Different SS7 layers like MTP2, MTP3, ISUP, TUP, SCCP, INAP (CS1 and CS2) and many application layer protocols from GSM/GPRS networks like MAP, CAMEL(CAP), and IS 41 are decoded according to ANSI, ITU, and ETSI standards".

Mr. Ramalingam further added, "GL's SS7 Analyzer support of INAP Protocol (Capability Set-1 and Capability Set-2) makes is complete for any SS7 analysis function. INAP - CS1 was standardized first for Intelligent Networks and INAP - CS2 was a successor that has added features. With the addition of INAP CS-2 decoding, GL's SS7 Analyzer can now support decoding of SCF initiated trigger management, GVNS service support, explicit ISDN supplementary service feature interaction support, service compatibility checks, general User to Service Interaction (UTSI), and extended BCSM support".

Some of the Important Features:

Displays Summary, detail, hex-dump, statistics, and call trace views
Summary View displays MTP2, MTP3 information and SS7 Message types, Called and Calling number, SCCP message type, SSN, INAP information, and more in a tabular format
Detail view displays decodes of a user-selected frame from the summary view
Capable of decoding many important protocols from GSM/GPRS network i.e. MAP, CAP.
Hex Dump view displays the frame information in HEX and ASCII format
Statistics view displays call and MSU statistics at any link or entire link set
Call trace isolates call specific information i.e. status of each call (i.e. active/completed), duration of completed

Some of the additional features supported by real-time/remote SS7 Analyzer are:

Real-time filter and search features on various SS7 message types
Streams can be captured on the selected time slots (contiguous or non-contiguous), sub-channels or full bandwidth. Frames may also be contained in either one, n x 64 kbps, or n x 56 kbps data channels
The following variations are accommodated in the software: inverted or non-inverted data, byte reversal or non-reversal
Supports decoding of frames with FCS of 16 bits and 32 bits, or none
Recorded trace files can be played back using HDLC Playback application

Some of the additional features supported by offline SS7 Analyzer are:

Trace files for analysis can be loaded through simple command-line arguments
Multiple trace files can be loaded simultaneously with different GUI instances for offline analysis

For comprehensive information on the product, please refer to SS7 Protocol Analyzer web page.

About GL Communications Inc

Founded in 1986, GL Communications Inc. is a leading supplier of test, monitoring, and analysis equipment for TDM, Wireless, IP and VoIP networks. Unlike conventional test equipment, GL's test platforms provide visualization, capture, storage, and convenient features like portability, remotability, and scripting.

GL's TDM Analysis & Emulation line of products includes T1, E1, T3, E3, OC-3, STM-1, analog four-wire, and analog two-wire interface cards, external portable pods, and complete system solutions. Capabilities include voiceband traffic analysis and emulation across all traffic types (voice, digits, tones, fax, modem), all protocols (ISDN, SS7, GR-303, Frame Relay, HDLC, V5.X, ATM, GSM, GPRS, etc.), and with capacities up to thousands of channels.

GL's VoIP products generate / analyze thousands of calls simultaneously with traffic types such as voice files, digits, video, tones, noise, and fax using G.711, G.729, AMR, EVRC, GSM and a range of other codecs. Additional features include visual analysis, real-time listening, and recording. The product line also includes a Software Ethernet Testing capability that checks frame transport and throughput parameters of Ethernet and IP networks.

GL's Voice Quality Testing (VQT) product line complements all of GL's products. Using ITU-standard algorithms (PAMS, PSQM, and PESQ), GL's VQT provides a widely excepted solution across the telecom industry. Voice Quality Testing across multiple networks (T1, E1, T3, E3, OC-3, VoIP, Wireless, and Landline) are all available.

GL's Wireless Products perform protocol analysis and voice quality assessment on GSM, CDMA and UMTS networks. Connections can be made to any wireless phone with automated call control, GPS mapping and real-time signal measurements.

GL's Echo Canceller testing solutions provide the broadest range of simulation and analysis, including compliance testing per G.168 and G.160 across TDM, IP, VoIP and Wireless networks. GL's wirelss VQT solutions help assessing impairments to voice quality such as poor mobile phone quality, voice compression and decompression algorithms, delay, loss and gain in speech levels, noise, acoustic and landline echo, and other distortions are easily assessed and accurately measured.

GL's Handheld data testers can test a wide variety of communications facilities and equipment including T1, fractional T1, E1, fractional E1, T3 and E3 modems, multiplexers, CSU, DSUs, T1 CSUs, DTUs, NTUs and TIUs and more. The testers provide convenience, economy, and portability for almost any interface, including RS232, RS-422, RS-530, X.21, T1, E1, T3, E3, and many others.

GL's Network Surveillance and Monitoring products include Probes for TDM, IP, VoIP, ATM, and Wireless networks. An open standards based approach provides a scalable, feature rich, real-time access to network intelligence. Centralized or distributed access, efficient transport and database loading allow compatibility with 3rd party and standards based monitoring systems.

For more information about GL's complete line of products,

Contact:
Shelley Sharma
Phone: 301-670-4784 ext. 114
E-mail: info@gl.com

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