The Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) uses the transport services of MTP and SCCP to support transaction based services associated with wireline, wireless, and IP networks. TCAP is used to support Intelligent Network services, mobility services, supplemental services, and short message services (SMS).
The TCAP software supports ITU-T, ANSI, Japanese, and Chinese protocol variants enabling Signalware-based applications to be globally deployed.
Functions:
The TCAP software provides the means to:
- Establish end-to-end connections between TCAP user parts
- Handle message dialogs between end-points
TCAP information is embedded in the message service units that flow on the SS7 network. TCAP messages contain both transaction information and component information.
Services:
TCAP is an enabler for services including those provided by CAP, GSM MAP, TIA/EIA-41, and INAP. Services that can be defined using TCAP include:
- Switching (Service Control Point, Intelligent Peripheral, Softswitch)
- Mobility (Home Location Register, Authentication Center)
- Location Based Services
- Payment
- Messaging (SMS)
TCAP is ideal for applications such as switching and mobility services in which switching elements need to query remote databases in order to authenticate (or locate) a roaming subscriber or to translate a destination number to an actual physical number for intelligent routing. Some typical TCAP applications are 800 Number, Caller Name Delivery, Local Number Portability, call forwarding, wireless E911, and wireless roaming services.
Wireless Intelligent Network protocols based on TCAP enable a scalable solution for deploying prepaid services across wide geographic areas. Prepaid and SMS text-based message services are two of the most important revenue generating services in the wireless market today.
Features:
The Signalware TCAP software supports the development of distributed applications in either a load sharing or primary/standby mode of operation. The Signalware TCAP library supports application registration and restart as well as failover of an application to a standby process on a second computing element within the Signalware cluster.
Signalware TCAP offers the following features:
- State machine based on ITU-T model (Signalware supports a state machine for all stacks although ANSI does not require it.)
- Dialogue handling, state event processing, and timing capabilities
- 32,000 simultaneous transactions per process (application can have many processes and invoke timers)
- Message parameter validation
- Round-robin routing of inbound dialogs
- Application linkage of multiple SS7 variants to provide gateway functionality
- Load distribution across multiple applications
- Abort/reject message generation
The TCAP Signalware software conforms to the following standards:
- ITU-T specifications Q.771 - Q.774
- GR-246 (1998)
- ANSI T1.114
- TTC - JT.771-Q.774 (1996) - Japanese
- GF011-95 - Chinese
Hybrid TCAP Support
- ANSI TCAP over Japanese MTP/SCCP
- ANSI TCAP over ITU-T MTP/SCCP
- ITU TCAP over ANSI MTP/SCCP
- ITU TCAP over Japanese MTP/SCCP (16-bit point codes)
- ITU TCAP over Chinese MTP/SCCP (24-bit point codes)
For more information, please contact sales@ulticom.com.