Switching and Intelligent

Networks
Intelligent Networks Introduction
AAU, AAiT
9 May, 2018
Addis Ababa University
Semister 1, 2016/17

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 1
Introduction to Intelligent Network
 Continuous desire to:
 share data
 distribute application processing among network elements
 use more sophisticated telecommunications services.
 e.g. VAS

Evolution of new networking architecture

 Intelligent Networks – an evolved architecture which

 separates the software that controls basic switch functionality, such as setting up
switch paths, from the software that controls call progression to allow more
advanced features to be rapidly introduced.
 enables introduction of advanced customer orientated services rapidly and cost
effectively. Addis Ababa University
Semister 1, 2016/17

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 2
Basic Switching
 In the traditional Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), the switching systems:
 perform the basic call processing
 consists of a hierarchy of switches, e.g. a local exchange level, an intermediate
exchange level and a transit exchange level, as shown in figure below

Addis Ababa University

Semister 1, 2016/17

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 3
Basic Switching
 If the switch based services are situated at the transient (top) level:
 a large overhead for their use because of the number of switches and related trunks
that need to be accessed in order to use a service.
 services have been 'migrating' to lower levels of the hierarchy, reducing
the overhead for service use.

Addis Ababa University

Semister 1, 2016/17

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 4
Basic Switching -- Issues
 Having the services located in the switches complicates service maintenance
and addition, especially as the number of services contained in each switch
increases.
 the addition of new services occurs very rarely.
not feasible for customers to request specific services to suit their
business needs

 Traditionally, a single company runs an exchange and all of the services it

offers.
 No competitive market for service provision
Lack of competition leads to lack of innovation

 A new telecom architecture which solves these problems needed

Addis Ababa University
Semister 1, 2016/17

 Intelligent Networks

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 5
Intelligent Network Basics
 Changes needed:
 Increase Service Velocity: enable the rapid introduction of new services with direct
responsiveness to customer needs.
 Broaden The Range of Services: go beyond traditional voice and data bearer
services to include information services, broadband and multimedia.
 Enable a Multivendor Competitive Environment: ensure services will work
correctly and consistently on any vendor's equipment.
 Evolve from Existing Networks: must interwork with and evolve from existing
networks since completely replacing existing networks would be far to disruptive and
time consuming..

 First Step: remove the service data from the switching network
locate it in a centralized database accessible to all the switching nodes

 Next Step: separate the service logic from the switch

Addis Ababa University
Semister 1, 2016/17
put it into an independent node, called an 'intelligent node'.

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 6
Intelligent Network Basics
 Real time connection is needed between:
 the network nodes, known as 'service switching points' (SSPs) and
 the intelligent node, known as the 'service control points' (SCPs) as shown below

Addis Ababa University

Semister 1, 2016/17

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 7
Intelligent Network Benefits
 provides a complete framework for the uniform creation, provision and
management of advanced telecommunication services
 enables the set of services to be extended, giving users a wider choice i.e. it
defines an open set of services
 extensive use of information processing techniques
 efficient use of network resources
 integrated service creation and implementation by means of reusable
standard network functions
 flexible allocation of network functions to physical entities
 portability of network functions among physical entities
 standardized communication between network functions via service
independent interfaces
 customer control over their specific service attributes

Addis Ababa University
standardized management of service logic
Semister 1, 2016/17

5th year, Communication Stream

Semester II, 2016/17 8