SS7 Links

-          Is the physical transmission line that connects the individual nodes in an SS7 network

A-Links

-          Interconnect an STP and either an SSP or an SCP

-          their sole purpose is to deliver signaling to and from end points

B and D Links

-          bridge links (B-Links) are the quad of links interconnecting peer pairs of STPs

-          Diagonal Links (D-Links) are the quad of links interconnecting mated pairs of STPs at different hierarchical levels

C-Links

-          Cross Links (C-Links) interconnect mated STPs and are used to enhance the reliability of the signaling network

E-Links

-          Extended links (E-Links) connect an SSP to an alternate STP to provide backup connectivity to the network if the SSP’s “home” STP cannot be reached on it’s a-Link.

Linksets

-          Links are put into groups called linksets

-          Up to 16 links can be assigned to a linkset

-          All links in a linkset must have the same adjacent node

Routes

-          Route is a collection of linksets to reach a particular destination

-          A linkset can belong to more than one route

Routesets

-          A collection of routes that are assigned to destinations and also provide alternate routes

Destination

-          An address entered into routing table of a remote signaling point. A destination need not to be adjacent to the signaling point but must be a point code tha can be reached by the signaling point.

Point Codes

-          In SS7, addresses are assigned using a 3 level hierarchy:

o   Member: a signaling point within a cluster

o   Cluster: a collection of signaling points

o   Network: each cluster is defined as being part of a network

SLS

-          Signaling link selection is used as a label to route MTP level 3 messages in the SS7 network

-          Can be used in reference to the algorithm that an SS7 node uses for selection of the appropriate signaling link to use for communication with an adjacent SS7 node.