Telecommunication equipment

TELECOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT.

The invention relates to telecommunications equipment and in particular to call control equipment for a switching center.

FIG. 1 schematically recalls the architecture of a telecommunications network allowing a telecommunications terminal TE1 to communicate with a terminal TE2.

A device TE1 is connected to a switch SW1 of an operator Ol. This PABX SW1 is connected to a PABX SW2 of the same operator for example, which is connected to a PABX SW3 of an operator 02. A terminal TE2 is connected to this PABX SW3.

Thus, the calls between the terminals TE1 and TE2 are processed by telecommunications equipment for which the signaling standards are not necessarily the same.

For this purpose, therefore, there are switching centers or automatic exchanges such as the equipment referenced SW1, SW2, SW3 in the network. In practice, there is no reason for this equipment to come from the same supplier or operator. The network thus makes it possible to route data flows, flows corresponding to voice and control flows.

The control flow concerns the call protocols. For the call protocols there are several standards, the B-ISUP standard of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the PNNI standard of the ATM Forum (ATM: asynchronous transmission mode) and the SS7 standard of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

The architecture of a switching center (or automatic exchange) includes different IS modules:

- a module to process the AC signaling,

- a module to perform call control,

a CR resource management module, this module making it possible to allocate channels by physical links.

In practice, the signaling module of a PBX implements the call protocol which allows it to communicate with another PBX.

The CA call control module is the core of the package. It is a controller that creates a process for each type of call received.

In practice, when a line off-hook is performed for a telephone call, the call control module creates a process to manage this call.

To this end, a generic process (a program) is provided in the module and is able to create another process to handle the call.

As there are several standards or standards for signaling, there may therefore exist different signaling modules corresponding to each of these signaling standards within the same device.

This architecture has been shown schematically in FIG. 2. Signaling modules SI, S2, S3 corresponding to the three currently existing standards are installed in a switch SW2 and connected to the core which is the call management module CA.

This problem is relatively new, however. However, it becomes more difficult to resolve insofar as new operators are likely to intervene and also insofar as one may wish to develop existing standards.

Thus, each time a new standard appears, the equipment must evolve to take this new standard into account.

The aim of the invention is to reduce the impact of new signaling on call control and to this end to make call control as independent as possible.

For example, according to the PNII protocol, when a request is sent by the call control module, the request can be accepted before analysis of the number dialed while in the B-ISUP protocol, the request is not not accepted until the dialed number is analyzed.

The present invention provides a solution by proposing an architecture capable of being adapted to new standards or of easily changing existing standards.

The invention applies most particularly to broadband transmission 2M-144 Mbit / s (ATM, video), but also to narrow band transmissions (64 kbit / s).

The invention consists in providing a generic CA call control module capable of processing the requests common to the different standards and specific modules or components capable of processing the requests specific to each standard in order to reduce the impact of a new signaling. on the call control module in order to make it as independent as possible.

The subject of the invention is more particularly an item of equipment comprising a service unit mainly characterized in that this service unit comprises a motor core and modules connected to this core, said core (20) comprising:

- means for receiving signaling messages from one or more signaling networks,

means for sending said signaling messages to said modules according to a predetermined rule, said modules being able to process the signaling signals.

According to one implementation, the kernel includes means for processing certain signaling messages.

The means for receiving the signaling messages include a high level interface capable of providing access to the kernel for the latter to process standard signaling messages.

The means for receiving the signaling messages include a low level interface capable of providing access to the module capable of processing the specific signaling message received.

Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly on reading the description which is given below and which is given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a block diagram of a telecommunications network,

FIG. 2 represents a diagram of the architecture of an item of equipment according to the state of the art.

FIG. 3 represents a diagram of the architecture of a telecommunications equipment according to the invention.

The exemplary embodiment which is given below illustrates, in order to simplify, an architecture with two signaling standards corresponding to the signaling networks 1, 2 and to the signaling modules SI and S2. Of course, the invention applies advantageously to situations for which there are more than two signaling standards present, specifically a number of signaling networks 1 to n and a number of signaling modules si to Sn.

The telecommunications equipment EQ makes it possible to implement the service (s) required on receipt of messages from a 1 to n signaling network.

To this end, the equipment comprises signaling modules S1-S2 capable of receiving signals originating from corresponding signaling modules of EQ equipment not shown.

Each module S1, S2 comprises the signaling information of the corresponding standard 1, 2, in a logic unit respectively referenced SIG1, SIG2. Each unit is connected to an Al adapter for ό

the unit SIG1 and A2 for the unit SIG2, capable of transforming the requests of each standard (or new standard) into standard requests for dialogue with the service unit CA which, in practice, is a call control module.

Indeed, as the dialogue with this service unit CA is standardized, the adaptation interfaces A1, A2 are used to allow this dialogue. In practice, these are logical interfaces making it possible to present calls symbolized by the links L1 to the service unit CA in the same format which is the standard dialogue format, whatever the signaling signals, whether these signals correspond. to a new standard or not.

The L2 links shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3 correspond to "hook" functions present in the service unit CA (hook function in English terminology) capable of allowing addressing to specific functions (for example generic functions. , a pointer to function).

The generic requests L1 are managed by a defined generic interface 11, called high level, while the “hook” functions L2 are managed by a defined interface 12, also called low level and which will also be used to give access. to specific SP1 modules, SP2 of the CA unit in the event that specific requests arrive (these requests being linked to a new standard and not falling within a generic formulation that can be processed by the engine core for managing the generic calls NO).

Dialogue interfaces 11 and 12 with the service unit exist and are therefore already defined.

In practice, 80% of the needs common to all the standards can be covered by interface 11 and processed by the NO kernel and requests that cannot fit into a generic formulation will be wrapped 5 in the standard format for dialogue with the unit. CA by the adapters A1 and A2 to be recognized by the interface 12 and processed by the specific module which is suitable, ie SP1 or SP2. Determining which specific modulus is suitable can be done by applying predetermined rules. These rules may simply be the determination of the standard to which the request conforms.

The NO kernel is therefore able to process all the generic requests common to the different standards.

The specific modules SP1, SP2 each implement the specific features corresponding to the development of an existing standard or to those of a new standard not falling within the generic framework.