Crossbar Switching

• Major disadvantage of Strowger System is its dependence on

movingg pparts and contacts
– That are subject to wear and tear

• As the telephone network spread to remote areas,

areas it became
necessary to use such SS that would require lesser maintenance
and little readjustment after installation

• This leads to the invention of Crossbar SS (CBSS)

– They
y are designed
g usingg the common control concept
p
P i i l off Common
Principle C Control:
C l
• Follows the Director System
– It facilitate uniform numbering of subscriber in a multi-exchange area
like a big city
– Provides routing of calls from one exchange to another via some
intermediate exchange

• Uniform Numbering
– To
T call
ll a particular
i l subscriber,
b ib the h same number
b isi dialled
di ll d
• No matter from which exchange the call is originating

• Example
• Th
Thus, from
f Exchange
E h A,
A any called
ll d subscriber
b ib on Exchange
E h F
(with no. 1457) can be reached by dialing either of the
followingg two number sequences:
q
For route A-B-C-J-F 01-04-03-01-1457
For route A-I-H-G-F 02-05-01-02-1457
• The difficulties are now obvious:
– Identification number of a subscriber is route dependent
– A user must have the knowledge of the topology of the network
– Depending on from which exchange the call originates, the number
and its size vary for the same called subscriber

• These difficulties can be overcome if the routing is done by

the exchange
– And a uniform numbering scheme is followed
• A number may now consist of two parts:
– An exchange identifier, and
– A subscriber line identifier, within the exchange

• An exchange must have the capability of

– receiving and storing the digits dialled, and
– translating
g the exchange
g identifier into routing
g digits,
g , and
– transmitting the routing and the subscriber line identifier digits to SN

• As soon as the translated digits

g are transmitted,, the director is
free to process another call
– Call processing takes place independent of the SN

• A user is assigned a logical number, independent of the

physical line number used to establish the connection
• All the
h above
b are fundamental
f d l features
f off a common controll
system. The control function in a SS may be placed under
four broad categories:
g
– Event monitoring
– Call processing
– Charging
– Operation and maintenance
Figure

• When a subscriber goes off-hook, the event is sensed, the

calling location is determined, and marked for dial tone
• Identity of the calling line is used to determine line category
and the class of service to which the subscriber belongs
– Pulse
P l didialing
li or multi-frequency
lti f di
dialing
li
• As soon as the initial digits (usually 2-5),
2 5) which identify the
exchange, are received in the register
– They are passed on to the initial translator for processing
• Simultaneously, the register continues to receive the remaining digits

• The initial translator determines the route for the call through the
network
t k andd decides
d id whether
h th a call
ll should
h ld be
b putt through
th h or nott
– It also determines the charging method and the rates applicable to the
subscriber

• Such decisions are based on the following class of service:

– Call barring
– Call priority
– Call charging
– Origin
g based routing
g
– No dialing calls
• If a call is destined to a number in another exchange
– The initial translator generates the required routing digits and passes
them to the Register sender
• which transmit the information over the trunk to the external exchange

• If a call is destined to a number in same exchange

– The digits are processed by the Final translator
• which
hi h ddetermines
i the
h li
line unit
i to which
hi h a call
ll must be
b connectedd andd the
h
category of the called line

• Controlling the operation of the SN is an important function

of the common control subsystem
• Path findingg mayy be carried out at the level of
– the common control unit (map-in-memory)
– or, the SN (map-in-network)
T
Touch
hTTone Di
Diall Telephone:
T l h
• In a rotary dial telephone, it takes about 12 seconds to dial a
7 di it number
7-digit b
– But the subscriber requires a faster dialing rate
– Using the common control in CBSS, a higher dialing rate is possible

• The rotary dial is replaced by a push button keyword

– Figure

• Touching a button generates a ‘tone’ which is a combination

of two frequencies
– one from the lower band and other from the upper band
D i Considerations:
Design C id i
• End-to-end signaling is a desirable feature, and is possible only
if the
th signaling
i li is i in
i the
th voice
i frequency
f band
b d
– so that the signaling information can be transmitted to any point in the
telephone network to which voice can be transmitted

• This generates the problem of talk-off

– Whi
Whichh means that
th t the
th voice
i signal
i l may be
b mistaken
i t k for
f touch
t h tone
t
signals, and
• unwanted control actions may occur
– A
Another
h problem
bl iis that
h voice
i signal
i l may interfere
i f withi h the
h touchh tone
signaling, if the calling subscriber talk while signaling is attempted
• The main design feature are (by taking care of talk-off)
talk off)
1. Choice of code
2. Band separation
3. Choice of frequencies
4. Choice of power levels
5. Signaling duration

• Since, two frequencies are mixed from a set of seven or eight

frequencies
q
– The scheme is known as dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling

• Band separation
p of the two frequencies
q has the important
p
advantage is that
– before attempting to determine the two specific frequencies at the
receiver end, band filtering can be used to separate the frequency
group
• The limiters accentuate differences in levels between the
components of an incoming dual-frequency signal
– If one frequency component is relatively strong, the output of the limiter
peaks with the stronger
p g signal,
g , and
• the weaker signal is further attenuated
– If both the signals have similar strength, the limiter output is much below
the full output,
p , and
• Neither signal dominates at the output

• The selective circuit is designed to recognize a signal when it

falls within the narrow passband, and
– has an amplitude more than a threshold value.

• The limiter and the selective circuits together reduce the

probability of mistaking the voice signal to be touch tone signal.
– Because, the voice signal usually have multi
multi-frequency
frequency components with
similar amplitudes, and hence the limiter does not produce a full output
• The
Th actuall range chosen
h for
f touchh tone dialling
di lli isi 700-1700
700 1700 Hz
H
– The specific values of the frequencies can be chosen as to avoid simple
harmonic relationship like 1:2 and 2:3 between adjacent two frequencies
• in the same band, and
• between pairs of frequencies in the two different bands
– Such a selection improves
p talk-off p
performance

• A major advantage of touch tone dialling is the potential for data

transmission and remote control
• A power full application is data in voice answer (DIVA) system
– Example of customer care announcement
– This indicates that dialling and voice conversation can be interspersed to
any level
– It is an example
p of end-to-end signalling
g g enablingg interaction between a
telephone user and a service provider