Switching

i) Electronic Space Division Switching

ii) Time Division Switching
 BasicSwitchingSystem
Interfaces Interfaces

Subscribers Subscribers

Trunks Switching Network

Trunks

Service Circuit Service Circuit

scanning and scanning and

Control
distributor units distributor units

Operator
Console
 Classification of Switching System

Switching System

Manual Automatic

Electromechanical Electronic
(Stored program control – SPC)

Strowger Crossbar
(Step-by-Step)
Combination
Space division Time division
switching switching
Stored Program Control (SPC)
• The strowger’s step by step switching system and crossbar switching
system use electromechanical components for both switching and control
elements.
• In 1965, Bell system installed the first computer controlled switching
system which uses a stored program digital computer for its control
functions.
• The SPC concepts permits the features like abbreviated dialing,
call forwarding, call waiting etc.
• The SPC providessignificant advantagesto end users.
• The SPC enables easier number changes, automated call tracing
message unit accounting (for billing) etc.
 Stored Program Control (SPC)
• In SPC, a program or a set of instructions are stored in its memory
and executed automatically one by one by the processor.

• Carrying out the exchange control functions through programs stored

in the memory of a computer led to the name stored program control.

• A computer can be programmed to test the conditions of the inputs

and last states and decide on new outputs and states.

• The decisions are expressed as programs which can be rewritten to

modify or extend the functions of control system.

• All switching systems manufactured for use as public switching

systems now use computers and software programming to control the
switching of calls.

• Feature of SPC includes Common channel signalling (CCS),

centralised maintenance and automatic fault diagnosis and interactive
human machine interface
 Basiccontrol structure of SPC.

•SPC is the standard feature of all the electronic exchanges

•More than one processors are used for the reliability. (duplicated)

•Types of SPC
✓ Centralized SPC
✓ Distributed SPC
 Centralized SPC
To lines
From lines

Signal
Distributor Scanners

Central
Processor (s)

Secondary storage,
Maintenance memory call recording,
Console program etc.
Can process 10 to 100 calls per second
Single processor and redundant processors
Each processor has access to all resources like scanners, distribution
functions and executing all control functions
 Redundant Centralized control structure
Resources R1 R2 Rr

Processors
P1 P2 Pp

Function programs F1 F2 Ff

• Exchange resources and memory module containing the programs for carrying
out control functions shared by processors.
• Each processor may have own dedicated access paths to exchange resources
Most centralized SPC system with two processors
1. Standby mode
2. Synchronous duplex mode
3. Load sharing mode
 Standby mode
 One active processor, the other is standby and activate only
failure of the active processor
 Reconstitute the state of exchangesystem is essential
 Determine free/busy lines
 Determine the switching pathsin the network
 In small exchange, scanning all the status signal is easy
 In large exchange, active processor copiesthe status of
the system periodically in a secondary storage
 The standby get the latest statusafter become activate

Exchange environment

P1 P2

Secondary Storage
 Exchange environment

P1 C P2

M1 M2

SynchronousDuplex Mode
– Both process active simultaneously
– One is actually controlling the exchange, the other is synchronized
– Results are compared
– If mismatch occurred, the faulty processis identified and isolated
– In case of comparator failure
1. Continue with both processors (assuming the fault is transient)
2. take out the active processor and continue with the other processor
3. Continue with the active processor but remove the other processor
 Exchange environment

P1 P2

ED
M1 M2

Load SharingMode
– Incoming calls are assigned randomly or predetermined fashion to both
processor
– The processors work independently
– Sharingof resources is controlled by exclusion mechanism
– If failure occurred to a processor, the other takesfull control
– Usually, two processor got half of the load – but it can be uneven
• For software testing in one processor
– Exhibits better performance in case of traffic overloads
• Redundancy can provide better Availability of the system
• For single-processor system,
Availability, A= MTBF/ (MTBF+ MTTR)
Unavailability , U = 1 – A
= 1 – MTBF/ (MTBF+ MTTR)
= MTTR/ (MTBF+ MTTR)
If MTBF>> MTTR,
U = MTTR/ MTBF

What about in the Dual Processor System ???

 Real time constraint of Control Functions

Level 3 Event Monitoring

Real time
Level 2 Call processing constraint
increases

Operation, Maintenance
Level 1 and charging

•Real time constraint determined the priority interrupt facility for processing in
Centralized control

•Function with Higher priority event interrupted the lower priority function
•Complete the higher priority function
•Resume the interrupted function
•This can be in a nested fashion
 Distributed SPC

Exchange Environment

EM & DP EM & DP Level 3

CP CP Level 2

Level 1
O & MP O & MP
• Level 3 Processing:
– Scanning, distribution and marking functionality
– Physically located close to the switching network, junctors and
signalingequipments
– Simple, well-defined, specialized operation
– Control mechanism
• Hard-wired control
– Faster but limited flexibility
– Difficult to upgrade to newer system
• Micro-program control
– Control wordsare generated from micro-program controller
– Horizontal vs. Vertical control word
– Slower in operation but flexible
– Comparatively expensive
– Easier to upgrade of newer services and operations
– Easy maintenance
• Level 2 Processing
– Switching processor primarily for call processing
– Real time operation
– Need faster access time to memory
– Faster scheduler operation
– Almost 99.9%availability, fault tolerant, security operation
– Program controlled data transfer as well as direct memory access
(DMA)

• Level 1 Processing: HandlesO&M functionalities

– Software and Hardware administration
– Translation table access (add, delete, modify)
– Supervision of exchange
– Traffic monitoring, Fault detection
– Execution of Diagnostic and testing program
– Man machine interaction
 Remote operation and
maintenance
Maintenance
Operator personal

O&M Computer

Exchange 1 Exchange 2
Exchange p

– Larger mainframe processing, handle complex and voluminous

software
– Less real time or concurrency
 Software Architecture
• Primarily two broad category
– System Software
– Application Software

• Software Architecture for Call Processing

– Real time in nature
– Event driven processing
– Call setup involves many elementary processingactions
– Process: Program in execution
– Many concurrent processby same processorsin multi-programming
system
 Process state transition

Running

Time out

Ready Blocked
Event occurs

Running: CPU allocates

Ready: could use the CPU if allocated
Blocked: waiting for some event to occur before it can proceed

• process are in the ordered list according to Priority

•Timer is used to prevent monopolizing the process usage by one process
• Process control Block (PCB): Repository of key information
related to the process
– Keep current state of the process
– Priority and CPU scheduling parameters
– SaveRegister values, statusof eventsand I/O resources
– Memory allocation
– Processaccount (CPUusagetime and limits, processID etc.)

• Context switching: move one process to another

– Save PCB of current process
– Load PCB of next process
– Run new process

• Mutual Exclusion: to access shared data

– One process can be in critical region
– Semaphore is used for synchronization purpose
• Basic factorsassociated with Switching Software
– Complexity and size
– Long working life
• Supporting new services
• Meeting new requirementsfor network management
• Copingwith different application specific to individual country
• Permittingtechnological enhancement in system hardware
– Real time operation
– Reliability and availability
– Software portability
• CCITTStandard for software for SPCsystem
– Z.100: Specification description language (SDL)
– Z.200: CCITTHigh level language (CHILL)
– Z.3xx: Man-machine language (MML)
• SDL
– To describe functional specification
– Software tool aswell asdocumentation technique
– Uses top-down approach
– Easyto describe processinteraction in a switching
system
– SDLdiagramscan easily be transformed to other
mathematical tool ( Petri net) for analysis
– Easy to translate SDLto CHILLand vice versa
– Easyto learn , interpret and use
• CHILL: (studygroupformed in 1975, Recommendationapprovedin
1980 plenary assembly of CCITT)
Suitable for coding SPCmodules for
– Call handling
– Test and maintenance
– Operating System
– On-line and off-line support
– Man Machine language translation
– Testing
• MAN: (Initiated in 1970, recommendation approved in 1976)
– Operation
– Maintenance
– Installation
– Testing
Application Software
– Call processing
– Administrative
– Maintenance
• In the switching system, the application software are divided into modules
• Modules are assigned to specific task
• Data tables and interfaces are used to share information amongmodules
• Parametric data are stored in tables or files
– Terminal circuit connection file
• Associated distributor address
• Associated scanner address
• Switching network address
• Physical location address
– Switching network configuration file
• Connected subscriber lines
• Trunks toward other exchanges
• Rules for digit translation and routing