U06sss Tcap PM

Dialogic® DSI SS7 Protocols
TCAP Programmer's Manual
www.dialogic.com
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Publication Date: June 2010
Document Number: U06SSS, Issue 11

2
Dialogic® DSI SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 11
Contents
Revision History ........................................................................................................... 5
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 6
1.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................... 6
1.2 Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... 6
1.3 Related Documentation............................................................................................................ 6
1.4 Feature Overview .................................................................................................................... 7
2 General Description ............................................................................................. 8

2.1 Module Overview .................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Module Configuration............................................................................................................... 9
2.3 Dialogue ID Assignment........................................................................................................... 9
2.4 Dialogue ID Groups ............................................................................................................... 10
2.5 Local Transaction ID Format ................................................................................................... 10
2.6 Constant Definitions .............................................................................................................. 11
3 Interface to System Services............................................................................. 12

3.1 System Functions ................................................................................................................. 12
3.2 Timer Operation ................................................................................................................... 12
4 Interface to Network Layer ............................................................................... 13
5 Interface to TC-User .......................................................................................... 14

5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 14
5.2 Multiple TC-User Applications ................................................................................................. 14
5.3 Primitive Parameters ............................................................................................................. 15
5.4 Component Primitive Types .................................................................................................... 17
5.5 Dialogue Primitive Types ........................................................................................................ 18
5.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST ..................................................................................................... 19
5.7 TC-COMPONENT-INDICATION................................................................................................. 23
5.8 TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST ........................................................................................................ 25
5.9 TC-DIALOGUE-INDICATION .................................................................................................... 32
6 Management Interface ...................................................................................... 34
7 Non-Primitive Interface .................................................................................... 35

7.1 TCAP Configuration Request ................................................................................................... 36
7.2 TCAP Configure NC Request ................................................................................................... 42
7.3 Configure Dialogue Group Request .......................................................................................... 44
7.4 Configure TC-User Request .................................................................................................... 46
7.5 Configure TC-Instance Request ............................................................................................... 48
7.6 TCAP Set Default Parameters Request ..................................................................................... 49
7.7 Read TCAP Module Status Request .......................................................................................... 51
7.8 Read TCAP Dialogue Status Request ........................................................................................ 53
7.9 Maintenance Event Indication ................................................................................................. 55
7.10 Software Event Indication ...................................................................................................... 56
7.11 TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication ............................................................................................ 58
7.12 TCAP Component Discard Indication ........................................................................................ 59
7.13 Read Revision Request .......................................................................................................... 60
7.14 Management Event Indication ................................................................................................ 61
7.15 Set Trace Mask Request......................................................................................................... 62
7.16 Trace Event Indication ........................................................................................................... 64
7.17 Module Reset Request ........................................................................................................... 65
3
Contents
Appendix A 66
A.1 Timer Services ..................................................................................................................... 66
A.2 Keep Time ........................................................................................................................... 66
A.3 Timer Expiry ........................................................................................................................ 67
Appendix B 68
B.1 Message Type Reference ....................................................................................................... 68
Index 70
4
Revision History
Issue Date Description
1 06-Nov-95 Minor typographical corrections and the addition of the TC-NULL-IND primitive.
2 15-May-97 ANSI operation added.
3 24-Dec-98 Dialogue Groups and message tracing added.
4 23-Feb-99 Address format parameter added to module configuration.
Operation with multiple local application programs (sub-systems) described.
Description of TCP_MSG_S_TCU_ID added.
Additional information provided for parameters in TCP_MSG_CONFIG.
Structure of timer messages added in an appendix
Message type reference appendix added
5 17-Aug-00 Addition of message definitions for dialogue discard indications, component discards
indications and module version identification.
6 19-Nov-01 Messages to monitor module and dialogue status added.
7 16-Jul-03 Branding changed: references to System7 removed.
8 04-May-04 Addition support of TCPPN_timeout with length=0 to disable TCAP timer.
9 18-Sep-06 Added statement on ITU-T TCAP 1997 support.
Added new messages:
Added new status returned in confirmation messages for network context.
10 19-Dec-07 Document rebranded and reformatted.
11 21-Jun-10 Dialogue Idle Timer added.
Incoming Dialogue ID range no longer has start on or after 0x8000
Added Trace Module ID configuration.
Note: The latest release issue of this guide can be found at:
http://www.dialogic.com/support/helpweb/signaling
5
Section 1 Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1 Overview
The TCAP module is a portable software implementation of the Signaling
System Number 7, Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP). It
operates according to either ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1992/1996) or ANSI
T1.114-1996 selection being by a run-time option. This is the Programmer's
Manual, which is intended for users developing their own applications that will
interface with and use the functionality provided by the TCAP module.
The module uses the services provided by the underlying network-layer
service provider for the transfer of information between nodes, and provides
generic services to applications whilst remaining independent of both the
network layer and the application.
The TCAP module is an event driven task, which uses standard structured
message types for communication with other layers of the protocol stack.
These messages are used to convey the protocol primitives between TCAP
and the TC-User and TCAP and the network layer. Each message contains the
primitive parameters as defined in the CCITT recommendations thereby
ensuring that the module can easily be interfaced with other vendors’
implementations of the adjacent layers. Typically the module is used in
conjunction with the SCCP and MTP modules.
This manual provides an overview of the internal operation of the TCAP
module and defines the structure of all messages used to interface with the
module.
1.2 Abbreviations
ANSI American National Standards Institute.
APDU Application Protocol Data Unit.
CCITT The International Telegraph & Telephone Consultative Committee.
ITU-T International Telecommunication Union (formerly CCITT).
MTP Message Transfer Part.
SCCP Signaling Connection Control Part.
TCAP Transaction Capabilities Application Part.
1.3 Related Documentation

[1] ITU-T Recommendations Q.771, Q.772, Q.773, Q.774 & Q.775
[2] ANSI T1.114-1996
[3] U05SSS, SCCP Programmer's Manual
[4] U10SSS, Software Environment Programmer's Manual
[5] GA234SSS, DSI Application Note - TCAP Transaction State Replication
6
1.4 Feature Overview

Key features of the TCAP module include:
• Full implementation of ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1992) and ANSI T1.114
(1996).
• Full implementation of ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1997) TCAP recommendations
with the exception of TCAP operation timer reset and the inclusion of the
originating and destination addresses into TCAP Notice indications.
• Inter working with ITU-T 1988 and ANSI 1992 recommendations.
• Class 1, 2, 3, and 4 operations.
• Dialogue support for application context and user information.
• Automatic generation of Transaction ID.
• Supports the use of multiple distributed instances of TCAP.
• Message oriented interface.
• Grouping of dialogue id ranges for operation with multiple application
programs.
• Debug tracing of messages exchanged with the TC-User and SCCP.
• Idle Timer allowing dialogue abort or user warning.
• Supports long messages (requires SCCP to be configured to segment and
reassembly messages).
7
Section 2 General Description
2 General Description
2.1 Module Overview

The TCAP module is an implementation of the ITU-T recommendations Q.771
- Q.774 (1992/1997) and ANSI T1.114-1996, including support for the
optional dialogue portion for conveying information relating to application
context and user information. Internally the module is sub-divided into two
layers: the Component Sub-Layer (CSL) and the Transaction Sub-Layer
(TSL).
The component sub-layer accumulates the user-supplied Application Protocol
Data Units (APDU) (i.e. components) and stores them in an internal buffer.
On receipt of the appropriate dialogue-handling primitive from the user, the
components are combined with the (optional) dialogue portion and passed to
the transaction sub-layer. An invocation state machine is started for each
invoke component. Messages received from the transaction sub-layer are
checked and conveyed to the user. The dialogue primitive is issued first
(including the optional dialogue portion), followed by each component (in the
same order that they were received for transmission at the sending end).
The transaction sub-layer receives messages from the component sub-layer
and ensures they are valid for the current state of the transaction. It then
adds the transaction portion (containing address and quality of service
information) to the message and passes it to the network layer. Messages
received from the network layer are validated by the transaction sub-layer; a
transaction ID is assigned for each new transaction and the message is
conveyed to the component sub-layer.
The module is event driven; it has a single input queue into which events
from other modules (TC-User, network-layer, management etc.) are written.
The module processes each event in turn until the input queue is empty in
which case it will do nothing until the next event is received. Output from the
module is directed depending on the type of event to the TC-User module,
the network-layer module, the Management module or the Maintenance
module.
Internally there are a number of data structures used by the module. The
maximum dimensions of these structures are determined by compile time
constants. The three constants of importance to the user are:
• The maximum number of simultaneous dialogues (and hence
transactions) supported by the module.
• The maximum number of components internally accumulated by the
module awaiting transmission.
• The maximum number of invocations active at any time.
In addition the module requires a periodic timer tick notification be issued to
it (using the input queue), typically every tenth of a second. (This can either
be generated by a timer module or using the services of the selected
operating system).
8
2.2 Module Configuration

The module provides maximum flexibility by allowing a large number of user
configuration options to be set up at run time. This allows the users to
customize the operation of the module to suit the particular requirements of
the final application. All configuration parameters are sent to the module's
input event queue in the same manner as other protocol messages.
The first message that must be sent to the module is a global configuration
message (any messages received prior to the global configuration message
will be discarded). This message specifies the operating mode for the TCAP
module as being either ITU-T or ANSI. It also contains the module id for all
modules to which TCAP issues messages, user supplied values for the
maximum number of dialogues (incoming and outgoing), the maximum
number of buffered components and the maximum number of active
invocations that are required to be available to the user. The module checks
that the values requested are compatible with the values it can support.
A second configuration message allows the user to supply default values for a
number of protocol parameters (e.g. originating address, destination address,
quality of service etc.). These default values will then be used whenever the
particular parameter is required by the protocol but not present in the
message received from the user.
2.3 Dialogue ID Assignment

The TCAP module supports a number of active dialogues at a single instant in
time. TC-User primitives are associated with a particular dialogue using a
Dialogue ID, which is of purely local significance between the TC-User and
TCAP.
A Dialogue ID is assigned at the start of a dialogue, when the first primitive is
exchanged between the TC-User and TCAP. For a dialogue initiated by the
TC-User (an ‘outgoing dialogue’), the value is selected by the TC-User. For a
dialogue initiated from a remote TCAP (an ‘incoming dialogue’) the value is
set by the TCAP module. Once a dialogue has started, all user primitives,
both requests and indications that refer to the same dialogue will include the
same Dialogue ID value.
The dialogue ID is a 16-bit value in the range 0 to 65535. The range of valid
dialogue ID values to be supported by a particular instance of TCAP is set up
at configuration time. Two non-overlapping ranges of dialogue ID must be
configured by the user, one for use with outgoing dialogues and the other for
use with incoming dialogues. The total number of dialogue IDs must not
exceed the maximum number of simultaneous dialogues that the module can
support.
The dialogue ID selected by the TC-User for an outgoing dialogue must lie
within the configured range of outgoing dialogue IDs. Dialogue IDs for
incoming dialogues are allocated automatically by the TCAP module (from the
configured range of incoming dialogue IDs) so that the dialogue ID that has
been unused for the longest period is used next.
9
Section 2 General Description
Internally to the TCAP module the dialogue ID is used to generate a ‘dialogue

reference’ which lies in the range from 0 up to one less than the maximum
number of simultaneous dialogues supported. The dialogue reference is used
by the TCAP module to generate the local transaction ID. It is the
application’s responsibility to close dialogue on completion of all transactions
associated with dialogue
2.4 Dialogue ID Groups

A dialogue group enables common attributes to be assigned to a number of
dialogues identified by their dialogue IDs, such as user application instance.
This enables a unique range of dialogue identifiers to be permanently
assigned to different instances of a user application; hence TCAP is able to
support a distributed application (this would be used for example in a high
availability environment). A dialogue group is configured with a single
message. The TCAP module supports up to 32 dialogue groups.
2.5 Local Transaction ID Format

Peer TCAP entities use transaction IDs to associate TCAP protocol data units
(PDUs) with a particular transaction. These IDs are included as a parameter
in each TCAP PDU sent across the SS7 network. The TCAP module
automatically generates the ID used to reference the transaction locally. For
an outgoing dialogue, this will be the Originating transaction ID in the TCAP
PDU, for an incoming dialogue, this will be the Destination or Responding
Transaction ID in the TCAP PDU.
The local transaction ID is assigned by the TCAP module in such a manner as
to ensure that the same transaction ID is not re-allocated until some time
after the dialogue has finished. The transaction ID is made up of 4 fields: the
instance number, the dialogue reference, a sequence number and a padding
field as follows:
MSB LSB
Padding Sequence Number Dialogue reference Instance Number
The ‘instance number’ allows TCAP to be distributed over a number of

separate hardware platforms, each running as a separate instance and
responsible for handling a different range of dialogue IDs (from the TC-User
viewpoint) and using a different Instance Number within the Transaction ID
(from the Network-layer viewpoint).
The ‘dialogue reference’ has a one-to-one mapping with the dialogue ID at
any single instance of TCAP and ranges from 0 up to one less than the total
number of dialogues supported. Note that the dialogue reference is not the
same value as the dialogue ID.
The ‘sequence number’ is allocated on a cyclic basis for each individual
dialogue ID and ensures the maximum possible time elapses before re-use of
a transaction ID.
The width of each transaction ID field (in bits) is a run-time configuration
option allowing the user to adjust the relative field widths to suit the
application.
10
Internally the size of the transaction ID is rounded up to a multiple of 8 bits

(by adding zeros in the padding field). The transaction ID is then converted to
an octet string with the first octet containing the most significant 8 bits of the
transaction ID.
2.6 Constant Definitions

To assist the user when writing an application, a ‘C’ language header file
(tcp_inc.h) is available containing all the definitions and constants necessary
to interface with the TCAP module. This file contains definitions for all the
mnemonics listed in this Programmer’s Manual.
11
Section 3 Interface to System Services
3 Interface to System Services
3.1 System Functions

In addition to the primitive interface and the management interface to the
TCAP module (which are described in later sections) the module requires a
few basic system services to be supplied by the underlying operating system.
The following functions are required for inter-task communication:
GCT_send Sends a message to another task.

GCT_receive Accept next message from input event queue, blocking the task if no
message is ready.
GCT_grab As receive but not blocking if no message is ready.
The following functions are required for allocation and release of inter task
messages:
getm Allocate a message.

relm Release a message.
These functions are described in the Software Environment Programmers

Manual.
3.2 Timer Operation

In order to provide internal implementation of the TCAP protocol timers the
module needs to receive a periodic timer tick message. This is usually
achieved using either the Enhanced Driver Module or the Timer module in
which case the following messages are used by the TCAP module:
KEEP_TIME Issued by TCAP to initialize the timer services.

TM_EXP Issued by the timer module to notify of time-out.
The format of these messages is described in Appendix 1.

The user should note that whilst the timer functionality is usually provided by
the given modules, the timer functionality required by the TCAP module is
very basic (just a single message being issued on a periodic basis). In most
cases it is a trivial exercise to implement this functionality using the users
own choice of operating environment if required.
12
4 Interface to Network Layer

The TCAP module communicates with the Network-layer Service Provider
using the following primitives, all of which are defined in CCITT
Recommendation Q.711:
• N-UNITDATA-REQ
• N-UNITDATA-IND
• N-NOTICE-IND
The message format used to convey these primitives is defined in the SCCP
Programmer's Manual∗. The following messages are used:
SCP_MSG_TX_REQ Messages issued by TCAP

SCP_MSG_RX_IND Messages issued to TCAP
The TCAP module is usually used in conjunction with the SCCP module.
However, the use of primitives in accordance with Q.711 ensures that it can
also be integrated with other Network-layer Service Provider implementations
if required.
∗
See Section 1.3 Related Documentation for the full reference to this manual.
13
Section 5 Interface to TC-User
5 Interface to TC-User
5.1 Introduction
All primitives at the application interface (i.e. between the TCAP module and
the TC-User) are passed by sending messages between the modules.
Primitive requests are originated from the TC-User and request TCAP to carry
out a specified action. Primitive indications are sent from TCAP to indicate
received TCAP PDU data or local protocol events to the TC-User.
The following messages are used:
TC-COMPONENT-REQ Conveys component from TC-User to TCAP.

TC-DIALOGUE-REQ Conveys dialogue primitive from TC-User to TCAP.
TC-COMPONENT-IND Conveys component from TCAP to TC-User.
TC-DIALOGUE-IND Conveys dialogue primitive from TCAP to TC-User.
The basic structure of each message (irrespective of the TCAP primitive

contained within it) is the same and is described in the Software Environment
Programmer’s Manual∗. The message contains a message header, the length
of the user data and the user data itself. The message must be contained in a
single buffer which should be allocated by the sending module (using the
getm function) and either released (using the relm function) or passed to
another module by the receiving module. The getm and relm functions are
described in Section 3 Interface to System Services on page 12.
The message header contains a ‘type’, the value of this parameter indicating
that either a dialogue or component-handling primitive is being conveyed by
the message. The following message types are defined:
Primitive Message type Value

TC-COMPONENT-REQ TCP_MSG_CPT_REQ 0xc781
TC-COMPONENT-IND TCP_MSG_CPT_IND 0x8782
TC-DIALOGUE-REQ TCP_MSG_DLG_REQ 0xc783
TC-DIALOGUE-IND TCP_MSG_DLG_IND 0x8784
5.2 Multiple TC-User Applications

In a multi-tasking operating system it is possible to have more than one TC-
User application program running as a separate task. The message passing
environment identifies each task with a unique module identifier (or module
id), used as the destination for any message sent to this task from other
processes in the system. TCAP exchanges messages with peer TCAP entities
using SCCP format addressing. This assigns a unique sub-system number and
point code to each unique TC-User.
The TCAP configuration sets a default module id for dialogue and component
indications; this value identifies the destination task (user application) that
will receive these indications if no additional configuration data is supplied.
∗
14
In addition to the default user application module id, it is possible to set a

different module id for each different local sub-system. In this environment,
each unique user application behaves as a unique local sub-system, with a
unique sub-system number (used by the SCCP addressing) and also a unique
module identifier (used by the inter-process message passing).
The association between a locally initiated dialogue and a user application
program module id is made when the first primitive request is sent. The
dialogue is associated with the module id being taken from the ‘source’ field
of the first primitive request message.
Dialogues initiated from a remote TCAP entity are received by TCAP from
SCCP containing a called address, identifying a local sub-system. The sub-
system number in this address is matched to module id from a user provided
configuration setting. The association is made using the first SCCP message
received for each of these dialogues. If the local sub-system has not been
configured, the dialogue is associated with the ‘default’ user application
module id.
5.3 Primitive Parameters

Each TC-User primitive includes a number of parameters. These parameters
are conveyed in the parameter area of the message that conveys the
primitive.
The first byte in the parameter area is the primitive type octet and the last
byte is a zero byte to indicate that there are no further parameters in the
parameter area. Any parameters associated with the message are placed
between the message type code and the final (zero) byte. Therefore the
parameter area is formatted as follows:
Primitive Type Parameter Parameter Parameter Zero
The parameters may be placed in any order. The first byte of a parameter is
the parameter name, this is followed by the length of the parameter data to
follow (excluding the parameter name and the length itself) and this is
followed by the parameter data. The encoding of the parameter data aligns
exactly with the parameter format specified in the appropriate ITU-T
recommendation whenever possible. Therefore each parameter is formatted
as follows:
Name Length Data
1 octet 1 or 2 octets ‘Length’ octets
The number of octets used for the parameter length is determined by use of
Code Shift parameters (SCPPN_CODE_SHIFT, TCPPN_CODE_SHIFT etc), see
section 5.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST).. These parameters indicate a
changed encoding scheme for all parameters following it in the same
message. Therefore the parameter area can be formatted as follows:
15
Primitive Type Parameter Parameter Code Shift Parameter Parameter Zero

(1 octet) (1 octet (1 octet (data = 1) (2 octet (2 octet
length) length) length) length)
For parameters following a Code Shift the encoding rules change based upon
the value of the Code Shift. A value of 0 indicates a 1 octet length. A value of
1 indicates a 2 octet length.
Parameters with lengths greater than 255 require a Code Shift of 1. For these
parameters, the first octet is the parameter name, the second and third
octets contain the length of the parameter data to follow (most significant
part followed by least significant part), and this is followed by the parameter
data.
Therefore parameter is formatted as follows,
Before any Code Shift and after Code Shift = 0:
Name Length Data
1 octet 1 octets ‘Parameter Length’ octets (0 to 255)
After Code Shift = 1:
Name Length Data
1 octet 2 octets ‘Parameter Length’ octets (0 to 4192)
A single message can contain multiple Code Shift parameters. Code Shift
parameters are typically required when the TCAP Segmentation option is
enabled.
Within each message there are mandatory parameters which must always be
present and optional parameters which may or may not be present. In some
cases the optional parameters may have default values (set up at
configuration time) which are added by the TCAP module if not provided by
the user.
16
5.4 Component Primitive Types

Component primitives convey a request to perform an operation, or a reply.
The following component primitive types are provided:
Mnemonic Originator Function Value

TCPPT_TC_INVOKE TC-User Request an operation to be performed. 8
This primitive is used for ITU-T Invoke
and ANSI Invoke (last).
TCPPT_TC_INVOKE_NL TC-User Request an operation to be performed. 17
Further components will convey
additional information.
TCPPT_TC_RESULT_L TC-User Report successful completion of an 9
operation.
TCPPT_TC_RESULT_NL TC-User Report a segment of the successful 10
completion of an operation, further
components will convey additional
information.
TCPPT_TC_U_ERROR TC-User Report the unsuccessful completion of an 11
operation.
TCPPT_TC_U_REJECT TC-User Report receipt and rejection of a 16
component (other that a reject).
TCPPT_TC_U_CANCEL TC-User Terminate an operation initiated from the 13
local TCAP prematurely (local action
only).
TCPPT_TC_L_CANCEL TCAP Report that the response expected to an 12
operation was not received within a
specified time.
TCPPT_TC_L_REJECT TCAP Report that a received component was 14
rejected locally due to protocol error.
TCPPT_TC_R_REJECT TCAP Report that a component was rejected by 15
a responding TCAP.
TCPPT_TC_NULL TCAP Issued in the cases that a component is 0
discarded by the TCAP module but when
it is still necessary to indicate a
component to the TC-User in order to
preserve the ‘LAST-COMPONENT’
indication.
TC-User originated components may be initiated by the local or responding

TC-User, hence these primitives may be both TC-User Component Requests
and TC-User Component Indications.
TCAP originated components are always TC-User Component Indications.
17
5.5 Dialogue Primitive Types

Dialogue handling primitives provide the mechanism by which components
are exchanged between peer TCAP entities. The following primitive types are
provided:
Mnemonic Originator Function Value

TCPPT_TC_UNI TC-User Unstructured Dialogue 1
TCPPT_TC_BEGIN TC-User Begin a structured Dialogue. 2
TCPPT_TC_CONTINUE TC-User Continue a dialogue, responding TCAP 3
may end this dialogue.
TCPPT_TC_END TC-User End a dialogue. 4
TCPT_TC_U_ABORT TC-User Abort a dialogue. 5
TCPPT_TC_P_ABORT TCAP Abort a dialogue due to an abnormal 6
protocol event.
TCPPT_TC_NOTICE TCAP Report that the network layer was unable 7
to deliver a TCAP PDU to the destination.
TC-User originated dialogue primitives may be initiated by the local or

responding TC-User, hence these primitives may be both TC-User Dialogue
Requests and TC-User Dialogue Indications.
TCAP originated primitives are always TC-User Dialogue Indications.
The following alternate set of definitions is provided for ANSI TCAP users.
ANSI Mnemonic Equivalent ITU-T Mnemonic Value

TCPPTA_TC_UNI TCPPT_TC_UNI 1
TCPPTA_TC_QUERY TCPPT_TC_BEGIN 2
TCPPTA_TC_CONVERSATION TCPPT_TC_CONTINUE 3
TCPPTA_TC_RESPONSE TCPPT_TC_END 4
TCPPTA_TC_U_ABORT TCPT_TC_U_ABORT 5
TCPPTA_TC_P_ABORT TCPPT_TC_P_ABORT 6
TCPPTA_TC_NOTICE TCPPT_TC_NOTICE 7
The following sections define the message format and content of the
parameter area for each of the messages exchanged between the TC-User
and TCAP.
18
5.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST
Synopsis
Protocol message sent from the TC-User to TCAP containing a TC-Component
for association with a dialogue.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_CPT_REQ (0xc781)
id dialogue_ID
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID (0x14)
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len Number of bytes of user data
Parameter Area
OFFSET SIZE NAME
0 1 Component primitive type octet.
1 len - 2 Parameters in Name-Length-Data format.
len - 1 1 Set to zero indicating end of message.
Description
This message is used by the TC-User to send Component sub-layer primitives
to TCAP. The primitives are accumulated within TCAP for the specified
dialogue ID until the appropriate dialogue handling primitive is issued by the
TC-User when the component will be assembled into a message and passed
to the network-layer service provider.
All component request primitives contain a dialogue ID that is encoded in the
message header. It does not form part of the parameter area.
Parameter area contents

The component primitive type octet is coded as defined in Section 5.4
Component Primitive Types on page 17.
19
The following parameter names are defined for use in either component
request or component indication primitive messages:
Parameter Mnemonic Value

Component portion TCPPN_COMPONENT 1
Last component TCPPN_LAST_CPT 2
Class TCPPN_CLASS 3
Timeout TCPPN_TIMEOUT 4
Invoke ID TCPPN_INVOKE_ID 5
Network Context (NC) TCPPN_NC 21
Code Shift TCPPN_CODE_SHIFT 255
Parameters of local significance (i.e. those that do not form part of the
transmitted or received network-layer message) are allocated their own
parameter names whilst the remaining parameters (i.e. those that form the
‘Component Portion’ of the transmitted message) are allocated a single
parameter name.
The data section of the ‘component portion’ parameter is encoded in
accordance with the specification for the component as defined by
recommendation Q.773 or T1.114.3, commencing with the Component Type
Tag. The following table details the component type required for each TC-
User component primitive:
Primitive Component type

TCPPT_TC_INVOKE Invoke, Invoke (last)
TCPPT_TC_INVOKE_NL Invoke (not last)
TCPPT_TC_RESULT_L Result (last)
TCPPT_TC_RESULT_NL Result (not last)
TCPPT_TC_U_ERROR Return error
TCPPT_TC_U_REJECT Reject
TCPPT_TC_L_REJECT Reject
TCPPT_TC_R_REJECT Reject
Invoke (last) and Invoke (not last) are available for ANSI operation only. For
ITU-T operation, Invoke should be used.
Note: Whilst the component portion of a message transferred across the network may
contain more than one component, each component primitive message between
the TC-user and TCAP must contain exactly one component (except the TC-U-
CANCEL request which is not sent to the network. This should contain only the
Invoke ID parameter).
The coding for each parameter type is given in the following tables:
Parameter name TCPPN_COMPONENT

Parameter length Variable, ranging from 1 to 255
Parameter data Component data encoded as specified in Q.773 or T1.114.3, commencing
with the Component Type tag
20
Parameter name TCPPN_LAST_CPT

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
Parameter data Used by the module to indicate if this is the last component associated with a
dialog indication or if there are more components to follow. The parameter
will be set to 1 if this is the last component and set to 0 if more components
are to follow. This parameter is not required for Component Requests.
Parameter name TCPPN_CLASS

Parameter data Single octet indicating the required class of operation. The following values
may be used :
1 = Both success and failure are reported.
2 = Only failure is reported.
3 = Only success is reported.
4 = Neither success nor failure are reported.
Parameter name TCPPN_TIMEOUT

Parameter length Variable, set to 0 or 2.
Set the length to 0 to disable the timer. Set it to 2 to specify the timer value in
parameter data.
Parameter data The invocation time-out in seconds in the range 0 ... 1800. The first octet is
the most significant byte of the time-out.
Note that the maximum permitted time-out value is 1800 seconds (i.e.30
minutes).
Parameter name TCPPN_INVOKE_ID

Parameter data Single octet representing the invoke ID which is in the range -128 to +127
Parameter name TCPPN_NC

Parameter length Variable, set to 1 or 2 (typically 1)
Parameter data The Network Context ID associated with this component (or dialogue). If not
specified the default value (0) is used (defined by the standard TCAP
configuration). Non-zero values for this parameter should match a
TCP_MSG_NC_CONFIG message.
Parameter name TCPPN_CODE_SHIFT

Parameter data This parameter changes the number of length octets used for all following
parameters until another Code Shift or the end of the message is reached.
When the Code Shift parameter data is 0, following parameters use 1 octet
to encode their length. When the Code Shift parameter data is 1, following
parameters use 2 octets to encode their length (see Section 5.3
21
Primitive Parameters).
The following table lists the parameters associated with each component
request primitive and shows whether the parameter is Mandatory (M), in
which case the message will be discarded if the parameter is omitted,
Optional (O), in which case the parameter is not essential or Defaulted (D), in
which case the parameter will be set to the configured default value by TCAP
if not supplied by the user.
ITU-T and ANSI Primitive

Parameter
RESULT-NL
INVOKE-NL
U-CANCEL
U-REJECT
RESULT-L
U-ERROR
INVOKE
Invoke ID M
Class D
Timeout D
NC O O
Component M M M M M M
Last
Component
22
5.7 TC-COMPONENT-INDICATION
Synopsis
Protocol message sent from TCAP to the TC-User containing a TC-Component
associated with a dialogue.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_CPT_IND (0x8782)
id dialogue_ID
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst TC-User module id
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 Component primitive type octet.
Description
This message is used by TCAP to send Component sub-layer primitives to the
TC-User. On receipt of a dialogue-handling primitive from the network, TCAP
first issues a dialogue handling primitive to the TC-User, this is followed by a
number of component primitive messages (each containing a single
component) until all the components have been conveyed to the user. The
last component primitive will have the data in the ‘last component’ parameter
set to indicate that there are no further components to follow.
All component indication primitives contain a dialogue ID which is encoded in
the message header. It does not form part of the parameter area.
Parameter Area Contents

The parameter area is coded as defined for the TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST
message (see Section 5.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST on page 19).
Note: The TC-NULL-IND is issued to the user in the case that a component is discarded
by the TCAP module but when it is still necessary to indicate a component to the
user in order to preserve the ‘LAST-COMPONENT’ indication.
23
The following table lists the parameters associated with each component
indication primitive and shows whether the parameter is Mandatory (M), in
which case it will always be present in messages issued by TCAP or Optional
(O), in which case the parameter may or may not be present depending on
the received message data or event being reported.
ITU-T and ANSI Primitive
RESULT-NL
INVOKE-NL
L-CANCEL
R-REJECT
U-REJECT
RESULT-L
L-REJECT
U-ERROR
INVOKE
NULL
Parameter
Invoke ID M
Class
Timeout
Component M M M M M M M M
Last Component M M M M M M M M M M
24
5.8 TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST
Synopsis
Protocol message sent from the TC-User to TCAP containing a dialogue-
handling primitive.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_DLG_REQ (0xc783)
id dialogue_ID
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 Dialogue primitive type octet.
Description
This message is used by the TC-User to send component sub-layer primitives
relating to dialogue handling to TCAP. The primitives cause the generation of
a message for sending to the network layer which contains all the
components received for the specified dialogue ID.
All dialogue request primitives contain a dialogue ID which is encoded in the
message header. It does not form part of the parameter area.

The dialogue primitive type octet is coded as defined in Section 5.5 Dialogue
Primitive Types on page 18. The following parameter names are defined for
use in dialogue handling primitive messages:
25
Parameter Mnemonic Value

Quality of service TCPPN_QOS 6
Destination address TCPPN_DEST_ADDR 7
Originating address TCPPN_ORIG_ADDR 8
Termination type TCPPN_TERMINATION 9
Abort reason TCPPN_ABORT_REASON 10
Report cause TCPPN_REPORT_CAUSE 11
Components present TCPPN_CPT_PRESENT 12
Application context name TCPPN_APPL_CONTEXT 13
User information TCPPN_USER_INFO 14
P-Abort TCPPN_P_ABORT 15
User Abort Information TCPPN_UABORT_INFO 16
Security context TCPPN_SECURITY 17
Confidentiality indicator TCPPN_CONFIDENTIALITY 18
Permission to release TCPPN_PERMISSION 19
Protocol version TCPPN_VERSION 20
Network Context ID TCPPN_NC 21
Dialog Idle Timeout TCPPN_DLG_IDLE_TIMEOUT 22
The coding for each parameter type is given in the following tables:
Parameter name TCPPN_QOS

Parameter length Variable, either 1, 2 or 3 octets.
Parameter data The first octet is an indicator octet, which must always be present.
Subsequent octets must only be present if the appropriate bit is set in the
indicator octet. The coding is as follows:
Indicator Octet :
• bit 0 - Set to 1 if the Return Option is selected.
• bit 1 - Set to 1 if Sequence Control is required.
• bit 2 - Set to 1 if the SLS Key octet is present in the Quality of Service
parameter, in which case it will be the following octet. Otherwise TCAP
will generate the SLS key (for passing to SCCP) automatically and the
SLS key octet is omitted.
• bit 3 - Set to 1 if the Message Priority Octet is included in the Quality of
Service Parameter. Otherwise TCAP will insert the default message
priority.
All other bits are reserved for future use and must be set to zero.
SLS Key Octet:
The SLS Key which is used (by SCCP) to determine the SLS value to be
used in the resulting message.
Note: All 8 SLS bits are passed to SCCP, how many bits are used
depends on the SCCP configuration.
Message Priority Octet:
Coded as 0, 1, 2 or 3 to indicate the required message priority.
Note: QOS indications from TCAP contain only the Indicator Octet.
26
Parameter name TCPPN_DEST_ADDR

Parameter length Variable, in the range 2 to 18
Parameter data Destination address parameter encoded in the format expected by the
network layer.
When using ITU-T SCCP, formatted in accordance with the Q.713 definition
of ‘Called Party Address’ commencing with the address indicator and
containing optionally signalling point code, sub-system number and global
title).
When using ANSI SCCP, in accordance with T1.112.3 definition of ‘Called
party address’.
Parameter name TCPPN_ORIG_ADDR

Parameter length Variable, in the range 2 to 18
Parameter data Originating address parameter encoded in the format expected by the
network layer.
When using ITU-T SCCP, formatted in accordance with the Q.713 definition
of ‘Calling Party Address’ commencing with the address indicator and
containing optionally signalling point code, sub-system number and global
title).
When using ANSI SCCP, in accordance with T1.112.3 definition of ‘Calling
party address’.
Parameter name TCPPN_TERMINATION

Parameter data Single octet set to 0 to indicate BASIC end or 1 to indicate PRE-
ARRANGED end.
A BASIC end will cause a TR-END (ITU-T) or
RESPONSE package (ANSI) to be sent via the network layer to the peer
TCAP to terminate a transaction.
A PRE-ARRANGED is used to inform the local TCAP that the transaction is
to be terminated without exchange of messages with the peer TCAP.
Parameter name TCPPN_ABORT_REASON

Parameter data Single octet set to an appropriate value as below:
• 1 - Application Context not supported
• 2 - Other user reason.
• 3 – Network Context not supported
Note: The absence of this parameter in an indication implies ‘Other user
reason’
Parameter name TCPPN_REPORT_CAUSE

Parameter data Passed transparently from network-layer. When using SCCP coded as
Q.713/T1.112.3 ‘Return Cause’ parameter.
27
Parameter name TCPPN_CPT_PRESENT

Parameter data Single octet set to 0 to indicate that there are no components to follow or 1
to indicate that there are components to follow.
Parameter name TCPPN_APPL_CONTEXT

Parameter length Variable (subject to satisfying message length limits).
Parameter data Application Context Name.
ITU-T operation
Encoded as specified in Q.773 commencing with the Application Context
Name tag.
ANSI operation
Encoded as specified in T1.114.3, commencing with the Integer Application
Context or Object Application Context tag.
Parameter name TCPPN_USER_INFO

Parameter data User information encoded as an X.208 EXTERNAL, commencing with the
EXTERNAL tag.
Parameter name TCPPN_P_ABORT

Parameter data Single octet coded as follows:
ITU-T operation
• 0 – Unrecognised message type
• 1 – Unrecognised transaction ID
• 2 – Badly formatted transaction portion
• 3 – Incorrect transaction portion
• 4 – Resource limitation
• 125 - Dialogue Idle Timeout
• 126 – Abnormal dialogue
• 127 – No common dialogue portion
ANSI operation
• 1 – Unrecognised package type
• 2 – Unrecognised transaction portion
• 3 – Badly structured transaction portion
• 4 – Unassigned responding transaction ID
• 5 - Permission to release problem
• 6 – Resource unavailable
• 7 – Unrecognised dialogue portion ID
• 8 – Badly structured dialogue portion
• 9 – Missing dialogue portion
• 10 – Inconsistent dialogue portion
• 126 – Abnormal dialogue. This code is caused by receipt of an invalid or
inappropriate dialogue primitive from the local TC-User.
28
Parameter name TCPPN_UABORT_INFO

Parameter data User Abort Information in any user defined format.
Parameter name TCPPN_SECURITY

Parameter data Security Context
Encoded as defined in ANSI T1.114.3, starting with the Integer Security
Context or Object Security Context tag.
Parameter name TCPPN_CONFIDENTIALITY

Parameter data Confidentiality identifier
Encoded as defined in ANSI T1.114.3, starting with the Confidentiality
Indicator tag.
Parameter name TCPPN_PERMISSION

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1.
Parameter data Permission to release (ANSI formats only).
Single octet, set to 0 or 1 to indicate the following:
• 0 = responding TCAP may not terminate the dialogue.
• 1 = responding TCAP may release the dialogue.
Parameter name TCPPN_VERSION

Parameter length Variable, set to 1 or 2
Parameter data For ANSI the format of the protocol version is defined in T1.114-1996 - a
single octet where each bit relates to a particular protocol version.
For ITU the format of the protocol version follows the definition of a bitstring
as defined in X.209. The low octet is used for the protocol version. The high
octet is used to denote the number of bits not used in the low octet.
Parameter name TCPPN_NC

Parameter length Variable, set to 1 or 2 (typically 1)
Parameter data The Network Context ID associated with this dialogue. If not specified the
default value (0) is used (defined by the standard TCAP configuration). Non-
zero values for this parameter should match a TCP_MSG_NC_CONFIG
message.
Parameter name TCPPN_DLG_IDLE_TIMEOUT

Parameter data The Dialogue Idle Timeout in seconds. The first octet is the most significant
octet of the time-out. The timeout expires when no messages have been
received from the user or network for an open dialog for the timeout period.
Received network and user messages for the dialogue reset the timeout. A
29
timeout value of zero can be used to cancel a previously set timeout. If the
idle timer expires the module can be configured to either automatically abort
the dialog or just to inform the Maintenance module by sending the
TCPEV_DLG_TIM_TIMEOUT event. The TCPF_DLG_TIM_ABORT option
flag determines the action taken.
Note: that the TCAP module limits the number of automatic dialog idle aborts
that can occur on a single tick to 10. If more than this number of idle timeouts
expire on a tick, the idle timeouts are extended for a period of between 1 and
20 ticks. When the first dialog is deferred for a tick, the module informs the
Maintenance module using the TCPEV_EXCESSIVE_DLG_ABORTS event.
The following table lists the parameters associated with each dialogue request
primitive and shows whether the parameter is Mandatory (M), Optional (O) or
Defaulted (D).
ITU-T Primitive ANSI Primitive
CONVERSA
RESPONSE
CONTINUE
ABORT
ABORT
QUERY
BEGIN
TION
END
UNI
UNI
Parameter
1 1 1 1 1 1
Destination D D O O O D D O O O
Address
1 1 1 1 1 1
Originating D D O O O D D O O O
Address
Quality of D D D D D D D D D D
Service
Application O O O O O O O O O O
Context
User O O O O O O O O O
Information
Termination D D
type
Abort reason O O
Report cause
Component
present
P-Abort
User Abort O O O
information
Security O O O O O
Context
Confidentiality O O O O O
identifier
Permission to D D D D
release
Version O O O O O O O O O O
Dialogue Idle O O O O
30
CONVERSA
RESPONSE
CONTINUE
ABORT
ABORT
QUERY
BEGIN
TION
END
UNI
UNI
Parameter
Timeout
O1 - Indicates that this parameter may only be present if the associated

primitive is issued in response to a TC-BEGIN or TC-QUERY. In all other
cases, this parameter is discarded by TCAP.
31
5.9 TC-DIALOGUE-INDICATION
Synopsis
Protocol message sent from the TCAP to the TC-User containing a dialogue-
handling primitive.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_DLG_IND (0x8784)
id dialogue_ID
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst TC-User module ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
reserved 0
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 Dialogue primitive type octet.
1 len – 2 Parameters in Name-Length-Data format.
len – 1 1 Set to zero indicating end of message.
Description
This message is used by TCAP to send component sub-layer dialogue
handling primitives to the TC-User. The primitives are issued on receipt from
the network of transaction related messages and are followed by any
component primitives for components contained within the received message.
All dialogue indication primitives contain a dialogue ID which is encoded in
the message header. It does not form part of the parameter area.

The parameter area is coded as defined for the TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST
message.
The following table lists the parameters associated with each dialogue
handling indication primitive and shows whether the parameter is Mandatory
or Optional.
32
CONVERSATION
RESPONSE
CONTINUE
P–ABORT
P–ABORT
NOTICE
NOTICE
ABORT
ABORT
QUERY
BEGIN
END
UNI
UNI
Parameter
1 1 1 1 1 1
Destination Address O O O O O O O O O O
1 1 1 1 1 1
Originating Address M M O O O M M O O O
Quality of Service O O O O O O O O O O O O
Application Context O O O O O O O O O O
User Information O O O O O O O O O O
Termination type
Abort reason O O
Report cause O O
Component present M M M M M M M M
P-Abort M M
User Abort O O
information
Security Context O O O O
Confidentiality O O O O
identifier
Permission to M M
release
Version O O O O O O O O O O O O
NC O O O O
O1 - Indicates that this parameter may only be present if the associated

primitive is issued in response to a TC-BEGIN or TC-QUERY. In all other
cases, this parameter is discarded by TCAP.
33
Section 6 Management Interface
6 Management Interface
The management interface allows the user to interface with the network-layer
management entity. All management messages received by the TCAP module
are passed transparently to the network layer. The management messages
are described in the SCCP Programmer’s Manual∗.
Two messages are currently supported, one for management requests from
the user and the other for management indications from the SCCP module.
The following management primitives are supported:
Management primitives issued to SCCP
N-STATE Request User In Service (UIS)

N-STATE Request User Out of Service (UOS)
N-STATE Request User congestion
N-COORD Request User withdrawal request (UOR)
N-COORD Response User withdrawal grant (UOG)
Management primitives issued by SCCP
N-STATE Indication User In Service (UIS)

N-STATE Indication User Out of Service (UOS)
N-COORD Indication User withdrawal indication (UOR)
N-COORD Confirmation User withdrawal confirmation (UOG)
N-PCSTATE Indication Signalling point accessible
N-PCSTATE Indication Signalling point inaccessible
N-PCSTATE Indication Signalling point congested
∗
34
7 Non-Primitive Interface
In addition to the primitive interface for passing protocol messages and
management messages between the TCAP module and the TC-user, the TCAP
module supports a non-primitive interface for implementation-specific
functionality.
The non-primitive interface is used to support requests by the user for
configuration and diagnostic purposes and to allow TCAP to report protocol
based and software error events to the local system management module.
This section describes the formats of all the messages used in the non-
primitive interface.
When the TCAP module returns a confirmation message containing a status
value the status will be one of the following:
Mnemonic Value Description

none 0 Success
TCPE_BAD_ID 1 Inappropriate or invalid id in request message
TCPE_BAD_MSG 5 Inappropriate or unrecognized message type.
TCPE_BAD_PARAM 6 Invalid parameters contained in message.
TCPE_NO_RESOURCES 7 Insufficient internal resources.
TCPE_INVALID_NC 8 Invalid Network Context
TCPE_INVALID_VERSION 9 Message version is invalid
35
Section 7 Non-Primitive Interface
7.1 TCAP Configuration Request
Synopsis
Message used to configure the TCAP module for operation (see Section 2.2
Module Configuration for details).
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_CONFIG (0x7780)
id 0
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req used to request a confirmation
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 40
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 cnf_ver - must be set to zero
1 1 Reserved, must be set to zero.
2 1 user_id - TC-User module id
3 1 nsap_id - Network-layer module id
4 1 mngt_id – Management module id
5 1 maint_id – Maintenance module id
6 2 flags
8 2 nog_dialogues
10 2 nic_dialogues
12 2 num_invokes
14 2 num_components
16 2 base_ogdlg_id
18 2 base_icdlg_id
20 1 tid_ninst
21 1 tid_ndref
22 1 tid_nseq
23 1 tcap_instance
36
24 2 max_data
26 2 dlg_hunt
28 1 addr_format
29 1 trace_id – Trace module id
30 10 Reserved for future use - set to zero
Description
This message is used to configure the TCAP module for operation. It should
be the first message sent to the module (any messages received before a
valid configuration message will be discarded) and should only be issued
once.
The message contains parameters relating to the environment in which the
TCAP module is operating such as the identity of other modules with which it
needs to communicate. It also contains run-time options and run-time
dimensioning information.
Confirmation Message
The module sending the message can optionally request that a confirmation
is returned by the TCAP module when the message has been processed. This
is achieved by setting the sending layer's bit in the rsp_req field which will
cause a confirmation message of the same format to be returned. The status
field in this message is zero on success or an error code otherwise.
Parameter Description
user_id
8-bit module identifier defining the default destination for all dialogue and
component indications issued by TCAP to the user application program. It is
also possible to configure this parameter on a per local sub-system basis (see
TCP_MSG_S_TCU_ID on page 463).
nsap_id
(network service application part layer id) 8 bit module identifier defining the
destination for all transmit requests made by TCAP to the SS7 network. This
will normally be set to the module id of SCCP (SCP_TASK_ID).
mngt_id
8-bit module identifier defining the destination for all management indications
and trace information (TCP_MSG_ERROR_IND, MGT_MSG_TRACE_EV) from
TCAP to the user management entity. In a system that has no separate
management task, this may be set to the same value as user-id (above).
maint_id
8-bit module identifier defining the destination for all maintenance indications
(TCP_MSG_MAINT_IND) from TCAP to the user management entity. In a
system that has no separate management task, this may be set to the same
value as user-id (above).
37
flags
A 16 bit value, each bit having a particular meaning as detailed in the table
below:
Bit Description
0 Set to 1 to trace discarded TC User primitives to management
1 Selects between ITU-T and ANSI PDU formats.
Set to 1 to select ANSI T1.114 format, 0 to select ITU-T Q.773.
2 If set, prevents the Invoke timer from being started for each Invoke operation
issued by this module.
3 If set to 1, enables the result of an operation to be conveyed in an Invoke
component. If set to zero, receipt of an Invoke in response to an Invoke will be
treated as an abnormal condition.
4 If set to 1, unsolicited result components are passed on to the TC-User. If set to
zero, unsolicited result components are rejected.
5 If set to 1, transmit component type discrimination is disabled for TC-UNI requests.
If not set, TCAP will only allow a class 4 Invoke/Invoke-L and Invoke-NL to be sent
with a TR-UNI. Any other accumulated component types will be discarded.
6 If set to 1, the local sub-system number is not recovered from the destination
address for incoming dialogues. All primitives will be delivered to the module
‘user_id’ specified by the TCAP Configuration Request.
7 If set to 1, operation with dialogue groups is enabled, otherwise configuration of
dialogue groups will be rejected by TCAP.
8 If set to 1, support for long messages i.e. messages with length greater than 255
octets.
If long messages are used, the max_data field in this TCP_MSG_CONFIG
message should also be increased to allow a longer parameter to be sent by
TCAP. If the value of the max_data field is not sufficient, a TCAP Maintenance
Indication with status TCPEV_DATA_LEN_ERR (0x03) will be reported.
9 If set to 1, a dialog will automatically be closed and aborted when its idle timeout
expires.
If not set, the dialog is not aborted when its idle timeout expires, the module will
just send a Maintenance Event Indication with status
TCPEV_DLG_TIM_TIMEOUT (0x08), to notify the user that the affected timer has
expired. The timer is then reset and if this also expires the Maintenance Event will
be reported again.
10 If set to 1, messages for SCCP will be routed using the Destination Transaction ID
(DTID) which is required for systems using SUA.
14 If set to 1, enables the High Availability (HA) feature (see TCAP Transaction State
Replication Application Note [6] )
15 If set to 1, disable dialogue abort on user error.
Other All other bits are reserved for future use and must be set to zero.
The combined value of the flags option can be constructed by using a

combination of the mnemonics defined in TCP_INC.H and listed below.
Value Mnemonic Description

0x0001 TCPF_TR_DISC Trace discarded primitives to management
0x0002 TCPF_ANSI Select ANSI PDU formats if set
38
0x0004 TCPF_DIS_TINV Disable Invoke timer

0x0008 TCPF_INVRES Allow an Invoke to convey a result
0x0010 TCPF_DIS_RXFILT Disable filtering of Rx component type
0x0020 TCPF_DIS_TXFILT Disable filtering of Tx component type
0x0040 TCPF_NO_RXUID Disable Rx of destination user id by ssn
0x0080 TCPF_DLGGRP Enable dialogue groups
0x0100 TCPF_SEGMENTATION Support for Long messages
0x0200 TCPF_DLG_TIM_ABORT Automatic Abort of Dialogues on Idle Timeout
0x0400 TCPF_DTID_ON Enable DTID routing to SCCP
0x4000 TCPF_HA Enable TCAP High-Availability
0x8000 TCPF_NO_ABORT Disable abort on user error.
nog_dialogues
The maximum number of simultaneous outgoing dialogues that the module is
required to support. This value is compared with a compile time constant to
ensure that the module has sufficient internal resources to handle the
requested maximum number of outgoing dialogues. This value can only be
set to zero if nic_dialogues is not zero.
nic_dialogues
The maximum number of simultaneous incoming dialogues that the module is
required to support. This value is compared with a compile time constant to
ensure that the module has sufficient internal resources to handle the
requested maximum number of incoming dialogues. This value can only be
set to zero if nog_dialogues is not zero.
num_invokes
The maximum number of simultaneous (outgoing) invocations that the
module is required to support. This value is compared with a compile time
constant to ensure that the module has sufficient internal resources to handle
the requested number of simultaneous invokes.
num_components
The maximum number of buffered components required to be supported by
the module at any one time. This value is compared with a compile time
constant to ensure that the module has sufficient internal resources to
support the requested number of buffered components.
base_ogdlg_id
The first dialogue ID for outgoing dialogues that the user wishes to be
handled by this module. The subsequent (nog_dialogues - 1) dialogue ID’s
will also be handled by the module. This value should not equal
base_icdlg_id and the outgoing dialogue ID range must not overlap the
incoming dialogue ID range. The user must ensure that the values used in the
dialogue ID field of all protocol messages pertaining to outgoing dialogues lie
within the correct range.
39
base_icdlg_id
The first dialogue ID for incoming dialogues that the user wishes to be
handled by this module. The subsequent (nic_dialogues - 1) dialogue ID’s
will also be handled by the module. This value should not equal
base_ogdlg_id and the incoming dialogue ID range must not overlap the
outgoing dialogue ID range. The TCAP module allocates the dialogue ID for
each incoming dialogue. It uses values in the range base_icdlg_id ....
(base_icdlg_id + nic_dialogues - 1) for this purpose.
tid_ninst, tid_ndref, tid_nseq

These three parameters specify the size of the three parts of the locally
generated transaction id as detailed below.
TCAP generates a local transaction ID (ltid) for each transaction. The ltid is
made up of three fields, each of variable width as configured by the user. The
fields are tcap_instance, dialogue_reference, and sequence_number.
• tcap_instance is as supplied by the user in the configuration message,
the field occupies tid_ninst bits. (tid_ninst may be set to zero if
required).
• dialogue_reference is generated internally by the TCAP module and
ranges from 0 up to one less than the total number of dialogues
supported. The field occupies tid_ndref bits. (tid_ndref must be large
enough to allow coding of the dialogue_reference).
• sequence_number is a sequence number assigned (by the TCAP
module) to each transaction pertaining to a particular dialogue ID. It
ensures that the maximum possible time interval elapses before the
transaction ID is re-allocated. The field occupies tid_nseq bits.
tcap_instance
The TCAP module supports the use of multiple instances of TCAP for a
particular application to allow for distributed processing across multiple
hardware platforms. When this feature is used each instance handles
messages relating to a particular set of transaction ID’s. To ensure correct
operation each instance of TCAP must be configured with a unique
tcap_instance value.
max_data
The maximum length for the user data parameter in messages sent to the
network layer. This will usually be set to 255 and for longer parameters a
maximum permitted length of 65535 may be specified however the user can
restrict the maximum length if required. The user is responsible for ensuring
that the components issued to TCAP do not exceed the configured limit
otherwise TCAP will discard the message. TCAP uses the configured limit
when generating reject components to determine if there is sufficient space
to include the reject component or whether it is necessary to store the reject
component for transmission in the next message.
40
dlg_hunt
Defines how incoming transactions are distributed between dialogue groups.
If operation with dialogue id groups is not enabled this parameter is ignored
by TCAP. This parameter should be set to 0, 1 or 2 as shown below:
• 0 - Cyclic Selection. Each new incoming dialogue is allocated to the next
TCAP group.
• 1 - Load Balanced Selection. Each new incoming dialogue is allocated to
the group with the least number of active incoming dialogues.
• 2 - Sequential Selection. Each new incoming dialogue is allocated to the
group containing the first inactive incoming dialogue_id.
addr_format
Defines how TCAP should interpret address information from messages
received from SCCP in order to direct received TCAP primitives to unique
SCCP sub-systems (TCAP user applications). The following table shows the
values that may be specified for this parameter.
addr_format Action
0 If configured to use ITU-T PDU formats (options bit 1 not set) use ITU-T Q.713
SCCP address format
If configured to use ANSI PDU formats (options bit 1 set) use ANSI T1.112
SCCP address format
1 Use ITU-T Q.713 SCCP address format (14 bit point codes)
2 Use ITU-T Q.713 SCCP address format modified for 24 bit point codes
3 Use ANSI T1.112 SCCP address format modified for 14 bit point codes
4 Use ANSI T1.112 SCCP address format (24 bit point codes)
trace_id
Module Identifier defining the destination for all trace messages generated by
the TCAP module. If set to zero, all trace messages are sent to the configured
Management module (mgnt_id).
41
7.2 TCAP Configure NC Request
Synopsis
Message used to configure additional Network Contexts.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_NC_CONFIG (0x7787)
id nc_id (value 1 to 3)
dst TCP_TASK_ID
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 40
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 cnf_ver - must be set to zero
1 1 user_id - TC-User module id
2 1 nsap_id - Network-layer module id
3 2 flags
5 2 max_data
7 1 addr_format
Description
This message contains parameters to define address format and TCAP specific
options allowing different behaviours for the module to be selected depending
on the Network Context of the dialogue.
The meaning of the parameters in this message are the same as the
equivalent parameters in the TCP_MSG_CONFIG message. When used to
support multiple local point codes within the same network, the option
settings should typically be the same in both messages.
42
nc_id
The nc_id will identify the Network Context being defined. The default
Network Context (0) is configured using the existing TCAP_MSG_CONFIG
message therefore this message should only be used for Network Contexts 1
to 3. This assumes that four Network Contexts are permitted.
Note: All other parameters have the equivalent meaning and types as those
used in the TCP_MSG_CONFIG message (refer to Section 7.1 for details).
43
7.3 Configure Dialogue Group Request
Synopsis
This message configures a dialogue id group, and will only be accepted by the
TCAP module if the TCPF_DLGGRP configuration flags bit is set.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_CNF_DGRP (0x7785)
id dialogue group ID
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req Used to request a confirmation
class 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 16
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 2 base_ogdlg_id
2 2 nog_dialogues
4 2 base_icdlg_id
6 2 nic_dialogues
8 2 options
10 2 user_instance
Description
This message is used to configure a TCAP dialogue group.
44
dialogue group ID
a logical identifier for this group, the valid range being 0 to 31.
base_ogdlg_id
The first outgoing dialogue id assigned to this dialogue identifier group.
nog_dialogues
The number of outgoing dialogues assigned to this group, hence outgoing
dialogue ids base_ogdlg_id to base_ogdlg_id + nog_dialogues-1 are assigned
to this group.
base_icdlg_id
The first incoming dialogue id assigned to this dialogue identifier group.
nic_dialogues
The number of incoming dialogues assigned to this group, hence outgoing
dialogue ids base_ogdlg_id to base_icdlg_id + nic_dialogues-1 are assigned
to this group.
options
Should currently be set to zero.
user_instance
Identifies the instance of the user application that the defined ranges of
dialogues will be sent to.
The number of dialogues must lie within the limit specified with the TCAP
Configuration request message.
45
7.4 Configure TC-User Request
Synopsis
This message configures a module_id in the message passing environment to
be used by TCAP to distribute primitive indications to different local sub-
systems.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_S_TCU_ID (0x5793)
id sub-system number
dst TCP_TASK_ID
class 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 1 or 3
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 module_id
1 2 nc
Description
This message is used to set the module id to be used by TCAP as the
destination for dialogue and component indications for incoming dialogues
(dialogues initiated from a remote signalling point).
46
sub-system number
The sub-system number for the local sub-system in the range 0 to 255. This
is the value that will be matched against the sub-system number in the called
address parameter in messages received by TCAP from SCCP (the network
transport layer).
module_id
The module id used by the users own application program that will receive
dialogue and component indications for the local sub-system described by the
sub-system number.
nc
Specifies the network context for the application.
47
7.5 Configure TC-Instance Request
Synopsis
This message configures a module_id in the message passing environment to
be used by for a given TCAP module instance.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_S_TCI_ID (0x5794)
id instance_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID
class 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 1
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 module_id
Description
This message is used to declare another TCAP module in the message passing
environment that is configured to process TCAP traffic for the specified
instance value. Received SCCP messages identified as not for the TCAP
module processing the message will be transferred to another TCAP module if
an instance ID match is found in the message’s Transaction ID.
instance_id
The instance number in the range 0 to 31.
48
module_id
The module id for another TCAP instance in the GCT message environment.
7.6 TCAP Set Default Parameters Request
Synopsis
Message used to set up default protocol parameters for use by the TCAP
module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_DEF_PARAM (0x7781)
id 0
dst TCP_TASK_ID
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len Number of bytes in parameter area
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
Description
This message is used to set up default protocol parameters for use by the
TCAP module. The message may be issued at any time after the module
configuration message and may be used to change default parameters.
The parameter area may contain any of the component parameters or
dialogue handling parameters which can take a default value. The parameters
are encoded in the same way as in the TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST and TC-
DIALOGUE-REQUEST messages in Name-Length-Data format.
49
The parameters in the following tables can be assigned default values. The
tables also show the initial default values (were applicable):
Parameter name TCPPN_CLASS

Default value Class 1 operation.
Parameter name TCPPN_TIMEOUT

Default value 5 seconds.
Parameter name TCPPN_QOS

Default value Return option not selected
Sequence control not required
Default message priority (= 2) selected.
Parameter name TCPPN_DEST_ADDR

Default value Not assigned
Parameter name TCPPN_ORIG_ADDR

Default value Not assigned
Parameter name TCPPN_TERMINATION

Default value BASIC end
Parameter name TCPPN_DLG_IDLE_TIMEOUT

Default value No idle timeout.
50
7.7 Read TCAP Module Status Request
Synopsis
Message used to read the status of the TCAP module and its associated
resources.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_R_MOD_STATUS (0x6796)
id 0
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req Sending layer's bit must be set
class 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 40
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 version - must be set to zero.
1 4 num_ic_dlg - Number of active incoming dialogues
5 4 num_og_dlg - Number of active outgoing dialogues
9 4 num_act_invokes - Number of active invokes
13 4 num_alloc_cpt - Number of allocated CPTs
17 4 num_alloc_dbuf - Number of allocated DBUFs
Description
This message allows the user to read the dialogue usage statistics for TCAP
module. The user should send the message with the version initialised as
shown above and all other fields set to zero. The TCAP module automatically
maintains a number of counters to record the number of each resource
allocated. The message returned by the TCAP module will contain a snapshot
of the status of the module.
version
Only version zero supported.
51
num_ic_dlg
Number of active incoming dialogues. These are dialogues that are initiated
by the remote node.
num_og_dlg
Number of active outgoing dialogues. These are dialogues that are initiated
by the local node.
num_act_invokes
Number of active invokes. An invoke structure is stored for each invoke sent
and is not required for incoming invokes.
num_alloc_cpt
Number of allocated component structures. These are used temporarily for
pending component requests until an appropriate dialogue request is
received.
num_alloc_dbuf
Number of allocated dialogue buffers. These are used temporarily for building
dialogue request messages from pending components.
The module sending the message must set the sending layer's bit in the
rsp_req field to cause a confirmation message containing the statistics to be
returned.
52
7.8 Read TCAP Dialogue Status Request
Synopsis
Message used to read the status of an individual dialogue in the TCAP
module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_R_DLG_STATUS (0x6797)
id dialogue id
dst TCP_TASK_ID
class 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 40
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 version - must be set to zero.
1 1 DHA_state - Dialogue handler state
2 1 TSM_state - Dialogue transaction state machine state
3 1 DLG_state - Dialogue control structure state
4 4 num_invokes - Number of active invokes in dialogue
8 4 ltid - Local transaction id
12 4 rtid - Remote transaction id
Description
This message allows the user to read the state of an individual dialogue
within the TCAP module. The message should be issued by the user with the
version initialised as shown above including setting the dialogue id in the
message header id field. All other fields should be set to zero. The message
returned by the TCAP module will contain all the appropriate information.
• version – only version zero supported.
• DHA_state – dialogue handler state.
See the TCAP specifications for details of the meaning of the states
(Q.773).
53
State Value
DHA _S_IDLE 0
DHA _S_INIT_RXD 1
DHA _S_INIT_SENT 2
DHA _S_ACTIVE 3
• TSM_state – dialogue transaction state machine state.

See the TCAP specifications for details of the meaning of the states
(Q.773).
State Value
TSM_S_IDLE 0
TSM_S_INIT_RXD 1
TSM_S_INIT_SENT 2
TSM_S_ACTIVE 3
• DLG_state – main dialogue control structure state.

The value of this state variable shows if the dialogue is in use. The
dialogue is in the DLG_CPT_PENDING state whilst accumulating
components at the start of a dialogue. The DLG_S_DHA_ACTIVE state
shows that the dialogue is fully active and the DLG_S_PENDING_ISM
state indicates that the dialogue is waiting for invoke state machines to
finish.
State Value
DLG_S_FREE 0
DLG_S_CPT_PENDING 1
DLG_S_DHA_ACTIVE 2
DLG_S_PENDING_ISM 3
• num_cpts - number of active components in dialogue

• ltid – local transaction id for associated dialogue
• rtid – remote transaction id for associated dialogue
The module sending the message must set the sending layer's bit in the
rsp_req field to cause a confirmation message containing the statistics to be
returned.
54
7.9 Maintenance Event Indication
Synopsis
Message used by TCAP to indicate a protocol-related event to the local
maintenance module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_MAINT_IND (0x07a1)
id See Maintenance Event Code below
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst Maintenance module id (maint_id)
hclass 0
status Maintenance event code (see Maintenance Event Code below)
err_info 0
len 0
Description
This message is used by TCAP to indicate a protocol-related event to the
maintenance module.
Maintenance Event Code

The Maintenance event code contained in the status field of the message
indicates the type of event. Possible values are listed in the following table
which also lists the meaning of the id field in each case:
Mnemonic Code id Description

TCPEV_CPT_REQ_DISCARD 1 dialogue Component request primitive
ID discarded due to bad format,
inappropriate state or lack of
internal resources.
TCPEV_DLG_REQ_DISCARD 2 dialogue Dialogue request primitive
ID discarded due to bad format,
inappropriate state or lack of
internal resources.
TCPEV_DATA_LEN_ERR 3 dialogue Message discarded due to
ID exceeding maximum length for
user data.
TCPEV_UNREC_TYPE 4 0 Unrecognized TCAP message
type received.
TCPEV_UNREC_TID 5 0 Message received relating to
unknown local transaction ID.
TCPEV_SYNTAX_ERR 6 0 Syntax error in transaction
55
portion of received message.

TCPEV_BAD_REJ_RXD 7 dialogue Badly formatted reject
ID component received.
TCPEV_DLG_TIM_TIMEOUT 8 dialogue The idle timer on the dialogue
ID has expired. The dialog may or
may not be aborted according to
the TCPF_DLG_TIM_ABORT
option.
TCPEV_EXCESSIVE_DLG_ABORTS 9 dialogue Too many dialogue idle aborts
ID for tick (now deferring aborts).
7.10 Software Event Indication
Synopsis
Message used by TCAP to indicate an implementation specific software
related event to the local management module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_ERROR_IND (0x07a2)
id See Software Event Code below
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst Management module id (mngt_id)
hclass 0
status Software event code (see Software Event Code below)
err_info 0
len 0
Description
This message is issued by the TCAP module to notify system management of
various software events which under normal operating conditions should not
occur. These events may be due to lack of system resources or errors within
the software.
Software Event Code

The Software event code contained in the status field of the message
which also lists the meaning of the id field in each case.
56
Mnemonic Code id Description

TCPSWE_NO_TCPT 1 0 Internal component resources
exhausted.
TCPSWE_NO_TISM 2 0 Maximum number of active
invocations exceeded.
TCPSWE_NO_DLG 3 0 No internal resource to handle
dialogue.
TCPSWE_NO_TCPM 4 0 Internal pool of structured
messages exhausted.
TCPSWE_TCPM_LOW 5 0 Internal pool of structured
messages running low.
TCPSWE_BAD_MSG 6 message Unrecognized inter task message
type received.
TCPSWE_TX_FMT_ERR 7 0 Internal error during message
formatting.
TCPSWE_ISM_ERR 8 0 Internal error in invocation state
machine.
TCPSWE_BAD_NSAP_FMT 9 0 Badly formatted message
received from network layer.
TCPSWE_DBUF_LOW 10 0 TCAP is running short of
resources to accumulate
components.
TCPSWE_NO_DBUF 11 0 No more resources are available
to accumulate component
requests
TCPSWE_DBUF_ABMT 12 0 Number of resources available for
component accumulation has
recovered.
TCPSWE_HA_SYNC_LOST 13 0 TCP_MSG_HA_SYNC messages
received before
TCP_MSG_CONFIG have been
discarded
TCPSWE_HA_SYNC_UNEXPECTED 14 0 Unexpected
TCP_MSG_HA_SYNC have been
received
Note: The TCAP will send this
message once even if several HA
sync messages were previously
received.
57
7.11 TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication
Synopsis
If a dialogue request message is discarded by the TCAP module the following
message is used to send useful information to the TCAP management
module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_DIS_DLG_IND (0x07a3)
id 0
src TCAP_TASK_ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status Message discard code (Message Discard Code below)
err_info 0
len length of discarded message
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 len Trace of discarded message
Description
The parameter area of the message contains the parameter area of the
message that has been discarded. The status field shows the message discard
code that indicates the reason the message was discarded.
Message Discard Code

The message discard event code contained in the status field of the message
indicates the reason for the discard of the dialogue or component message.
Possible values are listed in the following table:
Mnemonic Code Description

TCPPD_UNREC_ID 1 Dialogue Id is not in configured range
TCPPD_INACTIVE_DLG 2 Specified dialogue is inactive
TCPPD_BAD_FORMAT 3 Primitive request formatted incorrectly
TCPPD_UNEX_PRIM 4 Primitive request not allowed in current state
TCPPD_INVALID_PRO 5 Primitive request not allowed by protocol rules
TCPPD_INTERNAL_FAIL 6 Internal failure
58
Mnemonic Code Description

TCPPD_INVALID_REQ_TYPE 7 Component or Dialogue primitive type is invalid
TCPPD_CPT_SYNTAX_ERR 8 Syntax error (e.g. missing ASN parameter)
TCPPD_CPT_ENCODE_ERR 9 Encoding error (e.g. bad length)
TCPPD_CPT_UNREC_TYPE 10 Unrecognised ASN type in context
TCPPD_CPT_MISSING_PARAM 11 Missing mandatory parameter
7.12 TCAP Component Discard Indication
Synopsis
If a component request message is discarded by the TCAP module the
following message is used to send useful information to the TCAP
management module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_DIS_CPT_IND (0x07a4)
id 0
src TCAP_TASK_ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status Message discard code
(See table of codes in TCP_MSG_DIS_ DLG_IND message definition)
err_info 0
len length of discarded message
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 len Trace of discarded message
Description
The parameter area of the message contains the parameter area of the
message that has been discarded. The status field shows the message discard
code that indicates the reason the message was discarded.
59
7.13 Read Revision Request
Synopsis
Message used to request the module type and software revision number.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type GEN_MSG_MOD_IDENT (0x6111)
id 0
src Originating module ID
dst TCAP_TASK_ID
rsp_req Sending layer’s bit must be set
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 28
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 2 type - currently undefined
2 1 maj_rev - Major version number
3 1 min_rev - Minor version number
4 24 text - Null terminated string giving textual module identity
Description
This message is provided to request a reply indicating the software version
for module under test. The parameter areas are filled in by the TCAP module
and do not need to be included by the user. On receipt of this request the
module returns the message with status "SUCCESS" to the sender including
the information requested.
60
7.14 Management Event Indication
Synopsis
This message is issued by the TCAP module to notify system management of
general software events that under normal operating conditions should not
occur. These events may be due to lack of system resources or errors within
the software.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type MGT_MSG_EVENT_IND (0x0008)
id 0
src TCAP_TASK_ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status Management event code (see Management
Event Code below)
err_info Time-stamp
reserved 0
len 0
Management Event Code

The Management event code contained in the status field of the message
which also lists the meaning of the id field in each case.
Mnemonic Value id Description

ERR_SDLSIG_LOW 47 0x2f 0 The internal signal queue is running
short of entries. If this fault persists
the software should be re-built with
more signals allocated to the signal
queue.
ERR_NO_SDLSIG 46 0x2e 0 The internal signal queue has been
exhausted. If this event occurs then
correct operation of the module is
not guaranteed.
61
7.15 Set Trace Mask Request
Synopsis
Message sent to TCAP to trace primitives exchanged between TCAP and the
TC-User and/or SCCP.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_TRACE_MASK (0x5795)
id 0
dst TCP_TASK_ID
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 12
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 4 op_evt_mask
4 4 ip_evt_mask
8 4 mng_evt_mask
This message causes a copy of transmit or receive TCAP primitives to be

taken and sent to the mngt_id specified in the TCAP Configuration request,
facilitating the examination of the raw transaction messages for diagnostic
purposes. The format of the traced data is given in the section ‘Trace Event
Indication’.
The events traced are specified by setting bits in the three event masks as
shown below. In each case, bit 0 is the least significant bit:
op_evt_mask
• bit 0 Trace all Dialogue Indications to the TC-User
• bit 1 Trace all Component Indications to the TC-User
• bit 2 Trace all UDT Request sent by TCAP to SCCP
• bit 3 Trace all SCCP messages transferred to other TCAP instances
• all other bits must be set to zero
62
ip_evt_mask
• bit 0 Trace all Dialogue Requests from the TC-User
• bit 1 Trace all Component Request from the TC-User
• bit 2 Trace all UDT Indications received from SCCP
• bit 3 Trace all UDTS Indications received from SCCP
• all other bits must be set to zero
mgmt_evt_mask
None currently defined, all bits must be set to zero.
63
7.16 Trace Event Indication
Synopsis
The TCAP module may be configured to report to management primitives
exchanged with the TC-User and SCCP. This is useful for trace and debug
purposes. Tracing is enabled by specifying individual bits in trace masks in
the set trace masks request message issued to TCAP. The traced primitives
are reported as event indications as shown below:
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type MGT_MSG_TRACE_EV (0x0003)
id 0
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst Management module id (mgmt_id)
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 18 + length of traced data
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 1 source module id
1 1 destination module id
2 2 id
4 2 type
6 2 status
8 4 timestamp
12 4 pointer to the message being traced
16 2 data length
18 0 .. 280 data – Data taken from the MSG parameter area.
64
7.17 Module Reset Request
Synopsis
This message returns the TCAP module to an un-configured state and allows
a new SCCP Configure Module Request to be sent with new parameters.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TCP_MSG_RESET (0x7786)
id 0
dst TCP_TASK_ID
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 0
Description
This message enables the configuration parameters set at run-time in the
TCP_MSG_CONFIG to be changed without requiring a restart of gctload.
65
Appendix A
Appendix A
A.1 Timer Services

The notion of time in the TCAP module is based on a periodic timer tick
received from every 100ms. This ‘tick’ is used to run all TCAP protocol timers.
This appendix details the messages that are used by the TCAP module to
control timer services.
A.2 Keep Time
Synopsis
This message is issued by TCAP to request the timer module to issue a
periodic timer tick (TM_EXP) message to the TCAP module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type KEEP_TIME (0x7006)
id 0
src TCP_TASK_ID (0x14)
dst Timer module ID (0x00)
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 6
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 4 Reserved, should be set to zero if issued by the user and are discarded
when received by the timer module
4 2 Resolution
resolution
The number of operating system ticks between timer expiry messages being
issued to the TCAP module. This parameter is set from the timer_res
parameter in the TCAP module configuration message.
66
A.3 Timer Expiry
Synopsis
Periodic timer tick message issued by the timer module.
Message Format
Message Header
Field Name Meaning
type TM_EXP (0xc002)
id index of timer in table
src Timer module ID (0x00)
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 4
Parameter Area
Offset Size Name
0 4 reserved – must be set to zero
All application messages contain a common header which is used to

determine the message type, the source and destination module identities
and status information. This header structure is defined in 'C' as follows, the
meaning of each field is also described:
67
Appendix B
Appendix B
B.1 Message Type Reference

The following table provides a reference of all the message types used by the
TCAP module.

0x07a1 TCP_MSG_MAINT_IND Maintenance event indication
0x07a2 TCP_MSG_ERROR_IND Software event indication
0x07a3 TCP_MSG_DIS_DLG_IND TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication
0x07a4 TCP_MSG_DIS_CPT_IND TCAP Component Discard Indication
0x2796 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_R_MOD_STATUS (0x6796)
0x2797 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_R_DLG_STATUS (0x6797)
0x3780 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_CONFIG (0x7780)
0x3781 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_DEF_PARAM (0x7781)
0x3785 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_CNF_DGRP (0x7785)
0x5793 TCP_MSG_S_TCU_ID Set local TC-User/sub-system module id
0x5794 TCP_MSG_S_TCI_ID Set TC-Instance
0x5795 TCP_MSG_TRACE_MASK Set TCAP trace mask
0x6111 GEN_MSG_MOD_IDENT Read Module Revision
0x6796 TCP_MSG_R_MOD_STATUS Read module resource status
0x6797 TCP_MSG_R_DLG_STATUS Read dialogue resource status
0x7006 KEEP_TIME Request timer services from TCAP
0x7780 TCP_MSG_CONFIG Module configuration message
0x7781 TCP_MSG_DEF_PARAM Set default parameters
0x7785 TCP_MSG_CNF_DGRP Configure dialogue id group
0x7786 TCP_MSG_RESET Module Reset
0x7787 TCP_MSG_NC_CONFIG TCAP Configure NC Request
0x8002 Confirmation to TM_EXP (0xc002)
0x8740 Confirmation to SCP_MSG_TX_REQ (0xc740)
0x8741 Confirmation to SCP_MSG_RX_IND (0xc741)
0x8744 Confirmation to SCP_MSG_SCMG_REQ (0xc744)
0x8745 SCP_MSG_SCMG_IND SCCP management indication to TC-User
0x8781 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_CPT_REQ (0xc781)
0x8782 TCP_MSG_CPT_IND Component indication from TCAP
0x8783 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_DLG_REQ (0xc783)
0x8784 TCP_MSG_DLG_IND Dialogue indication to TC-user
0xc002 TM_EXP Timer expiry (tick) to TCAP
0xc740 SCP_MSG_TX_REQ Transmit request from TCAP to SCCP
68

0xc741 SCP_MSG_RX_IND Receive indication from SCCP to TCAP
0xc744 SCP_MSG_SCMG_REQ SCCP management request from User
0xc781 TCP_MSG_CPT_REQ Component request from TC-User
0xc783 TCP_MSG_DLG_REQ Dialogue request from TC-User
The reader is also reminded that if a confirmation is requested for a request

sent to the TCAP module, the confirmation consists of the original message
with the message type modified by resetting bit 14 to 0. Hence the
confirmation to a message type 0x7780 sent to TCAP will be received by the
application as type 0x3780.
69
Index
Index
Overview, 8
Module, 8
A
Abbreviations, 6 N
Non-primitive interface, 35
C Configure Dialogue Group Request, 44
Constant definitions, 11 Configure TC-Instance Request, 48
Configure TC-User Request, 46
Maintenance Event Indication, 55
D Management Event Indication, 61
Module Reset Request, 65
Dialogue ID
Read Revision Request, 60
Assignment, 9
Read TCAP Dialogue Status Request, 53
Groups, 10
Read TCAP Module Status Request, 51
Document
Set Trace Mask Request, 62
Introduction, 6
Software Event Indication, 56
Overview, 6
TCAP Component Discard Indication, 59
TCAP Configuration Request, 36
F TCAP Configure NC Request, 42
TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication, 58
Features, 7 TCAP Set Default Parameters Request, 49
Trace Event Indication, 64
I
Interface to network layer, 13 R
Interface to TC-user, 14 Related documentation, 6
Component primitive types, 17 Revision history, 5
Dialogue primitive types, 18
Multiple applications, 14
Primitive parameters, 15 S
System services
K Interfaces to, 12
System functions, 12
Keep Time, 66 Timer operation, 12
L T
Local transaction ID format, 10 TC-COMPONENT-INDICATION, 23
TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST, 19
M TC-DIALOGUE-INDICATION, 32
TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST, 25
Management interface, 34 Timer Expiry, 67
Message Type Reference, 68 Timer Services, 66
Module
Configuration, 9
70

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Dialogic® DSI SS7 Protocols

TCAP Programmer's Manual

Publication Date: June 2010

Document Number: U06SSS, Issue 11

2 General Description ............................................................................................. 8

3 Interface to System Services............................................................................. 12

4 Interface to Network Layer ............................................................................... 13

5 Interface to TC-User .......................................................................................... 14

6 Management Interface ...................................................................................... 34

7 Non-Primitive Interface .................................................................................... 35

1.3 Related Documentation

[2] ANSI T1.114-1996

[3] U05SSS, SCCP Programmer's Manual

[4] U10SSS, Software Environment Programmer's Manual

[5] GA234SSS, DSI Application Note - TCAP Transaction State Replication

1.4 Feature Overview

2.1 Module Overview

2.2 Module Configuration

2.3 Dialogue ID Assignment

Internally to the TCAP module the dialogue ID is used to generate a ‘dialogue

2.4 Dialogue ID Groups

2.5 Local Transaction ID Format

The ‘instance number’ allows TCAP to be distributed over a number of

Internally the size of the transaction ID is rounded up to a multiple of 8 bits

2.6 Constant Definitions

3 Interface to System Services

3.1 System Functions

GCT_send Sends a message to another task.

getm Allocate a message.

These functions are described in the Software Environment Programmers

3.2 Timer Operation

KEEP_TIME Issued by TCAP to initialize the timer services.

The format of these messages is described in Appendix 1.

4 Interface to Network Layer

SCP_MSG_TX_REQ Messages issued by TCAP

TC-COMPONENT-REQ Conveys component from TC-User to TCAP.

The basic structure of each message (irrespective of the TCAP primitive

Primitive Message type Value

5.2 Multiple TC-User Applications

In addition to the default user application module id, it is possible to set a

5.3 Primitive Parameters

Primitive Type Parameter Parameter Parameter Zero

Name Length Data

1 octet 1 or 2 octets ‘Length’ octets

Primitive Type Parameter Parameter Code Shift Parameter Parameter Zero

Name Length Data

1 octet 1 octets ‘Parameter Length’ octets (0 to 255)

After Code Shift = 1:

Name Length Data

1 octet 2 octets ‘Parameter Length’ octets (0 to 4192)

5.4 Component Primitive Types

Mnemonic Originator Function Value

TC-User originated components may be initiated by the local or responding

TCAP originated components are always TC-User Component Indications.

5.5 Dialogue Primitive Types

Mnemonic Originator Function Value

TC-User originated dialogue primitives may be initiated by the local or

ANSI Mnemonic Equivalent ITU-T Mnemonic Value