SIGTRAN Protocol

Common Channel Signaling System #7 ( SS7) transports SS7 messages over an SS7 network (normally a DS0A connection) and then there is SIGTRAN. SIGTRAN is a set of protocols defined to transport SS7 messages over IP networks. SIGTRAN allows IP networks to inter-work with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and vice versa.
ZYTRAX now offers SIGTRAN and SS7 training.
Notes: There are two other IETF standards which define transport of PSTN signaling (non-SS7) over IP networks: ISDN User Adaption (IUA) which provides adaption at the the Q.921 layer to allow transparent transport of Q.931 messages to, say, a VoIP gateway. IUA is defined by RFC4233. V5.2 User Adaption (V5UA) which provides for the transport of ETSI standard V5.2 messages in an IP network by adaption at the LAPV5 level. V5UA is defined by RFC3807.

The SIGTRAN Protocol Stack

The SIGTRAN protocol stack consists of 3 components:
A standard IP layer.
A common signaling transport protocol, Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP): SCTP provides connection oriented reliable transfer of user messages between peer SCTP users (Adaptation layer protocols). Note: The SCTP layer replaces a normal TCP/UDP layer.
An Adaptation layer: Protocols defined for this layer are M2PA, M2UA, M3UA, and SUA.