Intel® NetStructure™ SS7 Protocols

TCAP Programmer's Manual

Document Reference: U06SSS

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TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 2

 REVISION HISTORY

ISSUE DATE BY CHANGES

1 06-Nov-95 SRG Minor typographical corrections and the addition of

the TC-NULL-IND primitive.
2 15-May-97 SFP ANSI operation added.
3 24-Dec-98 SFP Dialogue Groups and message tracing added.
4 23-Feb-99 SFP 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 JET Addition of message definitions for dialogue discard
indications, component discards indications and
module version identification.
6 19-Nov-01 JET Messages to monitor module and dialogue status
added.
7 16-Jul-03 ML Branding changed: references to System7 removed.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 3

 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 6

2. ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. 7

3. RELATED DOCUMENTATION .............................................................................. 7

4. FEATURE OVERVIEW........................................................................................... 7

5. GENERAL DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................... 8

5.1 Module Overview .................................................................................................. 8
5.2 Module Configuration............................................................................................ 9
5.3 Dialogue ID assignment........................................................................................ 9
5.4 Dialogue ID groups ............................................................................................. 10
5.5 Local Transaction ID format................................................................................ 10
5.6 Constant definitions. ........................................................................................... 11
6. INTERFACE TO SYSTEM SERVICES................................................................. 12
6.1 System Functions ............................................................................................... 12
6.2 Timer Operation .................................................................................................. 12
7. INTERFACE TO NETWORK LAYER ................................................................... 13

8. INTERFACE TO TC-USER................................................................................... 13
8.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 13
8.2 Multiple TC-User applications ............................................................................. 14
8.3 Primitive parameters ........................................................................................... 15
8.4 Component Primitive Types................................................................................ 16
8.5 Dialogue Primitive Types .................................................................................... 17
8.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST ............................................................................ 18
8.7 TC-COMPONENT-INDICATION......................................................................... 22
8.8 TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST................................................................................. 24
8.9 TC-DIALOGUE-INDICATION ............................................................................. 32
9. MANAGEMENT INTERFACE............................................................................... 34

10. NON-PRIMITIVE INTERFACE ........................................................................... 35

10.1 TCAP Configuration Request............................................................................ 36
10.2 Configure Dialogue Group Request .................................................................. 42
10.3 Configure TC-User Request ............................................................................. 44
10.4 TCAP Set Default Parameters Request............................................................ 46
10.5 Read TCAP Statistics Request ......................................................................... 48
10.6 Read TCAP RAM Request ............................................................................... 49
10.7 Read TCAP Dialogue Request ......................................................................... 50
10.8 Read TCAP Module Status Request ................................................................ 51
10.9 Read TCAP Dialogue Status Request .............................................................. 53
10.10 Maintenance Event Indication......................................................................... 55
10.11 Software Event Indication ............................................................................... 57
10.12 TCAP Dialogue discard indication .................................................................. 59
10.13 TCAP Component discard indication .............................................................. 61

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 4

10.14 Read Revision Request .................................................................................. 62
10.15 Management Event Indication ........................................................................ 63
10.16 Set Trace Mask Request ................................................................................ 64
10.17 Trace Event Indication .................................................................................... 66
APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................ 67
A.1 Timer Services.................................................................................................... 67
A.2 Keep Time .......................................................................................................... 67
A.3 Timer Expiry ....................................................................................................... 68
APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................ 69
B.1 Message Type reference.................................................................................... 69

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 5

1. INTRODUCTION

The TCAP module is a portable software implementation of the Signalling System

Number 7, Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP). It operates according
to either ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1992) 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 6

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 Signalling Connection Control Part.
TCAP Transaction Capabilities Application Part.

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

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).

- 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 7

5. GENERAL DESCRIPTION

5.1 Module Overview

The TCAP module is a full implementation of the 1992 ITU-T recommendations

Q.771 - Q.774 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:

a) The maximum number of simultaneous dialogues (and hence transactions)

supported by the module.
b) The maximum number of components internally accumulated by the module
awaiting transmission.
c) 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).

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 8

5.2 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 customise
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.

5.3 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 32767 for outgoing dialogues
and from 32768 to 65535 for incoming dialogues (i.e. the most significant bit is set
when the dialogue ID refers to an incoming dialogue).

The range of valid dialogue ID values to be supported by a particular instance of

TCAP is set up at configuration time. Two 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 ID’s must not exceed the
maximum number of simultaneous dialogues that the module can support.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 9

 The dialogue ID selected by the TC-User for an outgoing dialogue must lie within
the configured range of outgoing dialogue ID’s. Dialogue ID’s for incoming
dialogues are allocated automatically by the TCAP module (from the configured
range of incoming dialogue ID’s) so that the dialogue ID that has been unused for
the longest period is used next. Setting the most significant bit of the dialogue ID
for all incoming dialogues ensures that it is not possible for the TC-User to select
an ID for an outgoing dialogue at the same instant that TCAP selects the same ID
for use with an incoming dialogue.

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.

5.4 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.

5.5 Local Transaction ID format

Peer TCAP entities use transaction IDs to associate TCAP protocol data units
(PDU’s) 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 ID’s (from the TC-User viewpoint) and using
a different Instance Number within the Transaction ID (from the Network-layer
viewpoint).

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 10

 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.

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.

5.6 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 11

6. INTERFACE TO SYSTEM SERVICES

6.1 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.

6.2 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 initialise 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 12

7. 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.

8. INTERFACE TO TC-USER

8.1 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 6.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 13

 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

8.2 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.

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 14

8.3 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 Parameter Parameter Parameter Zero

Type

The parameters may be placed in any order. The first byte of a parameter is the
parameter name, the second byte is the length of the parameter data to follow
(excluding the parameter name and the length byte 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 byte 1 byte ‘Parameter length’ bytes (1 to 255)

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 15

8.4 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 11
an 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 13
the local TCAP prematurely (local
action only).
TCPPT_TC_L_CANCEL TCAP Report that the response expected to 12
an 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 15
by a responding TCAP.
TCPPT_TC_NULL TCAP Issued in the cases that a component 0
is 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 16

8.5 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 and 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 17

8.6 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
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 8.3,

Component Primitive Types.

The following parameter names are defined for use in component primitive
messages:

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 18

 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

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 that 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).

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 19

 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

Parameter name TCPPN_LAST_CPT

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
Parameter data Single octet set to 0 if there are more
components to follow and set to 1 if this is the
last component.

Parameter name TCPPN_CLASS

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
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 Fixed, set to 2
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 length Fixed, set to 1
Parameter data Single octet representing the invoke ID which is
in the range -128 to +127

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 20

 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

I R
N R E U U
V E S U - -
I O S U - C R
N K U L E A E
V E L T R N J
O - T - R C E
K N - N O E C
E L L L R L T
Parameter
Invoke ID M
Class D
Timeout D
Component M M M M M M
Last Component

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 21

8.7 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
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 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 22

 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.

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

I R
N R E L L R U
V E S U - - - -
I O S U - C R R R
N K U L E A E E E
V E L T R N J J J N
O - T - R C E E E U
K N - N O E C C C L
Parameter E L L L R L T T T L
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

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 23

8.8 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
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len Number of bytes of user data
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 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.

Parameter area contents:

The dialogue primitive type octet is coded as defined in Section 8.4, Dialogue
Primitive Types.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 24

The following parameter names are defined for use in dialogue handling primitive
messages:

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

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 25

 The coding for each parameter type is given in the following tables:

Parameter name TCPPN_QOS

Parameter length 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.
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 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 length Fixed, set to 1
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 27

 Parameter name TCPPN_ABORT_REASON
Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
Parameter data Single octet set to 1 to indicate Application
Context not supported or 2 to indicate Other
user reason. (Note: The absence of this
parameter in an indication implies ‘Other user
reason’)

Parameter name TCPPN_REPORT_CAUSE

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
Parameter data Passed transparently from network-layer. When
using SCCP coded as Q.713/T1.112.3 ‘Return
Cause’ parameter.

Parameter name TCPPN_CPT_PRESENT

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 28

 Parameter name TCPPN_USER_INFO
Parameter length Variable (subject to satisfying message length
limits).
Parameter data User information encoded as an X.208
EXTERNAL, commencing with the EXTERNAL
tag.
This formatting is not required when the User
Information is carried in a User Abort primitive.
Any format may be used in this case.

Parameter name TCPPN_P_ABORT

Parameter length Fixed, set to 1
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
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 29

 Parameter name TCPPN_UABORT_INFO
Parameter length Variable (subject to satisfying message length
limits).
Parameter data User Abort Information in any user defined
format.

Parameter name TCPPN_SECURITY

Parameter length Variable (subject to satisfying message length
limits).
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 length Variable (subject to satisfying message length
limits).
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
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 30

 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

C
O
N
V
C E R
O R E
N S S
B T A Q A P A
E I B U T O B
U G N E O U E I N O
N I U N R N R O S R
Parameter I N E D T I Y N E T
1 1 1 1 1 1
Destination Address D D O O O D D O O O
1 1 1 1 1 1
Originating Address D D O O O D D O O O
Quality of Service D D D D D D D D D D
Application Context O O O O O O O O O O
User Information O O O O O O O O O
Termination type D D
Abort reason O O
Report cause
Component present
P-Abort
User Abort information O O O
Security Context O O O O O
Confidentiality identifier O O O O O
Permission to release D D D D

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 31

8.9 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
len Number of bytes of user data
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.

Parameter area contents:

The parameter area is coded as defined for the TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST
message.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 32

 The following table lists the parameters associated with each dialogue
handling indication primitive and shows whether the parameter is Mandatory
or Optional.

ITU-T Primitive ANSI Primitive

C
O
N
V
C E R
O P R E P
N – N S S – N
B T A A O Q A P A A O
E I B B T U T O B B T
U G N E O O I U E I N O O I
N I U N R R C N R O S R R C
I N E D T T E I Y N E T T E
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 information O O
Security Context O O O O
Confidentiality O O O O
identifier
Permission to release M M

1
O - 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 33

9. 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

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 34

10. 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 unrecognised
message type.
TCPE_BAD_PARAM 6 Invalid parameters contained
in message.
TCPE_NO_RESOURCES 7 Insufficient internal resources.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 35

10.1 TCAP Configuration Request

Synopsis:

Message used to configure the TCAP module for operation.

Message Format:

MESSAGE HEADER

FIELD NAME MEANING

type TCP_MSG_CONFIG (0x7780)
id 0
src Sending module_id
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
24 2 max_data
26 2 dlg_hunt
28 1 addr_format
29 11 Reserved for future use, must be set to zero

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 36

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).

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).

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 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.
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 mngt

0x0002 TCPF_ANSI Select ANSI PDU formats if set
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

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 38

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.

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.

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. 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.

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. The most significant bit (i.e. bit 15) of the
dialogue ID must be set to one for incoming dialogues. 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

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).

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 39

 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).

tid_nseq 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 (i.e. the maximum permitted
length) 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.

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 40

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)

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 41

10.2 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
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID (0x14)
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
12 4 reserved (must be set to zero)

Description:

This message is used to configure a TCAP dialogue group.

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 42

Parameter Description:

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 43

10.3 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
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID (0x14)
rsp_req Used to request a confirmation
class 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 1
PARAMETER AREA

OFFSET SIZE NAME

0 1 module_id

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).

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 44

Parameter Description:

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 45

10.4 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
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req used to request a confirmation
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len Number of bytes in parameter area
PARAMETER AREA

OFFSET SIZE NAME

0 len - 1 Parameters in Name-Length-Data format.
len - 1 1 Set to zero indicating end of message.

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 46

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.

Default Values:

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_PERMISSION

Default value 1 = responding TCAP may release the dialogue.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 47

10.5 Read TCAP Statistics Request

Synopsis:

Message used to read the statistics maintained by the TCAP module.

Note: This message is reserved for future use

Message Format:

MESSAGE HEADER

FIELD NAME MEANING

type TCP_MSG_R_STATS (0x6792)
id 0
src 0
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req Sending layer’s bit must be set
hclass 0
status 1 to reset all statistics, otherwise 0
err_info 0
len Reserved for future use
PARAMETER AREA

OFFSET SIZE NAME

0 Reserved for future use

Description:

The TCAP module automatically maintains a number of counters to record the

number of occurrences of particular protocol events. The values of the
counters can be read using this message. The counters can optionally be
reset to zero following the read operation.

If the status field is set to 1 the counters will all be reset. If it is not required to
reset the counters then the status field should be set to zero and the counters
will continue to accumulate from the current count after the read operation.

Confirmation Message:

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 48

10.6 Read TCAP RAM Request

Synopsis:

Message used for diagnostic purposes to return the address of the TCAP
modules internal data storage area.

Message Format:

MESSAGE HEADER

FIELD NAME MEANING

type TCP_MSG_R_RAM (0x6790)
id 0
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req Sending layer’s bit must be set
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 4
PARAMETER AREA

OFFSET SIZE NAME

0 4 Base address of TCAP module’s global RAM
structure written by TCAP module in
response message.

Description:

This message is provided solely for diagnostic purposes to allow the user to
locate the base address of the TCAP modules internal data structure.

Confirmation Message:

The module sending the message must set the sending layer’s bit in the
rsp_req field to cause a confirmation message containing the address to be
returned.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 49

10.7 Read TCAP Dialogue Request

Synopsis:

Message used for diagnostic purposes to return the address of the internal
dialogue resource structure in the TCAP module.

Message Format:

MESSAGE HEADER

FIELD NAME MEANING

type TCP_MSG_R_DLG (0x6791)
id dialogue_ID
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID
rsp_req Sending layer’s bit must be set
hclass 0
status 0
err_info 0
len 4
PARAMETER AREA

OFFSET SIZE NAME

0 4 Base address of internal dialogue resource
structure written by TCAP module in
response message.

Description:

This message is provided solely for diagnostic purposes to allow the user to
locate internal data structures within the TCAP module.

Confirmation Message:

The module sending the message must set the sending layer’s bit in the
rsp_req field to cause a confirmation message containing the address to be
returned.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 50

10.8 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
src Sending module_id
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
18 4 num_alloc_dbuf - Number of allocated
DBUFs
20 19 reserved

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 51

version
Only version zero supported.

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.

Confirmation Message:
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 52

10.9 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
src Sending module_id
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 1 DHA_state – dialogue handler state
2 1 TSM_state – dialogue transaction state
machinestate
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
16 24 reserved

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 53

 See the TCAP specifications for details of the meaning of the states (Q.773).

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

Confirmation Message:
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 54

10.10 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 below
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst Maintenance module id (maint_id)
rsp_req Sending layer’s bit must be set
hclass 0
status Maintenance event code (see below)
err_info 0
len 0

Description:

This message is used by TCAP to indicate a protocol-related event to the

maintenance module.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 55

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_ID Component request
primitive discarded due to
bad format, inappropriate
state or lack of internal
resources.
TCPEV_DLG_REQ_DISCARD 2 dialogue_ID Dialogue request
primitive discarded due to
bad format, inappropriate
state or lack of internal
resources.
TCPEV_DATA_LEN_ERR 3 dialogue_ID Message discarded due
to exceeding maximum
length for user data.
TCPEV_UNREC_TYPE 4 0 Unrecognised 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 portion of
received message.
TCPEV_BAD_REJ_RXD 7 dialogue_ID Badly formatted reject
component received.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 56

10.11 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 below
src TCP_TASK_ID
dst Management module id (mngt_id)
rsp_req Used to request a confirmation
hclass 0
status Software event code (see 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 57

Software event code

The Software 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

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 Unrecognised inter task
type message 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 58

10.12 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
dst Management module id (mngt_id)
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status Message discard code (see 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 59

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
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

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 60

10.13 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
dst Management module id (mngt_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 Message 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 61

10.14 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 62

10.15 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
dst Management module id (mngt_id)
rsp_req 0
hclass 0
status Management event code (see below)
err_info Time-stamp
reserved 0
len 0

Management event code

The Management 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 Value id Description

ERR_SDLSIG_LOW 47 0x2f 0 The internal signal queue is running short of
entries. If this fault persist 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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 63

10.16 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
src Sending module_id
dst TCP_TASK_ID (0x14)
rsp_req Used to request a confirmation
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
all other bits must be set to zero

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 64

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 65

10.17 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 (0x14)
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 66

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 TCAP module id (TCP_TASK_ID)
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

Parameter Description:

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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 67

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 TCAP module id (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:

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 68

APPENDIX B

B.1 Message Type reference

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

Value Mnemonic Description

0x07a1 TCP_MSG_MAINT_IND Maintenance event indication

0x07a2 TCP_MSG_ERROR_IND Software event indication
0x2790 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_R_RAM (0x6790)
0x2791 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_R_DLG (0x6791)
0x2792 Confirmation to TCP_MSG_R_STATS (0x6792)
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
0x5795 TCP_MSG_TRACE_MASK Set TCAP trace mask
0x6790 TCP_MSG_R_RAM Read address of internal ram structure (debug)
0x6791 TCP_MSG_R_DLG Read dialogue address (debug only)
0x6792 TCP_MSG_R_STATS Read global statistics
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
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

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 69

 0xc740 SCP_MSG_TX_REQ Transmit request from TCAP to SCCP
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.

TCAP Programmer’s Manual Issue 7 Page 70