Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. Introduction

2. Voice over Packet Architecture

3. Why Voice over IP?

4. Why Voice over ATM?

5. Design Considerations for Voice over Packet

6. Elements of a Next-Generation Switching Platform

7. Switching Platform/Media Gateway

8. Signaling Gateway

9. The Softswitch/Media Gateway Controller

10. Application Server (AS) and Services

11. Conclusion

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

A signaling gateway is hardware and software that provides the connection from a softswitch and media gateway to the SS7 network. The signaling gateway receives/sends the call control instructions needed between the SS7 network and the softswitch, typically through stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) and MTP Level-3 user adaptation layer (M3UA) protocols. This allows the softswitch to process and communicate call control instructions to a media gateway. A signaling gateway can either stand-alone or be integrated with a softswitch/media gateway. In the traditional circuit-switched telephone network, a legacy switch provides the interface directly to the SS7 world, essentially acting as a signaling gateway.