2.18.2 Signaling Protocols

STP VNF shall support following Sigtran protocols:

M2PA

The MTP2 User Peer-to-Peer Adaptation Layer Protocol (M2PA) is designed for communications between peers(e.g., STP to STP), as well as IP enabled end points. The STP VNF supports the RFC version of the M2PAprotocol, as well as draft version 6. M2PA is specifically designed to fully support the transport of SS7 Message Transfer Part (MTP) Layer 3 signaling messages over IP using the services of SCTP. This includes full MTP3message handling and network management capabilities between any two SS7 nodes, communicating over an IP network. The M2PA protocol provides the following advantages over the M3UA and SUA protocol.

• Greater support for MTP2 features such as link proving, processor outage, and blocking.
• Support for full retrieval due to link failure or processor outage (reduced message loss on failure).
• Simple conversions of all SS7 messages into M2PA messages and vice versa (better gateway, higher performance).

M3UA Protocol

M3UA seamlessly transports SS7 MTP3 user part signaling messages over IP using SCTP. M3UA-connected IP endpoints do not have to conform to standard SS7 topology, because each M3UA association does not require anSS7 link. Each M3UA-connected IP endpoint can be addressed by an SS7 point code unique from the signaling gateway’s point code. STP VNF provides M3UA without routing keys.