TSP Lab	SS7MassInterrogator - The mass interrogator	SS7MassInterrogator

The mass interrogator module
`("SS7MassInterrogator")`

Features

Connection via MAP over SS7
Handling up to 50.000 subscribers
Handling up to 10 HLRs

Basic operation

Maintains mid-level SS7 functions (SLTM, SNM, etc.)
Handles connections with the HLR using MAP (Phase 1 or Phase 2) protocol over SS7
Executes periodic Location Update procedures with the HLR(s)
Handles connections with the SMSC interface using SMPP, UCP or SS7 protocol
Logs HLR responses
Provides simple statistical data and logging on the operation of the Sga-Mass Interrogator System
Sends SNMP traps (heart beats and failure notifications) to the Network Operating Center (NOC) or Network Management System
Performs self maintenance functions to ensure system integrity

User interface

The main menu

Menu	Menuitem	Shortcut(s)	Meaning
[Log]
	Find line containing...	(Ctrl-F)	Finds text in log window
	Find next matching line	(F3)	Finds next occurance of text in log window
	Details		Detail level of logging (Off, Normal, Detailed, or Debug)
[SS7]
	A: Allow MTP2 auto-connection	(left-side )	Allows automatic (re-)connecting to the MSC on SS7 channel A
	A: Disconnect MTP2 now		Immediately disconnects SS7 channel A from the MSC
	B: Allow MTP2 auto-connection	(right-side )	Allows automatic (re-)connecting to the MSC on SS7 channel B
	B: Disconnect MTP2 now		Immediately disconnects SS7 channel B from the MSC
[Subscribers]
	Auto-send UpdLoc's	(Ctrl-A, or )	Allows automatical sending the Update Location MSUs of the active subscribers
	Forget known info		When the Auto-send UpdLoc's is true, requesting information about the same subscriber is done only after `SS7MassInterrogator.ini/[SS7]/dwLocUpdValiditySec` but with this menu it can be restart the collection of the information
	Send PurgeMS for all active	(Ctrl-P)	Sends MAP/PurgeMS MSUs to the HLR with the corresponding identifier for the all subscribers
	Import list from file		Refreshes the list of the subscribers from the `Subscribers.lst` file
	Export list to file		(Not available in this version)
	Zero MAP answer counter of all subscribers		Sets all MAP answer counters to zero
[Options]
	Auto scroll	(ScrollLock, or )	Allows automatic scrolling of the log screen
	Show log	(Ctrl-Tab)	Shows the log screen
	Show subscriber list	(Ctrl-Tab)	Shows the subscriber list screen
	Save settings		Saves actual settings into the configuration (`SS7MassInterrogator.ini`) file
[DSP Debug]
	Show DSP debug info for SS7(A) now		Shows debug information for SS7 channel A in the status line of the program window
	Show DSP debug info for SS7(B) now		Shows debug information for SS7 channel B in the status line of the program window
	Clear debug info line		Clears the debug information from the status line of the program window

The colors of the subscriber list screen

gray: not active (so no periodic LocUpd is performed)
purple: UpdLoc is in progress, TID in hexadecimal
red: there has been no successful UpdLoc; or there has been a CancelLoc or a PurgeMS
yellow: last successful UpdLoc was earlier, than SS7MassInterrogator.INI/[SS7]/dwLocUpdValiditySec
black: OK

The popup menu of the subscriber list screen

Right-click on the subscriber list screen window to access this menu!

	Menuitem	Shortcut(s)	Meaning
	Change active state of this subscriber		(Not available in this version)
	Zero MAP answer counter of this subscriber		Sets to zero MAP answer counter for the selected subscriber
	Send MAP/SendRoutingInforForSM for this subscriber to the HLR		Sends a MAP/SendRoutingInforForSM MSU to the HLR
	Send MAP/ProvideSubscriberInfo for to this subscriber to the VLR		Sends a MAP/ProvideSubscriberInfo MSU to the VLR
	Forget pending MAP dialog of this subscriber		The previously started MSU sending can be canceled
	Create test SM for this subscriber		(Not available in this version)

Status-line of SS7 links

PCM: status of the PCM frame in the receiver connection (its color is gray in normal works, red refers to error)
MTP2: SS7 / MTP1 and MTP2 status of the connection (its color is gray in normal works, red refers to error)
currently used transfer speed
The number of transmitted and the number of acknowledged MAP/SendRoutingInfoForSM MSU's
The number of received and the number of acknowledged MAP/ProvideSubscriberInfo MSU's
The number of MSU's buffered for transmitting

The bottom status-line

Uptime: time elapsed since module has been started up

Logging

The module creates daily logfiles about its working. The name of the logfile is "Modulename_YYYYMMDD.log" reflecting the day when it is created.
The module can write information into the logfile and onto the screen with several detail levels set by the [Log]/Details menu item. The logging level can be:

Off (0) - warnings/errors are only reported (minimal logfile size and CPU usage)
Normal (1) - information about normal operation are also written into the logfile/screen
Detailed (2) - every received and sent signaling messages are logged
Debug (3) - hexadecimal information of messages is recorded (largest logfile and CPU usage)

Status line counters are logged in every fifteen minutes irrespectively of logging level actually set.

The different colors of log entries have different meanings:

Code Color Usage
0 Black Compact data record
1 Red Errors
2 Green Open/close output file/stream
3 Blue Open/close input file/stream
4 Yellow Warnings
5 Light Gray Detailed data (debug info)
6 Dark Grey Detailed data (user info)
7 Purple Operator intervention;
Errors with emphasis

Code	Color	Usage
0	Black	Compact data record
1	Red	Errors
2	Green	Open/close output file/stream
3	Blue	Open/close input file/stream
4	Yellow	Warnings
5	Light Gray	Detailed data (debug info)
6	Dark Grey	Detailed data (user info)
7	Purple	Operator intervention; Errors with emphasis

Configuration (INI) file settings

Section	Entry	Example	Meaning
[Position]
	iLeft	140	Position of the program module on the display screen
	iTop	72	Position of the program module on the display screen
	iWidth	995	Position of the program module on the display screen
	iHeight	694	Position of the program module on the display screen
[SGA-47 Card]
	wBaseAddress	0xD800	The I/O address of the SGA-47 Card, selected with DIP switches
	sMTP2ObjectFile	"MTP2_47 (+00 dB 75 Ohm).obj"	The file name of the DSP program
[SS7]
	bSS7AAllowMTP2AutoConnect	True	(Refer to the `[SS7]/A: Allow MTP2 auto-connection` menu item!)
	bSS7BAllowMTP2AutoConnect	True	(Refer to the `[SS7]/B: Allow MTP2 auto-connection` menu item!)
	wSS7RemotePointCodeN	201	The N vary between 0 and 9. It defines the SS7 Point Codes of the operator's HLRs.
	bySS7ReturnMAPError	13	Error code value returned in the TCAP END ForwardSM_Result MSU when an incoming short message is refused due to filter settings.
[SS7 Advanced]
	bEmergencyMTP2Startup	False	MTP2 Emergency Startup
	bySS7ATimeSlot	1	SS7 Time slot on the link A
	bySS7BTimeSlot	1	SS7 Time slot on the link B
	wSS7LocalPointCode	200	The SS7 Point Code of the SGA-MassInterrogator system
	szSS7LocalGlobalTitle	36309489931F	The SS7 Global Title of the SGA-MassInterrogator system
	dwLocUpdValiditySec	900	Refresh time for periodical Location Update
	byAutosendPerSec	2	Number of requests sent to the HLR's in a second
	wThreadPeriod	100	Time period when idle threads are given CPU time slice (given in milliseconds)
[Subscribers]
	bAutosendLocupds	False	(Refer to the `[Subscribers]/Auto-send UpdLoc's` menu item!)
	sListFile	Subscribers.lst	Specifies the file that contains subscriber data
[Options]
	bAutoScroll	True	(Refer to the `[Options]/Auto scroll` menu item!)
[Advanced]
	wLogDetailLevel	3	(Equals to the listed order; refer to the `[Log]/Details` menu item!)
	dwMaxLinesInLogWindow	1000	Number of lines in the log window on screen
	sSMSPathNN	c:\Sga-MassInterrogator\SMSFiles_00	The NN can vary between 00 and 99. It defines the paths for storing the received short messages in SMS files.
	sDataPath	c:\Sga-LogFiles\MassInterrogator1	Path for the LOG files
	sTrapFilesPath	c:\Sga-Trapper\Traps	Path for the SNMP Trap files to be sent
	sInterrogationResultFile	c:\Sga-LogFiles\MassInterrogator1\Sga-InterrogationResult.txt	The output file of the Interrogation
	iMSCVLROffset	-50	The program use this value to figure out what is the point code of the VLR for the given MSC (the point code of the MSCs is offseted by this value)

The subscriber list

The SMS recepient can be described here by its IMSI and MSISDN numbers
The list can contain both active and inactive entries
The message sorting to different directories can be descripted here
Input message filtering can be descripted here
Cyclic digits to be concatenated to BNumber also can be descripted here

An example line of the file: + 0000000000000000 36709876540 0 0 *

Parameter No.	Value	Example	Meaning
1	+ `\|` -	+	Set enables or disables the subscriber entry
2	`<`nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnF`>`	216304001110951F	The IMSI number of the subscriber
3	`<`nnnnnnnnnnn`>`	36309700007	The MSISDN number of the subscriber
4	0 `..` 9	1	Specifies the HLR of the subscriber (Refers to `[wSS7RemotePointCodeX]` value from the `SS7MSMS.ini` file)
5	0 `..` 3	2	Specifies the directory where the short messages of the subscriber will be stored (Refers to `[sSMSPathX]` value from the `SS7MSMS.ini` file)
6	2 `\|` 3 `\|` 6 `\|` 7 `\|` W `\|` M `\|` *	3	Incoming SMS filter, accepts short messages only with the following MSISDN prefix: 2 - allows 3620* only, 3 - allows 3630* only, 6 - allows 3660* only, 7 - allows 3670* only, W - allows 3630* and 3660* only, M - allows 3620, 3630, 3660* and 3670* only and * - allows any

Automatic Location Update feature

Sends Location Update to the HLR periodically
It prevents the messages waiting in the SMSC when the SS7 path brakes down
It prevents from registering the subscriber in an another VLR, as automatically re-sends UpdLoc MSU to the HLR in case a CancelLocation MSU received
Periodic UpdateLocation is sent for the last updated active, if its validity has timed out

Known bugs

No bug is known at present.

The mass interrogator module("SS7MassInterrogator")