Ethereal-users: [Ethereal-users] [Announce] SS7 monitoring hardware now available for Ethereal

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From: "Jacques, Olivier (OCBU-Test Infra)" <olivier.jacques@xxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:24:04 +0200
Hello Ethereal users,

A versatile SS7 monitoring solution based on E1/T1/J1 PCMCIA and PCI boards is now available for winpcap/libpcap based monitoring applications running on Windows NT/2000/XP - like Ethereal for Windows!
This allows doing a live non-intrusive monitoring of E1/T1/J1 links with SS7 signalling. By using Ethereal, protocols like MTP2, MTP3, ISUP, BICC, SCCP, TCAP, MAP, INAP, CAP/CAMEL, WIN, BSSAP, BSMAP and DTAP will be decoded.
This monitoring solution may be extended per request to include support for ISDN PRA protocols like ISDN, LAPD, LAPB and Q.931.
Customer acceptance, troubleshooting, interoperability, demos: All this is now easier than ever.
 
Characteristics:
- From one (PCMCIA and PCI) to eight (PCI) E1/T1/J1 line interfaces per card.
- >From 8 (PCMCIA) to 256 (PCI) signalling timeslots monitored simultaneously per card.
- Supported E1 Settings:
    - Line Code: AMI, HDB3
    - Frame Format: Double Frame, CRC4 Multiframe, CRC4 Multiframe G706
- Supported T1 Settings:
    - Line Code: AMI, B8ZS
    - Frame Format: F12 (D3/4, SF), F4, ESF (F24), F72 (SLC96)
    - Capacity: 56Kbps, 64Kbps
    - Remote Alarm Format: Yellow A, Yellow B
    - CRC6
- On-board amplifier to compensate for protected/attenuated monitoring tapping points (20 and 30dB).
- Support for both High and Low Impedance monitoring.
- RJ45/RJ48C connectors.
- Impedance Converters (baluns) are available for connecting to coax interfaces (75 ohm coax - 100/120 ohm twisted pair).
- Device drivers for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Linux may be supported by request.
 
Details:
The monitoring solution relies on four components:
1. PIST PCMCIA or PCI boards: A wide range of E1/T1/J1 PCMCIA and PCI boards are provided by Utel Systems (
http://www.utelsystems.com/). 
2. PIST Ethereal Interface Manager: An application that aims at configuring the E1/T1/J1 board to be used with Ethereal (E1/T1/J1, framing, line code, high/low impedance, amplification, signalling timeslots to monitor, etc...).
3. PIST Ethereal API: An application that interfaces the low level drivers of the E1/T1/J1 boards to libpcap/winpcap.
4. A set of patches for winpcap/libpcap that supports the dialog with the PIST Ethereal API (will be submitted to winpcap maintainers for inclusion).
 
Licensing:
- PIST Ethereal Interface Manager and PIST Ethereal API are only delivered as binary (closed source) as they include code (driver APIs) that can't be released using the same licensing as libpcap/winpcap.
- Patches for winpcap/libpcap are licensed under the same license as the appropriate application to which they apply to (winpcap/libpcap).
 
How to get it?
- E1/T1/J1 PCMCIA and PCI boards, PIST Ethereal Interface Manager and PIST Ethereal API are available as commercial products from Utel Systems:
        Email: sales [at] utelsystems.com
        Web: http://www.utelsystems.com/
        Find your local distributor: http://www.utelsystems.com/distributors
- Winpcap/libpcap patches will be provided very soon for review and inclusion. Contact Olivier Jacques at HP for question on this component:
        Email: olivier.jacques [at] hp.com 
        Web: http://www.hp.com/go/opencall
 
Olivier Jacques - OpenCall Test Consultant, Hewlett Packard
Frode Gorseth - Sales & Product Manager, Utel Systems