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Dialogic® SS7 Protocols 
TCAP Programmer's Manual 
 
 
 
2 
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Publication Date: February 2008 
Document Number: U06SSS, Issue 10 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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Contents 
Revision History...........................................................................................................5 
1 Introduction........................................................................................................7 
1.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................7 
1.2 Abbreviations.........................................................................................................................7 
1.3 Related Documentation............................................................................................................7 
1.4 Feature Overview....................................................................................................................8 
2 General Description.............................................................................................9 
2.1 Module Overview....................................................................................................................9 
2.2 Module Configuration.............................................................................................................10 
2.3 Dialogue ID Assignment.........................................................................................................10 
2.4 Dialogue ID Groups...............................................................................................................11 
2.5 Local Transaction ID Format...................................................................................................11 
2.6 Constant Definitions..............................................................................................................12 
3 Interface to System Services.............................................................................13 
3.1 System Functions.................................................................................................................13 
3.2 Timer Operation...................................................................................................................13 
4 Interface to Network Layer...............................................................................15 
5 Interface to TC-User..........................................................................................17 
5.1 Introduction.........................................................................................................................17 
5.2 Multiple TC-User Applications.................................................................................................17 
5.3 Primitive Parameters.............................................................................................................18 
5.4 Component Primitive Types....................................................................................................19 
5.5 Dialogue Primitive Types........................................................................................................20 
5.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST.....................................................................................................21 
5.7 TC-COMPONENT-INDICATION.................................................................................................24 
5.8 TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST........................................................................................................26 
5.9 TC-DIALOGUE-INDICATION....................................................................................................32 
6 Management Interface......................................................................................35 
7 Non-Primitive Interface....................................................................................37 
7.1 TCAP Configuration Request...................................................................................................37 
7.2 Configure NC Request............................................................................................................43 
7.3 Configure Dialogue Group Request..........................................................................................44 
7.4 Configure TC-User Request....................................................................................................46 
7.5 Configure TC-Instance Request...............................................................................................47 
7.6 TCAP Set Default Parameters Request.....................................................................................48 
7.7 Read TCAP Statistics Request.................................................................................................50 
7.8 Read TCAP RAM Request........................................................................................................51 
7.9 Read TCAP Dialogue Request..................................................................................................52 
7.10 Read TCAP Module Status Request..........................................................................................53 
7.11 Read TCAP Dialogue Status Request........................................................................................55 
7.12 Maintenance Event Indication.................................................................................................57 
7.13 Software Event Indication......................................................................................................58 
7.14 TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication............................................................................................60 
7.15 TCAP Component Discard Indication........................................................................................61 
7.16 Read Revision Request..........................................................................................................62 
7.17 Management Event Indication................................................................................................63 
Contents 
4 
7.18 Set Trace Mask Request........................................................................................................64 
7.19 Trace Event Indication...........................................................................................................65 
7.20 Module Reset Request...........................................................................................................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 
Index  ...............................................................................................................71 
  
 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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Revision History 
Issue Date Description 
10 February 2008 Document rebranded and reformatted. 
9 Sep 2006 Added statement on ITU-T TCAP 1997 support. 
Added new messages:  
Added new status returned in confirmation messages for network context. 
8 May 2004 Addition support of TCPPN_timeout with length=0 to disable TCAP timer. 
7 July 2003 Branding changed: references to System7 removed. 
6 November -2001 Messages to monitor module and dialogue status added. 
5 August 2000 Addition of message definitions for dialogue discard indications, component 
discards indications and module version identification. 
4 February 1999 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 
3 December 1998 Dialogue Groups and message tracing added. 
2 May 1997 ANSI operation added. 
1 November 1995 Minor typographical corrections and the addition of the TC-NULL-IND primitive. 
Note: The latest release issue of this guide can be found at:  
http://www.dialogic.com/support/helpweb/signaling 
 
Section  Revision History 
6 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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 Introduction 
1.1 Overview 
The TCAP module is a portable software implementation of the Signaling 
System Number 7, Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP). It 
operates according to either ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1992/1996) or ANSI 
T1.114-1996, the selection being made 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, while 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 messages used to interface with the 
module. 
1.2 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 Signaling Connection Control Part. 
TCAP Transaction Capabilities Application Part. 
1.3 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 
Section  1 Introduction 
8 
1.4 Feature Overview 
Key features of the TCAP module include: 
• Full implementation of ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1992) and ANSI T1.114 
(1996). 
• Full implementation of ITU-T Q.771-Q.774 (1997) TCAP recommendations 
with the exception of TCAP operation timer reset and the inclusion of the 
originating and destination addresses into TCAP Notice indications. 
• 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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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2 General Description 
2.1 Module Overview 
The TCAP module is an implementation of the ITU-T recommendations Q.771 
- Q.774 (1992/1997) 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. Then it 
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 according to the type of event.  Output messages may be 
sent 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: 
• The maximum number of simultaneous dialogues (and hence 
transactions) supported by the module. 
• The maximum number of components internally accumulated by the 
module awaiting transmission. 
• The maximum number of invocations active at any time. 
In addition, the module requires that a periodic timer tick notification is 
issued to it (using the input queue), typically every tenth of a second. (This 
can either be generated by a timer module or by using the services of the 
selected operating system). 
Section  2 General Description 
10 
2.2 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 
customize 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 is not present in the 
message received from the user. 
2.3 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 of 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 IDs must not 
exceed the maximum number of simultaneous dialogues that the module can 
support. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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The dialogue ID selected by the TC-User for an outgoing dialogue must lie 
within the configured range of outgoing dialogue IDs. Dialogue IDs for 
incoming dialogues are allocated automatically by the TCAP module (from the 
configured range of incoming dialogue IDs) 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 of 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.  It 
is the application’s responsibility to close the dialogue on completion of all 
transactions associated with dialogue. 
2.4 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. 
2.5 Local Transaction ID Format 
Peer TCAP entities use transaction IDs to associate TCAP protocol data units 
(PDUs) 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. 
Padding field 
MSB   LSB 
Padding Sequence Number Dialogue reference Instance Number 
    
Section  2 General Description 
12 
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 IDs (from the TC-User 
viewpoint) and using a different instance number within the transaction ID 
(from the network-layer viewpoint). 
Dialogue reference 
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. 
Sequence number 
The ‘sequence number’ is allocated on a cyclic basis for each individual 
dialogue ID and ensures that 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. 
2.6 Constant Definitions 
To assist you 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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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3 Interface to System Services 
3.1 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 Accepts the next message from input event queue, blocking the task if no 
message is ready. 
GCT_grab Accepts the next message from the input event queue, but does not block the 
task if no message is ready. 
The following functions are required for allocation and release of inter task 
messages: 
getm Allocates a message. 
relm Releases a message. 
These functions are described in the Software Environment Programmer’s 
Manual∗. 
3.2 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 initialize the timer services. 
TM_EXP Issued by the timer module to notify of time-out. 
The format of these messages is described in Appendix A on page 67. 
Note: While 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 your choice of operating environment, if 
required. 
                                                 
∗ 
 See Section 1.3 Related Documentation for the full reference to this manual. 
Section  3 Interface to System Services 
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Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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4 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. 
                                                 
∗ 
 See Section 1.3 Related Documentation for the full reference to this manual. 
Section  4 Interface to Network Layer 
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Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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5 Interface to TC-User 
5.1 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 a component from TC-User to TCAP. 
TC-DIALOGUE-REQ Conveys a dialogue primitive from TC-User to TCAP. 
TC-COMPONENT-IND Conveys a component from TCAP to TC-User. 
TC-DIALOGUE-IND Conveys a 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   3Interface to System Serviceson 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 
5.2 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. 
                                                 
∗ 
 See Section 1.3 Related Documentation for the full reference to this manual. 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
18 
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 and contain a called address which identifies a local sub-system. The 
sub-system number in this address is matched to a 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. 
5.3 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 Type Parameter Parameter  Parameter Zero 
      
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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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5.4 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 Requests an operation to be performed. 
This primitive is used for ITU-T Invoke 
and ANSI Invoke (last). 
8 
TCPPT_TC_INVOKE_NL TC-User Requests an operation to be performed. 
Further components will convey 
additional information. 
17 
TCPPT_TC_RESULT_L TC-User Reports the successful completion of an 
operation. 9 
TCPPT_TC_RESULT_NL TC-User Reports a segment of the successful 
completion of an operation. Further 
components will convey additional 
information. 
10 
TCPPT_TC_U_ERROR TC-User Reports the unsuccessful completion of 
an operation. 11 
TCPPT_TC_U_REJECT TC-User Reports the receipt and rejection of a 
component (other that a reject). 16 
TCPPT_TC_U_CANCEL TC-User Terminates an operation initiated from 
the local TCAP prematurely (local action 
only). 
13 
TCPPT_TC_L_CANCEL TCAP Reports that the response expected to an 
operation was not received within a 
specified time.  
12 
TCPPT_TC_L_REJECT TCAP Reports that a received component was 
rejected locally due to protocol error. 14 
TCPPT_TC_R_REJECT TCAP Reports that a component was rejected 
by a responding TCAP. 15 
TCPPT_TC_NULL TCAP Issued where a component 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. 
0 
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. 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
20 
5.5 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. The responding 
TCAP may end this dialogue. 3 
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 
protocol event. 6 
TCPPT_TC_NOTICE TCAP Report that the network layer was unable 
to deliver a TCAP PDU to the destination. 7 
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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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5.6 TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST 
Synopsis 
Protocol message sent from the TC-User to TCAP which contains 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.  At that point, 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. 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
22 
Parameter area contents 
The component primitive type octet is coded as defined in Section  
 
5.4 
Component Primitive Typeson page 19. 
The following parameter names are defined for use in either component 
request or component indication primitive messages: 
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 while 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:  While 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). 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
23 
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 Used by the module to indicate if this is the last component associated with a 
dialogue indication or if there are more components to follow. The parameter 
will be set to 1 if this is the last component and set to 0 if more components 
are to follow. This parameter is not required for component requests. 
 
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 Variable, set to 0 or 2. 
Set the length to 0 to disable the timer. Set it to 2 to specify the timer value in 
parameter data. 
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 A single octet representing the invoke ID, which is in the range of  -128 to 
+127 
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 it is not supplied . 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
24 
ITU-T and ANSI Primitive 
Parameter 
IN 
VO 
K 
E 
 
IN 
VO 
K 
E 
-N 
L 
 
R 
E 
SU 
L 
T 
-L 
 
R 
ES 
U 
LT 
-N 
L 
 
U 
-E 
RR 
O 
R 
 
U 
-C 
A 
NC 
E 
L 
 
U 
-R 
E 
JE 
C 
T 
 
Invoke ID       M  
Class D       
Timeout D       
Component M M M M M  M 
Last 
Component        
5.7 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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
25 
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 (see Section   5.6TC-COMPONENT-REQUESTon page 21). 
Note: A TC-NULL-IND is issued where a component is discarded by the TCAP module but 
when it is still necessary to indicate a component  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 
Parameter 
IN 
VO 
K 
E 
 
IN 
VO 
K 
E 
-N 
L 
 
R 
E 
SU 
L 
T 
-L 
 
R 
ES 
U 
LT 
-N 
L 
 
U 
-E 
RR 
O 
R 
 
L 
-C 
A 
NC 
E 
L 
 
L 
-R 
E 
JE 
C 
T 
 
R 
-R 
E 
JE 
C 
T 
 
U 
-R 
E 
JE 
C 
T 
 
NU 
LL 
 
 
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 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
26 
5.8 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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
27 
Parameter Area Contents 
The dialogue primitive type octet is coded as defined in Section  
 
5.5Dialogue 
Primitive Typeson page 20. 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 
Protocol version TCPPN_VERSION 20 
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. 
 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
28 
Parameter name TCPPN_DEST_ADDR 
Parameter length Variable, in the range 2 to 18 
Parameter data The destination address parameter which is encoded in the format expected 
by the network layer. 
When using ITU-T SCCP, it is formatted in accordance with the Q.713 
definition of ‘Called Party Address’ commencing with the address indicator 
and containing optionally signaling 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 The originating address parameter which is 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 signaling 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. 
 
Parameter name TCPPN_ABORT_REASON 
Parameter length Fixed, set to 1 
Parameter data Single octet set to an appropriate value as below:  
• 1 - Application Context not supported   
• 2 - Other user reason.  
• 3 – Network Context not supported 
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 the network layer. When using SCCP, it is coded 
as specified in Q.713/T1.112.3 ‘Return Cause’ parameter. 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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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. 
 
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 A single octet, coded as follows: 
ITU-T operation 
• 0 – Unrecognized message type 
• 1 – Unrecognized 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 – Unrecognized package type 
• 2 – Unrecognized transaction portion 
• 3 – Badly structured transaction portion 
• 4 – Unassigned responding transaction ID 
• 5 – Permission to release problem 
• 6 – Resource unavailable 
• 7 – Unrecognized 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. 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
30 
 
Parameter name TCPPN_UABORT_INFO 
Parameter length A 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 
A 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. 
 
Parameter name TCPPN_VERSION 
Parameter length Length 1 or 2 
Parameter data For ANSI the format of the protocol version is defined in T1.114-1996 - a 
single octet where each bit relates to a particular protocol version. 
For ITU the format of the protocol version follows the definition of a bitstring, 
as defined in X.209.  The low octet is used for the protocol version.  The high 
octet is used to denote the number of bits not used in the low octet. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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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 
Parameter 
UN 
I 
B 
EG 
IN 
 
CO 
N 
T 
IN 
U 
E 
 
EN 
D 
 
A 
BO 
R 
T 
 
UN 
I 
Q 
U 
ER 
Y 
 
CO 
N 
VE 
R 
SA 
T 
IO 
N 
 
R 
E 
S 
PO 
N 
S 
E 
 
A 
BO 
R 
T 
 
Destination 
Address D D O 
1 
O1 O1 D D O1 O1 O1 
Originating 
Address D D O 
1 
O1 O1 D D O1 O1 O1 
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 
Version O O O O O O O O O O 
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. 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
32 
5.9 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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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Parameter Area Contents 
The parameter area is coded as defined for the TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST 
message. 
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 
Parameter 
UN 
I 
B 
EG 
IN 
 
CO 
N 
T 
IN 
U 
E 
 
EN 
D 
 
A 
BO 
R 
T 
 
P 
–A 
BO 
R 
T 
 
NO 
T 
IC 
E 
 
UN 
I 
Q 
U 
ER 
Y 
 
CO 
N 
VE 
R 
SA 
T 
IO 
N 
 
R 
E 
S 
PO 
N 
S 
E 
 
A 
BO 
R 
T 
 
P 
–A 
BO 
R 
T 
 
NO 
T 
IC 
E 
 
Destination Address O O O1 O1 O1   O O O1 O1 O1   
Originating Address M M O1 O1 O1   M M O1 O1 O1   
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 
identifier        O O O O    
Permission to 
release         M M     
Version O O O O O O  O O O O O O  
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. 
Section  5 Interface to TC-User 
34 
 
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6 Management Interface 
The management interface allows you 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 Signaling point accessible 
N-PCSTATE Indication Signaling point inaccessible 
N-PCSTATE Indication Signaling point congested 
 
                                                 
∗ 
 See Section 1.3 Related Documentation for the full reference to this manual. 
Section  6 Management Interface 
36 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
37 
7 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 you 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 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 the request message 
TCPE_BAD_MSG 5 Inappropriate or unrecognized message type. 
TCPE_BAD_PARAM 6 Invalid parameters contained in the message. 
TCPE_NO_RESOURCES 7 Insufficient internal resources. 
TCPE_INVALID_NC 8 Invalid Network Context 
TCPE_INVALID_VERSION 9 Message version is invalid 
7.1 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 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
38 
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 -  set to zero 
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. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
39 
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 on page 45). 
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). 
flags 
A 16 bit value, with 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 Used to select between ITU-T and ANSI PDU formats. 
Set to 1 to select ANSI T1.114 format, or to 0 to select ITU-T Q.773. 
2 If set, it prevents the invoke timer from being started for each invoke operation 
issued by this module. 
3 If set to 1, it 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. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
40 
Bit Description 
8 If set to 1, support for long messages i.e. messages with length greater than 255 
octets.   
If long messages are used, the max_data field in this TCP_MSG_CONFIG 
message should also be increased to allow a longer parameter to be sent by 
TCAP.  If the value of  the max_data field is not sufficient, a TCAP Maintenance 
Indication with status TCPEV_DATA_LEN_ERR (0x03) will be reported. 
9 If set to 1, the dialogue will automatically be closed and subsequently aborted on 
timer expiry. 
If not set, the module will send a Maintenance Event Indication with status 
TCPEV_DLG_TIM_TIMEOUT (0x08), to notify the user that the affected timer has 
expired. 
10 If set to 1, messages will be routed using the Destination Transaction ID (DTID) 
which is required for systems using SUA. 
14 If set to 1, allocates memory for the High Availability (HA) structures on reception 
of TCP_MSG_CONFIG. 
15 If set to 1, disable abort of user error. 
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 
0x0100 TCPF_SEGMENTATION Support for Long messages 
0x0200 TCPF_DLG_TIM_ABORT Automatic Abort of Dialogue 
0x0400 TCPF_DTID_ON Enable DTID 
0x4000 TCPF_HA Enable TCAP High-Availability  
0x8000 TCPF_NO_ABORT Disable abort 
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. 
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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 IDs 
will also be handled by the module. You 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 IDs 
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). 
• 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. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
42 
tcap_instance 
The TCAP module supports the use of multiple instances of TCAP for a 
particular application. This allows for distributed processing across multiple 
hardware platforms. When this feature is used, each instance handles 
messages relating to a particular set of transaction IDs. 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 and, for longer parameters, a 
maximum permitted length of 65535 may be specified; however, you can 
restrict the maximum length if required. You are  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. 
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) 
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7.2 Configure NC Request 
Synopsis 
Message used to configure additional Network Contexts. 
Message Format 
Message Header 
Field Name Meaning 
type TCP_MSG_NC_CONFIG (0x7787) 
id Network Context ID (value 1 to 3) 
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 user_id - TC-User module ID 
2 1 nsap_id - Network-layer module ID 
3 2 flags 
5 2 max_data 
7 1 addr_format  
8 32 Reserved for future use - set to zero 
Description 
This message contains parameters to define address format and TCAP specific 
options allowing different behaviors for the module to be selected depending 
on the Network Context of the dialogue. 
The meaning of the parameters in this message is  the same as the 
equivalent parameters in the TCP_MSG_CONFIG message. When used to 
support multiple local point codes within the same network, the option 
settings should typically be the same in both messages. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
44 
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 
Network Context ID 
The Network Context ID will identify the Network Context being defined. The 
default Network Context (0) is configured using the existing 
TCAP_MSG_CONFIG message therefore this message should only be used for 
Network Contexts 1 to 3. This assumes that four Network Contexts are 
permitted. 
Note: All other parameters have the equivalent meaning and types as those used in the 
TCP_MSG_CONFIG message (refer to Section Error! Reference source not 
found. Error! Bookmark not defined. for details). 
7.3 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 
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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 for future use - 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. 
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 the following 
outgoing dialogue IDs are assigned to this group: base_ogdlg_id to 
base_ogdlg_id + nog_dialogues-1 
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 the following 
outgoing dialogue IDs are assigned to this group: base_ogdlg_id to 
base_icdlg_id + nic_dialogues-1 
options 
Should currently be set to zero. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
46 
user_instance 
Identifies the instance of the user application to which the defined ranges of 
dialogues will be sent. 
The number of dialogues must lie within the limit specified with the TCAP 
Configuration request message. 
7.4 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 0r 3 
Parameter Area 
Offset Size Name 
0 1 module_id 
1 2 nc – Network Context 
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 signaling 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. 
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Parameter Description 
sub-system number 
The sub-system number for the local sub-system in the range of 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 your application program that will receive dialogue 
and component indications for the local sub-system, described by the sub- 
system number.  
nc 
Specifies the network context for the application. It is set to 0 where the 
application context handling is not required. 
7.5 Configure TC-Instance Request 
Synopsis 
This message configures a module ID in the message passing environment to 
be used by for a given TCAP instance. 
Message Format 
Message Header 
Field Name Meaning 
type TCP_MSG_S_TCI_ID (0x5794) 
id 0 
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 instance of the module ID to be used by 
TCAP. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
48 
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 
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.  
7.6 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. 
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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. 
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 
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 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
50 
7.7 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 - set to zero 
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. Optionally, the counters can be 
reset to zero following the read operation. 
If the status field is set to 1 the counters will be reset. If the counters do not 
need to be reset, 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. 
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7.8 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 the TCAP module's global RAM structure written by the 
TCAP module in the response message. 
Description 
This message is provided solely for diagnostic purposes to allow you 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. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
52 
7.9 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 the internal dialogue resource 
structure written by the TCAP module in the 
response message. 
Description 
This message is provided solely for diagnostic purposes to allow you 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. 
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7.10 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 
17 4 num_alloc_dbuf Number of allocated 
DBUFs 
21 19 Reserved for future use - set to zero 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
54 
Description 
This message allows the user to read the dialogue usage statistics for the 
TCAP module. The user should send the message with the version initialized, 
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. 
version 
Only version zero is supported. 
num_ic_dlg 
The number of active incoming dialogues. These are dialogues that are 
initiated by the remote node. 
num_og_dlg 
The number of active outgoing dialogues. These are dialogues that are 
initiated by the local node. 
num_act_invokes  
The number of active invokes. An invoke structure is stored for each invoke 
sent and is not required for incoming invokes. 
num_alloc_cpt 
The number of allocated component structures. These are used temporarily 
for pending component requests until an appropriate dialogue request is 
received. 
num_alloc_dbuf 
The 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. 
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7.11 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 for future use - set to zero 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
56 
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 initialized 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 the appropriate information. 
Version 
Only version zero supported. 
DHA_state 
Dialogue handler state.  
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 while 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 
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num_cpts 
The number of active components in the dialogue 
ltid 
Local transaction ID for associated the dialogue 
rtid 
Remote transaction ID for associated the 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. 
7.12 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 Maintenance Event Code on page 58 
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 Maintenance Event Code on page 58) 
err_info 0 
len 0 
Description 
This message is used by TCAP to indicate a protocol-related event to the 
maintenance module. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
58 
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 The component request primitive 
has been discarded due to: bad 
format, inappropriate state or lack of 
internal resources. 
TCPEV_DLG_REQ_DISCARD 2 dialogue_ID The dialogue request primitive has 
been discarded due to: bad format, 
inappropriate state or lack of internal 
resources. 
TCPEV_DATA_LEN_ERR 3 dialogue_ID The message has been discarded 
due to exceeding the maximum 
length for user data. 
TCPEV_UNREC_TYPE 4 0 An unrecognized TCAP message 
type has been received. 
TCPEV_UNREC_TID 5 0 A message received relating to an 
unknown local transaction ID. 
TCPEV_SYNTAX_ERR 6 0 There is a syntax error in the 
transaction portion of the received 
message. 
TCPEV_BAD_REJ_RXD 7 dialogue_ID A badly formatted reject component 
has been received. 
TCPEV_DLG_TIM_TIMEOUT 8 dialogue_ID The timer on the dialogue has 
expired. 
7.13 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  Software Event Codeon page 59 
src TCP_TASK_ID 
dst Management module ID (mngt_id) 
rsp_req Used to request a confirmation 
hclass 0 
status Software event code (see Software Event Code on page 59) 
err_info 0 
len 0 
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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. 
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 
have been exhausted. 
TCPSWE_NO_TISM 2 0 The maximum number of active 
invocations has been exceeded. 
TCPSWE_NO_DLG 3 0 There is no internal resource to 
handle dialogue. 
TCPSWE_NO_TCPM 4 0 The internal pool of structured 
messages is exhausted. 
TCPSWE_TCPM_LOW 5 0 The internal pool of structured 
messages is running low. 
TCPSWE_BAD_MSG 6 message 
type An unrecognized inter-task message has been received. 
TCPSWE_TX_FMT_ERR 7 0 An internal error occurred during 
message formatting. 
TCPSWE_ISM_ERR 8 0 An internal error occurred in the 
invocation state machine. 
TCPSWE_BAD_NSAP_FMT 9 0 A badly formatted message was 
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 The number of resources 
available for component 
accumulation has recovered. 
TCPSWE_HA_SYNC_LOST 13 0 TCP_MSG_HA_SYNC messages 
received before 
TCP_MSG_CONFIG have been 
discarded 
TCPSWE_HA_SYNC_UNEXPECTED 14 0 Unexpected 
TCP_MSG_HA_SYNC have been 
received 
Note: The TCAP will send this 
message once even if several HA 
sync messages were previously 
received. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
60 
7.14 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 (Message Discard Code on page 61) 
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. 
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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 Unrecognized ASN type in context 
TCPPD_CPT_MISSING_PARAM 11 Missing mandatory parameter 
7.15 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 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
62 
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 which indicates the reason that the message was discarded. 
7.16 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 used to request a reply providing 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 a status of "SUCCESS" to the sender, including the 
information requested. 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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7.17 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 a 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 Management 
Event Code 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 persists 
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. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
64 
7.18 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 
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 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
65 
• 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. 
7.19 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. 
Section  7 Non-Primitive Interface 
66 
7.20 Module Reset Request 
Synopsis 
This message returns the TCAP module to an un-configured state and allows 
a new SCCP Configure Module Request to be sent with new parameters. 
Message Format 
Message Header 
Field Name Meaning 
type TCP_MSG_RESET (0x7768) 
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 0 
Description 
This message enables the configuration parameters set at run-time in the 
TCP_MSG_CONFIG to be changed without requiring a restart of gctload. 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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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. 
Appendix A 
68 
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 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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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 
0x07a3 TCP_MSG_DIS_DLG_IND TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication 
0x07a4 TCP_MSG_DIS_CPT_IND TCAP Component Discard 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 
0x5794 TCP_MSG_S_TCI_ID Set TC-Instance 
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 
0x7786 TCP_MSG_RESET Module Reset 
0x7787 TCP_MSG_NC_CONFIG TCAP Configure NC Request 
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) 
Appendix B 
70 
Value Mnemonic Description 
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 
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 
Note: If a confirmation to a request message is required, the message type of the 
confirmation message will correspond to the request message but instead bit 14 
of the message type will be set to 0.  For example, the confirmation to the TCAP 
module configuration message, 0x7780 will be received by the application as 
message type 0x3780. 
 
 
Dialogic® SS7 Protocols TCAP Programmer's Manual Issue 10 
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Index 
A 
Abbreviations, 7 
C 
Constant definitions, 12 
D 
Dialogue ID 
Assignment, 10 
Groups, 11 
Document 
Introduction, 7 
Overview, 7 
F 
Features, 8 
I 
Interface to network layer, 15 
Interface to TC-user, 17 
Component primitive types, 19 
Dialogue primitive types, 20 
Multiple applications, 17 
Primitive parameters, 18 
K 
Keep Time, 67 
L 
Local transaction ID format, 11 
M 
Management interface, 35 
Message type reference, 69 
Module 
Configuration, 10 
Overview, 9 
Module, 9 
N 
Non-primitive interface, 37 
Configure Dialogue Group Request, 44 
Configure NC Request, 43 
Configure TC-Instance Request, 47 
Configure TC-User Request, 46 
Maintenance Event Indication, 57 
Management Event Indication, 63 
Module Reset Request, 66 
Read Revision Request, 62 
Read TCAP Dialogue Request, 52 
Read TCAP Dialogue Status Request, 55 
Read TCAP Module Status Request, 53 
Read TCAP RAM Request, 51 
Read TCAP Statistics Request, 50 
Set Trace Mask Request, 64 
Software Event Indication, 58 
TCAP Component Discard Indication, 61 
TCAP Configuration Request, 37 
TCAP Dialogue Discard Indication, 60 
TCAP Set Default Parameters Request, 48 
Trace Event Indication, 65 
R 
Related documentation, 7 
Revision history, 5 
S 
System services 
Interfaces to, 13 
System functions, 13 
Timer operation, 13 
T 
TC-COMPONENT-INDICATION, 24 
TC-COMPONENT-REQUEST, 21 
TC-DIALOGUE-INDICATION, 32 
TC-DIALOGUE-REQUEST, 26 
Timer Expiry, 68 
Timer Services, 67