What is STP (Signal Transfer Point)?
An STP is a router that sends SS7 messages between two types of points, which are interconnected nodes: SEPs (signaling end-points) and STPs (signaling transfer points).
Two of these points connected through one link are called adjacent points. While a link set is two or more links that connect together the same points. Every link set can have close to 16 separate links.
To the SEP or STP points, the STP is typically connected via signaling links. The STP relies on the SS7 messages’ address field to be able to route the messages to the right address or signaling link. There are no users, such as mobile stations, pieces of terminal equipment in an ISDN B channel, or a PSTN user) anywhere attached to the STP telecom routers.
Also, SEPs communicate and send signals only to other SEPs, but even if there is only communication between the same points – there is still the need for an STP for the messages to be routed. This is because the STP’s principal role is to figure out which is the best pathway for the two transfer points to communicate
There are exceptions to this rule, mainly in Europe, where STPs are not commonly widespread, and critical SEPs might communicate directly. We hope this is a good enough broad answer to the question what is STP?
An STP router might send signaling messages with other purposes, such as:
A modern STP router will allow for full support when it comes to SS7 networks: (MTP/TDM (E1/T1), Cisco SLT), and SIGTRAN (M2PA/M2UA/M3UA – SCTP/IP). SS7 networks are traditional ones or the legacy networks, while SIGTRAN is a next-gen modern one that is also used, and DIAMETER is the network of tomorrow.
Mobile network technology is growing at rapid speeds, however, legacy networks such as 2G and 3G will still be present for quite a few years in the future. Many STPs operate in 2G and 3G networks, however, others can extend to 4G and 5G – the next-gen networks starting to be more prevalent across the globe.
Our YateSTP router offers clients intelligent routing when it comes to SS7 messages in all networks: 2G/3G/4G and 5G network. With our product, you can rest assured that your router will operate on legacy networks and on future networks, which makes it a great choice in the present and a great choice for the future.
YateSTP Benefits
An STP telecom that is a 100% software solution basically makes your operations uniform across many domains and is easy to operate. It’s also self-reliant since it doesn’t rely on specialized hardware. The free option to use YateSTP on a common platform helps operators and vendors to stay clear from specialized hardware and go towards hardware agnostic and software only
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OSs Recommended✓ We maintain Yate packages for the following OSes: Mageia 5, CentOS 6, and CentOS 7.
✓ All our Mageia 5 packages are also fully-functional on Mageia 6.
✓ What operating system (OS) you choose is completely up to you, and we recommend you choose one that suits you best, but we do highly recommend a stable OS version. -
Hardware Resources Recommendations✓ Even though these numbers depend greatly on the number of subscribers a telecom service has, we recommend as hardware resources the following:
• CPU: 4 cores or more
• RAM: 8GB or more
• HDD: 200GB or more (EXT 4 file system, /set it as 50 GB, /var with 50 GM to gather logs, /home with 100 GB (to gather captures of gtp, sip, sigtran, diameter, etc on tests/interconnects).
✓ YateSTP equipment will use only 2 cores and a few GB of RAM.
✓ Make use of our YateSTP, and STP telecom, and improve the quality of your telecom services.