INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORK

Motivation and History

A long time ago, the entire telephone network was analog. This was bad, because
as a voice went farther down the line, and through more switches, the quality became
worse and worse as noise crept in. And there was no way to eliminate the noise, no way
to know what the signal was supposed to be. Digital encoding promised a way to encode
the audio such that you'd know what the signal was supposed to be. As noise crept in, you
could eliminate it through the phone network, assuming it wasn't worse than the variation
between different digital encoding levels.
With the transistor revolution, this theory became possible, and the phone
companies began converting their own networks over to digital. Today, you have to
search pretty hard to find a phone company switch that isn't digital. They call their
network the Integrated Digital Network, or IDN.
This solved many of the phone company's problems. However for a variety of
reasons, it has been attractive to make the phone network completely digital, from end to
end. For computer users, this is ideal, because we can eliminate those clumsy modems,
and will hopefully benefit from higher speed. For the phone companies, they can
eliminate the last of the noise and loss from the audio data. And for dreamers, this will
enable a wide variety of different services to be delivered to the customer over a single
interface.
What is ISDN?
ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It is a design for a
completely digital telephone/telecommunications network. It is designed to carry voice,
data, images, and video, everything you could ever need. It is also designed to provide a
single interface (in terms of both hardware and communication protocols) for hooking up
your phone, your fax machine, your computer, your videophone, your video-on-demand
system (someday), and your microwave. ISDN is about what the future phone network,
and information superhighway, will look like (or would have looked like).
ISDN was originally envisioned as a very fast service, but this was a long time
ago when it was hoped to have fiber all the way to your house. It turned out that running
all that fiber would be too expensive, so they designed ISDN to run on the copper wiring
that you already have. Unfortunately, that slowed things down considerably - too slow for
quality video, for instance.
ISDN has been very slow in coming. The standards organizations have taken their
time in coming up with the standards. In fact, many people consider them to be out of
date already. But on the other side of the coin, the phone companies (especially in the
U.S.) have been very slow at designing products and services, or marketing them with
ISDN in mind.

Things are starting to pick up, but still very slowly. ISDN is available now in
many places, but it is not widely used. Further most of the products and services that
people have forecast for ISDN still aren't available. For this reason many people say that
ISDN also stands for "It Still Does Nothing".
B-ISDN
That brings is to B-ISDN. B-ISDN is Broadband ISDN. (The older ISDN is often
called Narrowband ISDN.) This is not simply faster ISDN, or ISDN with the copper to
your home finally upgraded to fiber. B-ISDN is a complete redesign. It is still capable of
providing all the integrated services (voice, data, video, etc.) through a single interface
just like ISDN was supposed to. But it will do it a lot faster than ISDN could. Of course,
that copper to your house will still have to be replaced with fiber. But B-ISDN is still in
development - it seems to be moving faster than ISDN, but it is still quite a ways off.
Fitting things together
In order to understand what ISDN is, you have to understand a bit about modern
telephony. You'll invariably find lots of buzzwords, or in most cases buzz-acronyms, that
seem to overlap in a terribly complex way. That's because they do overlap considerably.
Nevertheless you can generalize about how certain things fit together. Hopefully I can
sum it all up in a few almost correct categories.
There are two parts of a telephone network: the phone company's part, and the
customer's part. The customer's part today is largely just the telephone, some house
wiring, and some connectors. The phone company's part is lots more wire, fiber, switches,
computers, and lots of expensive and complicated stuff.
ISDN is concerned (almost) entirely with the customer's part of the network.
ISDN gets the data from you, to the phone company in a standard way. What they do with
it in order to get it to its destination is entirely up to them. This is a very simple,
important concept. If you understand this, then when someone says something like
"SONET is the future of the modern telephone network" you'll know that they're talking
(mostly) about what goes on inside the phone company, and between phone companies.
They are probably right, but it is also true that "ISDN is the future of the modern
telephone network" especially if you mean B-ISDN. They're just the future of different
parts of the telephone network.
Introduction
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is comprised of digital telephony and
data-transport services offered by regional telephone carriers. ISDN involves the
digitization of the telephone network, which permits voice, data, text, graphics, music,
video, and other source material to be transmitted over existing telephone wires. The
emergence of ISDN represents an effort to standardize subscriber services, user/network
interfaces, and network and internetwork capabilities. ISDN applications include high-

speed image applications (such as Group IV facsimile), additional telephone lines in

homes to serve the telecommuting industry, high-speed file transfer, and
videoconferencing. Voice service is also an application for ISDN. This chapter
summarizes the underlying technologies and services associated with ISDN.
ISDN Devices
ISDN devices include terminals, terminal adapters (TAs), network-termination
devices, line-termination equipment, and exchange-termination equipment. ISDN
terminals come in two types. Specialized ISDN terminals are referred to as terminal
equipment type 1 (TE1). Non-ISDN terminals, such as DTE, that predate the ISDN
standards are referred to as terminal equipment type 2 (TE2). TE1s connect to the ISDN
network through a four-wire, twisted-pair digital link. TE2s connect to the ISDN network
through a TA. The ISDN TA can be either a standalone device or a board inside the TE2.
If the TE2 is implemented as a standalone device, it connects to the TA via a standard
physical-layer interface. Examples include EIA/TIA-232-C (formerly RS-232-C), V.24,
and V.35.
Beyond the TE1 and TE2 devices, the next connection point in the ISDN network
is the network termination type 1 (NT1) or network termination type 2 (NT2) device.
These are network-termination devices that connect the four-wire subscriber wiring to the
conventional two-wire local loop. In North America, the NT1 is a customer premises
equipment (CPE) device. In most other parts of the world, the NT1 is part of the network
provided by the carrier. The NT2 is a more complicated device that typically is found in
digital private branch exchanges (PBXs) and that performs Layer 2 and 3 protocol
functions and concentration services. An NT1/2 device also exists as a single device that
combines the functions of an NT1 and an NT2.
ISDN specifies a number of reference points that define logical interfaces
between functional groups, such as TAs and NT1s. ISDN reference points include the
following:

RThe reference point between non-ISDN equipment and a TA.

SThe reference point between user terminals and the NT2.
TThe reference point between NT1 and NT2 devices.
UThe reference point between NT1 devices and line-termination equipment in
the carrier network. The U reference point is relevant only in North America,
where the NT1 function is not provided by the carrier network.

Figure 12-1 illustrates a sample ISDN configuration and shows three devices
attached to an ISDN switch at the central office. Two of these devices are ISDNcompatible, so they can be attached through an S reference point to NT2 devices. The
third device (a standard, non-ISDN telephone) attaches through the reference point to a
TA. Any of these devices also could attach to an NT1/2 device, which would replace both
the NT1 and the NT2. In addition, although they are not shown, similar user stations are
attached to the far-right ISDN switch.

Figure 12-1: Sample ISDN Configuration Illustrates Relationships Between Devices

and Reference Points

Services
There are two types of services associated with ISDN:

BRI
PRI

ISDN BRI Service

The ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) service offers two B channels and one D
channel (2B+D). BRI B-channel service operates at 64 kbps and is meant to carry user
data; BRI D-channel service operates at 16 kbps and is meant to carry control and
signaling information, although it can support user data transmission under certain
circumstances. The D channel signaling protocol comprises Layers 1 through 3 of the
OSI reference model. BRI also provides for framing control and other overhead, bringing
its total bit rate to 192 kbps.
The BRI physical layer specification is International Telecommunication UnionTelecommunications Standards Section (ITU-T) (formerly the Consultative Committee
for International Telegraph and Telephone [CCITT]) I.430.

ISDN PRI Service

ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI) service offers 23 B channels and 1 D channel
in North America and Japan, yielding a total bit rate of 1.544 Mbps (the PRI D channel
runs at 64 kbps). ISDN PRI in Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world provides 30
B channels plus one 64-kbps D channel and a total interface rate of 2.048 Mbps. The PRI
physical layer specification is ITU-T I.431.
ISDN Specifications
This section describes the various ISDN specifications for Layer 1, Layer 2, and
Layer 3.
Layer 1
ISDN physical layer (Layer 1) frame formats differ depending on whether the
frame is outbound (from terminal to network) or inbound (from network to terminal).
Both physical layer interfaces are shown in Figure 12-2.
The frames are 48 bits long, of which 36 bits represent data. The bits of an ISDN
physical layer frame are used as follows:

FProvides synchronization
LAdjusts the average bit value
EEnsures contention resolution when several terminals on a passive bus
contend for a channel
AActivates devices
SIs unassigned
B1, B2, and DHandle user data

Figure 12-2: ISDN Physical Layer Frame Formats Differ Depending on Their
Direction

Multiple ISDN user devices can be physically attached to one circuit. In this
configuration, collisions can result if two terminals transmit simultaneously. Therefore,
ISDN provides features to determine link contention. When an NT receives a D bit from
the TE, it echoes back the bit in the next E-bit position. The TE expects the next E bit to
be the same as its last transmitted D bit.
Terminals cannot transmit into the D channel unless they first detect a specific
number of ones (indicating "no signal") corresponding to a pre-established priority. If the
TE detects a bit in the echo (E) channel that is different from its D bits, it must stop
transmitting immediately. This simple technique ensures that only one terminal can
transmit its D message at one time. After successful D-message transmission, the terminal
has its priority reduced by requiring it to detect more continuous ones before transmitting.
Terminals cannot raise their priority until all other devices on the same line have had an
opportunity to send a D message. Telephone connections have higher priority than all
other services, and signaling information has a higher priority than nonsignaling
information.
Layer 2
Layer 2 of the ISDN signaling protocol is Link Access Procedure, D channel
(LAPD). LAPD is similar to High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC) and Link Access
Procedure, Balanced (LAPB) (see Chapter 16, "Synchronous Data Link Control and
Derivatives," and Chapter 17, "X.25," for more information on these protocols). As the
expansion of the LAPD acronym indicates, this layer is used across the D channel to

ensure that control and signaling information flows and is received properly. The LAPD
frame format (see Figure 12-3) is very similar to that of HDLC; like HDLC, LAPD uses
supervisory, information, and unnumbered frames. The LAPD protocol is formally
specified in ITU-T Q.920 and ITU-T Q.921.
Figure 12-3: LAPD Frame Format Is Similar to That of HDLC and LAPB

The LAPD Flag and Control fields are identical to those of HDLC. The LAPD
Address field can be either 1 or 2 bytes long. If the extended address bit of the first byte
is set, the address is 1 byte; if it is not set, the address is 2 bytes. The first Address-field
byte contains the service access point identifier (SAPI), which identifies the portal at
which LAPD services are provided to Layer 3. The C/R bit indicates whether the frame
contains a command or a response. The Terminal Endpoint Identifier (TEI) field
identifies either a single terminal or multiple terminals. A TEI of all ones indicates a
broadcast.
Layer 3
Two Layer 3 specifications are used for ISDN signaling: ITU-T (formerly CCITT)
I.450 (also known as ITU-T Q.930) and ITU-T I.451 (also known as ITU-T Q.931).
Together, these protocols support user-to-user, circuit-switched, and packet-switched
connections. A variety of call-establishment, call-termination, information, and
miscellaneous messages are specified, including SETUP, CONNECT, RELEASE, USER
INFORMATION, CANCEL, STATUS, and DISCONNECT. These messages are
functionally similar to those provided by the X.25 protocol (see Chapter 17 for more
information). Figure 12-4, from ITU-T I.451, shows the typical stages of an ISDN
circuit-switched call.

Figure 12-4: An ISDN Circuit-Switched Call Moves Through Various Stages to Its
Destination

Summary
ISDN is comprised of digital telephony and data-transport services offered by
regional telephone carriers. ISDN involves the digitization of the telephone network to
transmit voice, data, text, graphics, music, video, and other source material over existing
telephone wires.
ISDN devices include the following:

Terminals
Terminal adapters (TAs)
Network-termination devices
Line-termination equipment

Exchange-termination equipment

The ISDN specification references specific connection points that define logical
interfaces between devices.
ISDN uses the following two types of services:

Basic Rate Interface (BRI, which offers two B channels and one D channel
(2B+D)
Primary Rate Interface (PRI), which offers 23 B channels and 1 D channel in
North America and Japan, and 30 B channels and 1 D channel in Europe and
Australia

ISDN runs on the bottom three layers of the OSI reference model, and each layer
uses a different specification to transmit data.
Advantages of ISDN
Speed
The modem was a big breakthrough in computer communications. It allowed
computers to communicate by converting their digital information into an analog signal
to travel through the public phone network. There is an upper limit to the amount of
information that an analog telephone line can hold. Currently, it is about 56 kb/s
bidirectionally. Commonly available modems have a maximum speed of 56 kb/s, but are
limited by the quality of the analog connection and routinely go about 45-50 kb/s. Some
phone lines do not support 56 kb/s connections at all. There were currently 2 competing,
incompatible 56 kb/s standards (X2 from U S Robotics (recently bought by 3Com), and
K56flex from Rockwell/Lucent). This standards problem was resolved when the ITU
released the V.90, and later V.92, standard for 56 kb/s modem communications.
ISDN allows multiple digital channels to be operated simultaneously through the
same regular phone wiring used for analog lines. The change comes about when the
telephone company's switches can support digital connections. Therefore, the same
physical wiring can be used, but a digital signal, instead of an analog signal, is
transmitted across the line. This scheme permits a much higher data transfer rate than
analog lines. BRI ISDN, using a channel aggregation protocol such as BONDING or
Multilink-PPP, supports an uncompressed data transfer speed of 128 kb/s, plus bandwidth
for overhead and signaling. In addition, the latency, or the amount of time it takes for a
communication to begin, on an ISDN line is typically about half that of an analog line.
This improves response for interactive applications, such as games.
Multiple Devices
Previously, it was necessary to have a separate phone line for each device you
wished to use simultaneously. For example, one line each was required for a telephone,

fax, computer, bridge/router, and live video conference system. Transferring a file to
someone while talking on the phone or seeing their live picture on a video screen would
require several potentially expensive phone lines.
ISDN allows multiple devices to share a single line. It is possible to combine
many different digital data sources and have the information routed to the proper
destination. Since the line is digital, it is easier to keep the noise and interference out
while combining these signals. ISDN technically refers to a specific set of digital services
provided through a single, standard interface. Without ISDN, distinct interfaces are
required instead.
Signaling
Instead of the phone company sending a ring voltage signal to ring the bell in
your phone ("In-Band signal"), it sends a digital packet on a separate channel ("Out-ofBand signal"). The Out-of-Band signal does not disturb established connections, no
bandwidth is taken from the data channels, and call setup time is very fast. For example,
a V.90 or V.92 modem typically takes 30-60 seconds to establish a connection; an ISDN
call setup usually takes less than 2 seconds.
The signaling also indicates who is calling, what type of call it is (data/voice), and what
number was dialed. Available ISDN phone equipment is then capable of making
intelligent decisions on how to direct the call.
ISDN Definitions
ISDN, which stands for Integrated Services Digital Network, is a system of
digital phone connections which has been available for over a decade. This system allows
voice and data to be transmitted simultaneously across the world using end-to-end digital
connectivity.
With ISDN, voice and data are carried by bearer channels (B channels)
occupying a bandwidth of 64 kb/s (bits per second). Some switches limit B channels to a
capacity of 56 kb/s. A data channel (D channel) handles signaling at 16 kb/s or 64 kb/s,
depending on the service type. Note that, in ISDN terminology, "k" means 1000 (103), not
1024 (210) as in many computer applications (the designator "K" is sometimes used to
represent this value); therefore, a 64 kb/s channel carries data at a rate of 64000 b/s. A
new set of standard prefixes has recently been created to handle this. Under this scheme,
"k" (kilo-) means 1000 (103), "M" (mega-) means 1000000 (106), and so on, and "Ki"
(kibi-) means 1024 (210), "Mi" (mebi-) means 1048576 (220), and so on.
(An alert reader pointed out some inconsistencies in my use of unit terminology
throughout this Tutorial. He also referred me to a definitive web site. As a result, I have
made every effort to both conform to standard terminology, and to use it consistently. I
appreciate helpful user input like this!)

There are two basic types of ISDN service: Basic Rate Interface (BRI) and
Primary Rate Interface (PRI). BRI consists of two 64 kb/s B channels and one 16 kb/s
D channel for a total of 144 kb/s. This basic service is intended to meet the needs of most
individual users.
PRI is intended for users with greater capacity requirements. Typically the
channel structure is 23 B channels plus one 64 kb/s D channel for a total of 1536 kb/s. In
Europe, PRI consists of 30 B channels plus one 64 kb/s D channel for a total of 1984
kb/s. It is also possible to support multiple PRI lines with one 64 kb/s D channel using
Non-Facility Associated Signaling (NFAS).
H channels provide a way to aggregate B channels. They are implemented as:

H0=384 kb/s (6 B channels)

H10=1472 kb/s (23 B channels)
H11=1536 kb/s (24 B channels)
H12=1920 kb/s (30 B channels) - International (E1) only

To access BRI service, it is necessary to subscribe to an ISDN phone line.

Customer must be within 18000 feet (about 3.4 miles or 5.5 km) of the telephone
company central office for BRI service; beyond that, expensive repeater devices are
required, or ISDN service may not be available at all. Customers will also need special
equipment to communicate with the phone company switch and with other ISDN devices.
These devices include ISDN Terminal Adapters (sometimes called, incorrectly, "ISDN
Modems") and ISDN Routers.
Interfaces
In the U.S., the telephone company provides its BRI customers with a U
interface. The U interface is a two-wire (single pair) interface from the phone switch, the
same physical interface provided for POTS lines. It supports full-duplex data transfer
over a single pair of wires, therefore only a single device can be connected to a U
interface. This device is called an Network Termination 1 (NT-1). The situation is
different elsewhere in the world, where the phone company is allowed to supply the NT1, and thereby the customer is given an S/T interface.
The NT-1 is a relatively simple device that converts the 2-wire U interface into
the 4-wire S/T interface. The S/T interface supports multiple devices (up to 7 devices
can be placed on the S/T bus) because, while it is still a full-duplex interface, there is now
a pair of wires for receive data, and another for transmit data. Today, many devices have
NT-1s built into their design. This has the advantage of making the devices less expensive
and easier to install, but often reduces flexibility by preventing additional devices from
being connected.
Technically, ISDN devices must go through an Network Termination 2 (NT-2)
device, which converts the T interface into the S interface (Note: the S and T interfaces

are electrically equivalent). Virtually all ISDN devices include an NT-2 in their design.
The NT-2 communicates with terminal equipment, and handles the Layer 2 and 3 ISDN
protocols. Devices most commonly expect either a U interface connection (these have a
built-in NT-1), or an S/T interface connection.
Devices that connect to the S/T (or S) interface include ISDN capable telephones
and FAX machines, video teleconferencing equipment, bridge/routers, and terminal
adapters. All devices that are designed for ISDN are designated Terminal Equipment 1
(TE1). All other communication devices that are not ISDN capable, but have a POTS
telephone interface (also called the R interface), including ordinary analog telephones,
FAX machines, and modems, are designated Terminal Equipment 2 (TE2). A Terminal
Adapters (TA) connects a TE2 to an ISDN S/T bus.
Going one step in the opposite direction takes us inside the telephone switch.
Remember that the U interface connects the switch to the customer premises equipment.
This local loop connection is called Line Termination (LT function). The connection to
other switches within the phone network is called Exchange Termination (ET function).
The LT function and the ET function communicate via the V interface.
This can get rather confusing. This diagram should be helpful:

Layer 1 - Physical Layer

The ISDN Physical Layer is specified by the ITU I-series and G-series
documents. The U interface provided by the telco for BRI is a 2-wire, 160 kb/s digital
connection. Echo cancellation is used to reduce noise, and data encoding schemes (2B1Q
in North America, 4B3T in Europe) permit this relatively high data rate over ordinary
single-pair local loops.
2B1Q
2B1Q (2 Binary 1 Quaternary) is the most common signaling method on U
interfaces. This protocol is defined in detail in 1988 ANSI spec T1.601. In summary,
2B1Q provides:
Two bits per baud
80 kilobaud (baud = 1 modulation per second)

Bits

Transfer rate of 160 kb/s

Quaternary Voltage
Symbol
Level

00

-3

-2.5

01

-1

-0.833

10

+3

+2.5

11

+1

+0.833

This means that the input voltage level can be one of 4 distinct levels (note: 0
volts is not a valid voltage under this scheme). These levels are called Quaternaries.
Each quaternary represents 2 data bits, since there are 4 possible ways to represent 2 bits,
as in the table above.
Frame Format
Each U interface frame is 240 bits long. At the prescribed data rate of 160 kb/s,
each frame is therefore 1.5 ms long. Each frame consists of:
Frame overhead - 16 kb/s
D channel - 16 kb/s
2 B channels at 64 kb/s - 128 kb/s
Sync
12 * (B1 + B2 + D)
Maintenance
18 bits
216 bits
6 bits
The Sync field consists of 9 Quaternaries (2 bits each) in the pattern +3 +3 -3 -3
-3 +3 -3 +3 -3.
(B1 + B2 + D) is 18 bits of data consisting of 8 bits from the first B channel, 8 bits
from the second B channel, and 2 bits of D channel data.
The Maintenance field contains CRC information, block error detection flags, and
"embedded operator commands" used for loopback testing without disrupting user
data.
Data is transmitted in a superframe consisting of 8 240-bit frames for a total of
1920 bits (240 octets). The sync field of the first frame in the superframe is inverted (i.e.
-3 -3 +3 +3 +3 -3 +3 -3 +3).

Layer 2 - Data Link Layer

The ISDN Data Link Layer is specified by the ITU Q-series documents Q.920
through Q.923. All of the signaling on the D channel is defined in the Q.921 spec.
LAP-D
Link Access Protocol - D channel (LAP-D) is the Layer 2 protocol used. This is
almost identical to the X.25 LAP-B protocol.
Here is the structure of a LAP-D frame:
Flag Address Control Information

CRC

Flag

Flag (1 octet) - This is always 7E16 (0111 11102)

Address (2 octets)
1

SAPI (6 bits)
TEI (7 bits)

C/R

EA0
EA1

SAPI (Service access point identifier), 6-bits (see below)

C/R (Command/Response) bit indicates if the frame is a command or a response.
EA0 (Address Extension) bit indicates whether this is the final octet of the address or not.
TEI (Terminal Endpoint Identifier) 7-bit device identifier (see below).
EA1 (Address Extension) bit, same as EA0.
Control (2 octets) - The frame level control field indicates the frame type (Information,
Supervisory, or Unnumbered) and sequence numbers (N(r) and N(s)) as required.
Information - Layer 3 protocol information and User data.
CRC (2 octets) - Cyclic Redundancy Check is a low-level test for bit errors on the user
data.
Flag (1 octet) - This is always 7E16 (0111 11102)
SAPIs
The Service Access Point Identifier (SAPI) is a 6-bit field that identifies the point
where Layer 2 provides a service to Layer 3.

See the following table:

SAPI

Description

Call control procedures

Packet Mode using Q.931 call procedures

16

Packet Mode communications procedures

32-47

Reserved for national use

63

Management Procedures

Others Reserved for Future Use

TEIs
Terminal Endpoint Identifiers (TEIs) are unique IDs given to each device (TE)
on an ISDN S/T bus. This identifier can be dynamic; the value may be assigned statically
when the TE is installed, or dynamically when activated.
TEI

Description

0-63

Fixed TEI assignments

64-126 Dynamic TEI assignment (assigned by the switch)

127

Broadcast to all devices

Establishing the Link Layer

The Layer 2 establishment process is very similar to the X.25 LAP-B setup, if you are
familiar with it.
1. The TE (Terminal Endpoint) and the Network initially exchange Receive Ready
(RR) frames, listening for someone to initiate a connection
2. The TE sends an Unnumbered Information (UI) frame with a SAPI of 63
(management procedure, query network) and TEI of 127 (broadcast)
3. The Network assigns an available TEI (in the range 64-126)
4. The TE sends a Set Asynchronous Balanced Mode (SABME) frame with a SAPI
of 0 (call control, used to initiate a SETUP) and a TEI of the value assigned by the
network
5. The network responds with an Unnumbered Acknowledgement (UA), SAPI=0,
TEI=assigned.
At this point, the connection is ready for a Layer 3 setup.
Layer 3 - Network Layer

The ISDN Network Layer is also specified by the ITU Q-series documents Q.930
through Q.939. Layer 3 is used for the establishment, maintenance, and termination of
logical network connections between two devices.
SPIDs
Service Profile IDs (SPIDs) are used to identify what services and features the
telco switch provides to the attached ISDN device. SPIDs are optional; when they are
used, they are only accessed at device initialization time, before the call is set up. The
format of the SPID is defined in a recommendation document, but it is only rarely
followed. It is usually the 10-digit phone number of the ISDN line, plus a prefix and a
suffix that are sometimes used to identify features on the line, but in reality it can be
whatever the telco decides it should be. If an ISDN line requires a SPID, but it is not
correctly supplied, then Layer 2 initialization will take place, but Layer 3 will not, and the
device will not be able to place or accept calls. See ITU spec Q.932 for details.
Information Field Structure
The Information Field is a variable length field that contains the Q.931 protocol
data.
Information Field
1

Protocol Discriminator
0

Length of CRV

Call Reference Value (1 or 2 octets)

0

Message Type
Mandatory & Optional
Information Elements (variable)

These are the fields in a Q.931 header:

Protocol Discriminator (1 octet) - identifies the Layer 3 protocol. If this is a Q.931
header, this value is always 0816.
Length (1 octet) - indicates the length of the next field, the CRV.
Call Reference Value (CRV) (1 or 2 octets) - used to uniquely identify each call on the
user-network interface. This value is assigned at the beginning of a call, and this value
becomes available for another call when the call is cleared.
Message Type (1 octet) - identifies the message type (i.e., SETUP, CONNECT, etc.).
This determines what additional information is required and allowed.

Mandatory and Optional Information Elements (variable length) - are options that are
set depending on the Message Type.
Layer 3 Call Setup
These are the steps that occur when an ISDN call is established. In the following
example, there are three points where messages are sent and received; 1) the Caller, 2) the
ISDN Switch, and 3) the Receiver.
1. Caller sends a SETUP to the Switch.
2. If the SETUP is OK, the switch sends a CALL PROCeeding to the Caller, and
then a SETUP to the Receiver.
3. The Receiver gets the SETUP. If it is OK, then it rings the phone and sends an
ALERTING message to the Switch.
4. The Switch forwards the ALERTING message to the Caller.
5. When the receiver answers the call, is sends a CONNECT message to the Switch
6. The Switch forwards the CONNECT message to the Caller.
7. The Caller sends a CONNECT ACKnowledge message to the Switch
8. The Switch forwards the CONNECT ACK message to the Receiver.
9. Done. The connection is now up.