some more on camel and wireshark

So what we did to trace Camel over Sigtran with wireshark. As I mentioned in my previous post, we have connected a dedicated linux ‘sniffer’ machine to a port on a switch with port mirroring enabled for the Sigtran port. If you plan to run the traces on a windows machine – install an X server, I have been recommended Xming Server. Then you enable SSH X11 forwarding in your putty session, login to the machine – type wireshark, choose the appropriate interface to capture and you are ready to go. For me the capture did not decode the packets at first – all I got were SCTP packets and the trace did not go beyond that. To get the capture to decode Camel I had to change some Protocol settings in the preferences menu window (Edit->Preferences). First M3UA Version was changed to RFC 3332, then Camel TCAP SSN was changed to 146. After applying the changes the capture properly decoded Camel packets.
Example of initialDPSMS packet:

No. Time Source Destination Protocol Info
324 2009-01-30 17:52:21.464283 2660 3406 Camel invoke initialDPSMS

Frame 324 (278 bytes on wire, 278 bytes captured)
Ethernet II, Src: HuaweiTe_db:c8:e8 (00:e0:fc:db:c8:e8), Dst: HuaweiTe_db:d2:7b (00:e0:fc:db:d2:7b)
Internet Protocol, Src: 10.10.100.17 (10.10.100.17), Dst: 10.10.100.16 (10.10.100.16)
Stream Control Transmission Protocol, Src Port: 4010 (4010), Dst Port: 4000 (4000)
MTP 2 User Adaptation Layer
Message Transfer Part Level 3
Signalling Connection Control Part
Transaction Capabilities Application Part
Camel
invoke
invokeId: present (0)
present: 0
opcode: local (0)
local: initialDPSMS (60)
InitialDPSMSArg
serviceKey: 15
destinationSubscriberNumber: 8105617588F7
callingPartyNumber: 918427090000F0
1... .... = Extension: No Extension
.001 .... = Nature of number: International Number (0x01)
.... 0001 = Number plan: ISDN/Telephony Numbering (Rec ITU-T E.164) (0x01)
Address digits: 48729000000
Country Code: 48 Poland length 2
eventTypeSMS: sms-CollectedInfo (1)
iMSI: 62009195006930F0
TBCD digits: 260019590096030
locationInformationMSC
vlr-number: 918406010011F0
1... .... = Extension: No Extension
.001 .... = Nature of number: International Number (0x01)
.... 0001 = Number plan: ISDN/Telephony Numbering (Rec ITU-T E.164) (0x01)
Address digits: 48601000110
Country Code: 48 Poland length 2
cellGlobalIdOrServiceAreaIdOrLAI: cellGlobalIdOrServiceAreaIdFixedLength (0)
cellGlobalIdOrServiceAreaIdFixedLength: 62F0102AFEA3E0
sMSCAddress: 918406010013F0
1... .... = Extension: No Extension
.001 .... = Nature of number: International Number (0x01)
.... 0001 = Number plan: ISDN/Telephony Numbering (Rec ITU-T E.164) (0x01)
Address digits: 48601000310
Country Code: 48 Poland length 2
timeAndTimezone: 0290100371755140
tPShortMessageSpecificInfo: 11
tPProtocolIdentifier: 00
tPDataCodingScheme: 00
tPValidityPeriod: FF
smsReferenceNumber: 00C03B083264CBE8
mscAddress: 918406010011F0
1... .... = Extension: No Extension
.001 .... = Nature of number: International Number (0x01)
.... 0001 = Number plan: ISDN/Telephony Numbering (Rec ITU-T E.164) (0x01)
Address digits: 48601000110
Country Code: 48 Poland length 2

poor man's tektronix

All SS7 switches, prepaid or IN platforms come with some sort of signaling tracing capabilities. Now, for performing SS7 tests or debugging low, non production traffic they are usually OK - some text file gets written decoded signaling messages. The file can be then opened with notepad and Ctrl+F does the trick. What if we are dubbuging and tracing a problem on a production system with heavy traffic - obviously notepad will not be easy. Well, we can always spend a little (or a lot) on a Tektronix K15 ..but what if we don't want or don't have the budget for Tektronix ? It seems we have some other options and the keyword is Wireshark.
The first, easier option is if we have Sigtran somewhere in the picture. If the SS7 traffic is transported over IP - things are relatively easy. What we do is we setup port mirroring no the switch carrying the Sigtran traffic to replicate that port and connect the replicated port to a PC on which we run Wireshark. That's it. Traffic can be analyzed locally or via remote desktop / vnc.
The second case is if we don't have Sigtran - and this is trickier. I haven't actually tested this one but I think it should be doable. Here we have to tap into the SS7 traffic on an E1. To tap into the E1 we should be able to use Sangoma's PN 633 Tap Connection Adapter. We then connect Tx Net and Tx Cpe ports to a Sangoma card - for example A102. We then configure the ports on the card and dump a pcap log file with wanpipemon. In the end we open the file with Wireshark. Like I said, I haven't yet tried this but I'm quite sure it would work and save us a little money on a K15.

VoIP.. dead.. what ?

Alec Saunder made a post in his blog recently entitled 2008: The Year that VoIP died. His blog is very popular in the VoIP/Tech community so the post just had to trigger a lot of responses and a dabate on whether VoIP is or isn't dead. I'm listing below some of the posts that I find interresting.

Jeff Pulver responds with VoIP is NOT Dead!.

Andy Abramson with Putting VoIP In It's Place.

Alec Saunder again with VoIP: "If you hadn’t nailed its feet to the perch, it’d be pushin’ up the daisies!".

Luca Filigheddu and his post VoIP ? What is It ?

Jeff Pulver continues with VoIP Still Isn’t Dead - Part II.

Saunder again and All we’re talking about is arbitrage.

And then Dan York makes his post Define "VoIP" - and then we can debate whether it is dead!.

While I agree with Jeff Pulver, Andy Abramson and Luca Filigheddu, I think Dan York precisely hits the spot and puts the end to the discussion. VoIP is understood differently by different people, depending on the context and part of the industry they are associated with. For myself 'VoIP' without any context is just a technology, a group of concepts, protocols, codecs - it's the pipelines. VoIP is not a service, it'a a technology that allows to create services.

The first and most popular services created with VoIP were the 'cheap Internet telephone calls' - but theses like PSTN are bound to die - and true 2008 might have been the year the 'cheap Internet telephone calls' died. Or rather - making business from 'cheap Internet telephone calls' died. Why ? Because there are thousands of ITSP's, and they push the margins to absolute minimum. Because mobile calls are now cheap and its just much faster and more convenient to call from your mobile than the PC or hassle of buying installing configuring that VoIP gateway.

As for for the VoIP as technology - c'mon ! it's doing better than ever. It is the underlying voice technology, it's mainstream, it's ITU, 3GPP and Open Source.

The Top 25 VoIP Innovations of 2008

A very interesting article on VoIP-NEWS by Robert Poe - The Top 25 VoIP Innovations of 2008.

My comments to some of the innovations:

1. Creating an iNum country code for VoIP

This I do not unerstand. Maybe I'm shortsighted, maybe I don't understand the details - but what is the point in creating a ungeographical country prefix for VoIP ...unless you plan to create a VoIP country maybe :) ?! Ungeographical area prefix within a country for VoIP - makes sense to me. This is much like a mobile prefix. VoIP endpoints and softclients are less stationary than a regular fixed so a different prefix than the regular geographical prefix is understandable. Now, a few years back a VoIP prefix was added to the Polish numbering plan and even up till now it is not fully serviced, I think only one of the three mobile carriers actually route the prefix. OK, I know that this only shows how effective the Polish Regulator is but if we now put this in a bigger perspective confidering the iNum country code I just don't see how all the carriers will now jump at the idea, create new (IP maybe) InterConnects and start routing the new country code.

[...]

3. Extending voice-streaming technology to video

I have good experience with GIPS, we use their audio libraries in our software client at Gadu-Gadu so I'm very happy with GIPS extending to Video.

[...]

5. Voice-to-text transcription for both incoming and outgoing messages

Although I personlly like the idea, I don't think there are any commercially sucessfull voice-to-text services and I know a few that were very unsuccessfull. I think text-to-voice apps will follow the the same downward path. It's just easier to make a www based service :)

6. Free ad-supported international calling

Cool, cool, cool ! I love the idea and think this is where voice calling is going.

[...]

12. VoIP peering for Web-phone companies

There have been quite a few initiatives like this. Let's just go with Enum !

13. Flexible Web-based conferencing for SMBs (small- to medium-sized businesses)

Calliflower puts a fresh breeze over conferencing - excellent service.

[...]

15. IMs containing voice instead of text

Hmm.. It seems a bit complicated. First call a number, say the person from your contact list (probably a few times before it gets it right), record the message. The receipient then has to call the number and enter.... aaaah, just type 'Hi' - seems easier! :)

[...]

22. Turning Web developers into phone-service providers

Ribbit. Very innovative, bringing advanced voice features to developers in simple APIs. I wonder what SIP Servlet, Parlay, etc creators think when they read these ? Damn... now everyone know - it isn't rocket science !

Widget - TokBox

TokBox is a browser based video calling service. It uses Adobe's Flash technology, so there is no need to install any active-x or JRE for java applet. I have been playing around with it for a while today and so far I like it. Every now and then you end up in a meeting and you also have someone at a conference call, you quickly want to set up a video call but there is no easy way, you don't have Skype, the other guy doesn't Have Gizmo. after a few minutes of trying to install something ...you stick with voice not to waste time - TokBox would probably come in handy here! I like the widgets, I like the layout and functionality and I like the chick on the default Video Mail.

Want to leave me a Video Mail ? click below.

innovative mobile marketing in Japan

So how does a crisps snacks manufacturer promote its two new brands ?

Well here in Poland I would imagine the company would hire an advertising agency that would make a tv ad, few outdoor posters and if the agency was digital enough it would through in a few banners on some web portals and social networking sites. An innovative, cutting edge social media creative agency would probably make a profile on a chosen social networking site, post a few blog entries and try to get closer to the users by sponsoring some branded application or widget.
A Japanese agency Hakuhodo went a little further and they’ve created a mobile based massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) for the snacks manufacturer Tohato! The game is called the World’s Worst War. Tohato launched two new spicy snacks “Tyrant Habanero Burning Hell Hot” and “Satan Jorquia Bazooka Deadly Hot”. What they’ve done was they have created two Evil Armies associated with the two snack brands. Buying a bag of snacks and scanning a 2D code you could enter the game and join one of the two armies, depending on which taste you liked more. Players could recruit friends to join their evil army and get points for that. The Evil Armies had 31 battlefields for fight on to win the World’s Worst War. Examples of the names of the battlefields – “Sweet Sucker’s Execution Hall” or “City of Anal Torture”. Players would interact with the game through the mobile phone. News feeds regarding who won the battle or who dies were delivered by SMS.
Now this is a really damn cool campaign! Not only is it innovative, up-to-date and mobile based - it combines physical and virtual elements to create fun game precisely targeted at the selected audience. It’s digital, it uses social networking but it’s not intrusive – it doesn’t aim at hitting you with as many banners as possible just to get the brand stuck in your head, it’s smart and innovative.

strategic management integration workshop

I’m on Gadu-Gadu’s management team and earlier this week I have had the opportunity of attending a strategic management integration workshop training thingy. Gadu-Gadu is the largest Instant Messenger in Poland and is one of the largest IM networks in the world. When I was joining Gadu-Gadu three years ago, there were less than 10 people working here on full time basis whereas now the headcount is somewhat around 200 ? but I lost count already ..Anyway back to the point – the company is growing dynamically. As any growing company it is and will go through phases before finally reaching one of the final stages of growth – the Corporation, something that Gadu-Gadu wants to keep away form for as long as possible. Phases mean evolution and evolution unfortunately needs revolution – one of the aims of the training was to educate us a bit about those evolution and crisis phases and try to minimize the effects of the latter.

Three things stayed in my head after the workshop.

First. Greiner’s model of the evolution and revolution as organizations grow. Many that people are joining on board Gadu-Gadu are coming from large corporations with a long professional experience. Thwy are usually shocked by the completely different culture at the company. Lack of dress-code and flat structure they like, but simple and lightweight procedures, Agile approach to projects, next to none bureaucracy and transparency only seem like an ideal environment at first. Then when it turns out that 10 approvals and 15 signatures are no longer needed to get things done, responsibility is very transparent – things get tricky. They tend to try and produce procedures, documents and approvals. And they put pressure to create procedures and documents to read sign and approve, circulate and approve and sign and read - because that’s how the big companies do it and that’s the way to go if the stakeholders want the organization to grow! ..well it turns out that not really dude. The organization should grow at its own natural pace and should go through any needed phases and should not really try to jump over any. Just like a 12 year old kid will not cope with university level requirements – too much procedures, and organized formal structure and the organization might instead kill its momentum and slow down growth. Let the kid learn himself, dont push him. A bit more about Greiner’s evolution and revolution as organizations grow can be found here.

Second. The Building Blocks Communication Skill Game. It’s unbelievable to see how some people take a simple game too seriously. A top manager on all fours trying to prove that his team's lego structure should win ..damn funny!

Third. The Ball Point Game. I’m a certified Scrum Master and know the tennis ball game from Scrum training. We had the same game here ..except the wind-up is quite different – here the main point was that a clearly stated requirement with defined boundaries mean better results from the team. Well, I like the Scrum wind-up a little more – it says that a clearly defined task with instructions on WHAT and not HOW will make the team organize and optimize itself to reach best possible results. More on the Ball Point Game here.