PSTN Architecture Overview (1)

Satellite links
PSTN: Public Switched Submarine
cables
Telephone Network International gateway
exchange (Centre de Transit 3)
International
History: From American Bell network

to AT&T National tandem exchanges

(Tertiary trunk switching
centers)
Hierarchical and layer Trunk network
structures Regional tandem exchanges
(Secondary trunk switching
centers)
Planned as a national network Local Local tandem exchanges
network (Primary trunk switching
Design for Ilities centers)

Local
Service availability, exchanges

Sound Quality, Subscriber lines

Early realization of necessary

Figure by MIT OCW.
basic research on ilities

2005 Student: Jijun Lin, Daniel Livengood, Chintan Vaishnav, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1
 PSTN Architecture Overview (2)
Switching Hierarchy
RC ES ES RC Class 1 Offices
Regional Center
VNL Trunk Circuit 0.5 to 1.5dB
Sectional Center Class 2 Offices
SC SC

Primary Center VNL Trunk Circuit 0.5 to 1.5dB

Toll Center PC PC Class 3 Offices

End Office VNL Trunk Circuit 0.5 to 1.5dB

TC TC Class 4 Offices

VNL + 2 Junction Circuit 2 to 4dB

Junction Circuit

EO EO Class 5 Offices
Junction Circuit
Final Route
High Usage
Junction Circuit Junction Circuit Route
T

x Subscriber ES Echo Suppressor

T Tandem Office SC Sectional Centre
Ave Average TC Toll Centre
EO End (Local) Office RC Regional Centre
VNL Via Net Loss PC Primary Centre

REGIONAL CENTERS
Figure by MIT OCW.
Figure by MIT OCW.

Five level switching plan in use from 1950s

Regional Centers (1972)(12)
2005 Student: Jijun Lin, Daniel Livengood, Chintan Vaishnav, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2
 PSTN History
(Collection by Prof. Whitney)

Classification divides the PSTN into 5 levels (post-

1950):
Class 1: Regional Center, top level, 8 centers in 1930, 12 centers in 1972
Class 2: Sectional Center (not a part of the 1930 network)
Class 3: Primary Center
Class 4: Toll Center
Class 5: End Office

Image removed for copyright reasons.

Map of a U.S. telephone network.

What/Where is the Data behind this Graphic?

2005 Student: Jijun Lin, Daniel Livengood, Chintan Vaishnav, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3
 PSTN Definitions and Metrics

Our network definitions

Node: Switching center
Link: Cable connecting switching centers
Our metric focus
Geodesic length between two points: with mechanical switches,
the goal was to have this be 3 or less
Bandwidth: where are the choke points?
Betweenness
Centrality
Scale-free
Preferential Attachment (911? Critical infrastructure lines)
Motifs

2005 Student: Jijun Lin, Daniel Livengood, Chintan Vaishnav, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4
 Historical Connection Plans
Connection plan to help decrease the Class 1
geodesic length in 1930 V (notice the Regional Center
motifs) and 1950 -->
Class 2
Sectional Center

National
Class 3
Primary Center

Class 4
Local Toll Center

Class 5
End Office

Five-level toll switching plan in use from the 1950s.

A variety of routings was possible with a maximum
of nine trunks in tandem.

Figure by MIT OCW. After Andrews & Hatch, 1971.

Figure by MIT OCW.
Improved quality via level skipping

2005 Student: Jijun Lin, Daniel Livengood, Chintan Vaishnav, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5
 Questions and Supporting Data
Predicting/Explaining Structure
Which algorithms does the analysis of the actual structure
substantiate?
Data available: Switching Centers, Links in between, bandwidths
Predicting/Explaining Properties
What are the properties of the structure as a result of adding
availability?
Data available: 911-Tandem Links, Diverse Routing, Location
Routing Numbers
Observing systems
What motifs do we see?
Data available: Hierarchical view constructed from the data
Sources
Telcordia LERG Database, Quest Current Access Line Counts Database,
Bellcores BOC Notes on intraLATA Network

2005 Student: Jijun Lin, Daniel Livengood, Chintan Vaishnav, Engineering Systems Division, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6