Chapter-1

Introduction to Electronic Exchanges

Research on electronic switching started soon after the Second World

War, but commercial fully electronic exchange began to emerge only about 30 years
later. However, electronic techniques proved economic for common controls much
earlier. In electromechanical exchanges, common control mainly uses switches and
relays which were originally designed for use in switching networks. In common
controls, they are operated much more frequently and wear out earlier. In contrast, the
life of an electronic device is almost independent of its frequency of operation. This gave
an incentive for developing electronic common controls and resulted in electronic
replacements for registers, markers, translators etc. having much greater reliability than
their electromechanical predecessors.

Introduction of computer has led to the development of stored-program

control (SPC). This enables a digital computer to be used as a central control and
perform different functions with the same hardware by executing different programs. As
a result, SPC exchanges can offer a wider range of facilities than earlier systems. In
addition, the facilities provided to an individual customer can be readily altered by
changing the customer’s class-of-service data stored in a central electronic memory.
Moreover, since the processor’s stored data can be altered electronically, some of these
facilities can be controlled by customers. Examples include:

1. Call barring (outgoing or incoming) : The customer can prevent unauthorized

calls being made and can prevent incoming calls when wishing to be left in peace.

2. Call waiting : The ‘Call Waiting’ service notifies the already busy subscriber of
a third party calling him.

3. Alarm calls : The exchange can be instructed to call the customer at a pre-
arranged time (e.g. morning alarm).

4. Call diversion :The exchange can be instructed to connect calls to a different

number when the customer goes away.

5. Three-way call :The customer can instruct the exchange to connect a third party to
a call that is already in progress.

Electromechanical and Electronic Switching in SPC Exchanges

Attempts to introduce electronics and computers in the control sub-system

of an exchange were encouraging enough to spur the development of full-fledged
electronic switching system, in which the switching network is also electronic. After
about 10 years of developmental efforts and field trials, the world’s first electronic
switching system, known as No.1 ESS, was commissioned by AT&T at New Jersey in
May 1965.Since then, the history of electronic switching system and stored program
control has been one of rapid and continuous growth in versatility and range of services.

Today SPC is a standard feature in all the electronic

exchanges.However,attempts to replace the space division electromechanical switching
matrices particularly in large exchanges, and the switching engineers have been forced to
return to electromechanical miniature crossbars and reed relays, but with a complete
electronic environment. As a result, many space division electronic switching systems
use electromechanical switching networks with SPC. The two types of space division
electronic switching systems, one using electromechanical switching network and the
other using electronic switching network, are depicted in the following figure. Both the
types qualify as electronic switching systems although only one of them is fully
electronic. With the evolution of time division switching, which is done in the electronic
domain, modern exchanges are fully electronic.

Electromechanical Electronic
switching network switching network

Stored Program Stored Program

Control Control

(a) Electromechanical switching (b) Electronic switching

Fig-1
Electronic Switching System

There are different approaches followed for the implementation of fully

electronic switching system. One approach is to use a FDM multiplex system. A
frequency division multiplex (FDM) system could be used as a switch by bringing the
two ends of its transmission path together.

Another approach was implementing a TDM switching system. It mainly

consisting of a switch with N inlets and N outlets with logical gates. If any of the N
receiving gates is operated by a train of pulses coincident with those applied to one of the
N sending gates, then a transmission path is provided from the incoming trunk to the
outgoing trunk via the common highway. For a transmission system, fixed pulse timings
are used. If the pulse timings can be altered, then any incoming trunk can be connected to
any outgoing trunk i.e. an N x N switch is obtained. Moreover, a memory which stores
the appropriate pulse timings can be implemented relatively cheaply. Research on TDM
switching proved successful and systems using it are now in service world wide.

Consequently, switching systems may be classified as:

1. Space-division (SD) systems. Each connection is made over a different path in

space which exists for the duration of the connection.

2. Time-division (TD) systems Each connection is made over the same path in
space, but at different instants in time.

The distinction between SD and TD applies to the control arrangements of an

exchange as well as to its switching network. For example, if an exchange uses
individual registers, this is space division. If the register function is performed by a
central processor, handling each call in turn, this is time division.

Digital Switching Systems

The ESS No.1 system was fully electronic but not digital. But later came
ESS No.4 system which was digital for trunk portion only. When designed, the cost of
A/D conversion (CODEC) on each subscriber line was seen as prohibitive. So the ESS
No.4 system was acting as a Trunk/Tandem exchange but not as a local exchange. So the
main difficulty for implementing a digital local exchange was the implementation of the
subscriber line interface. This was solved by the introduction of Integrated Circuits which
made the digital local exchange economically feasible. This implementation handles the
following functions:

Battery feed
Over-voltage protection (from lightning and accidental power line contact)
Ringing
Supervisory Signaling
Coding (A/D inter conversion&low pass filtering)
Hybrid (2W to 4W conversion)
Testing (a capability of the switch)

Examples of digital exchanges include CDOT, OCB, AXE, EWSD, 5ESS etc

The general architecture of a Digital Switching System is depicted in fig2

General architecture of Digital Switching System

Nx2
Mbps
links
Subs interface

Digital Switch
Trunks interface
Other
exchanges

CONTROL
PROCESSOR
Other auxiliary inter faces
Such as,
(a) Tone generator
(b) Frequency receives
(c) Conference call facility
(d) CCS# 7 Protocol
Manager
Operation &
(e) V 5.2 access manager
Maintenance

Fig 2
Evolution of ISDN

The next evolutionary step was to move the PCM codec from the
exchange end of the customer’s line to the customer’s end. This provides digital
transmission over the customer’s line, which can have a number of advantages. Consider
data transmission. If there is an analog customer’s line, a modem must be added and data
can only be transmitted at relatively slow speeds. If the line is digital, data can be
transmitted by removing the codec (instead of adding a modem). Moreover, data can be
transmitted at 64 kbit/s instead of at, say, 2.4 kbit/s. Indeed, any form of digital signal
can be transmitted whose rate does not exceed 64 kbit/s. This can include high-speed
fax, in addition to speech and data.

This concept had led to the integrated services digital network (ISDN), in
which the customer’s terminal equipment and the local digital exchange can be used to
provide many different services, all using 64 kbit/s digital streams.

Access to an ISDN is provided in two forms:

1. Basic-Rate Access (BRA)

The customer’s line carries two 64 kbit/s “B” channels plus a 16 kbit/s “D” channel (a
common signaling channel) in each direction .
2. Primary Rate Access (PRA)
The line carries a complete PCM frame at 2 Mbit/s in each direction. This gives the
customer 30 circuits at 64 kbit/s plus a common signaling channel, also at 64 kbit/s.

Control of switching systems

Switching systems have evolved from being manually controlled to being

controlled by relays and then electronically. The change from the manual system to the
Strowger step-by-step system brought about a change from centralized to distributed
control. However, as systems developed and offered more services to customers, it
became economic to perform particular functions in specialized equipments that were
associated with connections only when required, thus, common control was introduced.

Later, the development of digital computer technology enabled different

functions to be performed by the same hardware by using different programs; thus
switching system entered the era of stored-program control (SPC).

There are basically two approaches to organizing stored program control: centralised and
distributed. Early electronic switching systems (ESS) developed during the period 1970-
75 almost invariably used centralized control. Although many present day exchange
designs continue to use centralized SPC, with the advent of low cost powerful
microprocessors and very large scale integration (VLSI) chips such as programmable
logic arrays (PLA) and programmable logic controllers (PLC), distributed SPC is gaining
popularity.
The figure below shows the evolution of electronic switching systems from the manual
switching systems. The figure also depicts the changing scenario from digital switching
to Broadband where the focus will be for high bit rate data transmissions,

Development of exchanges

Figure 3
Table below summarises the advantages of electronic exchanges over
electromechanical exchanges.

Electromechanical Exchanges Electronic Exchanges

Category, Analysis, Routing, translation, etc Translation, Analysis, Routing , Sub’s
are done by relays. Facilities, etc. are managed by software
programs

Any changes in facilities require addition of Changes can be carried out by simple
hardware and/or large amount of wiring commands. A few changes can be made by
change. Flexibility limited. Subs himself. Hence, highly flexible.

Testing is done manually externally and is time Testing carried out periodically automatically
consuming. No logic analysis carried out. and analysis printed out.

Partial full-availability, hence blocking. Full availability, hence no blocking. A large

limited facilities to the subscribers. number of different types of services possible
very easily.

Slow in speed. Dialing speed is max. 11 Ips Very fast. Dialing speed up to 11 digits /sec
and switching speed is in l milliseconds. possible. Switching is achieved in a few
microseconds.

Switch room occupies large volume. Much lesser volume required floor space of
switch room reduced to about one-sixth.

Lot of switching noise. Almost noiseless.

Long installation and testing time. Short installation and testing period.
Large maintenance effort and preventive Remedial maintenance is very easy due to
maintenance necessary. plug-in type circuit boards. Preventive
maintenance is very minimum.

SPC Systems are discussed in the next chapter in detail.