Systems you can't knock

The losses attributed to a system crash in 1985 sent network designers back to the drawing board in search of solutions. Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) was one of the first to emerge with a centralized monitoring system. The key to the HP solution was to build on SS7. The signaling network was the most logical place for a comprehensive system because it traverses every segment of an internal network and makes a smooth interface into other networks. HP dubbed its centralized monitoring tool AcceSS7. AcceSS7 operates as a build-on system. Short-outs will not crash the acceSS7 monitoring network because it uses an electronically passive, isolated connection to the signaling links. Inet says about 15% of domestic wireless carriers use an SS7-based system for such monitoring.