SS7 or Signaling System Number 7 is a set of protocols that describes a means of communication between telephone switches in public telephone networks.SS7 is a highly sophisticated and powerful form of Common Channel Signaling (CCS). The use of out-of-band signaling procedures offers considerable benefits over and above other signaling methodologies. The primary function of SS7 is to provide call control, remote network management, and maintenance capabilities for the inter- office telephone network. SS7 performs these functions by exchanging control messages between SS7 telephone exchanges (signaling points or SPs) and SS7 signaling transfer points (STPs). The switching offices (SPs) handle the SS7 control network as well as the user circuit switched network. Basically, the SS7 control network tells the switching office which paths to establish over the circuit-switched network. The STPs route SS7 control packets across the signaling network. A switching office may or may not be an STP.