physical plane (IN) (PP)

The physical plane(PP) forms the physical layer in the IN layer model. It consists of hardware units, the physical entities( PE), and describes the interfaces and protocols.

The physical entities communicate with each other using the Intelligent Network Application Protocol( INAP). Since the hardware entities can be spatially distributed over several buildings, it is the responsibility of the Physical Plane to map the functional instances, Functional Entities( FE), of the Distributed Functional Plane( DFP) above it to the Physical Entities.

The four layers of the IN layer model

The physical entities of an intelligent network include the Service Switching Points( SSP), Service Control Points ( SCP), Service Management Points( SMP), Service Creation Environment Points ( SCEP), Service Management Access Points ( SMAP), Customer Service Controls( CSC) and the Intelligent Peripherals ( IP).