ed by factors such as administrative aspects and the structure of the telecommunication network to be served by the signalling system. In the case where provision of the signalling system is planned purely on a per signalling relation basis, the likely result is a signalling network largely based on associated signalling, typically supplemented by a limited degree of quasi-associated signalling for low volume signalling relations. The structure of such a signalling network is mainly determined by the patterns of the signalling relations. Another approach is to consider the signalling network as a common resource that should be planned according to the total needs for common channel signalling. The high capacity of digital signalling links, in combination with the needs for redundancy and reliability, typically leads to a signalling network based on a high degree of quasi-associated signalling with some provision for associated signalling for high volume signalling relations. The latter approach to signalling network planning is more likely to allow exploitation of the potential of common channel signalling to support network features that require communication for purposes other than the switching of connections. In order to take account of signalling message delay considerations when structuring a particular signalling network, regard should be given to the overall number of signalling links (where there are a number of signalling relations in tandem) related to a particular user transaction (e.g. to a specific call in the telephone application). In other words, there should be as few signalling transfer points as possible in the signalling network. The optimisation engineer should collect information concerning the signalling network structure. The topology should be presented in a clear structure with all signalling elements and signalling information included. The report is an important input to the signalling network analysis module. VLR-Specific Parameters Audit The VLR-specific parameters are general param