Content











6.1

Frame Relay Concepts
 


 

6.1.1


Frame Relay overview
 







Frame Relay is an International
Telecommunications Union (ITU-T) and American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) standard that defines the process for sending data
over a packet-switched network. It is a connection-oriented data-link
technology that is optimized to provide high performance and
efficiency.Modern telecommunications networks are
characterized by relatively error-free digital transmission and highly
reliable fiber infrastructures. Frame Relay takes advantage of these
technologies by relying almost entirely on upper-layer protocols to
detect and recover from errors. Frame Relay does not have the
sequencing, windowing, and retransmission mechanisms that are used by
X.25. Without the overhead associated with comprehensive error
detection, the streamlined operation of Frame Relay outperforms X.25.
As a result, Frame Relay is appropriate for uses that require high
throughput, such as local-area network (LAN) interconnection. It also
uses the services of many different physical layer facilities. Typical
speeds range from 56 kbps up to 2 Mbps, although higher speeds are
possible. The network providing the Frame Relay service can be either
a carrier-provided public network or a privately owned network.
Like X.25, Frame Relay defines the
interconnection process between the customer's data terminal equipment
(DTE), such as the router, and the service provider's data
communication equipment (DCE). Frame Relay does not define the way the
data is transmitted within the service provider's network once the
traffic reaches the provider's switch. Therefore, a Frame Relay
provider could use a variety of technologies, such as Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM) or Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), to move data
from one end of its network to another.

















 



Web Links

Frame Relay Glossary

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/ 74/87.html