Unit 1:Frame Relay

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 Introduction

Packet-Switching Networks

Switching Technique

Routing

X.25

Frame Relay Networks

Architecture

User Data Transfer

Call Control

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 What is Frame Relay?

Frame relay is a packet-switching telecommunication

service designed for cost-efficient data transmission for

intermittent traffic between local area networks (LANs)

and between endpoints in wide area networks (WANs).

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 The service, once widely available and implemented, is in the

process of being discontinued by major Internet service

providers. Sprint ended its frame relay service in 2007, while

Verizon said it plans to phase out the service in 2015. AT&T

stopped offering frame relay in 2012 but said it would

support existing customers until 2016.

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Frame relay puts data in a variable-size unit called

a frame and leaves any necessary error correction

(retransmission of data) up to the endpoints, which

speeds up overall data transmission.

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 For most services, the network provides a permanent

virtual circuit (PVC), which means that the customer

sees a continuous, dedicated connection without

having to pay for a full-time leased line, while the

service provider figures out the route each frame

travels to its destination and can charge based on

usage.

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 Switched virtual circuits (SVC), by contrast, are

temporary connections that are destroyed after a

specific data transfer is completed.

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An enterprise can select a level of service quality,

prioritizing some frames and making others less important.

Frame relay complements and provides a mid-range service

between ISDN, which offers bandwidth at 128 Kbps, and

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), which operates in

somewhat similar fashion to frame relay but at speeds of

155.520 Mbps or 622.080 Mbps.

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 Packet-Switching Networks

Basic technology the same as in the 1970s

One of the few effective technologies for long distance data

communications

Frame relay and ATM are variants of packet-switching

Advantages:

flexibility, resource sharing, robust, responsive

Disadvantages:

Time delays in distributed network, overhead penalties

Need for routing and congestion control

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 Circuit-Switching

Long-haul telecom network designed for voice

Network resources dedicated to one call

Shortcomings when used for data:

Inefficient (high idle time)

Constant data rate

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 Packet-Switching

Data transmitted in short blocks, or packets

Packet length < 1000 octets

Each packet contains user data plus control info (routing)

Store and forward

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 Figure 4.1 The Use of Packets

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 Figure 4.2 Packet
Switching: Datagram
Approach

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 Advantages over Circuit-Switching

Greater line efficiency (many packets can go over shared
link)

Data rate conversions

Non-blocking under heavy traffic (but increased delays)

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 Disadvantages relative to Circuit-
Switching

Packets incur additional delay with every node they pass
through

Jitter: variation in packet delay

Data overhead in every packet for routing information, etc

Processing overhead for every packet at every node traversed

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 Figure 4.3 Simple Switching Network

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 Switching Technique

Large messages broken up into smaller packets

Datagram

Each packet sent independently of the others

No call setup

More reliable (can route around failed nodes or congestion)

Virtual circuit

Fixed route established before any packets sent

No need for routing decision for each packet at each node

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 Figure 4.4 Packet
Switching: Virtual-
Circuit Approach

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 Routing

Adaptive routing

Node/trunk failure

Congestion

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 X.25

3 levels

Physical level (X.21)

Link level (LAPB, a subset of HDLC)

Packet level (provides virtual circuit service and logical
connection)

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 What is X.25?

The first commercial packet-switching network interface

standard was X.25.

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Frame Relay Vs X.25

Frame relay is based on the older X.25 packet-switching technology

that was designed for transmitting analog data such as voice

conversations.

Unlike X.25, which was designed for analog signals, frame relay is

a fast packet technology, which means that the protocol does not

attempt to correct errors.

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When an error is detected in a frame, it is simply dropped (that

is, thrown away).

The end points are responsible for detecting and retransmitting

dropped frames (though the incidence of error in digital networks

is extraordinarily small relative to analog networks).

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 Frame relay is often used to connect LANs with major backbones as

well as on public wide area networks and also in private network

environments with leasedT-1 lines.

It requires a dedicated connection during the transmission period and

is not ideal for voice or video, which require a steady flow of

transmissions.

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 Frame relay transmits packets at the data link layer of the Open

Systems Interconnection (OSI) model rather than at the network

layer.

A frame can incorporate packets from different protocols such

as Ethernet and X.25. It is variable in size and can be as large as a

thousand bytes or more.

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 Figure 4.5 The Use of Virtual Circuits

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 Figure 4.6 User Data and X.25 Protocol
Control Information

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 Frame Relay Networks

Designed to eliminate much of the overhead in X.25

Call control signaling on separate logical connection
from user data

Multiplexing/switching of logical connections at layer 2
(not layer 3)

No hop-by-hop flow control and error control

Throughput an order of magnitude higher than X.25

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 Figure 4.7 Comparison of X.25 and
Frame Relay Protocol Stacks

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 Figure 4.8 Virtual Circuits and Frame
Relay Virtual Connections

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 Frame Relay Architecture

X.25 has 3 layers: physical, link, network

Frame Relay has 2 layers: physical and data link (or LAPF)

LAPF core: minimal data link control

Preservation of order for frames

Small probability of frame loss

LAPF control: additional data link or network layer end-to-
end functions

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 LAPF Core

Frame delimiting, alignment and transparency

Frame multiplexing/demultiplexing

Inspection of frame for length constraints

Detection of transmission errors

Congestion control

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 Figure 4.9 LAPF-
LAPF-core Formats

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 User Data Transfer

No control field, which is normally used for:

Identify frame type (data or control)

Sequence numbers

Implication:

Connection setup/teardown carried on separate channel

Cannot do flow and error control

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 Frame Relay Call Control

Frame Relay Call Control

Data transfer involves:

Establish logical connection and DLCI

Exchange data frames

Release logical connection

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 Frame Relay Call Control
4 message types needed

SETUP

CONNECT

RELEASE

RELEASE COMPLETE

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 Overhead:

Overhead is any combination of excess or indirect

computation time, memory, bandwidth, or other

resources that are required to perform a specific task.

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