Frame Relay

Primer

Supplement
Frame Relay Primer
David Bray
[email protected]
with contributions obtained from Rick Graziani & Cisco

FR Primer © 2010-14, David Bray, Algonquin College, Rick Graziani, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Frame Relay Topologies

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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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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.
• Frame Relay is typically provisioned through a public provider
though privately-owned networks are also possible.
• Check out http://www.mfaforum.org under "Education".
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Low Overhead Technology

• 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.
• Typical speeds range from 56 kbps up to 2 Mbps, although higher
speeds are possible. (45 Mbps)
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
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Where Frame Relay Applies

??

• Like X.25, Frame Relay only defines the interconnection 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
Frame Relay switch.
• Therefore, a Frame Relay provider could use a variety of technologies,
such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) or Multi-Protocol Label
Switching (MPLS), to transport data within the Frame Relay cloud.
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Frame Relay Devices - DTE

FRAD

• Examples of DTE devices are:

– routers
– FRADs (Frame Relay Access Devices)
• A FRAD is a specialized device designed to provide a
connection between a Frame Relay cloud and any non-FR
environment, such as Ethernet, RS-232, SNA, etc.
http://www.dcbnet.com/datasheet/srfradds.html
• a CSU/DSU (perhaps built-in on the DTE) is usually required to provide
line termination and signaling adaptation (e.g. unipolar to bipolar)
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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Frame Relay Devices - DCE

• DCEs are carrier-owned internetworking devices, designed

to:
a) interface to CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) via
standardized frame relay
b) provide clocking and packet switching and transmission
services within the cloud
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Well-Defined Interfaces - UNI and NNI

NNI
UNI

Frame Relay Provider B

Frame Relay Provider A

• The DTE-DCE connection at the local loop, between the CPE and the
CO, is known as the User-to-Network Interface (UNI).
• It is quite common to find ATM or MPLS as the technology used within a
Frame Relay provider’s network cloud.
• But, to promote interoperability, there needs to be commonality at the
DCE-DCE connections, between providers.
– The Network-to-Network Interface (NNI) is used to describe how
Frame Relay networks from different providers connect to each other.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

Leased Line vs Frame Relay

• Using Leased Lines, Branch 1

Head Office must pay for:

Branch 2
– 4 serial interfaces Head
Office
– 4 CSU/DSUs Branch 3

– 4 circuits per month

•
Branch 4
Using Frame Relay,
Head Office only needs:
– 1 serial interface Branch 1

– 1 CSU/DSU Branch 2

– 1 circuit, plus 4 Head

Office
Frame
Cloud
PVCs (much cheaper) Branch 3

• Even in this hub and spoke topology, the

savings are significant, but in a full mesh Branch 4

topology, the benefits would be amplified many-fold.

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Virtual Circuits
Access circuits

Virtual Circuits
• In order for any two Frame Relay sites to communicate, the service
provider must set up a virtual circuit between these sites within the
Frame Relay network.
– Although service providers typically charge for each virtual circuit,
the cost is quite low compared to a leased line.
• This makes Frame Relay an ideal technology when full-mesh
topologies are needed.
• Even so, a hub and spoke topology is sufficient for many enterprises.
– For two branch offices to reach each other (RTB & RTC), the traffic
must pass through a central site (RTA).
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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Non-Broadcast Multi-Access
Access circuits

(NBMA)

• Frame Relay is by default, NBMA because it is …

– Non-Broadcast: the technology does NOT inherently allow
broadcasts or multicasts (where a single frame from a source is
sent to multiple destinations reachable from there via the FR cloud)
– Multi-Access: multiple destinations belonging to the same L3
network, are reachable from one physical interface
• Note that IOS can be configured to do pseudo-broadcasting, where the
router replicates a single frame and unicasts it across multiple VCs
reachable from that physical interface.
– This however, is not always desirable as it can have a major impact on
CPU and link usage, particularly as the number of VCs grow.
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Frame Relay PVCs

A PVC between the same two DTEs

will always traverse the same path.

• Frame Relay and X.25 networks support both Permanent Virtual

Circuits (PVCs) and Switched Virtual Circuits (SVCs).
• PVCs are the most common in Frame Relay.
• A PVC provides a persistent connection between two fixed
endpoints, suitable for frequent and constant data transfer between
DTE devices.
• The carrier establishes a PVC by preprogramming switching information
into each intermediary switch along its chosen path.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

Frame Relay SVCs

An SVC between the same two

DTEs could traverse different paths
on different calls, since each call is
set up on-demand.

• SVCs are temporary connections that are only used when there is
sporadic data transfer between DTE devices.
• Because they are temporary, SVC connections require call setup and
termination for each connection, just like an ISDN or POTS call.
(requires Cisco IOS Release 11.2 or later)
• Before designing your network for Frame Relay SVCs, check with your
carrier since many Frame Relay providers only support PVCs.
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DLCI

• Each PVC is a circuit to a known destination, and is identified by a

DLCI (Data Link Connection Identifier).
– the assigned DLCI is locally-unique at the DTE and need not be the
same number at both ends of the PVC (more on DLCIs later)
• Since the PVC endpoints are fixed, the DTE can associate the DLCI
with the destination reachable via that PVC.
• To route IP across the FR cloud, the destination's IP address must be
mapped to the DLCI (i.e. PVC) required to reach it.
• In the above example, IP address 1.1.1.3 is mapped to DLCI 17.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

DLCI
Mapping

• The mapping of IPs (L3 addresses) to DLCIs (L2 addresses) requires

the router to know which VCs are available.
– The available VCs and their DLCI values are learned through
LMI signaling. (coming soon)
– Thereafter, the router must learn which Layer 3 addresses map
to which DLCIs.
• This address mapping can either be configured manually or
learned dynamically.
• Once RTA knows which DLCI to use, it can encapsulate the IP packet
in a Frame Relay frame which contains the DLCI number required to
reach destination RTB.

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Two Encapsulation Types

• Cisco routers support two types of Frame Relay headers, or
encapsulation.
1. ietf type encapsulation (2-byte header) conforms to IETF standards,
(RFC1490/2427) and should be used in mixed-vendor environments
2. cisco type encapsulation (4-byte header) is the default
• first 2 bytes as above, plus 2-byte packet type (i.e. 0x800 = IP)

In the ietf encapsulation, the

10-bit DLCI is fragmented into
two parts.

6 bits 4 bits
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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IETF Frame
Header

Command/Response bit intended

for application end-to-end control.

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Statistical Multiplexing

• Because each frame header includes the DLCI number, RTA can
communicate with both RTB and RTC over the same physical circuit.
• This technique of allowing multiple logical channels to transmit across
a single physical circuit is a form of statistical multiplexing.
• Statistical multiplexing dynamically allocates frames (bandwidth) to
channels, based on transmission needs.
– If RTA has no packets to send RTB, RTA can use all the available
bandwidth to communicate with RTC.
• Contrast this with time-division multiplexing (TDM) used over leased
lines, where a fixed frame reserves equal space for each channel,
without regard for traffic or usage.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

DLCI Values
Sw2

Sw1

Sw3

• Generally speaking, DLCIs only have local significance (though there

are some implementations that use global DLCIs). In our diagram:
– the use of DLCI 16 on both Sw1 and Sw2 do not conflict
– a frame entering Sw1 with DLCI 16, will be sent to Sw3 for RTC
– a frame entering Sw2 with DLCI 16, will be sent to Sw1 for RTA
• DLCIs 0 to 15 and 1008 to 1023 are reserved for special purposes.
– DLCI 1019 - 1022: Multicasts
– DLCI 1023: Cisco LMI (Local Management Interface)
– DLCI 0: ANSI LMI
• Providers assign subscriber DLCIs in the range from 16 to 1007.
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DLCI Magic
Revealed

• Your Frame Relay provider sets up the DLCI numbers to be used by

the routers for establishing PVCs.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

LMI – Local Management Interface

LMI

Router's LMI type must match

the provider's FR switch!

• LMI is a signaling standard between

the DTE and the Frame Relay switch.
• LMI is responsible for managing the connection and maintaining
the status between devices.
• LMI includes:
– A keepalive mechanism, to verify the health of the link.
– A multicast mechanism, which provides one to many delivery.
– Addressing extensions, which can tie DLCIs to devices, thereby
giving them global, rather than local, significance (uncommon).
– A status mechanism, which provides an ongoing status of the
DLCIs known to the switch.
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LMI

LMI

• In Cisco IOS releases prior to 11.2, the Frame Relay interface must be
manually configured to use the correct LMI type, which is furnished by
the service provider.
• If using Cisco IOS Release 11.2 or later, the router attempts to
automatically detect the type of LMI used by the provider switch.
– This automatic detection process is called LMI autosensing.
• When LMI autosense is active, it sends out a full status request to the
provider switch in all 3 formats, and configures LMI type based on the
response.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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PVC Status

• The Frame Relay switch uses LMI to report the status of

configured PVCs.
• There are three possible PVC states as follows:
– Active state (0x02) – Indicates that the connection is active and
that routers can exchange data.
– Inactive state (0x00) – Indicates that the local connection to the
Frame Relay switch is working, but the remote router
connection to the Frame Relay switch is not working.
– Deleted state (0x04) – Indicates that no LMI is being received
from the Frame Relay switch, or that there is no service
between the CPE router and Frame Relay switch.
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DLCI Mapping to Network Address

• Manual
– Manual: Administrators use a frame relay map statement.
• Dynamic
– Inverse Address Resolution Protocol (I-ARP) provides a given
DLCI and requests next-hop protocol addresses for a specific
connection.
– The router then updates its mapping table and uses the information
in the table to forward packets on the correct route.

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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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Dynamic Mapping via Inverse ARP

2 1

• Once the router learns about available PVCs and their

corresponding DLCIs, it can send an Inverse ARP request to the
other end of the PVC. (unless overridden by a static map – later)
• For each supported and configured protocol on the interface, the router
sends an Inverse ARP request for each DLCI. (unless statically mapped)
• In effect, the Inverse ARP request asks the remote station for its
Layer 3 address.
• At the same time, it provides the remote system with the Layer 3
address of the local system.
• The information obtained from the Inverse ARP is then used to
dynamically build the Frame Relay map.
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Inverse ARP

• Inverse ARP works much the same way Address Resolution Protocol
(ARP) works on a LAN.
– With ARP, the device knows the Layer 3 IP address and needs to
know the remote data link MAC address.
– With Inverse ARP, the router knows the Layer 2 address (the
DLCI), but needs to know the remote Layer 3 IP address.
• Don't confuse this with Reverse ARP. (What is Reverse ARP?)
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

Frame Relay Configuration

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Frame Relay Encapsulation

Router(config-if)#encapsulation frame-relay [cisco | ietf]

• sets FR encapsulation (& type used for outgoing FR packets)

• cisco – 4-byte header (default)
– includes same 2 bytes as ietf header, plus 2-byte protocol type
– to be used if WAN peer is another Cisco router
• ietf – 2-byte header (as shown below)
– to be used in mixed-vendor environments (RFC 1490/2427)

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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

Minimum Frame Relay Configuration

172.16.1.2 172.16.1.1
Frame Relay
DLCI 101 Network DLCI 102
Headquarters Satellite Office 1
Hub City Spokane

HubCity(config)# interface serial 0

HubCity(config-if)# ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0
HubCity(config-if)# encapsulation frame-relay

Spokane(config)# interface serial 0

Spokane(config-if)# ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0
Spokane(config-if)# encapsulation frame-relay

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Minimum Frame Relay Config - Explained

• If the Frame Relay environment supports LMI autosensing and

Inverse ARP, dynamic address mapping occurs as follows:
1. The interface is enabled.
2. "LMI autosensing" (IOS 11.2+) sets the correct LMI type.
3. The Frame-Relay switch announces the configured DLCI(s) to the
router.
4. "Inverse ARP" maps remote network layer addresses to the local
DLCI(s).

• Both WAN peers are now configured as Frame-Relay DTE devices &
can ping each other.

172.16.1.2 172.16.1.1
Frame Relay
DLCI 101 Network DLCI 102
Headquarters Satellite Office 1
Hub City Spokane

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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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Dynamic FR Mapping

172.16.1.2 172.16.1.1
Frame Relay
DLCI 101 Network DLCI 102
Headquarters Satellite Office 1
Hub City Spokane

HubCity# show frame-relay map

Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 101, dynamic, broadcast,
status defined, active

• This output shows that HubCity's serial0 is mapped to a frame relay

WAN peer at 172.16.1.1 via an active PVC with DLCI 101.
• dynamic refers to the router having learned the WAN peer's IP
address via Inverse ARP.

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Manual LMI Configuration

Router(config-if)#frame-relay lmi-type {ansi | cisco | q933a}

• If "LMI autosensing" is not supported or not effective, LMI

type must be manually configured.
• The correct LMI type (like "isdn switch-type"), is critical to
allow communications between the DTE and the provider's
FR switch.
• The Frame Relay virtual circuit will only be complete and
functional after the router and the Frame Relay switch are
exchanging LMI information.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

Memory Aid

• Think of freezing rain …

– ice
• ietf
• cisco
• encapsulation
– lacquer
• lmi-type
• ansi
• cisco
• q933a

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Frame Relay Static Mapping

Router(config-if)#frame-relay map protocol protocol-address

dlci [broadcast] [ietf | cisco]

• If the environment does not support Inverse ARP (or I-ARP is not
effective), a Frame Relay map must be statically configured using the
frame-relay map command.
• Optionally, a PVC-specific encapsulation type can also be specified (to
override the one in effect for the interface).
• Once a static map is so configured on a given DLCI, Inverse ARP
is disabled for that protocol on that DLCI.
• The broadcast keyword is specified (at most) once per DLCI on a
mapping associated with a direct PVC, and serves to:
– allow broadcast forwarding
– simplify OSPF configuration for nonbroadcast networks over
Frame Relay (e.g. point-to-multipoint discussed in NET3008)
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
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Static
Example

By default, cisco is
the encapsulation
type

Remote IP Local DLCI

Note: redundant in
this case since Address
cisco is the default
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Overriding Encapsulation on a Map

Default encap type of cisco

applies to all DLCIs unless
specifically overridden

• These commands configure the Cisco Frame Relay encapsulation for

all PVCs on the serial interface, except for the PVC corresponding to
DLCI 49, which is explicitly configured to use IETF encapsulation.
– Any encapsulation in effect for a serial interface, applies to all VCs
on that interface, unless specifically overridden.
• In a mixed-vendor environment, configure Cisco encapsulation on the
interface and selectively configure IETF encapsulation on particular
DLCI's, or vice versa.
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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
 Frame Relay
Primer

Verifying Frame Relay interface

configuration
Encapsulation FRAME-RELAY IETF,

• On Frame Relay-configured serial interfaces, the show

interface serial command displays the status of
Layer 1 and Layer 2, including:
– encapsulation type
– LMI information, including the DLCI used for the LMI
signaling
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Interface Description

Atlanta(config)#interface serial 0/0

Atlanta(config-if)#description Circuit-05QHDQ101545-080TCOM-002
Atlanta(config-if)#^z

Atlanta#show interfaces serial 0/0

Serial 0/0 is up, line protocol is up Hardware is MCI Serial
Description Circuit-05QHDQ101545-080TCOM-002
Internet address is 150.136.190.203, subnet mask 255.255.255.0
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1544 Kbit, DLY 20000 uses, rely 255/255, load 1/255

• To simplify WAN management, the description interface command

is often used in practice, to record the provider-assigned circuit
number, or some other identifying aspect.

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show frame-relay pvc

Router#show frame-relay pvc [dlci_number]

• This command displays the status of all PVCs (or a specific one)
configured on the router, as well as traffic statistics.
• This command is also useful for viewing the number of Backward
Explicit Congestion Notification (BECN) and Forward Explicit
Congestion Notification (FECN) packets received by the router.
• If a single PVC is specified, as is the case in the above example, only
the status of that PVC is shown.
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show frame-relay map

• The show frame-relay map command displays the current map

entries and information about the connections.
• hex values in brackets show:
– DLCI in hex (0x14 = 20 decimal)
– DLCI as it would appear in the FR encapsulation header
• 0x14 is binary 00 0001 0100
• 0x0440 is binary 0000 0100 0100 0000
• encapsulation type is shown as "CISCO"

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show frame-relay lmi

• The show frame-relay lmi command displays LMI traffic statistics

showing the number of status messages exchanged between the local
router and the Frame Relay switch.

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clear frame-relay-inarp

• To clear dynamic Frame Relay maps created via Inverse ARP, use the
clear frame-relay-inarp command.
• You can also force re-discovery via Inverse ARP at the interface, by
either:
1. disabling inverse ARP (no frame-relay inverse-arp)
then re-enabling it (frame-relay inverse-arp)
or
2. bouncing the interface (via shut / no shut)

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NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer
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Troubleshooting the Frame Relay

configuration

• Use the debug frame-relay lmi command to

determine whether the router and the Frame Relay switch
are sending and receiving LMI packets properly.
FR Primer © 2010-14, David Bray, Algonquin College, Rick Graziani, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. (140924)
43

debug frame-relay lmi (continued)

The possible values of the status field are as follows:

• 0x0 – Added/inactive means that the switch has this DLCI programmed but for
some reason it is not usable. The reason could possibly be the other end of the
PVC is down.
• 0x2 – Added/active means the Frame Relay switch has the DLCI and
everything is operational.
• 0x4 – Deleted means that the Frame Relay switch does not have this DLCI
programmed for the router, but that it was programmed at some point in the
past. This could also be caused by the DLCIs being reversed on the router, or
by the PVC being deleted by the service provider in the Frame Relay cloud.

FR Primer © 2010-14, David Bray, Algonquin College, Rick Graziani, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. (140924)
44

Copyright © 2010-14, David Bray, Algonquin College, Rick Graziani, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
NET3008 Reference - Frame Relay Primer