Designed to respond to the questions that networking professionals may have about frame relay, this book addresses the issues network managers face when migrating to frame relay networks, and explains frame relay technology, interprets frame relay standards, and compares frame relay to other networking technologies. It consists of the usual preface and acknowledgments, followed by 14 chapters, two appendices, a glossary, references, and an index. The material is well thought out and carefully presented.
Chapter 1 explains the basic components of frame relay networks. It then delves into the benefits of frame relay technology and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of frame relay networks relative to other networking technologies. Chapter 2 discusses the roles played by standards organizations in the development of frame relay standards. It also mentions service providers and vendors of frame relay products.
Chapter 3 explains the architecture of frame relay networks and compares it with that of X.25 packet switching. Chapter 4 discusses the major components needed for connecting a customer site to a frame relay network. It presents the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of each access technique. It also reviews how routers behave in frame relay networks in terms of the first three layers of the OSI reference model.
Chapter 5 explains the concept of virtual circuits and discusses frame relay virtual circuits. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of the two types of frame relay virtual circuits--permanent and switched--and mentions how to recover from virtual circuit failures.
Chapter 6 explains how frame relay networks manage traffic. It introduces the concept of a committed information rate; explains it from the user’s point of view; and then shows how it is related to the concepts of bursting, capacity allocation, and oversubscription. The chapter also discusses how frame relay networks handle congestion. It explains the techniques of frame discarding and explicit and implicit congestion notification, then describes the limitations of congestion management for frame relay networks.
Chapter 7 discusses the internal engineering of frame relay networks. The author explores the architecture of frame relay switches and how they influence the services that public carriers can offer. He then discusses the ongoing argument within the industry over the advantages and dangers of zero committed information rate permanent virtual circuits.
Chapter 8, on the management of frame relay networks, presents an overview of the five functions of network management systems and describes where frame relay management data can be obtained within a network. It then explains the alternative to building a customer-operated management system--managed network services.
Chapter 9 outlines the pricing of public frame relay services. It examines the three major components of pricing: access circuits, port connection charges, and virtual circuit charges. It also describes a number of variations in pricing structures used by different carriers, including services in addition to the basic data transport service.
Chapter 10 addresses procurement of frame relay services. The author outlines the steps a customer might follow to make the procurement process go smoothly, then elaborates on several of these steps. He presents criteria for evaluating carriers and their proposals and outlines the contents of a customer’s request for proposal.
Chapter 11 covers the design of frame relay networks. An overview of the scope of network design is followed by a discussion of the issues in physical network and virtual circuit network design. Buckwalter outlines the process of designing a frame relay access network and then discusses a simple example of a private line network. He also mentions other design issues, including designing for performance, for switched virtual circuits, and for disaster recovery.
Chapter 12 discusses how voice can be carried over frame relay networks. The author explains how voice quality is typically measured and describes the advantages and challenges of voice over frame relay. He then discusses several common methods for improving voice over frame relay performance, and presents fax over frame relay and video over frame relay. Finally, he considers issues related to voice over frame relay, including performance, quality, administration, and perception.
Chapter 13 examines several issues related to internetworking with frame relay. The author discusses the two major families of routing algorithms--distance vector and link state routing--which leads to a discussion of the routing protocols based on the algorithms. He also explains some of the ways that routers affect internetworking with frame relay. Additional issues that arise when routers send routable protocols over frame relay networks are discussed, leading to a discussion of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Internet Packet Exchange (IPX), and Systems Network Architecture (SNA) protocols. The chapter further discusses how to send nonroutable protocols over frame relay.
Chapter 14 compares frame relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Buckwalter discusses sophisticated ways of migrating from frame relay to ATM and concludes with a summary of frame relay’s advantages.
The first appendix supplies frame relay source information, including Web sites, Internet newsgroups, books, magazines, newsletters, and frame relay vendors and carriers. The second appendix provides answers to the exercises found at the end of some of the chapters. A glossary, a list of references, and an exhaustive index complete the book.
The book evolved from the author’s 250-page manual that accompanied his two-day seminar on frame relay technology and applications. It is well written and will serve as an excellent textbook on the subject.
