Virtual-Circuit Networks:

Frame Relay and ATM

FRAME RELAY

Frame Relay is a virtual-circuit wide-area network

It was designed in response to demands for a new

type of WAN in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Drawbacks of X.25:-
 Low data rate of 64 kbps
Flow and error control at both data link and
network layers; increased overhead
X.25 has its own network layer;encapsulation
Frame Relay network
Features of Frame Relay

High speed;44 Kbps

Operates in physical and datalink layers
Allows bursty data (uneven, small bits)
Allows a frame size of 9000bytes;enough to
accommodate all the LAN frame sizes.
Error detection at the datalink layer only.
No flow control or error control; they must be
provided by the upper-layer protocols
No retransmission policy
VCIs in Frame Relay are called Data link
connection identifiers (DLCIs)
PVC v/s SVC

Permanent Virtual circuit:- outgoing DLCI and

incoming DLCI

Drawbacks of PVC:- costly; connection created from

one source to one destination

Switched Virtual Circuit:- temporary short

connection
Frame Relay layers

Frame Relay operates only at the

physical and data link layers.
Frame Relay frame
Three address formats
Additional features of Frame relay

1. FRAD (frame Relay Assembler/disassembler)

2. VFOR (voice over Frame relay)

3. LMI (Local Management Information)

 A keep-alive mechanism to check data flow
 A multicast mechanism to allow a local end system to send frames to
more then one remote end system.
 A mechanism to allow an end system to check the status of a switch (congested)

4. Congestion Control and Quality of Service

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is the cell

relay protocol

Design Goals:-
 high data rate-optical fiber
Interface with existing systems without
requiring a replacement
Low cost
Support the existing telecom hierarchies
Problems with ATM

Frame Networks:-
 Usage of varying size frames
Extensive, large headers
Variable frame sizes

Mixed Network traffic:-

 unpredictable traffic; varying frame sizes
Inconsistent data rate delivery
Multiplexing using different frame sizes
 Cell network

A cell network uses the cell as the basic unit of data

exchange.

A cell is defined as a small, fixed-size block of

information.

Cell network can handle real-time transmissions

Multiplexing using cells
ATM multiplexing (Asynchronous TDM)
ATM Architecture

Cell-switched network

Devices are called end points

Endpoints are connected through a user-to-network

interface (UNI) to the switches inside the network

 Switches are connected through network-to-network

interface (NNI)
Architecture of an ATM network
Virtual connection

TP:-Transmission Path:- physical connection

between an end point and a switch or between two
switches

VP:-Virtual Path:- connection or a set of

connections between switches

VC:- Virtual circuits:- All cells belonging to a single

message follow the same virtual circuit
TP, VPs, and VCs
Example of VPs and VCs
Note that a virtual connection is defined
by a pair of numbers:
the VPI and the VCI.
Connection identifiers
Virtual connection identifiers in UNIs and NNIs
An ATM cell