A Frame Relay (FR) network is shown in the figure below. An FR network may be considered as a FR cloud that consists of FR switches, and customer nodes. A FR switch acts as DCE and the customer equipment works as DTE. A virtual circuit is established between the DTE and corresponding DCE. As mentioned earlier, a virtual circuit is identified by a DLCI (Data Link Connection Identifier) number....

Before going ahead with Frame Relay protocol, and its operation, we discuss virtual circuits. Remember that a circuit provides connection between end nodes by means of an electrical connection. In data circuits, the term virtual circuit is also used in similar sense. A virtual circuit provides a logical connection between end nodes for the flow of information. There are two types of virtual...

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), as the name implies, provides integrated services that consist of telephony, data, and video transmission over ISDN. ISDN is of two types: Basic Rate ISDN (BRI), and Primary Rate ISDN (PRI) Basic Rate ISDN consists of two 64kbps B-channels (B for Bearer) and one D-channel (2B+1D). B-Channels are used for transmitting user information (voice,...

Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP): This is a packet-framing protocol and defines a sequence of bytes that frame IP packets on a serial line. It is commonly used for point-to-point serial connections running TCP/IP. Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP): PPP is basically an encapsulation protocol that is used to transport datagrams over serial point-to-point links. Network address assignment, link...

HDLC (High-level Data Link Control) is a group of protocols documented in ISO 3309 for transmitting synchronous data between serial links (Point-to-Point nodes). HDLC organizes data into a frame before transmission. HDLC protocol operates within Layer 2 (data link layer) of the OSI model. HDLC Frame Structure: The HDLC frame consists of Flag, Address, Control, Data, and CRC fields as...

LANs (Local Area Networks) and WANs (Wide Area Networks) are two basic types of networks used in digital communications. We try to distinguish between LAN and WAN by comparing both technologies. Property LAN WAN Protocols commonly used Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, etc. X.25, Frame Relay, ISDN, Leased line etc. Communication method Shared Media Point-to-point Main Advantage Offer...