Basic Logic Used by the Big Whopping Frame Relay Switch

Basic Logic Used by the Big Whopping Frame Relay Switch

To understand LAN switching, you first had to understand something about the set of protocols and standards that together form what we call Ethernet. Likewise, to see how Frame Relay works, you need to know a little about Frame Relay protocols.

The original Frame Relay protocols were defined by a vendor consortium called the Frame Relay Forum. A vendor consortium is a group of vendors that get together and agree to make their products work a particular way, while they wait on standards bodies to formalize a standard. The Frame Relay Forum is one such consortium. Later, the ITU formalized Frame Relay, as did the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Like its LAN cousin Ethernet, some of Frame Relay's most important features are addressing, framing, and switching. Figure 15-2 gives me a good backdrop from which to talk about the basics of all three.