Specifications

2-36
Reference Guide
Model No.
Running Head
Frame Relay Access and Concentration Server Applications
2.8.1 Frame Relay Switch Port Savings
Figure 2-22 shows an IAD equipped with one or more Frame Relay server cards that is utilized
at the service provider’s Central Office to efficiently concentrate multiple lower speed Frame
Relay circuits into a consolidated Frame Relay stream into the backbone Frame Relay switch.
This results in significant savings in port occupancy on the Frame Relay switch. It is amplified
by the fact that these channelized ports on the backbone switches are much more expensive
than unchannelized counterparts.
The presence of 68 highly-integrated channelized Frame Relay ports combined with the
statistical multiplexing advantages of Frame Relay facilitate the savings by reducing the
backbone switch port occupancy by over 2.5 times (67 DS0 circuits instead of 24 DS0 circuits
on a single channelized T1 trunk). In a typical case this reduces circuit cost per DS0 by 20%.
Figure 2-22. IAD using Frame Relay Server Cards
Channelized Frame Relay
circuits with smaller CIRs
Without Frame Relay Server:
DACS
IAD
Frame Relay
Network
Channelized Frame Relay
circuits with smaller CIRs
With Frame Relay Server:
DACS
Frame Relay
Network
Concentrated Frame
Relay Stream on T1/E1