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Frame Relay (FR) is a high-performance interface for packet-switching networks. It is considered more efficient than X.25, which it is expected to replace. Frame relay technology can handle "burst" communications that have rapidly changing bandwidth requirements.
FR supports virtual circuit-switching, but the protocol is based on the assumption that the underlying physical network is reliable, and it is better to correct errors on an end-to-end basis to improve data traffic throughput. Packet forwarding is therefore faster than in X.25. The Committed Information Rate (CIR) indicates the data rate that the FR network should be able to handle without loss. To maintain the committed service of other users, the network may discard any data transmitted into the network at a rate beyond the CIR.
FR was not originally designed from the ground up to support voice service. It has no explicit way to limit jitter and loss through the network. Therefore, a reasonable quality of voice service can only be provided if the FR service provider limits the number of users on the network, and sufficient bandwidth is available on all the links between the FR switches in the network.
Follow these guidelines when implementing G700 Media Gateways in an FR environment:
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