6.1 Frame Relay Technology
6.1.3 Frame Relay operation
Frame Relay can be used as an interface to either a publicly available carrier-provided service or to a network of privately owned equipment. You deploy a public Frame Relay service by putting Frame Relay switching equipment in the central office of a telecommunications carrier. In this case, users get economic benefits from traffic-sensitive charging rates, and don't have to spend the time and effort to administer and maintain the network equipment and service.

No standards for interconnecting equipment inside a Frame Relay network currently exist. Therefore, the support of Frame Relay interfaces does not necessarily dictate that the Frame Relay protocol is used between the network devices. Thus, traditional circuit switching, packet switching, or a hybrid approach combining these technologies can be used, as shown in the Figure.

The lines that connect user devices to the network equipment can operate at a speed selected from a broad range of data rates. Speeds between 56 kbps and 2 Mbps are typical, although Frame Relay can support lower and higher speeds.

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