Frame relay still attracting new fans

Even at a time when all the buzz is about Gigabit Ethernet and IP VPNs, mature frame relay services continue to meet the needs of more business users with each passing year.

A decade has passed since frame relay was introduced, and now 37,000 enterprise users worldwide rely on the data networking technology because it continues to evolve with their businesses. Higher-speed connectivity and more flexible networking options have fueled the continued growth of frame relay, says Mike Walsh, president of the Frame Relay Forum and market development manager at Nortel.

One example of frame's evolution is that users now can set up frame relay networks that are fully meshed and more cost-effective. Several service providers, including AT&T and WorldCom, are offering Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based frame relay services. These offerings - called IP Enabled Frame and Private IP, respectively - let users set up fully meshed frame relay networks using the same connections that they already have deployed.

While traditional frame relay services could be set up in a fully meshed environment, the cost typically has been prohibitive because users would need to establish point-to-point dedicated connections to and from each site on their network.

The MPLS frame services let users access all sites on their frame network from any other site without going through a central location.

"These IP-enabled frame services are really key to the further development of frame because it providers a better way for wider connectivity," says Steve Taylor, president of Distributed Networking. "There is very strong demand for these services as we look forward three, four or five years."

The Frame Relay Forum is also working on an implementation agreement that will let vendors and service providers better map frame relay to MPLS, Walsh says. The specification is called Frame Relay to MPLS Interworking and will support frame encapsulation over MPLS where today, frame is in a sense converted to IP, he says. More details about the specification are expected to be made public in the first quarter of next year.

In addition to more flexible network options, users can now choose higher-speed connectivity. Frame relay was often classified as a low-speed service, when in fact the technology can support optical transmission speeds, Walsh says.

While no vendors are selling OC-12 frame relay gear, the technical specification can support 622M bit/sec when the market demands.

Multilink Frame Relay offers users the ability to add increments of 1.544M bit/sec worth of bandwidth as needed. Multilink Frame Relay is an implementation agreement that lets users bond multiple T-1 connections for additional bandwidth needs. Users typically can bond up to eight T-1s for just over 12M bit/sec.

Even before Multilink Frame Relay was available users had Frame Relay to ATM Interworking, says Distributed Networking's Taylor. This is a specification that both the Frame Relay and ATM Forums worked on, which allows users to support a hybrid network that interoperates.

For some time it was the only option when a frame relay user needed 45M bit/sec or above at their headquarters or data center, but still only needed fractional T-1, 1.544M bit/sec, at their remaining offices.

Frame relay users who are just now realizing they need higher speeds can stick with a pure frame relay environment by bonding multiple T-1s together or by using a full T-3 connection.

Many service providers now offer T-3, or 45M bit/sec frame relay connectivity. Vertical Systems predicts much growth in higher-speed frame relay services during the next three years.

Of the 1.2 million ports in use at the end of last year, 37% were fractional T-1 or higher. Vertical sees that figure reaching 47% by the end of 2004, which represents a 20% compound growth rate.

Lower-speed frame relay services, 56K bit/sec to 64K bit/sec, are only expected to grow by 8% in the same time period, says Rosemary Cochran, a principal at Vertical.

Weighing costs and benefits

Local T-1 frame relay prices can range from $500 to $1,000 per month depending on an end user's geographic location. Added to that cost is the price of a long-haul T-1.

Such prices are considered reasonable for an office having 30 or more employees, but a company setting up a remote facility with only a few workers or a single employee working from home may find that the cost quickly outweighs the benefits.

That equation has sparked interest in new access options to frame relay services.

Internet-based VPN service is often brought up as one of the main competitors of frame relay services. This is primarily because Internet VPN services offer lower cost access with dial-up, DSL or cable modem services compared to dedicated frame relay connections, Taylor says.

"Access prices have been so phenomenal that DSL and cable-modem access is being considered for frame relay networks," he says. Users pay on average $50 to $100 per month for residential or business-class DSL or cable-modem services.

There are no service providers offering nationwide DSL access to frame today, Taylor says, but more carriers are exploring access options, especially since the demise of many of the competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC) that were pushing DSL.

Cochran says that the push for DSL access to frame was certainly greater a year ago when the CLECs were still in business. But if the large national frame relay providers such as AT&T, WorldCom and Sprint start offering DSL or cable-modem access to frame relay, users might be more interested.

In addition to new access options, frame relay continues to offer business users competitive prices. While fast Gigabit Ethernet services promise low-cost local connectivity at 100M bit/sec for $1,000 per month, frame relay offers users long-haul, reliable connectivity that's proven.

Prices on the decline

Users have seen frame relay prices drop over the years.

When the service was first launched in 1991, users were paying on average $2,976 per month for a T-1 port. Today the average price is $1,644.

"The service is competitive but still fairly priced for what you're getting," Taylor says. Prices also depend greatly on the size of a company's network, its IT budget and the negotiation skills of the network executive. Frame customers should use published frame relay tariffs as a jumping off point for negotiating when it's contract time, he says.

And while there have been recent developments that make frame relay more appealing to some users and a continued flexible option for existing customers, analysts say frame relay is still popular simply because it works.

"Frankly, [frame relay] does what it's meant to do," Cochran says. "It's cost efficient and enables customers to interconnect remote locations and grow their networks incrementally."

There has been talk over the years about new services taking away installed frame relay users, but that hasn't really happened. Only 3% of more than 500 frame relay users surveyed have moved to IP VPN services, she says.

Contact Senior Editor Denise Pappalardo

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