When service providers began introducing IP VPNs a few years ago, many observers believed IP VPNs would begin taking significant market share away from frame relay services in short order.
After all, frame relay was a 10-year-old technology that offered point-to-point connections, as opposed to the more flexible multipoint capability of IP. Frame services also cost more than a comparable "IP VPN.
Despite its apparent disadvantages, frame relay is still going strong. In one study, research firm Vertical Systems found that only 16% of 563 multisite companies surveyed planned to move from frame relay to IP VPNs.
The reason for frame relay's staying power is that it's a stable technology that large businesses are comfortable with, whereas IP VPNs are still a relatively new technology with questions about the quality of service they're capable of supporting, says Steven Taylor, president of consultancy Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor in chief of Webtorials.com.
Despite the cost savings associated with IP VPNs vs. frame relay, Taylor says you're not likely to come across as many companies adding IP VPNs to their frame nets as you might expect. "Most people are comfortable enough with IP VPNs that they go all the way, or they're so uncomfortable with them they stick with frame relay," he says.
Another reason companies may be avoiding hybrid frame/IP VPN networks is that managing two technologies is tougher than managing one, Taylor says.
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