Frame Relay Facts

Frame relay is a standard for packet switching WAN communications over high-quality, digital lines.
Frame-relay networks:

 Provide error detection but not error recovery. It is up to end devices to request a
retransmission of lost packets.
 Can provide data transfer up to 1.54 Mbps.
 Have a variable packet size (called a frame).
 Can be used as a backbone connection to LANs.
 Can be implemented over a variety of connection lines (56K, T-1, T-3).
 Operate at the Physical and Data Link layers of the OSI model.

When you sign up for Frame Relay service, you are assigned a level of service called a Committed
Information Rate (CIR). The CIR is the maximum guaranteed data transmission rate you will receive
on the Frame Relay network. When network traffic is low, you will likely be able to send data faster
than the CIR. As network traffic increases, priority is given to data coming from customers with a
higher CIR, and the effective rate may drop. In any case, you are guaranteed to have at least the
amount of bandwidth specified by the CIR.

You should be familiar with the following concepts about how Frame Relay networks send data.

 Routers connect to a Frame Relay switch either directly or through a CSU/DSU.

 Frame relay networks simulate an "always on" connection with PVCs.
 Sending routers send data immediately without establishing a session.
 Frame Relay switches perform error checking but not correction.
 Corrupted packets are simply dropped without notification.
 Packets travel through the Frame Relay cloud without acknowledgments.
 Error correction is performed by sending and receiving devices.
 Frame Relay switches begin dropping packets when congestion occurs.
 Congestion is the most common cause of packet loss on a Frame Relay network.
 Packets are discarded based on information in the Discard Eligibility (DE) bit.
 Frame Relay switches set a bit in each packet to indicate that the path is experiencing
congestion:
o The Backward Explicit Congestion Notification (BECN) bit is set in packets sent back
to the sending device. This lets the sending device know that the path it is using to
send on has experienced congestion.
o The Forward Explicit Congestion Notification (FECN) bit is set as packets are
forwarded to the destination. This lets the receiving device know that the packet has
experienced congestion along the path.

The action devices take in response to these messages depends on the upper-layer protocol
configuration. However, a common response to a BECN message is to slow the rate of data
transmissions. A common response to a FECN message might be to slow the rate of data
requests.

Frame Relay Addressing Facts

Most Frame Relay installations involve connecting to a Frame Relay network through a T-1 line. The
router connects to a CSU/DSU, which is connected to the Frame Relay network. The Frame Relay
network is made up of multiple switches for moving packets. You should be aware of the following
Frame Relay concepts:

Concept Description
 Like an Ethernet MAC address, a DLCI identifies each virtual circuit.

 The DLCI ranges between 16 and 1007.

 The DLCI represents the connection between two frame relay devices.
Data-Link
 The Frame Relay service provider assigns the DLCI when the virtual
Connection
circuit is set up.
Identifier (DLCI)
 Each DLCI is unique for the local network, but not for the entire WAN. In
other words, the same DLCI number can be used multiple times in the
entire network to identify different devices.

Local Management Interface (LMI) is a set of management protocol extensions

that automates many Frame Relay management tasks. LMI is responsible for
managing the connection and reporting connection status. LMI can:

 Maintain the link between the router and the switch.

 Gather status information about other routers and connections on the
Local Management network.
Interface (LMI)  Enable dynamic DLCI assignment through multicasting support.
 Make DLCIs globally significant for the entire network. Although DLCI
numbers are only locally significant, through LMI these numbers can be
globally significant (i.e. the same number is used throughout the entire
network to identify a specific link).

Cisco routers support three LMI types: Cisco, ANSI, and Q933a.

Frame Relay Configuration Facts

When configuring a router for Frame Relay, the DLCI number acts like a Data Link or physical device
address. Because Frame Relay supports multiple upper-layer protocols (such as IP, IPX, and
DECnet), you will need to associate logical, Network layer destination addresses with the DLCI
number used to reach that address. For multipoint connections, you have the following configuration
options.

Configuration
Description
Method
The router uses the inverse ARP protocol to dynamically discover destination
Inverse ARP addresses associated with a specific DLCI. To use inverse ARP, simply enable
Frame Relay encapsulation on the interface. Using inverse ARP is the default.
The administrator identifies the address of each destination device, and associates
Manual
each address with a DLCI. Although more work, results are less prone to errors than
mappings
when using inverse ARP.
A subinterface is a virtual interface that you configure on a Cisco router's physical
interface. Instead of adding physical interfaces, using subinterfaces lets you
subdivide a single physical interface into several separate virtual channels.
Subinterfaces make it possible to support multiple connections and/or networks
through a single physical port.

Subinterfaces When you connect a router to the Frame Relay network, the router interface has a
direct line to the Frame Relay switch at the service provider. Although there is only
one physical path between the router and the switch, Frame Relay supports multiple
virtual circuits. When configuring a Frame Relay connection or circuit, you have the
following options:

 Point-to-Point. A point-to-point link simulates a direct connection with a

 destination device. With a point-to-point connection, the circuit is configured
to talk to only one other device.
 Multipoint. A multipoint link configures each circuit to communicate with more
than one destination device. The same circuit is used for multiple
conversations.

To configure a subinterface for Frame Relay, you set the encapsulation type, then
assign a DLCI number to the subinterface or use manual mappings to identify IP
address and DCLI pairs.

To configure Frame Relay on an interface, complete the following tasks:

 Enable Frame Relay on the interface by setting the encapsulation type.

 Assign a Network layer address to the interface (such as an IP address).
 Configure dynamic (inverse ARP) or static (mapped) addresses.
 For a point-to-point subinterface, or a multipoint subinterface with dynamic addressing, assign
a DLCI to the subinterface.
 Configure the LMI settings (optional). By default, Cisco routers autosense the LMI type and
configure themselves accordingly. You only need to set the LMI type if autosensing does not
work or if you want to manually assign it.

Note: You must set the encapsulation method on the interface before you can issue any other Frame
Relay commands.

Frame Relay Command List

The simplest method of configuring Frame Relay is to set the encapsulation type and let the router
discover the LMI type and the DLCI values automatically. The following table lists various commands
you can use for a simple Frame Relay configuration.

Use . . . To . . .
Set the encapsulation method
Continue this command by adding various keywords to set a specific
frame relay encapsulation protocol.

Router(config-
 Use the cisco encapsulation type to use the proprietary
if)#encapsulation
encapsulation method. Setting encapsulation without an
frame-relay
encapsulation keyword uses this method.
 Use the ietf type when connecting to a Frame Relay network.
This is the industry-standard encapsulation method.

Router(config-
if)#frame-relay Turn on inverse ARP (it is on by default).
inverse-arp
Configure the LMI type used. By default, the LMI type is automatically
detected.
Router(config-
if)#frame lmi-type Note: When you manually set the LMI type, you disable automatic LMI
<LMI type> discovery. You might also need to manually configure the keepalive
parameter for the interface so the router uses a keepalive value equal
to or less than what is used by the Frame Relay provider's equipment.
Display the contents of the frame-relay map cache (showing IP
Router#show frame map
address to DLCI number mappings).
Router#clear frame- Clear the dynamic entries from the frame-relay map cache.
relay-inarp
Router#show frame pvc Show DLCI statistics and information.

Note: The show commands listed here are not enabled in the labs.

Example
The following commands enable Frame Relay on serial interface 1 using IETF as the encapsulation
method and dynamic addressing.

Router(config)#int s1
Router(config-if)#encap frame-relay ietf

Frame Relay Map Command List

Use the frame-relay map command to create the static mapping, associating IP addresses with DLCI
numbers.

 Add the broadcast parameter to the command to configure the router to forward broadcast
traffic over the link.
 You can also specify the Frame Relay encapsulation to use for the virtual circuit by adding the
cisco or the ietf keywords. If not used, the circuit uses the encapsulation method specified for
the interface. If used, you can use one type of encapsulation for one DLCI, and another type
for another DLCI.

The following commands enable Frame Relay on serial interface 0 using Cisco as the encapsulation
method, disable inverse ARP, and map IP address 10.1.1.55 to DLCI 25.

Router(config)#int s0
Router(config-if)#encap frame-relay
Router(config-if)#no frame inverse
Router(config-if)#frame-relay map ip 10.1.1.55 25

Frame Relay Subinterface Command List

Using subinterfaces also lets you send routing updates out the same physical interface on which they
were received. Using subinterfaces in this manner overcomes the split horizon problem that can occur
when sending updates out the same interface. To configure Frame Relay on a subinterface, complete
the following tasks:

 Enable Frame Relay on the interface and set the encapsulation method.
 Create the subinterface, specifying either point-to-point or multipoint.
 For a point-to-point connection or a multipoint connection using inverse ARP, assign the DLCI
number to the subinterface.
 For a multipoint connection using static assignments, map DLCIs to protocol addresses.

In addition, you will need to assign a Network layer address to the subinterface. Do not assign an IP
address to the main interface.

Use . . . To . . .
Router(config-if)#int sX.X <type> Create the subinterface
Router(config-subif)#frame-relay interface-dlci Assign the DLCI to the interface
Router(config-subif)#frame-relay map Map protocol addresses to DLCIs

Examples
The following commands create a point-to-point subinterface on the first serial interface and assign it
to DLCI 44. The subinterface is configured to use inverse ARP.

Router(config)#int s0
Router(config-if)#encap frame
Router(config-if)#int s0.55 point
Router(config-subif)#frame interface-dlci 44

The following commands create a multipoint subinterface on the second serial interface, and configure
it with a static IP mapping of device 199.12.16.155 to DLCI 111.

Router(config)#int s1
Router(config-if)#encap frame
Router(config-if)#int s1.103 mult
Router(config-subif)#frame map ip 199.12.16.155 111

Frame Relay Monitoring and Troubleshooting

The following list summarizes the commands to use for viewing specific Frame Relay information on
the router.

If you want to view . . . Use . . .

show run
DLCI numbers show frame pvc
show int
Frame Relay encapsulation method
show run
show frame lmi
LMI information and traffic statistics
show int
show frame pvc
Interface configuration (DCE or DTE)
show int
Global traffic statistics show frame traffic
Addresses and associated DLCIs show frame map

Note: Output for the show interfaces command shows an entry for DLCI followed by a number. This
information is not the DLCI number associated with the interface.

As you troubleshoot Frame Relay, keep in mind the following tips:

 All routers at all locations must be configured to use the same frame relay encapsulation
method.
 When using all Cisco routers, you can use the default Frame Relay encapsulation type
(cisco). When using routers of multiple vendors, use the ietf encapsulation type.
 Frame Relay routers must know the DLCI number that is used to reach remote routers.
o Use inverse arp to dynamically discover DLCI numbers.
o Use static mappings to associate DLCI numbers with IP addresses manually.
 When configuring subinterfaces, do not set an IP address on the main interface. Instead, set
IP addresses on each subinterface.
 For a point-to-point subinterface, or a multipoint subinterface with dynamic addressing, you
must manually assign a DLCI to the subinterface.
  By default, Cisco routers autosense the LMI type and configure themselves accordingly. You
only need to set the LMI type if autosensing does not work or if you want to manually assign it.

Shown here is sample output from the show frame-relay pvc command.

PVC Statistics for interface Serial5/1 (Frame Relay DTE)

DLCI = 55, DLCI USAGE = LOCAL, PVC STATUS = ACTIVE, INTERFACE = Serial5/1.1
input pkts 64589 output pkts 3865 in bytes 15400
out bytes 33896 dropped pkts 66 in FECN pkts 12
in BECN pkts 15 out FECN pkts 0 out BECN pkts 0
in DE pkts 5 out DE pkts 1
out bcast pkts 15 out bcast bytes 128
pvc create time 00:35:11, last time pvc status changed 00:00:22

The following table describes major components of the output.

Entry Description
DLCI = 55 Lists the DLCI number assigned to the PVC.
Identifies the role of the router on the virtual circuit. For DTE frame relay devices, the
DLCI USAGE
usage will be LOCAL. For DCE devices, the usage will be SWITCHED.
Reports the PVC status as reported from the DCE through the LMI protocol. When you
connect the DTE to the circuit, the LMI protocol communicates the PVC status as sent
from the DCE device. The status will be one of the following:

 ACTIVE indicates the PVC is configured, is operational, and can transmit

packets. LMI is active.
 INACTIVE indicates that the PVC has been configured, but has not received
PVC
an active state from the DCE. This status identifies the PVC as down. The
STATUS
interface line status is also down.
 STATIC indicates that LMI has been disabled. A configuration exists, but
status information cannot be received from the DCE because LMI has been
disabled.
 DELETED indicates that the PVC has been configured, but that the LMI
protocol has not reported status information.

Identifies the number of packets received (in) or sent (out) that had the FECN or
BECN bit set. Both flags identify that network congestion exists. Receiving devices use
these flags to decide what to do about the congestion, such as slowing down or
implementing a flow control mechanism. On a DTE device:

 in FECN pkts are packets sent from the DCE to the destination DTE device to
indicate that congestion has occurred. A DTE that receives a FECN packet
FECN/BECN might slow its rate of data request, or it might implement flow control to detect
pkts and recover from lost packets.
 in BECN pkts are packets sent from the DCE to the sending DTE device to
indicate that congestion has occurred. A DTE that receives a BECN packet
might slow down its transmission rate.
 out FECN pkts and out BECN pkts are packets sent from the DTE. On a DTE
device, these values have little meaning as the DTE is typically the terminating
point in the circuit.

Identifies the number of packets sent or received that had the Discard Eligibility (DE) bit
DE pkts set. The DE bit is used to identify packets with a lower priority that could be dropped if
necessary.