Frame Relay Question

[netops01]

My WAN connections are currently 128k leased lines, and these average at about 50% utilization. We are investigating a partial mesh Frame Relay replacement and the service supplier is offering a CIR of 32k to replace the 128k lines. Does this sound right?

[csplau]

Hi,

According to your statement saying that 50% utili. of your 128k leased-line..I guess you need to have CIR at least 64k and above.

[thisisshanky]

A leased line with max rate of 128kbps and a Frame-relay connection with CIR = 128 kbps should be equivalent. Even though u can stil use a 64 kbps CIR, to reduce costs, if the service providers, allows oversubscribing...then u r good to go...with a 64 k CIR. With your 128 kbps currently being utilised at 50 percent, I would recommend, ordering a same CIR FR connections. Also you might want to compare the rates per month, while choosing a 64 k CIR vs a 128 k CIR FR connection

[michael-faust]

You don't tell us how many point to point lines you currently have, so I can only speak in general terms. Each leased line has the full bandwidth available to it. When you go to a patrial mesh frame relay network, the bandwidth to the host site will be shared by the remotes. The beauty of frame relay is the savings in leased line fees at the host site. You may need to take some of that savings and pour it back into a full T1 at the host. I think that you will find that once you go beyond 128K the cost difference to go to a full T1 is slight and you already have the hardware.

The questions that you need to answer are: how much total traffic do you expect to see coming to the host? and How bursty is the traffic?

Without knowing the details of your network I'll throw out one possiblity as a starting point. You will have to look at your network and decide on the final design. Start here: At the host site a frame relay full T1 with a CIR of 768K, a burst rate of 384K and an excess burst of 384K. At the remotes, a frame relay 128K with a CIR of 64K, a burst rate of 32K and an excess burst of 32K.

Good luck.

[netops01]

Thanks for the help guys, should now be able to get the system we want rather than what the supplier wants to sell!