Chapter 2 X.

25, Frame Relay &

ATM

Switched Network
Stations are not connected together
necessarily by a single link
Stations are typically far apart
Messages are not broadcast to every station

Three Types of Switched

Communication Network
Circuit-switched
Message-switched
Packet-switched

Circuit-Switched Network
Before any data can be sent, an end-to-end circuit
must be established
This circuit is maintained for the duration of the
transfer of all the data
The data can be digital or analog and the signal can be
either type as well
Connection is usually full-duplex
Is inefficient channel capacity is dedicated for the
duration of the connection
Example Pubic telephone system

Circuit-Switched Network
Cont.
Bits are transmitted as fast as they are
received no storage of data at the
intermediate nodes
Disadvantages
Both stations must be available at the same time
for data exchange
Resources in the network are dedicated for the
duration of the transmission

Message-Switched Network
It is not necessary to establish a dedicated path
between the two stations
The sending station appends a destination address
to the message
The message is passed through the network from
node to node
At each node the entire message is received, stored
briefly, and then transmitted to the next node

Advantages of MessageSwitched Network

Line efficiency is greater
Sender and receiver do not have to be
available at the same time
Duplicate copies of message can be sent to
different destinations
Message priorities can be established
Error control and recovery can be built into
the network

Disadvantage of MessageSwitched Network

Not suited to real-time traffic
Delay through network is relatively long
and varies considerably

Packet-Switched Network
Very much like message switching
Principal external difference is that the length of the
message found internally has a maximum length
A typical maximum length is several thousand bits
Messages above the maximum length are divided up
into smaller units and sent out one at a time
These smaller units are called packets
Packets, unlike messages, are typically not filed at
the intermediate nodes

Packet-Switched Network
The simple rule of limiting the maximum
size of a data unit has a dramatic effect on
performance
There are two different ways the network
can handle the stream of packets that make
up the message:
Datagram
Virtual circuit

Datagram Approach to PacketSwitched Network

Each packet is treated independently
The packets may take different paths to the
destination
The packets might arrive in a different
sequence from the order in which they were
sent
The packets may have to be reordered at the
destination

Virtual Circuit Approach to

Packet-Switched Network
A logical connection is established before
any packets are sent
All packets follow the same path through
the network
This does not mean that there is a dedicated
path, as in circuit switching

Advantages of the Datagram

Approach
Call setup phase is avoided
This is important if a station wished to send only
one or a few packets
More flexible incoming packets can be routed
away from congestion when it develops
Datagram delivery is more reliable if a node
fails, packets can be sent on an alternate route

Three Examples of PacketSwitched Protocols

X.25 Virtual Circuit
Frame Relay Virtual Circuit
ATM Virtual Circuit

X.25
Based upon existing analog copper lines that
experience a high number of errors
Uses the virtual circuit approach
A set of international protocols approved in 1976
Provides a way to send packets across a packetswitched public data network
The redundant error checking is done at each node
See Figure 2-8 for X.25 encapsulation for IP
datagrams

Frame Relay
No longer need the overhead associated with X.25 and
analog copper wires
Similar to X.25, but does not have the added framing and
processing overhead to provide guaranteed data transfer
Link-to-link reliability is not provided if a frame is
corrupted, it is silently discarded
Upper-level protocols such as TCP must detect and
recover discarded frames
See Figure 2-9 for Frame Relay encapsulation of IP
datagrams

ATM

Destined to replace most existing WAN technologies

Improves on performance of Frame Relay
Based upon 53-byte cells of fixed size
48 bytes of application information together with a 5byte ATM header
The standard-sized cells allow switching mechanisms
to achieve faster switching rates
Rates of 155 622 Mbps are achieved with theoretical
rates up to 1.2 Gbps
Compatible with twisted-pair, coax, and fiber