Frame Relay Overview Frame Relay defines the interconnection process between the DTE and the DCE (the Frame Relay network switch, not the CSU/DSU). – It does not define the way the data is transmitted within the service provider’s Frame Relay cloud. What Is Frame Relay? Frame Relay defines the interconnection process between a router and the service provider’s local access switching equipment. NBMA - Non-Broadcast Multiple Access Frame Relay networks are known as NBMA, Nonbroadcast Multi-Access networks. NBMA networks allow a router to set up and maintain several logical connections over a single physical serial interface. The “cloud” is a single network to which multiple devices are attached. Unlike Ethernet and Token Ring, which are broadcast networks, non-broadcast networks means a packet sent into the network might not be seen by all other routers attached to the network. Frame Relay Terminology #1 Local access rate (LAR) – The maximum physical media speed of the link used by the Frame Relay interface. Frame Relay may or may not use this full bandwidth, but cannot exceed it • Common local access rates include T1 (1.544 Mbps) and could be up to T3 (44.476 Mbps). Committed information rate (CIR) – The transmission rate that the frame relay provider guarantees without frame drops • Any frames sent above this rate has the DE bit set to one allowing them to be dropped if congestion occurs. • Monthly service charge is based heavily on this rate. Frame Relay Terminology #2 Excess burst – The maximum bits that the Frame Relay switch will attempt to transfer beyond the CIR. Can not exceed the local access rate . Frame Relay Operation DLCIs A data-link connection identifier (DLCI) identifies the logical VC between the CPE and the Frame Relay switch. The Frame Relay switch maps the DLCIs between each pair of routers to create a PVC. DLCIs have local significance Your Frame Relay provider sets up the DLCI numbers to be used by the routers for establishing PVCs. DLCI Mapping to Network Address Manual – Manual: Administrators use a frame relay map statement. Dynamic: – Inverse Address Resolution Protocol (I-ARP) provides a given DLCI and requests next-hop protocol addresses for a specific connection. – The router then updates its mapping table and uses the information in the table to forward packets on the correct route. Inverse ARP – The Inverse ARP mechanism allows the router to automatically build the Frame Relay map. – The router learns the DLCIs that are in use from the switch during the initial LMI exchange and then sends an Inverse ARP request to each DLCI for each protocol configured on the interface if the protocol is supported. – The return information, the remote network address, from the Inverse ARP is then used to build the Frame Relay map. Minimum Frame Relay Configuration HubCity(config)# interface serial 0 HubCity(config-if)# ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0 HubCity(config-if)# encapsulation frame-relay Spokane(config)# interface serial 0 Spokane(config-if)# ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0 Spokane(config-if)# encapsulation frame-relay 172.16.1.2 Headquarters Hub City DLCI 101 Frame Relay Network 172.16.1.1 DLCI 102 Satellite Office 1 Spokane Router(config-if)#encapsulation framerelay [cisco | ietf] cisco is the default. Use this if connecting to another Cisco router. ietf—Select this if connecting to a nonCisco router. - RFC 1490 Cisco Router is now ready to act as a Frame-Relay DTE device. The following process occurs: 1. The interface is enabled. 2. The Frame-Relay switch announces the configured DLCI(s) to the router. 3. Inverse ARP is performed to map remote network layer addresses to the local DLCI(s). The routers can now ping each other! Inverse ARP 172.16.1.2 Headquarters Hub City DLCI 101 Frame Relay Network 172.16.1.1 DLCI 102 Satellite Office 1 Spokane HubCity# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 101, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active (dynamic refers to the router learning the ip address via Inverse ARP) Inverse ARP Limitations Limitation of Inverse ARP Inverse ARP only resolves network addresses of remote Frame-Relay connections that are directly connected. NBMA Topologies A Frame-Relay Configuration Supporting Multiple Sites Headquarters Hub City • This is known as a Hub and Spoke Topology, where the Hub router relays information between the Spoke routers. • Limits the number of PVCs needed as in a fullmesh topology DLCI 102 (coming). Hub Router DLCI 101 DLCI 112 172.16.1.2 Frame Relay Network DLCI 211 172.16.1.1 Satellite Office 1 Spokane 172.16.1.3 Spoke Routers Satellite Office 2 Spokomo Configuration using Inverse ARP: HubCity interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay Spokane interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay Spokomo interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.3 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay HubCity# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 101, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 112, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Spokane# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.2 dlci 102, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Spokomo# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.2 dlci 211, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Notice: Inverse ARP resolved the ip addresses for HubCity for both Spokane and Spokomo Inverse ARP resolved the ip addresses for Spokane for HubCity Inverse ARP resolved the ip addresses for Spokomo for HubCity Inverse ARP Limitations Can HubCity ping both Spokane and Spokomo? Yes! Can Spokane and Spokomo ping HubCity? Yes! Can Spokane and Spokomo ping each other? No! The router’s serial interface (spoke routers) drops the ICMP packet because there is no DLCI-to-IP address mapping for the destination address. Solutions to the limitations of Inverse ARP 1. Add an additional PVC between Spokane and Spokomo (Full Mesh) 2. Configure Frame-Relay Map Statements 3. Configure Point-to-Point Subinterfaces. Full Mesh Solution Does Not Scale Well Full Mesh Topology (n*(n-1)) / 2 Number of Number of Connections PVCs -----------------------------2 1 4 6 6 15 8 28 10 45 Frame Relay Map Statements Instead of using additional PVCs, Frame-Relay map statements can be used to: Statically map local DLCIs to an unknown remote network layer addresses. Also used when the remote router does not support Inverse ARP Router(config-if)# frame-relay map protocol protocol-address dlci [broadcast] [ietf | cisco | payload-compress packet-bypacket] broadcast (Optional) Forwards broadcasts to this address when multicast is not enabled. Use this if you want the router to forward routing updates. If not enabled, you must define static routes, and if using IPX, static SAPs. ietf | cisco (Optional) Select the Frame Relay encapsulation type for use. Use ietf only if the remote router is a non-Cisco router. Otherwise, use cisco Frame-Relay Map Statements HubCity interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay (Inverse-ARP still works here) Spokane interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.3 102 frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.2 102 Spokomo interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.3 255.255.255.0 DLCI 102 encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.1 211 172.16.1.1 frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.2 211 Satellite Office 1 Spokane Headquarters Hub City DLCI 101 DLCI 112 172.16.1.2 Frame Relay Network DLCI 211 172.16.1.3 Satellite Office 2 Spokomo Mixing Inverse ARP and Frame Relay Map Statements What if we were to use I-ARP between the spoke routers and the hub, and frame relay map statements between the two spokes? There would be a problem! HubCity interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay Spokane interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.3 102 Spokomo interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.3 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay DLCI 102 frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.1 211 172.16.1.1 Satellite Office 1 Spokane Headquarters Hub City DLCI 101 DLCI 112 172.16.1.2 Frame Relay Network DLCI 211 172.16.1.3 Satellite Office 2 Spokomo HubCity# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 101, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 112, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Spokane# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.2 dlci 102, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 102, static, CISCO, status defined, active (static = learned via fr map statement) Spokomo# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.2 dlci 211, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 211, static, CISCO, status defined, active (static = learned via fr map statement) Good News: Everything looks fine! Now all routers can ping each other! Bad News: Problem when using Frame-Relay map statements AND Inverse ARP. This will only work until the router is reloaded, here is why... Frame-Relay Map Statement Rule: When a Frame-Relay map statement is configured for a particular protocol (IP, IPX, …) Inverse-ARP will be disabled for that specific protocol, only for the DLCI referenced in the Frame-Relay map statement. The previous solution worked only because the Inverse ARP had taken place between Spokane and HubCity, and between Spokomo and HubCity, before the Frame-Relay map statements were added. (The Frame-Relay map statement was added after the Inverse ARP took place.) Both the Inverse-ARP and Frame-Relay map statements are in effect. Once the router is reloaded (rebooted) the InverseARP will never occur because of the configured Frame-Relay map statement. (assuming the runningconfig is copied to the startup-config) Rule: Inverse-ARP will be disabled for that specific protocol, for the DLCI referenced in the Frame-Relay map statement. HubCity# show frame-relay map (after reload) Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 101, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 112, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Spokane# show frame-relay map NOW MISSING: Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.2 dlci 102, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 102, static, CISCO, status defined, active Spokomo# show frame-relay map NOW MISSING: Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.2 dlci 211, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 211, static, CISCO, status defined, active HubCity# show frame-relay map (after reload) Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 101, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 112, dynamic, broadcast, status defined, active Spokane# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.3 dlci 102, static, CISCO, status defined, active Spokomo# show frame-relay map Serial0 (up): ip 172.16.1.1 dlci 211, static, CISCO, status defined, active Spokane and Spokomo can no longer ping HubCity! Solution: Wherever there are Inverse-ARP statements, replace them with Frame-Relay map statements. Frame-Relay Map Statements - Solution HubCity interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay (Inverse-ARP still works here) Spokane interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.3 102 frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.2 102 Spokomo interface Serial0 ip address 172.16.1.3 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.1 211 DLCI 102 frame-relay map ip 172.16.1.2 211 172.16.1.1 Satellite Office 1 Spokane Headquarters Hub City DLCI 101 DLCI 112 172.16.1.2 Frame Relay Network DLCI 211 172.16.1.3 Satellite Office 2 Spokomo Local Management Interface LMI LMI is a signaling standard between the CPE device and the Frame Relay switch that is responsible for managing the connection and maintaining status between the devices. LMI includes: – A keepalive mechanism, which verifies that data is flowing – A multicast mechanism, which provides the network server (router) with its local DLCI – A status mechanism, which provides an ongoing status on the DLCIs known to the switch The router must be programmed to choose which LMI type encapsulation will be used. If using Cisco IOS Release 11.1 or earlier, specify the LMI-type used by the FR switch: Router(config-if)#frame-relay lmi-type {ansi | cisco | q933a} cisco is the default. With IOS Release 11.2 or later, the LMI-type is autosensed so no configuration is needed. LMI Autosensing Beginning in Cisco IOS Release 11.2, the router tries to autosense which LMI type the Frame Relay switch is using by sending one or more full status requests to the Frame Relay switch. The Frame Relay switch responds with the LMI type. The router configures itself with the LMI type received. FR Configuration Example For routing metric information FR Configuration The following example shows a case in which most destinations use Cisco encapsulation, but one site requires IETF encapsulation: Router(config-if)#encapsulation frame-relay Router(config-if)#frame-relay map ip 131.108.123.2 48 broadcast Router(config-if)#frame-relay map ip 131.108.123.3 49 broadcast ietf Router(config-if)#frame-relay map ip 131.108.123.4 50 broadcast Early Implementations of Frame Relay Required that a router (DTE device) must have a WAN serial interface for every permanent virtual circuit (PVC) Early Implementations of Frame Relay Early implementation of Frame Relay Technology required that a router (DTE device) must have a WAN serial interface for every permanent virtual circuit (PVC). This was effective but increased the cost because of the increased number of interfaces, WAN connections, at the hub router. Multipoint Physical Interface (and multipoint subinterfaces) and Split Horizon A single physical interface works, but Split Horizon prohibits distance vector routing updates from propagating out the same physical interface that it received the update. Solution: No Split Horizon with Point-to-point Subinterfaces FR and Subinterfaces FR and Subinterfaces Two types of subinterfaces are available on Cisco routers: 1. point-to-point subinterfaces 2. multipoint subinterfaces By using point-to-point subinterfaces, Cisco routers can treat each PVC as if it were a separate point-to-point interface on the router. Hub Router: •Point-to-point subinterfaces: Each subinterface is on its own subnet. Broadcasts and Split Horizon not a problem because each point-to-point connection is its own subnet. •Multipoint subinterfaces: All participating subinterfaces would be in the same subnet. Broadcasts and routing updates are also subject to the Split Horizon Rule and may pose a problem. Frame Relay and Split Horizon Physical interfaces: With a hub and spoke topology Split Horizon will prevent the hub router from propagating routes learned from one spoke router to another spoke router. Point-to-point subinterfaces: Each subinterface is on its own subnet. Broadcasts and Split Horizon not a problem because each point-to-point connection is its own subnet. Multipoint subinterfaces: All participating subinterfaces would be in the same subnet. Broadcasts and routing updates are also subject to the Split Horizon Rule and may pose a problem. Point-to-point Subinterfaces Point-to-point subinterfaces are like conventional point-to-point interfaces (PPP, …) and have no concept of (do not need): Inverse-ARP mapping of local DLCI address to remote network address (frame-relay map statements) Frame-Relay service supplies multiple PVCs over a single physical interface and point-to-point subinterfaces subdivide each PVC as if it were a physical point-to-point interface. Point-to-point subinterfaces completely bypass the local DLCI to remote network address mapping issue. Point-to-point Subinterfaces With physical and multipoint subinterface you: can have multiple DLCIs assigned to it. can use frame-relay map & interface dlci statements can use Inverse-ARP With point-to-point subinterfaces you: cannot have multiple DLCIs associated with a single point-to-point subinterface cannot use frame-relay map statements cannot use Inverse-ARP (can use the frame-relay interface dlci statement for both point-to-point and multipoint) Point-to-point subinterfaces Each subinterface is on a separate network or subnet with a single remote connection (I.e. point-to-point) 172.30.1.0/24 172.30.2.0/24 172.30.3.0/24 172.30.1.1/24 172.30.2.1/24 172.30.3.1/24 S0 S1 S2 172.30.1.2/24 172.30.2.2/24 172.30.3.2/24 Site A Site B Site C Point-to-point subinterfaces are equivalent to using multiple physical “point to point” interfaces Point-to-point subinterface A single subinterface is used to establish one PVC connection to another physical or subinterface on a remote router. In this case, the interfaces would be: – in the same subnet and – each interface would have a single DLCI Each point-to-point connection is its own subnet. In this environment, broadcasts are not a problem because the routers are point-topoint and act like a leased line. Point-to-point subinterface configuration, minimum of two commands: (config)# interface Serial0.1 point-to-point (config-subif)# frame-relay interface-dlci dlci-number Rules: 1. No Frame-Relay map statements can be used with point-to-point subinterfaces. 2. One and only one DLCI can be associated with a single point-to-point subinterface By the way, encapsulation is done only at the physical interface: interface Serial0 no ip address encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay interface-dlci Router(config-if)#frame-relay interfacedlci dlci-number Used to assign specific DLCIs to specific subinterfaces. This command is required for all point-to-point subinterfaces. It is also required for multipoint subinterfaces for which inverse ARP is enabled. It is not required for multipoint subinterfaces that are configured with static route maps. Do not use this command on physical interfaces. frame-relay interface-dlci and the show frame map show frame map point-to-point subinterfaces: listed as a “point-to-point dlci” Serial0.1 (up): point-to-point dlci, dlci 301 (0xCB, 0x30B0), broadcast status defined, active With multipoint subinterfaces, the it lists it an inverse ARP entry, “dynamic” Serial0 (up): ip 172.30.2.1 dlci, 301 (0x12D, 0x48D0), dynamic,, broadcast status defined, active Each subinterface on Hub router requires a separate subnet (or network) • Each subinterface on Hub router is treated like a regular physical point-to-point interface, so split horizon does not need to be disabled. Interface Serial0 (for all routers) encapsulation frame-relay no ip address HubCity interface Serial0.1 point-to-point ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay frame-relay interface dlci 301 Point-to-Point Subinterfaces at the Hub and Spokes Headquarters Hub City DLCI 301 Serial 0.1 172.16.1.1/24 interface Serial0.2 point-to-point ip address 172.16.2.1 255.255.255.0 encapsulation frame-relay DLCI 103 frame-relay interface dlci 302 Spokane Serial 0.1 172.16.1.2/24 interface Serial0.1 point-to-point ip address 172.16.1.2 255.255.255.0 frame-relay interface dlci 103 Satellite Office 1 Spokane Spokomo interface Serial0.1 point-to-point ip address 172.16.2.2 255.255.255.0 frame-relay interface dlci 203 DLCI 302 Serial 0.2 172.16.2.1/24 Frame Relay Network DLCI 203 Serial 0.1 172.16.2.2/24 Satellite Office 2 Spokomo Multipoint Subinterfaces Share many of the same characteristics as a physical Frame-Relay interface With multipoint subinterface you can have: can have multiple DLCIs assigned to it. can use frame-relay map & interface dlci statements can use Inverse-ARP Remember, with point-to-point subinterfaces you: cannot have multiple DLCIs associated with a single point-to-point subinterface cannot use frame-relay map statements cannot use Inverse-ARP (can use the frame-relay interface dlci statement for both point-to-point and multipoint) Multipoint subinterfaces Each subinterface is on a separate network or subnet but may have multiple connections, with a different DLCI for each connection. 172.30.1.0/24 172.30.2.0/24 172.30.3.0/24 Split horizon still an issue on each Multipoint subinterface. 172.30.1.1/24 172.30.2.1/24 172.30.3.1/24 S0 S1 S2 172.30.1.2/24 172.30.3.3/24 Site A1 Site C2 172.30.3.2/24 172.30.1.3/24 Site A2 172.30.2.2/24 172.30.2.3/24 Site C1 Site B1 Site B2 Multipoint subinterfaces are equivalent to using multiple physical “hub to spoke” interfaces. Notes • Highly scalable solution • Disable Split Horizon on Hub router when running a distance vector routing protocol Multipoint subinterface at the Hub and Point-to-Point Subinterfaces at the Spokes Headquarters Hub City Interface Serial0 (for all routers) DLCI 301 DLCI 302 encapsulation frame-relay Serial 0 no ip address 172.16.3.3 HubCity interface Serial0.1 mulitpoint ip address 172.16.3.3 255.255.255.0 frame-relay interface-dlci 301 Frame Relay frame-relay interface-dlci 302 Network no ip split-horizon Spokane interface Serial0.1 point-to-point ip address 172.16.3.1 255.255.255.0 DLCI 103 DLCI 203 frame-relay interface-dlci 103 Serial 0 Serial 0 Spokomo 172.16.3.2 interface Serial0.1 point-to-point 172.16.3.1 ip address 172.16.3.2 255.255.255.0 Satellite Office 1 Satellite Office 2 frame-relay interface-dlci 203 Spokane Spokomo BECN and FECN A Frame Relay switch sends FECN and BECN packets to reduce congestion. FECN packets are sent to the destination device, BECN packets are sent to the source device. Verifying and Troubleshooting Frame Relay The show interface serial Command The show frame-relay lmi Command The show frame-relay pvc [interface interface [dlci#]] Command The show frame-relay map Command The debug frame-relay Command The show interfaces serial Command Lab-B#show interfaces serial Serial 2 is up, line protocol is up Hardware type is MCI Serial Internet address is 131.18.79.1, subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 MTU 1500 bytes, BW 1544 Kbit, DLY 20000 usec, rely 255/255,load 1/255 Encapsulation FRAME-RELAY, loopback not set, keepalive set (10 sec) multicast DLCI 1022, status defined, active source DLCI 20, status defined, active LMI DLCI 1023, LMI sent 10, LMI stat recvd 10, LMI upd recvd 2 Last input 7:21:29, output 0:00:37, output hang never The show frame-relay lmi Command Router#show frame-relay lmi LMI Statistics for interface Serial1 (Frame Relay DTE) LMI TYPE = ANSI Invalid Unnumbered info 0 Invalid Prot Disc 0 Invalid dummy Call Ref 0 Invalid Msg Type 0 Invalid Status Message 0 Invalid Lock Shift 0 Invalid Information ID 0 Invalid Report IE Len 0 Invalid Report Request 0 Invalid Keep IE Len 0 Num Status Enq. Sent 9 Num Status msgs Rcvd 0 Num Update Status Rcvd 0 Num Status Timeouts 9 The show frame-relay pvc Command Router#show frame-relay pvc 100 PVC Statistics for interface Serial5/1 (Frame Relay DTE) DLCI = 100, DLCI USAGE = LOCAL, PVC STATUS = ACTIVE, INTERFACE = Serial0.1 input pkts 9 output pkts 16 in bytes 154 out bytes 338 dropped pkts 6 in FECN pkts 0 in BECN pkts 0 out FECN pkts 0 out BECN pkts 0 in DE pkts 0 out DE pkts 0 out bcast pkts 0 out bcast bytes 0 pvc create time 00:35:11, last time pvc status changed 00:00:22 Bound to Virtual-Access1 (up, cloned from Virtual-Template5) The show frame-relay map Command Router#show frame-relay map Serial 1 (up): ip 131.108.177.177 dlci 177 (0xB1,0x2C10), static, broadcast, CISCO The debug frame-relay Command #debug frame-relay Serial0(i): dlci 500(0x7C41), pkt type 0x0800, Serial0(i): dlci 1023(0xFCF1), pkt type 0x309, Serial0(i): dlci 500(0x7C41), pkt type 0x0800, Serial0(i): dlci 1023(0xFCF1), pkt type 0x309, datagramsize datagramsize datagramsize datagramsize 24 13 24 13 Labs Configuring Hub and Spoke Frame Relay Configuring Full-Mesh Frame Relay Configuring Full-Mesh Frame Relay With Sub Interfaces