Say good-bye to your frame relay network. It´s odd for me to write that as I was one of the only consultants in 1991 talking about the virtues of frame relay over SMDS and private T1 networks connected with T1 nodal processors. Oddly enough, many of the arguments I made over a decade ago about the deficiencies of private T1 nets and SMDS versus frame relay are the same
now as I compare frame relay to MPLS. SMDS just never made sense and so it was right that it faded into oblivion. Frame relay was the answer to a more flexible wide area transport that sported a packet mode interface. T1 private networks were rigid, expensive, consumed significant telecom staff to operate and maintain and did not fit the needs for explosive growth in data networking. Funny, I can describe frame relay in the same deficient terms as private T1 networks as the industry turns toward converged networking.

Frame Relay´s star topology is too rigid for site-to-site communications forcing network managers into complex PVC management. Frame Relay´s star topology also forces centralization of corporate Internet access, requiring Internet traffic to be backhauled over the frame relay network, spiking bandwidth use and expense. On price, every single service provider including AT&T, MCI, Sprint, Equant, etc., is creating strong economic advantages to leave your frame relay network for MPLS. The key economic advantage for MPLS is the elimination of PVCs and their management as well as the fact that MPLS enables multiple access alternatives such as business class DSL, T1, T3, 10 Mbs and even frame relay for those so inclined.

But just like the growth of IP traffic was the killer app for frame relay, IP telephony is MPLS´s killer app. All of the service providers mentioned above are offering VoIP transport and IP telephony hosted services on top of their MPLS networks. In short, MPLS is where all the service provider development, marketing and resources are going. In fact, AT&T is betting the farm on MPLS. Over the next few years service providers will compete fiercely to cannibalize the frame relay market and steal market share away from competitors. Taking that into account, it´s only a matter of time before service providers will make MPLS so attractive that you just
won´t have a choice any longer and will have to make the switch. As to which service provider I like best, that´s a topic for another Lippis Report.

Posted 30 October 2004 at 7:15 am under Lippis Report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.