It's not a stupid question at all. Frame Relay is connection-oriented, but not reliable. Before any data can be sent, a connection must be established. The connection is maintained with LMI. If the connection maintenance determines the circuit is down, then no data can be sent. Data is sent without sequence numbers and is not acknowledged. There's no reliability.
In the LAN world, the term "connection-oriented" is often used synonymously with the term "reliable" when referring to protocols. When we say that TCP is a connection-oriented protocol, the assumption is that TCP is also a reliable protocol. LAN engineers don't tend to differentiate the two descriptive terms. In the WAN world, we must differentiate the terms. A Frame Relay or ATM circuit is established in advance of its use through the use of a signaling protocol. The reliability, or lack thereof, associated with data being passed through the circuit is dependent on the characteristics of the upper-layer protocol being used by the communicators. Reliability is not a feature or function associated with the WAN circuit itself. The protocol is not reliable. However, it is connection-oriented. The GDC page that you are using to study looks really good at a quick glance. But I think they drew the wrong conclusion about connectionless VS connection-oriented. But it does sort of depend on how you look at it. The "Cisco answer" is that FR is connection-oriented. Sorry for the length of this message! Priscilla At 12:51 AM 12/20/01, Caio Misticone wrote: >Hello Group! >I'm still studying to get my CCNA certification, and i have some doubts >related to frame-relay protocol. >Is it connection-oriented or connectionless? >I know it's is a stupid question, however, i found two answers on the net. > >"CONNECTIONLESS, Packet-Based Protocol" >http://www.gdc.com/corporate_news/connects04/techfocus/framebasics.html > >and > >"Frame Relay provides CONNECTION-ORIENTED data link layer communication" >http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/ito_doc/frame.htm > >So... what is the right one? > >Thanks, > >Caio Misticone ________________________ Priscilla Oppenheimer http://www.priscilla.com Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=29812&t=29747 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
