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Why Frame Relay? 347
Star topology is where everything goes back to a central hub point, as shown in Figure 10-13.
Occasionally there is a tendency to tack short links onto an existing spoke router rather than
adding another link to the existing star topology central site. This adds extra hops to the
network, is not the most efficient design, and in general is not a good design practice. However,
depending on the provider, it might be cheaper to take this approach.
Figure 10-13
Star Topology with Additional Link
TIP
When a serial interface is applied to the encapsulate frame relay command, it becomes a
multipoint interface by default, not a point-to-point.
Local Loop
By using Frame Relay, you can have one physical port with one CSU at the central site, saving
money. But you can have multiple virtual circuits connected through the cloud. The beauty of
this is that you can add sites by just placing a phone call to your vendor to get another circuit
provisioned. In some cases, this might require an upgrade to the CSU/DSU.
STAR topology
Hub
Local loop
Spoke
Frame cloud
Spoke
Frame cloud
87200333.book Page 347 Wednesday, August 22, 2001 2:53 PM