THE INTERACTIVE NETWORK DESIGN MANUAL
Building a Frame Relay Network
Selecting a Carrier
Whether you go through a formal RFP and contract award process,
use a small evaluation team, or decide it all yourself, you'll
want to get as much detail from the vendor as you reasonably can.
To simplify the cost analysis, get vendors to submit pricing in
a common form.
Your evaluation criteria is specific to your organization and
its needs, but there is essential information that should be common
to all vendor proposals:
- Network architecture. Get a topology description, with details
of the network POPs, equipment used in the network, backbone link
sizes and core technologies such as cell switching.
- Network operations center and support policies. Get details
on technical support staff and after-hours support options as
well.
- Billing and network utilization report descriptions. You can't
manage a network that you can't see.
- Guarantees for availability and latency, particularly for
time sensitive traffic.
- Expected times to provision new service and adjust existing
link speeds.
- Available customer network management platforms. These may
be an extra cost item. Some vendors offer customer probe-based
data collection and reporting, which provide the best view of
the network service.
- Equipment lease and purchase plans.
- Equipment installation and support services.
- Equipment sparing. How quickly can the carrier replace supported
equipment when it fails? Ideally, new parts will be kept on site
or within a few minutes of your location.
- Local exchange carrier coordination services. You'll have
a lot of vendors to juggle if you build a large network on your
own. Selecting a prime contractor for the network is a common
practice.
- Get the carrier's definition of key terms and their network
design implications. Despite frame relay's maturity there is occasional
variation on, for example, the ability to burst to port speed.
- The carrier's policy on oversubscription of the access circuit
and port.