Apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over frame relay

• US 6,594,278 B1
• Filed: 03/01/2002
• Issued: 07/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Baroudi, Mihyar
• Primary Examiner(s): VANDERPUYE, KENNETH N
• Application Number:
  US10/087,829
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 370/465, 370/466, 370/474, 370/470, 370/471, 370/395.5, 370/395.52, 370/469
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2408 for supporting different services, e.g. a differentiated services [DiffServ] type of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/35 by embedding flow control information in regular packets, e.g. piggybacking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/43 Assembling or disassembling of packets, e.g. segmentation and reassembly [SAR]

Abstract

A method of transmitting delay sensitive information over Internet Protocol (IP) over Frame Relay including storing the information in an IP packet, storing the IP packet in a sub-frame, storing a special symbol representing that the frame is delay sensitive in the sub-frame, storing the sub-frame in a frame, storing a network layer protocol identification representing that the frame contains IP information in the frame, and transmitting the frame over a Frame Relay Network, distinguishing delay sensitive information from non-delay sensitive information by examining the special symbol. Additionally, in systems using the FRF.12 or similar fragmenting standard, the special symbol may be stored in the header of the fragment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a payload type in a header in said sub-frame, said payload type representing that said sub-frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

means for storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

means for transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said payload type stored in said header of said sub-frame.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for transmitting includes:

means for distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within said frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

3. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

means for storing a payload type in a header in each of said sub-frames, said payload type representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

means for storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

means for transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said payload type stored in said header of said sub-frames.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein said means for storing said sub-frames includes:

means for storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein said means for transmitting step includes:

means for distinguishing said frames from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within each frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

6. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a number in an unused portion of a header of said sub-frame representing that said sub-frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

means for storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

means for transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said number stored in said unused portion of said header of said sub-frame.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, wherein said means for transmitting includes:

means for distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the unused portion of any of the sub-frames within said frame indicates that said sub-frame is delay sensitive.

8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 6, wherein said unused portion of said header of said sub-frame is one of the spare fields of said header of said sub-frame.

9. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

means for storing a number in an unused portion of a header in each of said sub-frames, said number representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

means for storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

means for transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said number stored in said unused portion of said header of said sub-frames.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein said means for storing said sub-frames includes means for storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

11. An apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein said header is an FRF.11 header having spare fields and said unused portion of said header of said sub-frames is one of the spare fields of said FRF.11 header of said sub-frames.

12. An apparatus in accordance with claim 10, wherein said unused portion of said one or more fragments is the control bit field of said header of said sub-frames.

13. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

means for storing said delay sensitive information an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a subchannel identification in a header in said sub-frame, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

means for storing said sub-frame in said Frame Relay frame; and

means for transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said subchannel identification stored in said header of said sub-frame.

14. An apparatus in accordance with claim 13, wherein said means for transmitting includes:

means for distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the subchannel identification of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

15. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

means for storing a subchannel identification in a header in each of said sub-frames, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

means for storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

means for transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said subchannel identification stored in said header of said sub-frames.

16. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said means for storing said sub-frames includes:

means for storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

17. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a network layer protocol identification in said frame, said network layer protocol identification representing that said frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive IP information;

means for storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

means for transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-IP information and from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said network layer protocol identification stored in said sub-frame.

18. An apparatus for processing a Frame Relay frame including:

means for examining payload types in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

means for determining if information stored in the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information based on the payload types stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

means for giving the frame special priority if the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay-sensitive information.

19. An apparatus in accordance with claim 18, wherein said means for determining includes:

means for determining that the frame is delay sensitive if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frame is delay sensitive.

26. An apparatus in accordance with claim 18 further including means for routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

20. An apparatus for handling a Frame Relay frame including:

means for examining an unused portion in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

means for determining if information stored in the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information based on the number stored in the unused portion of the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

means for giving the frame special priority if the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay-sensitive information.

21. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20, wherein said means for determining includes:

means for determining that the frame is delay sensitive if numbers stored in the unused portion of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frame is delay sensitive.

22. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20, wherein said header is an FRF.11 header having spare fields and said unused portion is one of the spare fields of the FRF.11 header in each of said sub-frames.

23. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20, wherein said unused portion is a control bit field of each of said sub-frame headers.

27. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20 further including means for routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

24. An apparatus for processing a Frame Relay frame including:

means for examining subchannel identification in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

means for determining if information stored in the frame is includes at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information based on the subchannel identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

means for giving the frame special priority if the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay-sensitive information.

25. An apparatus in accordance with claim 24, wherein said means for determining includes:

means for determining that the frame is delay sensitive if the subchannel identification of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frame is delay sensitive.

28. An apparatus in accordance with claim 24 further including means for routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

29. An apparatus for handling a Frame Relay frame including:

means for examining a network layer protocol identification in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

means for determining if information stored in the frame is IP information based on the network layer protocol identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame;

means for determining if the information stored in the frame is delay sensitive based on the network layer protocol identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame;

means for giving the frame special priority if the frame is delay sensitive; and

means for routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

30. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, the method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a payload type in a header in said sub-frame, said payload type representing that said sub-frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said payload type stored in said header of said sub-frame.

31. The program storage device of claim 30, wherein said transmitting includes:

distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within said frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

32. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, the method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing a payload type in a header in each of said sub-frames, said payload type representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said payload type stored in said header of said sub-frames,

wherein said storing said sub-frames includes storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

33. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, the method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing a payload type in a header in each of said sub-frames, said payload type representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said payload type stored in said header of said sub-frames,

wherein said transmitting includes distinguishing said frames from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within each frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

34. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a number in an unused portion of a header of said sub-frame representing that said sub-frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said number stored in said unused portion of said header of said sub-frame.

35. The program storage device of claim 34, wherein said transmitting includes:

distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the unused portion of any of the sub-frames within said frame indicates that said sub-frame is delay sensitive.

36. The program storage device of claim 34, wherein said unused portion of said header of said sub-frame is one of the spare fields of said header of said sub-frame.

37. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing a number in an unused portion of a header in each of said sub-frames, said number representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said number stored in said unused portion of said header of said sub-frames.

38. The program storage device of claim 37, wherein said storing said sub-frames includes storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

39. The program storage device of claim 37, wherein said header is an FRF.11 header having spare fields and said unused portion of said header of said sub-frames is one of the spare fields of said FRF.11 header of said sub-frames.

40. The program storage device of claim 38, wherein said unused portion of said one or more fragments is the control bit field of said header of said sub-frames.

41. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

storing said delay sensitive information an IP packet;

storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a subchannel identification in a header in said sub-frame, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frame contains at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frame in said Frame Relay frame; and

transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said subchannel identification stored in said header of said sub-frame,

wherein said transmitting includes distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the subchannel identification of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

42. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, including:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing a subchannel identification in a header in each of said sub-frames, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frames contain at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said subchannel identification stored in said header of said sub-frames,

wherein said storing said sub-frames includes storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

43. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for processing a Frame Relay including:

examining payload types in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

determining if information stored in the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information based on the payload types stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

giving the frame special priority if the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay-sensitive information.

44. The program storage device of claim 43, wherein said determining includes:

determining that the frame is delay sensitive if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frame is delay sensitive.

52. The program storage device of claim 43, further including routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

45. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, handling a Frame Relay frame including the steps of:

examining an unused portion in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

determining if information stored in the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information based on the number stored in the unused portion of the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

giving the frame special priority if the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay-sensitive information.

46. The program storage device of claim 45, wherein said determining includes:

determining that the frame is delay sensitive if numbers stored in the unused portion of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frame is delay sensitive.

47. The program storage device of claim 45, wherein said header is an FRF.11 header having spare fields and said unused portion is one of the spare fields of the FRF.11 header in each of said sub-frames.

48. The program storage device of claim 45, wherein said unused portion is a control bit field of each of said sub-frame headers.

53. The program storage device of claim 45, further including routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

49. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for processing a Frame Relay, processing a Frame Relay frame including:

examining subchannel identification in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

determining if information stored in the frame is includes at least one IP packet that includes delay sensitive information based on the subchannel identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

giving the frame special priority if the frame includes at least one IP packet that includes delay-sensitive information.

50. The program storage device of claim 49, wherein said determining includes:

determining that the frame is delay sensitive if the subchannel identification of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frame is delay sensitive.

54. The program storage device of claim 49, further including routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

51. A program storage device readable by a machine, embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform a method for handling a Frame Relay frame including:

examining a network layer protocol identification in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

determining if information stored in the frame is IP information based on the network layer protocol identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame;

determining if the information stored in the frame delay sensitive based on the network layer protocol identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

giving the frame special priority if the frame is delay sensitive.

55. The program storage device of claim 51, further including routing the frame given the special priority prior to routing a frame with a lower priority.

56. An apparatus to transmit delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a payload type in a header in said sub-frame, said payload type representing that said sub-frame contains delay sensitive information; and

means for storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame.

57. The apparatus of claim 56 further comprising means for distinguishing said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within said frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

58. The apparatus of claim 56 further comprising means for fragmenting said IP packet.

59. The apparatus of claim 56 further comprising means for storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

60. An apparatus to transmit delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

a generator to generate an IP packet to store delay sensitive information;

means for placing a Frame Relay sub-frame within said IP packet;

a number placed in an unused portion of a header of said Frame Relay sub-frame representing that said Frame Relay sub-frame contains delay sensitive information.

61. The apparatus of claim 60 further comprising means for distinguishing said Frame Relay sub-frame from other frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the payload type of any of the sub-frames within said Frame Relay sub-frame indicates that said Frame Relay sub-frame is delay sensitive.

62. The apparatus of claim 60 wherein said unused portion of said header of said Frame Relay sub-frame is one of the spare fields of said header of said Frame Relay sub-frame.

63. An apparatus for transmitting delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, said apparatus comprising:

a generator to generate an IP packet to store the delay sensitive information;

means for fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

said Frame Relay sub-frames each having a number placed in an unused portion of a header of said respective Frame Relay sub-frames representing that said respective Frame Relay sub-frames contain delay sensitive information.

64. The apparatus of claim 63 further comprising means for storing each of said Frame Relay sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

65. The apparatus of claim 63 wherein said header of said respective Frame Relay sub-frames is an FRF.11 header having spare fields and said unused portion of said header of said respective Frame Relay sub-frames is one of the spare fields of said FRF.11 header of said respective Frame Relay sub-frames.

66. The apparatus of claim 63 wherein said unused portion of said one or more Frame Relay sub-frames is a control bit field of said header of said Frame Relay sub-frames.

67. An apparatus to transmit delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

means for storing said delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a subchannel identification in a header in said sub-frame, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frame contains delay sensitive information; and

means for storing said sub-frame in said Frame Relay frame.

68. The apparatus of claim 67 further comprising means to distinguish said frame from frames containing non-delay sensitive information if the subchannel identification of any of the sub-frames within said frame indicates that the sub-frame is delay sensitive.

69. An apparatus to transmit delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

a generator to generate an IP packet for storing the delay sensitive information;

means for fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

said sub-frames each having a subchannel identification in a header in each of said sub-frames, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frames contain delay sensitive information; and

means for storing said sub-frame in said Frame Relay frame.

70. The apparatus of claim 69 further comprising means for storing each of said sub-frames in a different Frame Relay frame.

71. An apparatus to transmit delay sensitive information over IP over Frame Relay, comprising:

means for storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

means for storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

means for storing a network layer protocol identification in said frame, said network layer protocol identification representing that said frame contains delay sensitive IP information; and

means for storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame.

72. An apparatus for processing a Frame Relay frame, comprising:

means for examining subchannel identification in headers of each of one or more sub-frames within the frame;

means for determining if information stored in the frame is delay sensitive based on the subchannel identification stored in the headers of the sub-frames within the frame; and

means for giving the frame special priority if the frame is delay-sensitive,

wherein said means for determining determines that the frame is delay sensitive if the subchannel identification of any of the sub-frames within the frame indicates that a sub-frame within the frames is delay sensitive.

73. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a payload type in a header in said sub-frame, said payload type representing that said sub-frame contains delay sensitive information; and

storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame.

74. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information of IP over Frame Relay, said method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing a payload type in a header in each of said sub-frames, said payload type representing that said sub-frames contain delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said payload type stored in said header of said sub-frames.

75. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information of IP of Frame Relay, said method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

storing said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a number in an unused portion of a header of said sub-frame representing that said sub-frame contains delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said number stored in said unused portion of said header of said sub-frame.

76. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information of IP of Frame Relay, said method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing a number in an unused portion of a header in each of said sub-frames, said number representing that said sub-frames contain delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive information based on said number stored in said unused portion of said header of said sub-frames.

77. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information of IP over Frame Relay, said method comprising:

storing delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

stroring said IP packet in a frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a subchannel identification in a header in said sub-frame, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frame contains delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frame in said Frame Relay frame; and

transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said subchannel identification stored in said header of said sub-frame.

78. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information of IP of Frame Relay, said method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

fragmenting said IP packet into one or more Frame Relay sub-frames;

storing subchannel identification in a header in each of said sub-frames, said subchannel identification representing that said sub-frames contain delay sensitive information;

storing said sub-frames in one or more Frame Relay frames; and

transmitting said frames over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing them from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said subchannel identification stored in said header of said sub-frames.

79. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for transmitting delay sensitive information of IP of Frame Relay, said method comprising:

storing the delay sensitive information in an IP packet;

stroring said IP packet in a Frame Relay sub-frame;

storing a network layer protocol identification in said frame, said network layer protocol identification representing that said frame contains delay sensitive IP information;

storing said sub-frame in a Frame Relay frame; and

transmitting said frame over a Frame Relay network, distinguishing it from frames containing non-IP information and from frames containing non-delay sensitive IP information based on said network layer protocol identification stored in said sub-frame.