Final answer:
Determining congestion in a Frame Relay network requires comparing the input and output data rates. Occasional peaks in input rate above output rate might not cause congestion if buffers can handle the excess.
Step-by-step explanation:
In assessing whether congestion will occur in a Frame Relay network with an input data rate of 44.56 Mbps and an output data rate of 39.53 Mbps, we need to compare the two rates. If the input rate exceeds the output rate consistently, congestion can occur because the incoming data cannot be processed as quickly as it arrives. However, occasional peaks in input data rate above the output rate might not cause congestion if the network buffers can handle the temporary excess.
Congestion in a Frame Relay network can be indicated by increased frame delay and decreased throughput. If the input data rate is only slightly higher than the output rate, and the network's buffers are sufficiently sized to handle intermittent traffic bursts, the network might not experience notable congestion.
However, if the input rate regularly and significantly exceeds the output rate, the buffers will quickly fill up, leading to dropped packets and severe network congestion. Without additional information on the network's capacity to handle varying data rates and buffer sizes, it is not possible to definitively determine the presence of congestion in the network.