2012 Jan 19
OSI Reference Model Layer Description |
OSI Layer |
Comment | TCP/IP Equivalent Layer Description Details |
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Application | 7 | Does not include user applications, but rather provides the interface between those applications and the network's services. For example, and email client uses this layer to generate a request to the email server. | Process/ Application |
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Presentation | 6 | Manages the way data is encoded. Provides translation between otherwise incompatible data-encoding schemes (e.g. ASCII vs EBCDIC, different floating point representations, as well as encryption and decryption). | Process/ Application |
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Session | 5 | Relatively unused - many protocols bundle this functionality into their transport layers. Manages flow of communications between two computer systems. Determines whether communications can be uni- or bi-directional. It also ensures that one request is completed before a new one is accepted. |
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Transport | 4 | Responsible for end-to-end integrity of transmissions, including through routers (which layer 2 does not do). Also provides resequencing of packets that may arrive out of order (e.g. due to different paths) before passing contents to session layer. | Host-to-Host | |||
Network | 3 | Establish route to be used between originating and destination computers. Optional, and only required if computer systems are separted by a router, or the application requires some service, or capability of either this or transport layer. Has no error detection/correction and relies on layer 2 for that. Routable protocols include IP, Novell IPX, and AppleTalk. |
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Data Link | 2 | Provide successful delivery of data transmitted and received: (1) Destination node verifies integrity of received frame and send and ACK. (2) Originating node must receive an acklowledging receipt of frame. | Network Access |
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Physical | 1 | Electrical and optical signalling of bits, including voltages, media type, impedance, and physical shape of connector | Network Access |
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Transmission Media | 0 | Coaxial cable, fiber, photons, etc. - not included in usual definition of layer 1 | Network Access |
Web request, email, etc. packet +-------------------------------+ | | +-------------------------------+ Transport layer creates the TCP segment \ +--------+-------------------------------+ | | Header | | | +--------+-------------------------------+ | > TCP/IP Stack Network layer creates the IP datagram | +--------+--------+-------------------------------+ | | Header | ...... | | | +--------+--------+-------------------------------+ / Data link/Physical layer creates the Ethernet frame +--------+--------+--------+-------------------------------+---------+ | Header | ______ | ...... | | Trailer | +--------+--------+--------+-------------------------------+---------+ Routers Move the packet across the network, from hop to hop (use lower 3 layers, do not require Transport or APplication layers).
2005-2012