TheOSIModelLayers

TheOSImodeltakesthetaskofinternetworkinganddividesthatupintowhatisreferredto
asaverticalstackthatconsistsofthefollowing7layers.

Physical(Layer1)
OSIModel,Layer1conveysthebitstreamelectricalimpulse,lightorradio
signalthroughthenetworkattheelectricalandmechanicallevel.Itprovides
thehardwaremeansofsendingandreceivingdataonacarrier,includingdefiningcables,
cardsandphysicalaspects.FastEthernet,RS232,andATMareprotocolswithphysical
layercomponents.
Layer1PhysicalexamplesincludeEthernet,FDDI,B8ZS,V.35,V.24,RJ45.

DataLink(Layer2)
AtOSIModel,Layer2,datapacketsareencodedanddecodedintobits.It
furnishestransmissionprotocolknowledgeandmanagementandhandleserrorsinthe
physicallayer,flowcontrolandframesynchronization.Thedatalinklayerisdividedinto
twosublayers:TheMediaAccessControl(MAC)layerandtheLogicalLinkControl(LLC)
layer.TheMACsublayercontrolshowacomputeronthenetworkgainsaccesstothe
dataandpermissiontotransmitit.TheLLClayercontrolsframesynchronization,flow
controlanderrorchecking.
Layer2DataLinkexamplesincludePPP,FDDI,ATM,IEEE802.5/802.2,IEEE
802.3/802.2,HDLC,FrameRelay.

Network(Layer3)
Layer3providesswitchingandroutingtechnologies,creatinglogicalpaths,known
asvirtualcircuits,fortransmittingdatafromnodetonode.Routingandforwardingare
functionsofthislayer,aswellasaddressing,internetworking,error
handling,congestioncontrolandpacketsequencing.
Layer3NetworkexamplesincludeAppleTalkDDP,IP,IPX.

Transport(Layer4)
OSIModel,Layer4,providestransparenttransferofdatabetweenendsystems,orhosts,
andisresponsibleforendtoenderrorrecoveryandflowcontrol.Itensurescompletedata
transfer.
Layer4TransportexamplesincludeSPX,TCP,UDP.

Session(Layer5)
Thislayerestablishes,managesandterminatesconnectionsbetweenapplications.The
sessionlayersetsup,coordinates,andterminatesconversations,exchanges,and
dialoguesbetweentheapplicationsateachend.Itdealswithsessionandconnection
coordination.
Layer5SessionexamplesincludeNFS,NetBiosnames,RPC,SQL.

Presentation(Layer6)
Thislayerprovidesindependencefromdifferencesindatarepresentation
(e.g.,encryption)bytranslatingfromapplicationtonetworkformat,andviceversa.The
presentationlayerworkstotransformdataintotheformthattheapplicationlayercan
accept.Thislayerformatsandencryptsdatatobesentacrossanetwork,providing
freedomfromcompatibilityproblems.Itissometimescalledthesyntaxlayer.
Layer6Presentationexamplesincludeencryption,ASCII,EBCDIC,TIFF,GIF,
PICT,JPEG,MPEG,MIDI.

Application(Layer7)
OSIModel,Layer7,supportsapplicationandenduserprocesses.Communication
partnersareidentified,qualityofserviceisidentified,userauthenticationandprivacyare
considered,andanyconstraintsondatasyntaxareidentified.Everythingatthislayeris
applicationspecific.Thislayerprovidesapplicationservicesforfiletransfers,email,and
othernetworksoftwareservices.TelnetandFTPareapplicationsthatexistentirelyinthe
applicationlevel.Tieredapplicationarchitecturesarepartofthislayer.
Layer7ApplicationexamplesincludeWWWbrowsers,NFS,SNMP,Telnet,
HTTP,FTP