Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
21, 2019
BS ECE - 5
An ISO standard that covers all aspects of network communications is the Open Systems Interconnection model.
It was first introduced in the late 1970s. An open system is a set of protocols that allows any two different systems
to communicate regardless of their underlying architecture. The purpose of the OSI model is to show how to
facilitate communication between different systems without requiring changes to the logic of the underlying
hardware and software. The OSI model is a layered framework for the design of network systems that allows
communication between all types of computer systems. It consists of seven separate but related layers, each of
which defines a part of the process of moving information across a network.
Network models serve to organize, unify, and control the hardware and software components of data
communications and networking. Although the term "network model" suggests a relationship to networking, the
model also encompasses data communications. Standards are needed so that these heterogeneous networks can
communicate with one another. The two best-known standards are the OSI model and the Internet (TCP/IP)
model.
The TCP/IP architectural model has four layers that approximately match six of the seven layers in the OSI
Reference Model. The TCP/IP model does not address the physical layer, which is where hardware devices reside.
The next three layers—network interface, internet and (host-to-host) transport—correspond to layers 2, 3 and 4
of the OSI model. The TCP/IP application layer conceptually “blurs” the top three OSI layers. It’s also worth
noting that some people consider certain aspects of the OSI session layer to be arguably part of the TCP/IP host-
to-host transport layer.
The network interface layer as its name suggests, this layer represents the place where the actual TCP/IP protocols
running at higher layers interface to the local network. This layer is somewhat “controversial” in that some people
don't even consider it a “legitimate” part of TCP/IP. This is usually because none of the core IP protocols run at
this layer. Despite this, the network interface layer is part of the architecture. It is equivalent to the data link layer
(layer two) in the OSI Reference Model and is also sometimes called the link layer. You may also see the name
network access layer.
On many TCP/IP networks, there is no TCP/IP protocol running at all on this layer, because it is simply not
needed. For example, if you run TCP/IP over an Ethernet, then Ethernet handles layer two (and layer one)
functions. However, the TCP/IP standards do define protocols for TCP/IP networks that do not have their own
layer two implementation. These protocols, the Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and the Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP), serve to fill the gap between the network layer and the physical layer. They are commonly used
to facilitate TCP/IP over direct serial line connections (such as dial-up telephone networking) and other
technologies that operate directly at the physical layer.