What is OSI Model?

The OSI Model is a logical and conceptual model that defines network communication used by
systems open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The Open System
Interconnection (OSI Model) also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer
packet transfer by using various layers of protocols.

Characteristics of OSI Model

Here are some important characteristics of the OSI model:

 A layer should only be created where the definite levels of abstraction are needed.
 The function of each layer should be selected as per the internationally standardized
protocols.
 The number of layers should be large so that separate functions should not be put in the
same layer. At the same time, it should be small enough so that architecture doesn’t
become very complicated.
 In the OSI model, each layer relies on the next lower layer to perform primitive
functions. Every level should able to provide services to the next higher layer
 Changes made in one layer should not need changes in other lavers.

Why of OSI Model?

 Helps you to understand communication over a network

 Troubleshooting is easier by separating functions into different network layers.
 Helps you to understand new technologies as they are developed.
 Allows you to compare primary functional relationships on various network layers.

7 Layers of the OSI Model

OSI model is a layered server architecture system in which each layer is defined according to a
specific function to perform. All these seven layers work collaboratively to transmit the data
from one layer to another.

 The Upper Layers: It deals with application issues and mostly implemented only in
software. The highest is closest to the end system user. In this layer, communication from
one end-user to another begins by using the interaction between the application layer. It
will process all the way to end-user.
 The Lower Layers: These layers handle activities related to data transport. The physical
layer and datalink layers also implemented in software and hardware.
Upper and Lower layers further divide network architecture into seven different layers as below

 Application
 Presentation
 Session
 Transport
 Network, Data-link
 Physical layers

Network Layers Diagram

Let’s Study each layer in detail:

Physical Layer
The physical layer helps you to define the electrical and physical specifications of the data
connection. This level establishes the relationship between a device and a physical transmission
medium. The physical layer is not concerned with protocols or other such higher-layer items.

Examples of hardware in the physical layer are network adapters, ethernet, repeaters, networking
hubs, etc.

The major protocols used by this layer include Bluetooth, PON, OTN, DSL, IEEE.802.11,
IEEE.802.3, L431 and TIA 449.

Data Link Layer:

Data link layer corrects errors which can occur at the physical layer. The layer allows you to
define the protocol to establish and terminates a connection between two connected network
devices.

It is IP address understandable layer, which helps you to define logical addressing so that any
endpoint should be identified.

The layer also helps you implement routing of packets through a network. It helps you to define
the best path, which allows you to take data from the source to the destination.

The data link layer is subdivided into two types of sublayers:

1. Media Access Control (MAC) layer- It is responsible for controlling how device in a
network gain access to medium and permits to transmit data.
2. Logical link control layer- This layer is responsible for identity and encapsulating
network-layer protocols and allows you to find the error.

Important Functions of Datalink Layer:

 Framing which divides the data from Network layer into frames.
 Allows you to add header to the frame to define the physical address of the source and
the destination machine
 Adds Logical addresses of the sender and receivers
 It is also responsible for the sourcing process to the destination process delivery of the
entire message.
 It also offers a system for error control in which it detects retransmits damage or lost
frames.
 Datalink layer also provides a mechanism to transmit data over independent networks
which are linked together.

The protocols are used by the Data Link Layer include: ARP, CSLIP, HDLC, IEEE.802.3, PPP,
X-25, SLIP, ATM, SDLS and PLIP.

Transport Layer:
The transport layer builds on the network layer to provide data transport from a process on a
source machine to a process on a destination machine. It is hosted using single or multiple
networks, and also maintains the quality-of-service functions.

It determines how much data should be sent where and at what rate. This layer builds on the
message which are received from the application layer. It helps ensure that data units are
delivered error-free and in sequence.

Transport layer helps you to control the reliability of a link through flow control, error control,
and segmentation or DE segmentation.
The transport layer also offers an acknowledgment of the successful data transmission and sends
the next data in case no errors occurred. TCP is the best-known example of the transport layer.

Important functions of Transport Layers:

 It divides the message received from the session layer into segments and numbers them to
make a sequence.
 Transport layer makes sure that the message is delivered to the correct process on the
destination machine.
 It also makes sure that the entire message arrives without any error else it should be
retransmitted.

The network layer assists the following protocols: Internet Protocol (IPv4), Internet Protocol
(IPv6), IPX, AppleTalk, ICMP, IPsec and IGMP.

Network Layer:
The network layer provides the functional and procedural means of transferring variable length
data sequences from one node to another connected in “different networks”.

Message delivery at the network layer does not give any guaranteed to be reliable network layer
protocol.

Layer-management protocols that belong to the network layer are:

1. routing protocols
2. multicast group management
3. network-layer address assignment.

It uses the most important protocols of OSI protocol family, which are: Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP), UDP, SPX, DCCP and SCTP.

Session Layer
Session Layer controls the dialogues between computers. It helps you to establish starting and
terminating the connections between the local and remote application.

This layer request for a logical connection which should be established on end user’s
requirement. This layer handles all the important log-on or password validation.

Session layer offers services like dialog discipline, which can be duplex or half-duplex. It is
mostly implemented in application environments that use remote procedure calls.
Important function of Session Layer:

 It establishes, maintains, and ends a session.

 Session layer enables two systems to enter into a dialog
 It also allows a process to add a checkpoint to steam of data.

The protocols used are: PPTP, SAP, L2TP and NetBIOS.

Presentation Layer
Presentation layer allows you to define the form in which the data is to exchange between the
two communicating entities. It also helps you to handles data compression and data encryption.

This layer transforms data into the form which is accepted by the application. It also formats and
encrypts data which should be sent across all the networks. This layer is also known as a syntax
layer.

The function of Presentation Layers:

 Character code translation from ASCII to EBCDIC.

 Data compression: Allows to reduce the number of bits that needs to be transmitted on
the network.
 Data encryption: Helps you to encrypt data for security purposes — for example,
password encryption.
 It provides a user interface and support for services like email and file transfer.

The following are the presentation layer protocols: XDR, TLS, SSL and MIME.

Application Layer
Application layer interacts with an application program, which is the highest level of OSI model.
The application layer is the OSI layer, which is closest to the end-user. It means OSI application
layer allows users to interact with other software application.

Application layer interacts with software applications to implement a communicating

component. The interpretation of data by the application program is always outside the scope of
the OSI model.

Example of the application layer is an application such as file transfer, email, remote login, etc.

The function of the Application Layers are:

 Application-layer helps you to identify communication partners, determining resource

availability, and synchronizing communication.
  It allows users to log on to a remote host
 This layer provides various e-mail services
 This application offers distributed database sources and access for global information
about various objects and services.

This layer uses following protocols: HTTP, SMTP, DHCP, FTP, Telnet, SNMP and SMPP.

Interaction Between OSI Model Layers

Information sent from a one computer application to another needs to pass through each of the
OSI layers.

This is explained in the below-given example:

 Every layer within an OSI model communicates with the other two layers which are
below it and its peer layer in some another networked computing system.
 In the below-given diagram, you can see that the data link layer of the first system
communicates with two layers, the network layer and the physical layer of the system. It
also helps you to communicate with the data link layer of, the second system.

Advantages of the OSI Model

Here, are major benefits/pros of using the OSI model:
  It helps you to standardize router, switch, motherboard, and other hardware
 Reduces complexity and standardizes interfaces
 Facilitates modular engineering
 Helps you to ensure interoperable technology
 Helps you to accelerate the evolution
 Protocols can be replaced by new protocols when technology changes.
 Provide support for connection-oriented services as well as connectionless service.
 It is a standard model in computer networking.
 Supports connectionless and connection-oriented services.
 Offers flexibility to adapt to various types of protocols

Disadvantages of the OSI Model

Here are some cons/ drawbacks of using OSI Model:

 Fitting of protocols is a tedious task.

 You can only use it as a reference model.
 Doesn’t define any specific protocol.
 In the OSI network layer model, some services are duplicated in many layers such as the
transport and data link layers
 Layers can’t work in parallel as each layer need to wait to obtain data from the previous
layer.

3 Unguided Transmission
 An unguided transmission transmits the electromagnetic waves without using any
physical medium. Therefore, it is also known as wireless transmission.
 In unguided media, air is the media through which the electromagnetic energy can flow
easily.

Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:

Radio waves

 Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all the directions of
free space.
 Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are propagated in all the directions.
 The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3Khz to 1 khz.
 In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e., the
wave sent by the sending antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.
  An example of the radio wave is FM radio.

Applications Of Radio waves:

 A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many receivers.
 An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.

Advantages Of Radio transmission:

 Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular phones.
 Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
 Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.

Microwaves

Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
Microwaves are unidirectional.

Microwaves are of two types:

 Terrestrial microwave
 Satellite microwave communication.

Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

 Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of a
radio signal from one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to another.
 Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range from 1GHz
to 1000 GHz.
 Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and receiving antenna is to be aligned, i.e.,
the waves sent by the sending antenna are narrowly focused.
 In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna which
is km away.
 It works on the line-of-sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the towers are
the direct sight of each other.
Characteristics of Microwave:

 Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz to 21-
23 GHz.
 Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
 Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
 Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
 Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental conditions
and antenna size.

Advantages Of Microwave:

 Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.

 It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation of
cables.
 Microwave transmission provides an easy communication in terrains as the installation of
cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
 Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.

Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:

 Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure communication. Any malicious user

can catch the signal in the air by using its own antenna.
 Out of phase signal: A signal can be moved out of phase by using microwave
transmission.
 Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave transmission is susceptible to weather
condition. This means that any environmental change such as rain, wind can distort the
signal.
 Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is limited in the case of microwave
transmission.

Satellite Microwave Communication

 A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
 Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility than cable
and fiber optic systems.
  We can communicate with any point on the globe by using satellite communication.

How Does Satellite work?

The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it amplifies the
signal. The amplified signal is retransmitted to another earth station.

Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:

 The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
 The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the centre of the
coverage area.
 Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication applications.
 It is easy to install.
 It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal
broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.

Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:

o Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
o The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it remains in
orbit.
o The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another launch of the
satellite has to be planned before it becomes non-functional.

Infrared

o An infrared transmission is a wireless technology used for communication over short

ranges.
o The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.
o It is used for short-range communication such as data transfer between two cell phones,
TV remote operation, data transfer between a computer and cell phone resides in the
same closed area.

Characteristics Of Infrared:
  It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate will be very high.
 Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore, the infrared communication in one
room cannot be interrupted by the nearby rooms.
 An infrared communication provides better security with minimum interference.
 Infrared communication is unreliable outside the building because the sun rays will
interfere with the infrared waves.

5 What are Multiple Access Protocols?

Data transmission between two nodes is handled by the Data Link Layer. Its primary duties
include data link control and multiple access control.

Data Link Control

By utilizing methods like framing, error control, and flow control, the data link control is in
charge of ensuring that messages are reliably transmitted via transmission channels. To regulate
a data link, use the Stop and Wait ARQ command.

Multiple Access Control

The data connection control layer is sufficient if there is a dedicated link present between the
sender and the receiver, but numerous stations can access the channel at once if there isn’t.
Therefore, it is necessary to use several access protocols to reduce collision and prevent
crosstalk.
When a teacher asks a question in a classroom full of students and all the students start
responding simultaneously (send data at the same time), a lot of chaos is created (data overlap or
data lost), so the teacher’s job is to manage the students and force them to respond one at a time
using multiple access protocols. Protocols are therefore necessary for data sharing over non-
dedicated channels.

Classification of Multiple Access Protocol

Multiple access protocols may also be classified into: Random Access Protocol, Controlled
Access and Channelization.

1. Random Access Protocol

All stations in the random-access protocol have equal superiority, which means that no station
has higher priority than any other station. Depending on the status of the medium, any station
may send data (idle or busy). It has two attributes:
  There is no set timing for data transmission.
 The order of the stations delivering data is not fixed.
The following are divisions of the random-access protocols:

(a) ALOHA
Although ALOHA was created for wireless LAN, it can also be used for shared mediums. This
allows for simultaneous data transmission from numerous stations, which might cause collisions
and jumbled data.

Pure Aloha:
When a station sends data it waits for an acknowledgement. If the acknowledgement doesn’t
come within the allotted time, then the station waits for a random amount of time called back-
off time (Tb) and re-sends the data. Since different stations wait for different amount of time,
the probability of further collision decreases.
 time, the probability of further collision decreases.
Vulnerable Time = 2* Frame transmission time
Throughput = G exp{-2*G}
Maximum throughput = 0.184 for G=0.5
 Slotted Aloha:
It is similar to pure aloha, except that we divide time into slots and sending of data
is allowed only at the beginning of these slots. If a station misses out the allowed
time, it must wait for the next slot. This reduces the probability of collision.
Vulnerable Time = Frame transmission time
Throughput = G exp{-*G}
Maximum throughput = 0.368 for G=1

(b) CSMA
Fewer collisions are guaranteed by carrier sensing multiple access (CSMA) since the station
must first determine whether the medium is busy or idle before delivering data. If it isn’t idle, it
waits for the channel to become idle before sending data. Due to propagation latency, there is
still a potential for collision in CSMA.
For instance, station A will sense the medium before sending any data. It will begin sending data
if it discovers that the channel is empty. However, if station B wishes to send data and senses the
medium, it will also find it idle and send data at the same time the first bits of information are
transferred from station A (delayed owing to propagation delay). As a result, data from stations
A and B will collide.
Here are the CSMA access modes:
  Non-persistent: The node senses the channel; if it is free, it sends the data; if not, it
checks the medium once or twice (not continuously) and sends the data when it is.
 1-persistent: The node senses the channel, sends the data if it is idle, or constantly
checks the medium for idleness before sending data unconditionally (with a probability of
1) when the channel becomes idle.
 P-persistent: The node senses the media and sends data with p probability if it is idle. If
the data is not transferred ((1-p) probability), the system waits a while before checking
the media once more. If the medium is still empty, the system sends the data with a p
probability. This process will repeat until the frame is sent. It is used in packet radio and
Wifi systems.
 O-persistent: Transmission takes place in the sequence determined by the superiority of
nodes. The node waits because of its time slot in order to send data if the medium is not
in use.

(c) CSMA/CD
CSMA/CD is an abbreviation of Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection. It refers to
the multiple access carrier with collision detection. In CSMA/CD, all the stations have the ability
to stop data transmission if a collision is found anywhere.

(d) CSMA/CA
CSMA/CA is an abbreviation of Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance. Multiple
access with carrier awareness and collision avoidance, sender receipt of acknowledgement
signals is a necessary step in the collision detection process. The data is successfully delivered if
there is just one signal (its own), but a collision has occurred if there are two signals (its own and
that with which it collided). The collision must significantly affect the received signal in order to
discriminate between these two scenarios. However, this is not the case in wired networks, which
is why CSMA/CA is employed here.
The CSMA/CA prevents collisions by:

1. Interframe space – In order to prevent collisions caused by propagation delays, the

station waits for the medium to become idle before sending data. This waiting period is
known as the Interframe Space (IFS). Once more, it checks to see if the medium is idle
after this. The priority of the station affects the IFS duration.
2. Contention Window – The quantity of time has been broken up into slots. When the
transmitter is prepared to send data, the number of wait slots it chooses at random
doubles each time the medium is not discovered to be idle. If the medium is determined
to be in use, the process is not restarted in its entirety; rather, the timer is restarted when
the channel is once more found to be inactive.
3. Acknowledgement – If the acknowledgement is just not received before time-out, the
sender resends the data.

2. Controlled Access Protocol

In this, the station sends the data once it has received approval from all other stations. The
stations under controlled access exchange information to determine which station has the
authority to send. In order to prevent message collisions over a shared medium, it only permits
one node to send at a time. These are the three controlled-access techniques:

 Token Passing
 Polling
 Reservation

3. Channelization
The channelization protocol allows numerous stations to access the same channel at the same
time by sharing the link’s available bandwidth according to time, frequency, and code. The three
types of channelization are: Frequency Division Multiple Access, Time Division Multiple
Access and Code Division Multiple Access.

(a) Frequency Division Multiple Access

In order to assign each station its own band, the available bandwidth is split into equal bands. In
order to prevent crosstalk and noise, guard bands are also included to ensure that no two bands
overlap.

(b) Time Division Multiple Access

The bandwidth is split across several stations in this. Time is separated into slots for stations to
broadcast data in order to prevent collisions. However, there is a synchronization overhead
because each station needs to be aware of its time slot. By including synchronization bits in each
slot, this problem can be fixed. Propagation delay is a problem with TDMA as well, but it can be
remedied by adding guard bands.

(c) Code Division Multiple Access

All signals are broadcast simultaneously on one channel in this process. The concepts of time
and bandwidth are not divided. For instance, even if only two individuals in the room speak the
same language, complete data reception is still achievable when many people are speaking at
once. Similar to this, data from several stations can be sent simultaneously in various code
languages.
One channel carries all transmissions simultaneously. There is neither division of bandwidth
nor division of time. For example, if there are many people in a room all speaking at the same
time, then also perfect reception of data is possible if only two persons speak the same
language. Similarly, data from different stations can be transmitted simultaneously in different
code languages.