Computer Infrastructure

Seven Layers of the OSI

Reference Model

What is OSI Model?

OSI Model stands for Open System
Interconnection Reference Model.
Breaks the various aspects of a computer
network into seven distinct layers.
It is not a networking standard in the same sense
that Ethernet and Token Ring are networking
standards.
It is a framework into which the various
networking standards can fit.
In a sense, the OSI model is sort of a standard of
standards.

Summary of the Seven Layers of the OSI Model

 The first three layers are sometimes called the

lower layers. They deal with the mechanics of
how information is sent from one computer to
another over a network.
Layers 4 through 7 are sometimes called the
upper layers. They deal with how applications
relate to the network through application
programming interfaces.

Physical Layer

Physical Layer
Bottom layer of the OSI Model.
Addresses the physical characteristics of the
network, such as the types of cables used to
connect devices, the types of connectors used,
how long the cables can be, and so on.
The Physical layer doesnt define any meaning to
the signals being sent other than the basic binary
values of zero and one.
Physical layer devices includes repeaters, hubs
and NICs.

Physical Layer
A repeater is used to regenerate the signal
whenever you need to exceed the cable length
allowed by the Physical layer standard.
Hubs are also known as multiport repeaters
because the purpose of a hub is to regenerate every
packet received on any port on all of the hubs
other ports.

Data Link Layer

Data Link Layer

The lowest layer at which meaning is assigned to
the bits that are transmitted over the network.
Data link protocols address things such as the size
of each packet of data to be sent, a means of
addressing each packet so that its delivered to the
intended recipient, and a way to ensure that two or
more nodes dont try to transmit data on the
network at the same time.
Provides basic error detection and correction to
ensure that the data sent is the same as the data
received.

Data Link Layer

At the Data Link layer, each device on the network
has an address known as the Media Access Control
address, or MAC address.
One of the most important functions of the Data
Link layer is to provide a way for packets to be sent
safely over the physical media without interference
from other nodes attempting to send packets at the
same time.
The two most popular ways to do this are
CSMA/CD and token passing.

Data Link Layer

CSMA/CD stands for Carrier Sense Multiple
Access with Collision Detection.
Carrier Sense means that whenever a device wants
to send a packet over the network media, it first
listens to the network media to see whether
anyone else is already sending a packet. If it
doesnt hear any other signals on the media, the
computer assumes that the network is free, so it
sends the packet.

Data Link Layer

Multiple Access means that nothing prevents two
or more devices from trying to send a message at
the same time.
Collision Detection means that after a device sends
a packet, it listens carefully to see whether the
packet crashes into another packet. This is kind of
like listening for the screeching of brakes at the
four-way stop. If the device hears the screeching of
brakes, it waits a random period of time and then
tries to send the packet again.

Data Link Layer

Multiple Access means that nothing prevents two
or more devices from trying to send a message at
the same time.
Collision Detection means that after a device sends
a packet, it listens carefully to see whether the
packet crashes into another packet. This is kind of
like listening for the screeching of brakes at the
four-way stop. If the device hears the screeching of
brakes, it waits a random period of time and then
tries to send the packet again.

Data Link Layer

Two types of Data Link layer devices are
commonly used on networks: Bridges and
Switches.
A bridge is an intelligent repeater that is aware of
the MAC addresses of the nodes on either side of
the bridge and can forward packets accordingly.
A switch is an intelligent hub that examines the
MAC address of arriving packets in order to
determine which port to forward the packet to.

Network Layer

Network Layer
The Network layer handles the task of routing
network messages from one computer to another.
The two most popular layer 3 protocols are IP
(which is usually paired with TCP) and IPX
(normally paired with SPX for use with Novell and
Windows networks).
Network layer protocols provide two important
functions: Logical Addressing and Routing.

Logical Addressing
A logical address lets you access a network device by
using an address that you assign if you want to use
some other addressing scheme other than MAC to refer
to the computers and other devices on your network.
Logical addresses are created and used by Network
layer protocols such as IP or IPX.
For example, if you use IP as the Network layer
protocol, devices on the network are assigned IP
addresses such as 207.120.67.30. Because the IP
protocol must use a Data Link layer protocol to actually
send packets to devices, IP must know how to translate
the IP address of a device to the devices MAC address.

Logical Addressing
Although the exact format of logical addresses
varies depending on the protocol being used, most
protocols divide the logical address into two parts: a
network address and a device address.
The network address identifies which network the
device resides on, and the device address then
identifies the device on that network.
For example, in a typical IP address, such as
192.168.1.102, the network address is 192.168.1,
and the device address (called a host address in IP)
is 102.

Routing
Routing comes into play when a computer on one
network needs to send a packet to a computer on
another network.
A Router is used to forward the packet to the
destination network.
Important feature of routers is that you can use
them to connect networks that use different layer 2
protocols.
As long as both networks support the same layer 3
protocol, it doesnt matter if their layer 1 and layer 2
protocols are different.

Routing
A protocol is considered routable if it uses
addresses that include a network part and a host
part.
Any protocol that uses physical addresses isnt
routable because physical addresses dont indicate
to which network a device belongs.

Transport Layer

Transport Layer
The Transport layer is the layer where youll find
two of the most well-known networking protocols:
TCP (normally paired with IP) and SPX (normally
paired with IPX).
The main purpose of the Transport layer is to
ensure that packets are transported reliably and
without errors.
The Transport layer does this task by establishing
connections
between
network
devices,
acknowledging the receipt of packets, and
resending packets that arent received or are
corrupted when they arrive.

Transport Layer
In many cases, the Transport layer protocol
divides large messages into smaller packets that
can be sent over the network efficiently. The
Transport layer protocol reassembles the message
on the receiving end, making sure that all of the
packets that comprise a single transmission are
received so that no data is lost.

Transport Layer
For some applications, speed and efficiency are
more important than reliability. In such cases, a
connectionless protocol can be used. A
connectionless protocol doesnt go to the trouble
of establishing a connection before sending a
packet. Instead, it simply sends the packet. The
connectionless protocol that works alongside TCP
is called UDP.
TCP is a connection-oriented Transport layer
protocol. UDP is a connectionless Transport layer
protocol.

Session Layer

Session Layer
The Session layer establishes conversations known
as sessions between networked devices.
A session is an exchange of connection-oriented
transmissions between two network devices. Each of
these transmissions is handled by the Transport
layer protocol. The session itself is managed by the
Session layer protocol.
A single session can include many exchanges of data
between the two computers involved in the session.
After a session between two computers has been
established, it is maintained until the computers
agree to terminate the session.

Session Layer
The session layer allows three types of transmission
modes:
Simplex: In this mode, data flows in only one
direction.
Half-duplex: In this mode, data flows in both
directions, but only in one direction at a time.
Full-duplex: In this mode, data flows in both
directions at the same time.

Presentation Layer

Presentation Layer
The Presentation layer is responsible for how data is
represented to applications.
Most computers use the American Standard Code
for Information Interchange (ASCII) to represent
data. However, some computers (such as IBM
mainframe computers) use a different code, known
as Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange
Code (EBCDIC). ASCII and EBCDIC arent
compatible with each other. Presentation layer must
convert the data from ASCII to EBCDIC and vice
versa.

Presentation Layer
Presentation layer can also apply sophisticated
compression techniques so that fewer bytes of data
are required to represent the information when its
sent over the network. At the other end of the
transmission,
the
Presentation
layer
then
uncompresses the data.
The Presentation layer can also scramble the data
before it is transmitted and unscramble it at the
other end by using a sophisticated encryption
technique that even Sherlock Holmes would have
trouble breaking.

Application Layer

Application Layer
The highest layer of the OSI Model.
Deals with the techniques that application programs
use to communicate with the network.
Application programs such as Microsoft Office or
QuickBooks arent a part of the Application layer.
Rather, the Application layer represents the
programming interfaces that application programs
such as Microsoft Office or QuickBooks use to
request network services.

Application Layer
Some of the better-known Application layer protocols
are:
DNS (Domain Name System) for resolving Internet
domain names.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for file transfers.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for e-mail.
SMB (Server Message Block) for file sharing in
Windows networks.
NFS (Network File System) for file sharing in Unix
networks.
Telnet for terminal emulation.

How data travels through the Seven OSI Layers

-END-