OSI MODEL

THE OSI MODEL

The International Standards Organization (ISO) is a
multinational body dedicated to worldwide agreement on
international standards.

The OSI model is a layered framework for the design of

network systems that allows communication between all types
of computer systems. The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI)
model has seven layers. The layers are stacked this way:
Application
Presentation
Session
Transport
Network
Data Link
Physical

Advantages of using OSI layered model

include, but are not limited to, the following:
It encourages industry standardization by defining
what functions occur at each layer of the model.
It prevents changes in one layer from affecting other
layers, so it does not hamper development.
It allows multiple-vendor development through
standardization of networking components.
It divides the network communication process into
smaller and simpler components, thus aiding
component development, design, and trouble
shooting.
It allows various types of network hardware and
software to communicate.

1) Physical Layer
The physical layer is responsible for movements of
individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.
The physical layer defines the characteristics of the
interface between the devices and the transmission
medium. It also defines the type of transmission medium.
The physical layer defines the type of encoding (how Os
and I s are changed to signals).
Data rate. The transmission rate-the number of bits sent
each second-is also defined by the physical layer.
Synchronization of bits.
Transmission mode. The physical layer also defines the
direction of transmission between two devices: simplex,
half-duplex, or full-duplex.

2) DATA LINK LAYER

The data link layer provides error-free transfer of data frames
from one node to another over the physical layer, allowing layers
above it to assume virtually error-free transmission over the link.
To do this, the data link layer provides:
Link establishment and termination: establishes and terminates
the logical link between two nodes.
Frame traffic control: tells the transmitting node to "back-off"
when no frame buffers are available.
Frame sequencing: transmits/receives frames sequentially.
Frame acknowledgment: provides/expects frame
acknowledgments. Detects and recovers from errors that occur in
the physical layer by retransmitting non-acknowledged frames
and handling duplicate frame receipt.
Frame delimiting: creates and recognizes frame boundaries.
Frame error checking: checks received frames for integrity.
Media access management: determines when the node "has the
right" to use the physical medium.

3) NETWORK LAYER
The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination
delivery of a packet, possibly across multiple networks (links).
Whereas the data link layer oversees the delivery of the packet
between two systems on the same network (links), the network
layer ensures that each packet gets from its point of origin to its
final destination.
Logical addressing. The physical addressing implemented by
the data link layer handles the addressing problem locally. If a
packet passes the network boundary, we need another
addressing system to help distinguish the source and
destination systems. The network layer adds a header to the
packet coming from the upper layer that, among other things,
includes the logical addresses of the sender and receiver.
Routing. When independent networks or links are connected to
create internetworks (network of networks) or a large network,
the connecting devices (called routers or switches) route or
switch the packets to their final destination. One of the functions
of the network layer is to provide this mechanism.

4) TRANSPORT LAYER
Service-point addressing. Computers often run several
programs at the same time. For this reason, source-todestination delivery means delivery not only from one
computer to the next but also from a specific process
(running program) on one computer to a specific
process (running program) on the other. The transport
layer header must therefore include a type of address
called a service-point address (or port address). The
network layer gets each packet to the correct
computer; the transport layer gets the entire message
to the correct process on that computer.

Connection control. The transport layer can be either

connectionless
or
connection-oriented.
A
connectionless transport layer treats each segment as
an independent packet and delivers it to the transport
layer at the destination machine. A connectionoriented transport layer makes a connection with the
transport layer at the destination machine first before
delivering the packets. After all the data are
transferred, the connection is terminated.
Flow control. Like the data link layer, the transport
layer is responsible for flow control.
Error control. Like the data link layer, the transport
layer is responsible for error control. However, error
control at this layer is performed process-to-process
rather than across a single link. Error correction is
usually achieved through retransmission.

5) SESSION LAYER
The session layer allows :
Session establishment, maintenance and
termination: allows two application processes on
different machines to establish, use and
terminate a connection, called a session.
Session support: performs the functions that
allow these processes to communicate over the
network, performing security, name recognition,
logging, and so on.

6) PRESENTATION LAYER
The presentation layer formats the data to be presented to the
application layer. It can be viewed as the translator for the
network. This layer may translate data from a format used by
the application layer into a common format at the sending
station, then translate the common format to a format known
to the application layer at the receiving station.
The presentation layer provides:
Character code translation: for example, ASCII to EBCDIC.
Data conversion: bit order, CR-CR/LF, integer-floating point,
and so on.
Data compression: reduces the number of bits that need to be
transmitted on the network.
Data encryption: encrypt data for security purposes. For
example, password encryption.

7) APPLICATION LAYER
The application layer serves as the window for
users and application processes to access
network services. This layer contains a variety of
commonly needed functions:

Remote file access

Remote printer access
Inter-process communication
Network management
Directory services
Electronic messaging (such as mail)
Network virtual terminals