Layered Network Models
Prepared By
Debabandana Apta
Layered Network Models
The intercommunication between hosts in any computer network, be it a large-
scale or a small-scale one, is built upon the premise of various task-specific layers.
Two of the most commonly accepted and used traditional layered network models
are the
• Open systems interconnection by International Organization of
Standardization (ISO-OSI) reference model
• Internet protocol suite
OSI Model
The ISO-OSI model is a conceptual framework that partitions any networked
communication device into seven layers of abstraction, each performing
distinct tasks based on the underlying technology and internal structure of the
hosts.
These seven layers, from bottom-up, are as follows:
1) Physical layer,
2) Data link layer,
3) Network layer,
4) Transport layer,
5) Session layer,
6) Presentation layer, and
7) Application layer.
Networked communication between two hosts following the OSI model
Physical Layer: (Media layer) (layer 1)
• The physical layer is responsible for
taking care of the electrical and mechanical operations of the host at the
actual physical level.
• These operations include
generation of signal generation,
signal transfer,
voltages, the layout of cables,
physical port layout,
line impedances, and
signal loss.
This layer is responsible for the
• Topological layout of the network (star, mesh, bus, or ring),
• Communication mode (simplex, duplex, full duplex), and
• Bit rate control operations.
The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as a symbol.
Data Link Layer: (media layer and layer 2)
• The data link layer is mainly concerned with the
Establishment and termination of the connection between two hosts,
Detection and correction of errors during communication
• IEEE 802 divides the OSI layer 2 further into two sub-layers:
Medium access control (MAC)
logical link control (LLC).
MAC is responsible for access control and permissions for connecting
networked devices;
LLC is mainly tasked with error checking, flow control, and frame
synchronization.
• The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as a frame.
Network Layer: (media layer and layer 3)
• It provides a means of routing data to various hosts connected to different
• networks through logical paths called virtual circuits.
• These logical paths may pass through other intermediate hosts (nodes)
before reaching the actual destination host.
• The primary tasks of this layer include
addressing,
sequencing of packets,
congestion control,
error handling, and Internetworking.
• The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as a packet.
Transport Layer: (layer 4) (host layer)
The transport layer is tasked with end-to-end error recovery and flow control to
achieve a transparent transfer of data between hosts.
This layer is responsible for
keeping track of acknowledgments during variable-length data
transfer between hosts.
In case of loss of data, or when no acknowledgment is
received, the transport layer ensures that the particular
erroneous data segment is re-sent to the receiving host.
The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as a segment or
datagram.
Session Layer: This is the OSI model’s layer 5 and is a host layer.
• It is responsible for
establishing, controlling, and terminating of communication
between networked hosts.
• The session layer sees full utilization during operations such as remote
procedure calls and remote sessions.
• The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as data.
Presentation Layer: This layer is a host layer and layer 6 of the OSI model.
It is mainly responsible for
Data format conversions and
Encryption tasks such that the syntactic compatibility of
the data is maintained across the network,
for which it is also referred to as the syntax layer.
The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as data.
Application Layer: (Layer 7) ( host layer)
• It is directly accessible by an end-user through software APIs (application
program interfaces) and terminals.
• Applications such as file transfers, FTP (file transfer protocol), e-mails,
and other such operations are initiated from this layer.
• The application layer deals with user authentication, identification of
communication hosts, quality of service, and privacy.
• The protocol data unit associated with this layer is referred to as data.
Internet protocol suite
The Internet protocol suite is another conceptual framework that provides levels
of abstraction for ease of understanding and development of communication and
networked systems on the Internet.
However, the Internet protocol suite predates the OSI model and provides only
four levels of abstraction:
1) Link layer, 2) Internet layer,
3) transport layer, and 4) application layer.
This collection of protocols is commonly referred to as the TCP/IP protocol suite
as the foundation technologies of this suite are transmission control protocol
(TCP) and Internet protocol (IP) .
Link Layer: The first and base layer of the TCP/IP protocol suite is also
known as the network interface layer.
This layer is synonymous with the collective physical and data link layer of
the OSI model.
It enables the transmission of TCP/IP packets over the physical medium.
According to its design principles, the link layer is independent of the
medium in use, frame format, and network access, enabling it to be used with
a wide range of technologies such as the Ethernet, wireless LAN, and the
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM).
Internet Layer: Layer 2 of the TCP/IP protocol suite is somewhat synonymous
to the network layer of the OSI model.
It is responsible for addressing, address translation, data packaging, data
disassembly and assembly, routing, and packet delivery tracking operations.
Some core protocols associated with this layer are address resolution protocol
(ARP), Internet protocol (IP), Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), and
Internet group management protocol (IGMP).
Traditionally, this layer was built upon IPv4, which is gradually shifting to IPv6,
enabling the accommodation of a much more significant number of addresses
and security measures.
Transport Layer: Layer 3 of the TCP/IP protocol suite is functionally
synonymous with the transport layer of the OSI model.
This layer is tasked with the functions of error control, flow control, congestion
control, segmentation, and addressing in an end-to-end manner; it is also
independent of the underlying network.
Transmission control protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP)
are the core protocols upon which this layer is built, which in turn enables it
to have the choice of providing connection-oriented or connectionless services
between two or more hosts or networked devices.
Application Layer:
The functionalities of the application layer, layer 4, of the
TCP/IP protocol suite are synonymous with the collective functionalities of the
OSI model’s session, presentation, and application layers.
This layer enables an end-user to access the services of the underlying layers
and defines the protocols for the transfer of data.
Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), simple mail
transfer protocol (SMTP), domain name system (DNS), routing information
protocol (RIP), and simple network management protocol (SNMP) are some of
the core protocols associated with this layer.
Addressing
Addressing in networked devices plays a crucial role in ensuring the
delivery of packets to the designated/intended receivers.
The addressing scheme is synonymous with postal addresses used in real-
life scenarios.
Addressing mechanisms can be divided into two parts: one focusing on data
link layer addressing, while the other focuses on network layer addressing.
Data link layer addressing
Data link layer addressing deals with media access control (MAC) addresses of
devices, which work at the MAC sub-layer of the data link layer.
Data link layer addressing handles the host/device network interface of
physical addresses. These physical addresses are also known as MAC
addresses.
MAC addresses are unique 48-bit hardware addresses provided by the
device manufacturers.
MAC addresses are 48-bits long; the first 24 bits are organizational identifiers,
while the last 24 bits are network interface controller identifiers.
These addresses are unique globally.
Data link layer addressing is broadly divided into three types:
1) Unicast,
2) Multicast, and
3) Broadcast
(i) Unicast: This addressing is meant for one-to-one communication. The data
flow from a transmitting host is restricted to only one receiving host in the
link.
(ii) Multicast: This addressing is meant for one-to-many communication
within a single link. The data flow from a transmitting host is intended for
multiple hosts within the same link. It is to be noted that more than one host
can transmit data streams, which are designed for multiple receiving hosts in
the link.
(iii) Broadcast: This addressing is meant for one-to-all communication within
a link. The data from a transmitting host is received by all other hosts
connected to that link.