he Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model

Introduction
The OSI model was based on a proposal by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as the first step toward international standardization of the protocols used in the various layers and was given that name because it deals with connecting open systems (i.e. systems which are open for communication with other systems). OSI divided network communication into seven components called layers. Every layer consists of protocols for communicating with the preceding and succeeding layer. There are seven layers in the OSI model , each representing a step in the network communications process. The seven layers are shown in the following table :

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The physical layer The The The The The data link layer network layer transport layer session layer presentation layer

The application layer

Each layer performs a specific task and then passes the data up or down to the next layer, depending on whether the layer is operating in the sending or the receiving computer. As the data passes through the layers, each layer adds its own information in the form of headers, which are added in front of the original data. As each layer adds header information the data is encaptulated or enclosed within a larger unit. When the data reaches the receiving computer the process occurs in reverse and as it d oes so the encaptulated information is stripped off, one layer at a time, in the reverse order in which it was added. Here is an analysis of the tasks performed by each layer starting from the top where the pro cess begins on the sending computer : The application layer This layer provides for interaction between the application program and the network. Protocols that function in the applica-tion layer perform functions like file transfers , printing access and messaging services. Such protocols(Shinder 2002,p86) are : FTP(File transfer protocol) which is used to transfer files between computers that do not nec essarily run on the sameoperating system or platform. Telnet is used for terminal emulation and to enable access and applications and files on ano ther computer. - SMTP(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a non-vector specific protocol used for sending email on the internet. - SNMP(Simple Network Management Protocol) gathers information about the network. The above are only a few application-layer protocols. Others include HTTP(Hypertext transfer protocol) and NNTP (network news transfer protocol). The presentation layer It handles issues that have to do with the packaging or the presentation of the data. It hides differences between different kinds of computers who want to talk to each other by converting data into or from a machin e's native internal format. It also performs (Shinder 2002,p87) : a) Data compression : This is the reduction in the size of data in order to achieve faster transmission over the net work. b) Data encryption : It is the conversion of data into an encoded form that cannot be read by an unothorized per son. c) Protocol translation : This is the conversion of data from one protocol to another that it can be transfered betwee n dissimilar platforms or operating systems. The session layer The protocols at this layer have the responsibility of establishing a one-toone session between the sending and receiving computers. It uses its computer's identification to call another computer. The call is called a sessionan exchange of dialog or messages between two workstations. The functions in this layer enable applications running at two workstations to coordinate their their communications into a single session.

Another function is to control whether a transmission is sent as half-dublex or fulldublex communication. Finally the layer is responsible for data expedition , class of service and the reporting of problems in itself and the layers above it in the networking model. (Nance 1997,p326) The transport layer Its primary responsibility is to provide for reliable end-to-end error control and flow control , making sure that the information send by a computer on the network is received properly by another computer. The layer knows the maximum size of each data packet and breaks up a work request message into smaller packets as nece ssary. It also keeps track of such things as validity of data packets , sequencing and the handling of duplicate packets. There are two protocol types used in this layer-connection oriented ( TCP protocol ) and connectionless ( UDP protocol ). Another duty of the transport layer is the resolution of computer names to logical network addresses through the Domain Na me System (DNS) that operates in this layer. (Shinder 2002,p89) The network layer It is responsible for getting the data packets to their destination and also handles the routing of the packets. Therefore most routing protocols operate on this layer. It keeps track of the different routes that a packet may need to travel by inserting routing information into each packet to help the intermediate computers and devices (i.e. routers) to forward it to its destination. (Nance 1997,p328) The data link layer It is the most complex layer. It encompasses the sending of the characters that make up a data packet on a character-bycharacter basis. Because of its complexity it is broken down into a Media Access Control (MAC) layer and a Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The MAC layer manages network access and network control by using the MAC address or hardware address of computer. The LLC layer operating at a higher layer than the MAC layer , sends and receives the user data messages and packets. It is here that the logical topology of the network is defined.(Nance 1997,p329) The physical layer This is where the data is translated into transmittable signals and put on the network media (i.e. wire) to travel across the network. It is therefore dealing with signaling issues including : analog versus digital signaling , baseband versus broadband technology , asynchronous versus synchronous transmission and multiplexing. Another physical layer issue is network topology.This refers to the physical layout of the netw ork , as opposed to the logical topology addressed at the data link layer. (Shinder 2002,p95)