OSI Model

o OSI stands for Open System Interconnection is a reference model that describes

how information from a software application in one computer moves through a
physical medium to the software application in another computer.
o OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a particular network function.
o OSI model was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
in 1984, and it is now considered as an architectural model for the inter-computer
communications.
o OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each
layer is assigned a particular task.
o Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be performed
independently.

Characteristics of OSI Model:

o The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower layers.
o The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the application related
issues, and they are implemented only in the software. The application layer is
closest to the end user. Both the end user and the application layer interact
 with the software applications. An upper layer refers to the layer just above
another layer.
o The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data transport issues. The
data link layer and the physical layer are implemented in hardware and
software. The physical layer is the lowest layer of the OSI model and is closest
to the physical medium. The physical layer is mainly responsible for placing
the information on the physical medium.

7 Layers of OSI Model

There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different functions. A list of seven
layers are given below:

1. Physical Layer
2. Data-Link Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer
7. Application Layer

1) Physical layer
 o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual bits
from one node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface
specifications.

Functions of a Physical layer:

o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be
connected physically.
o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex,
half-duplex or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the
information.

2) Data-Link Layer
o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.
o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more
devices.
 o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides
on a local network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer
of the receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the
header.
o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link
Control layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.

Functions of the Data-link layer

o Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into
packets known as Frames. The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to
the frame. The header which is added to the frame contains the hardware
destination and source address.
o Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that
contains a destination address. The frame is transmitted to the destination
address mentioned in the header.
o Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It is
the technique through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the
sides so that no data get corrupted. It ensures that the transmitting station
such as a server with higher processing speed does not exceed the receiving
station, with lower processing speed.
o Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC
(Cyclic Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which
is added to the message frame before it is sent to the physical layer. If any
error seems to occurr, then the receiver sends the acknowledgment for the
retransmission of the corrupted frames.
o Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same
communication channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to
determine which device has control over the link at a given time.

1)Network Layer

o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices

on the network.
o It determines the best path to move data from source to the destination
based on the network conditions, the priority of service, and other factors.
o The Data link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
 o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used to
provide the routing services within an internetwork.
o The protocols used to route the network traffic are known as Network layer
protocols. Examples of protocols are IP and Ipv6.

Functions of Network Layer:

o Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility of the

network layer. It provides a logical connection between different devices.
o Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and destination address to the
header of the frame. Addressing is used to identify the device on the internet.
o Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer, and it
determines the best optimal path out of the multiple paths from source to the
destination.
o Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the upper layer and
converts them into packets. This process is known as Packetizing. It is achieved
by internet protocol (IP).

4) Transport Layer

o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the
order in which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data
completely.
 o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units
known as segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-
point connection between source and destination to deliver the data reliably.

The two protocols used in this layer are:

o Transmission Control Protocol

o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over
the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol
divides the data into smaller units known as segments. Each segment
travels over the internet using multiple routes, and they arrive in
different orders at the destination. The transmission control protocol
reorders the packets in the correct order at the receiving end.
o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
o It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not
send any acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender
does not wait for any acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a
protocol unreliable.

Functions of Transport Layer:

o Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously

due to this reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not
only from one computer to another computer but also from one process to
another process. The transport layer adds the header that contains the
address known as a service-point address or port address. The responsibility
of the network layer is to transmit the data from one computer to another
computer and the responsibility of the transport layer is to transmit the
message to the correct process.
o Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the
message from the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments,
and each segment is assigned with a sequence number that uniquely
identifies each segment. When the message has arrived at the destination,
 then the transport layer reassembles the message based on their sequence
numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-
oriented service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats
each segment as an individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to
reach the destination. A connection-oriented service makes a connection with
the transport layer at the destination machine before delivering the packets. In
connection-oriented service, all the packets travel in the single route.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is
performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error
control is performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender
transport layer ensures that message reach at the destination without any
error.

5) Session Layer

o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.

o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the
interaction between communicating devices.

Functions of Session layer:

o Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog

between two processes or we can say that it allows the communication
between two processes which can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
o Synchronization: Session layer adds some checkpoints when transmitting the
data in a sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of the transmission of
 data, then the transmission will take place again from the checkpoint. This
process is known as Synchronization and recovery.

6) Presentation Layer

o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics of the
information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one
presentation format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.

Functions of Presentation layer:

o Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the information in the

form of character strings, numbers and so on. Different computers use
different encoding methods, the presentation layer handles the
interoperability between the different encoding methods. It converts the data
from sender-dependent format into a common format and changes the
common format into receiver-dependent format at the receiving end.
o Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process
of converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sends
the resulting message over the network.
 o Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the data, i.e., it
reduces the number of bits to be transmitted. Data compression is very
important in multimedia such as text, audio, video.

7) Application Layer

o An application layer serves as a window for users and application processes to

access network service.
o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application layer
functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.

Functions of Application layer:

o File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows

a user to access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a
computer and to manage the files in a remote computer.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding
and storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources
and is used to provide that global information about various objects.

TCP/IP model
o The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.
 o The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer,
network layer, data link layer and physical layer.
o The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface, internetworking,
and transport functions that correspond to the first four layers of the OSI model and
these four layers are represented in TCP/IP model by a single layer called the
application layer.
o TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, and each of them
provides specific functionality.

Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is supported by two or more
lower-level protocols.

Functions of TCP/IP layers:

Network Access Layer

o A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.

o A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link layer defined
in the OSI reference model.
o It defines how the data should be sent physically through the network.
 o This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data between two devices
on the same network.
o The functions carried out by this layer are encapsulating the IP datagram into frames
transmitted by the network and mapping of IP addresses into physical addresses.
o The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring, FDDI, X.25, frame relay.

Internet Layer

o An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.

o An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
o The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets from any network,
and they arrive at the destination irrespective of the route they take.

Following are the protocols used in this layer are:

IP Protocol: IP protocol is used in this layer, and it is the most significant part of the
entire TCP/IP suite.

Following are the responsibilities of this protocol:

o IP Addressing: This protocol implements logical host addresses known as IP

addresses. The IP addresses are used by the internet and higher layers to identify the
device and to provide internetwork routing.
o Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the data is to
be transmitted.
o Data Encapsulation and Formatting: An IP protocol accepts the data from the
transport layer protocol. An IP protocol ensures that the data is sent and received
securely, it encapsulates the data into message known as IP datagram.
o Fragmentation and Reassembly: The limit imposed on the size of the IP datagram
by data link layer protocol is known as Maximum Transmission unit (MTU). If the size
of IP datagram is greater than the MTU unit, then the IP protocol splits the datagram
into smaller units so that they can travel over the local network. Fragmentation can
be done by the sender or intermediate router. At the receiver side, all the fragments
are reassembled to form an original message.
o Routing: When IP datagram is sent over the same local network such as LAN, MAN,
WAN, it is known as direct delivery. When source and destination are on the distant
network, then the IP datagram is sent indirectly. This can be accomplished by routing
the IP datagram through various devices such as routers.
 ARP Protocol

o ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.

o ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical address
from the IP address.
o The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP Protocol:
o ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address of
the device, it broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
o ARP reply: Every device attached to the network will accept the ARP
request and process the request, but only recipient recognize the IP
address and sends back its physical address in the form of ARP reply.
The recipient adds the physical address both to its cache memory and
to the datagram header

ICMP Protocol

o ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol.

o It is a mechanism used by the hosts or routers to send notifications regarding
datagram problems back to the sender.
o A datagram travels from router-to-router until it reaches its destination. If a
router is unable to route the data because of some unusual conditions such as
disabled links, a device is on fire or network congestion, then the ICMP
protocol is used to inform the sender that the datagram is undeliverable.
o An ICMP protocol mainly uses two terms:
o ICMP Test: ICMP Test is used to test whether the destination is
reachable or not.
o ICMP Reply: ICMP Reply is used to check whether the destination
device is responding or not.
o The core responsibility of the ICMP protocol is to report the problems, not
correct them. The responsibility of the correction lies with the sender.
o ICMP can send the messages only to the source, but not to the intermediate
routers because the IP datagram carries the addresses of the source and
destination but not of the router that it is passed to.
Transport Layer
The transport layer is responsible for the reliability, flow control, and correction of
data which is being sent over the network.

The two protocols used in the transport layer are User Datagram protocol and
Transmission control protocol.

o User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

o It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of
transmission.
o It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the
error.
o User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports
the error to the sender that user datagram has been damaged.
o UDP consists of the following fields:
Source port address: The source port address is the address of the
application program that has created the message.
Destination port address: The destination port address is the address
of the application program that receives the message.
Total length: It defines the total number of bytes of the user datagram
in bytes.
Checksum: The checksum is a 16-bit field used in error detection.
o UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only
checksum; it does not contain any ID of a data segment.
 o Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
o It provides a full transport layer services to applications.
o It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is active for
the duration of the transmission.
o TCP is a reliable protocol as it detects the error and retransmits the damaged
frames. Therefore, it ensures all the segments must be received and
acknowledged before the transmission is considered to be completed and a
virtual circuit is discarded.
o At the sending end, TCP divides the whole message into smaller units known
as segment, and each segment contains a sequence number which is required
for reordering the frames to form an original message.
o At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders them based
on sequence numbers.

Application Layer

o An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.

o It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
o This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
o When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with another application
layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
o There is an ambiguity occurs in the application layer. Every application cannot be
placed inside the application layer except those who interact with the communication
 system. For example: text editor cannot be considered in application layer while web
browser using HTTP protocol to interact with the network where HTTP protocol is an
application layer protocol.

Following are the main protocols used in the application layer:

o HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. This protocol allows us to access
the data over the world wide web. It transfers the data in the form of plain text, audio,
video. It is known as a Hypertext transfer protocol as it has the efficiency to use in a
hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps from one document to another.
o SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a framework
used for managing the devices on the internet by using the TCP/IP protocol suite.
o SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer protocol. The TCP/IP protocol that
supports the e-mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol. This protocol is used
to send the data to another e-mail address.
o DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP address is used to identify the
connection of a host to the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the names
instead of addresses. Therefore, the system that maps the name to the address is
known as Domain Name System.
o TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. It establishes the connection
between the local computer and remote computer in such a way that the local
terminal appears to be a terminal at the remote system.
o FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard internet protocol used for
transmitting the files from one computer to another computer.

ENCAPSULATION:
Difference between OSI and TCP/IP :
OSI Layers TCP/IP Layers