BIT 03204: Communications Systems & Technologies

L4-1: The OSI Architecture

Stephen Magu Waweru

 Introduction

• The OSI Architecture & ISO Body

(objectives, principles, Role)
• Data Units
• Layer Functions
• Media access Control
• Network addressing
 OSI Architecture

• OSI (Open systems interconnect) is a reference model that depicts data communication over a
network.
• it helps visualize and communicate how networks operate, and helps isolate and troubleshoot
networking problems.
• It was created based on a proposal from International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
1984, and is now considered as an architectural model for the inter-computer communications.
• The model is a conceptual framework that helps to better understand the complex interactions that
in the network framework.
• It describes information flow from a software application in one computer moves through a
physical medium to the software application in another computer
• It translates computing functions into a universal set of rules and requirements in order to support
interoperability between different products and software
• OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each layer is assigned
a particular task.
• The modern Internet is not based on OSI, but on the simpler TCP/IP model.
 OSI Architecture cont…

OSI Reference Model describes systems that are available for

communication with other devices and defines standards for:
1. Communication between devices.
2.The means to inform devices on when to transmit/ not transmit
3.Methods that ensure accurate data flow rate to devices.
4.Methods that ensure the data is received by the intended
recipient.
5.Arrangement & connection of physical transmission media .

• The upper layer mainly deals with the application related issues, & are implemented only in the software.
• The lower layer deals with the data transport issues. The data link layer & the physical layer are
implemented in hardware and software.
• The seven layers of function are provided by a combination of applications, operating systems , network
card device drivers, networking hardware and protocols that enable a system to transmit a signal over a
network through various physical mediums, including twisted-pair copper, fiber optics, Wi-Fi
 Principles of OSI Reference Model

The principles that were applied to arrive at the seven layers are:
• A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
• Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
• The function of each layer is chosen to defining internationally standardized protocols.
• The layer boundaries are chosen to minimize the information flow across the interfaces.
• Distinct functions should not be put in the same layer out of necessity.
• Each layer calls upon the services of the layer just below it.
• Communication is governed by an agreed-upon series of rules & conventions (protocols).
• At the physical layer, communication is direct. A device A sends a stream of bits to device B (through
intermediate nodes).
• At the higher layers, however, communication must move down through the layers on device A, over to
device B, and then back up through the layers. Each layer in the sending device adds its own
information to the message it receives from the layer just above it and passes the whole package
downwards.
• At layer 1 the entire package is converted to a form that can be transmitted to the receiving device. At
the receiving machine, the message is unwrapped layer by layer, with each process receiving and
removing the data meant for it.
Principles of OSI Reference Model
 Physical layer in OSI model

Functions :
• Representation of bits. It defines encoding of Bits( 0s or 1s) into signals(electrical
or optical) for transmission between networking devices and infrastructure
• Defines the type of transmission medium.(i.e. specifications of the interface and
transmission medium such as cable size, signal frequency, voltages, etc).
• Modulation: Adding the information to an electrical or optical nerve signal.
• Synchronization of bits. The sender and receiver must use the same bit rate, and
clock controls both sender and receiver to provide synchronization at bit level.
Provides the synchronization of the bits by providing a clock..
• Bit rate control: Defines the transmission rate or Data rate or how long a bit lasts i.e. Bps
• Physical topologies: specifies devices/nodes are arranged in a network i.e. bus, star, or mesh topology.
• Transmission mode: the transmission direction i.e. Simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex.
• Line configuration: The physical connection establishment and processing
• Switching mechanism: Defines establishment, maintaining and deactivating the physical connection.
Data packets forwarding from one port (sender port) to the leading destination port.
• The Hub, Repeater, Modem, Cables are devices in the Physical Layer
 Data Units

Packet: The basic unit of communication in the

network layer between a source & destination

A network packet is divided into three parts; the header, payload, and trailer
Network Packet Header: Contains the source address and a destination address, protocol, and packet number.
The protocol identify what type of packet is being transferred,(e.g. an email, a web page, a video, etc). The
packet number(two identifying numbers the i.e. one indicating how many packets a piece of information was
split into, and the second indicates the place of the individual packet as a part of the complete information.
Packet Payload: The actual data being transported by the packet & received by the destination, as the header
information is stripped from the packet when it reaches the destination.
Packet Trailer: contains a few bits that inform the recipient device that it has gotten to the end of the
packet(ACK), as well as a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). The CRC is recalculated on retrieval (or
reception) and compared to the value originally transmitted, to detect errors introduced during transmission
 Data Units cont…

Frame: a frame is the unit of data used in OSI Models’ data link layer. A frame
contains more information about the transmitted message than a packet in the
Network Layer. A Flag marks the beginning and end of the frame
Trailer to error checking (also called a Frame Check Sequence (FCS)).
Segment: The data from the application layer is broken into smaller parts and data
in transport layer is the units is referred as segment.

Bit : Binary digits(1,0): the data unit the Physical layer

 The Data Link layer

The Data link Layer has to sub-layers: Logical Link Control (LLC)
and Media Access Control(MAC) sublayers
The Data link layer functions:
i.unique addressing & the control of access to media.
ii.It ensures data flows pace doesn't overwhelm receiving devices.
iii.It permits the transmission of data to Network Layer
iv.Detection of errors.
• The data link layer (second layer) is responsible for moving frames from one hop (node) to
the next. The MAC Sublayer of data link layer is responsible for:
i) Framing. the Layer receives Packets from the Network Layer and encapsulates them into
frames. The physical's stream of bits received are divided into manageable data units the
packets from the Network Layer and encapsulates them into frames then added the header
(which contains the hardware destination and source address.) and trailer .
ii) Multiplexing: Enable multiple signal transmission and determines the channel access
methods for transmission.
 The Data Link layer cont…

functions :

iii) Physical addressing: After creating frames, MAC address of the sender and/or receiver is
added . The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned in the header :
• frames to be distributed to different systems on the network are added a header to define
the sender and/or receiver of the frame.
• frames to be sent to a system outside the sender's network the receiver address is the
address of the device that connects the network to the next one).
iv) Flow control: the data link layer imposes a flow control mechanism to avoid overwhelming
the receiver incase the data rate of sender is higher
 The Data Link layer cont…

• LLC is a sublayer provides the logic for the data link and undertakes error-checking and act an interface between
the network layer and the MAC sublayer and tracks the acknowledgments
V. Error control:. if LLC detects any frame loss, immediately it sends back to the source to transmit over
again. Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value (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.
i) The layer adds reliability to the physical layer by mechanisms to detect & retransmit damaged or lost frames.
ii) It also uses a mechanism to recognize duplicate frames
Phases in Error Control: The error control mechanism in data link layer involves the following phases
i. Detection of Error: Transmission error, if any, is detected by either the sender or the receiver.
ii. Acknowledgment: On receiving a correct frame, the receiver sends a positive ACK and on receiving
a damaged frame or a duplicate frame, the receiver sends a negative ACK back to the sender.
iii.Retransmission: The sender maintains a clock and sets a timeout period. If an ACK of a data-frame
previously transmitted does not arrive before the timeout, or a negative ACK is received, the sender
retransmits the frame.
Note: Devices in this layer : Bridges and Switch and Network Interface Card
The Data Link layer cont…

Hop-to-hop (node-to-node) delivery: communication at the

data link layer occurs between two adjacent nodes.
Example. To send data from A to F, three partial deliveries are
made. First, the data link layer at A sends a frame to the data
link layer at B (a router). Second, the data link layer at B sends
a new frame to the data link layer at E. Finally, the data link
layer at E sends a new frame to the data link layer at F

Note that the frames that are exchanged between the three nodes
have different values in the headers. The frame from A to B has
B as the destination address and A as the source address. The
frame from B to E has E as the destination address and B as the
source address. The frame from E to F has F as the destination
address and E as the source address. The values of the trailers
can also be different if error checking includes the header of the
frame
 The Data Link layer cont…

NIC
•Network Interface Card or Ethernet Card or LAN Adapter is a hardware
component in the computer for communication over the Network
•MAC address is a 48-bit or 64-bit address, unique serial number stored in
NIC ROM for physical identification of a computer in the Network.
•The address can be used by routers and switches to control access to a
network.
•Devices in this layer: Bridges and Switch and Network Interface Card

Get Media Access Control address

i.Open Command line as administrator.
ii.Type getmac OR ipconfig /all
 The Network layer

IP Address

Internet Protocol (IP) Address:

This is a logical address of the computer
used to uniquely locate, or identify a
network connection.

Logical Addressing:
•Network layer is responsible for source-to-destination delivery packets and routing
•It adds a logical address (source and destination address) as a part of IP header to the
segment coming from above Transport Layer.
 The Network layer cont…

The third layer of the OSI model organizes and transmits data across multiple networks (links). If two systems
are connected to the same link, there is usually no need for a network layer. This is handled by data link layer.
The functions of the Network :
Network routing
• At the time when independent networks or links are connected together in order to create internetworks/large
network, then the routing devices(router or switches) route the packets to their final destination. This is one of
the main functions of the network layer
• A router is a network device at network layer for establishing communication by maintaining a routing table
(list of connections) about destinations and local connections i.e. It determines the path by reading the header
of the packet to get intended destination based on information in its routing tables. In packet-switching
networks, such as the Internet, routing decisions are made by Routers using an routing algorithm (a software)
to decide the optimal path for packet transmission.
• The network layer protocols determine which transmission route is suitable from source to destination( one
host to the other located in different networks). The best physical path based on a range of factors including
network characteristics, best available path, traffic control, congestion of data packets, and priority of service.
The sender & receiver’s IP addresses are placed in the header by the network layer.
 The Network layer cont…

Source-to-destination addressing:
• The Network Layer provides host-to-host addressing or end-to-end delivery.
• These requires mapped the physical and logical addresses to reach the destination device.
• The Address Resolution protocol is used for the translation.
Packetizing:
• The first duty of the network layer is definitely packetizing: encapsulating the payload (data
received from upper layer) into a network-layer packet at the source and decapsulating the
payload from the network-layer packet at the destination

Example of an email. When an email is sent, the message go through the OSI model layers until it reaches the
network access layer where the packet should be created. The data sent through an email is formatted into a
packet, containing information about the used protocol, the error correction, IP addresses of the sender and the
receiver, as well as the email text
The Network layer cont…

Routing: After establishment connections to

create internetworks, then the routing devices
direct packets to paths leading to final
destination. This is one of the main functions of
the network layer.

The network layer at the A node sends the packet to the

network layer at the B node. When the packet arrives at router
B then the router makes the decision of the path based on the
final destination that is the F node of the packet transmitted.
Router B makes use of its routing table for finding the next hop
that is router E. The Network layer at node B sends the packet
to the network layer at E which then sends the packet to the
network layer at F.
 The Network layer cont…

• Routing example:For a data packet to get

from Computer A to Computer B, should
it pass through networks 1, 3, and 5 or
networks 2 and 4? The packet will take a
shorter path through networks 2 and 4,
but networks 1, 3, and 5 might be faster at
forwarding packets than 2 and 4. This
are the decisions that the routing
algorithm makes.

Note: Network layer devices: router and brouter

 The Transport layer cont…
The fourth layer of the OSI model ensures complete and reliable delivery of data packets & provides :
• Segmentation and Reassembling: The data in this layer is referred to as Segments.
• A message is divided into segments. Each segments contains a sequence number to support
reassembling message correctly upon arriving at the destination and to identify and replace packets that
were lost in transmission. Transport Layer reads the port number (At receiver’s side)from its header
and forwards the Data which it has received to the respective application.
• Flow & Error control: The layer adds Source and Destination Port numbers in its header and forwards the
segmented data to the Network Layer.
• Error control performed process-to-process rather than across a single link (unlike data link layer) to avoid at
damage, loss, or duplication the receiving transport layer. Error correction is usually achieved through
retransmission. Generally, the destination port number is configured, either by default or manually e.g.when a
web application makes a request to a web server, it typically uses port number 80 as the default port assigned to
web applications. Common protocols: TCP for connection-oriented data transmission &UDCP for
connectionless data transmission
 The Transport layer cont…

• The transport layer is responsible for the delivery of a message from one process to another.
• Service Point Addressing: Computers often run several programs at the same time. For this reason,
source-to-destination 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.
• Transport Layer header includes service point address which is port address.
• This layer gets the message to the correct process on the computer ).

Process and Port address

Note. The network layer gets each packet to the correct

computer; the transport layer gets the entire message to the
correct process on that computer.

Transport layer devices are gateways and Firewall system

 The Session layer

The session layer manages sessions between servers to coordinate communication. Session refers
to any interactive data exchange between two entities within a network.
• Common examples include HTTPS sessions that allow Internet users to visit and browse
websites for a specific time period.
• The Session Layer is responsible for a range of functions including: opening, closing, and re-
establishing session activities, authentication and authorization of communication between
specific apps and servers, identifying full-duplex or half-duplex operations, and synchronizing
data streams.
• The functions of the session layer are :
i.Session establishment, maintenance, and termination: The layer allows the two processes
to establish, use and terminate a connection.
ii.Dialog Controller: The session layer allows two systems to start communication with each
other in half-duplex or full-duplex.
 The Session layer cont…

•Layer protocols include: Remote procedure call protocol (RPC), Point-to-Point Tunneling
Protocol (PPTP), Session Control Protocol (SCP),Session Description Protocol (SDP).

ii) Synchronization of communication: This layer allows a process to add checkpoints or

synchronization points into the for long communications. This ensures that data streams up to
the checkpoints are successfully received and acknowledged. In case of any failures, only the
streams after the checkpoints have to be re-transmitted.

Example: if a system is sending a file of 2000 pages, it is advisable to insert checkpoints after
every 100 pages to ensure that each 100-page unit is received and acknowledged
independently. In this case, if a crash happens during the transmission of page 523, the only
pages that need to be resent after system recovery are pages 501 to 523. Pages previous to
501 need not be resent
 The Presentation layer

The layer is also referred as Translation layer. The data from the application layer is
extracted here and manipulated as per the required format to transmit over the network. The
functions of the presentation layer are :
Translation: This layer is responsible for interoperability between different encoding
methods. The processes (running programs) in two systems are usually exchanging
information in the form of character strings, numbers e.g. ASCII to EBCDIC.
Encryption/ Decryption: Encryption means that the sender transforms the original
information to another form or code(cipher text to ensure privacy) and sends the resulting
message out over the network Translation of the data into another form or code(cipher text)
to ensure privacy. The decrypted data is known as plain text. A key value is used for
encrypting as well as decrypting data.
Compression: Reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted on the network
(especially for of multimedia such as text, audio, and video) .
 The Application layer

• The layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network. It provides
user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, remote file access and
transfer, shared database management, and other types of distributed information services
• The upper most layer of the OSI model identifies networking entities to facilitate
networking requests by end-user requests, determines resource availability, synchronizes
communication, and manages application-specific networking requirements. The
application layer also identifies constraints at the application level such as those
associated with authentication, privacy, quality of service, networking devices, and data
syntax.
• Common protocols include: File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP) and Domain Name System (DNS). telnet. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Post Office Protocol (POP).
 The Application layer

Specific services provided by the application layer include the following:

• Network virtual terminal. This is a software version of a physical terminal, and it allows a
user to log on to a remote host. The application creates a software emulation of a terminal at the
remote host. The user's computer talks to the software terminal which, in turn, talks to the host
and vice versa. The remote host believes it is communicating with one of its own terminals and
allows the user to log on. e.g. when using application like Teamviewer

• File transfer, access, and management FTAM): This application layer allows a user to
access files in a remote host (to make changes or read data), to retrieve files from a remote
computer for use in the local computer, and to manage or control files in a remote computer
locally.
• Mail services: message-handling services (forwarding and storage)
• Directory services: provides distributed database sources and access for global information
about various objects and services.
OSI model (Seven layer) Architecture

OSI model
 Summary

1. Describe the transmission Events or states for Nodes in the following:

i) AlohaNet Random Access.
ii) Single Ring Topology.
iii) Polling in BUS topology
2. Explain:
i) Collision in CSMA/CD in LAN
ii) The features in implementation of FDDI
3.Distinguish modern application for:
i) CSMA/CD with the HUB and Switch in Networks
ii) FDM and TDM
4Explain any two roles of the following in OSI model:
i) Data link layer
ii) Physical layer
5 Describe the TCP/IP model
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