The concept of a 7 layer model was provided by the work of Charles Bachman,

OSI Model

Data unit Layer Function

7.
Network process to application
Application

Data 6. Data representation, encryption and decryption, convert machine

Host
Presentation dependent data to machine independent data
layers
5. Session Interhost communication

Segments 4. Transport End-to-end connections and reliability, flow control

Packet/Datagram 3. Network Path determination and logical addressing

Media
Frame 2. Data Link Physical addressing
layers
Bit 1. Physical Media, signal and binary transmission

Layer 1 :PHYSICAL LAYER

The Physical Layer defines electrical and physical specifications for devices. In particular, it defines the
relationship between a device and a transmission medium, such as a copper or optical cable. This
includes the layout of pins, voltages, cable specifications, hubs, repeaters, network adapters, host bus
adapters.

The major functions and services performed by the Physical Layer are:

 Establishment and termination of a connection to a communications medium.

 Participation in the process whereby the communication resources are effectively shared
among multiple users. For example, contention resolution and flow control.
 Modulation, or conversion between the representation of digital data in user equipment
and the corresponding signals transmitted over a communications channel. These are
signals operating over the physical cabling (such as copper and optical fiber) or over a
radio link.
Layer 2 :DATA LINK LAYER

The Data Link Layer provides the functional and procedural means to transfer data between network
entities and to detect and possibly correct errors that may occur in the Physical Layer. Originally, this
layer was intended for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint media, characteristic of wide area media
in the telephone system. Local area network architecture, which included broadcast-capable multiaccess
media, was developed independently of the ISO work in IEEE Project 802.

Both WAN and LAN service arrange bits, from the Physical Layer, into logical sequences called frames.
Not all Physical Layer bits necessarily go into frames, as some of these bits are purely intended for
Physical Layer functions.

Connection-oriented WAN data link protocols, in addition to framing, detect and may correct errors.
They are also capable of controlling the rate of transmission. A WAN Data Link Layer might implement a
sliding window flow control and acknowledgment mechanism to provide reliable delivery of frames

Layer 3: NETWORK LAYER

The Network Layer provides the functional and procedural means of transferring variable length data
sequences from a source host on one network to a destination host on a different network

The Network Layer performs network routing functions, and might also perform fragmentation and
reassembly, and report delivery errors. Routers operate at this layer—sending data throughout the
extended network and making the Internet possible. This is a logical addressing scheme

Careful analysis of the Network Layer indicated that the Network Layer could have at least three
sublayers:
 1. Subnetwork Access - that considers protocols that deal with the interface to networks,
such as X.25;
2. Subnetwork Dependent Convergence - when it is necessary to bring the level of a transit
network up to the level of networks on either side;
3. Subnetwork Independent Convergence - which handles transfer across multiple networks.

Layer 4: TRANSPORT LAYER

The Transport Layer provides transparent transfer of data between end users, providing reliable data
transfer services to the upper layers. The Transport Layer controls the reliability of a given link through
flow control, segmentation/desegmentation, and error control. Some protocols are state and
connection oriented. This means that the Transport Layer can keep track of the segments and retransmit
those that fail. The Transport layer also provides the acknowledgement of the successful data
transmission and sends the next data if no errors occurred.

the Transport Layer is to compare it with a Post Office, which deals with the dispatch and classification
of mail and parcels sent. Do remember, however, that a post office manages the outer envelope of mail.
Higher layers may have the equivalent of double envelopes, such as cryptographic presentation services
that can be read by the addressee only.

Layer 5: SESSION LAYER

The Presentation Layer establishes context between Application Layer entities, in which the
higher-layer entities may use different syntax and semantics if the presentation service provides a
mapping between them. If a mapping is available, presentation service data units are
encapsulated into session protocol data units, and passed down the stack.

This layer provides independence from data representation (e.g., encryption) by translating
between application and network formats. The presentation layer transforms data into the form
that the application accepts. This layer formats and encrypts data to be sent across a network. It
is sometimes called the syntax layer.[citation needed]
The original presentation structure used the basic encoding rules of Abstract Syntax Notation
One (ASN.1), with capabilities such as converting an EBCDIC-coded text file to an ASCII-
coded file, or serialization of objects and other data structures from and to XML

and other data structures from and to XML.

Layer 7: APPLICATION LAYER

The Application Layer is the OSI layer closest to the end user, which means that both the OSI
application layer and the user interact directly with the software application. This layer interacts
with software applications that implement a communicating component. Such application
programs fall outside the scope of the OSI model. Application layer functions typically include
identifying communication partners, determining resource availability, and synchronizing
communication. When identifying communication partners, the application layer determines the
identity and availability of communication partners for an application with data to transmit.
When determining resource availability, the application layer must decide whether sufficient
network or the requested communication exist. In synchronizing communication, all
communication between applications requires cooperation that is managed by the application
layer. Some examples of application layer implementations also include:

 On OSI stack:
o FTAM File Transfer and Access Management Protocol
o X.400 Mail
o Common management information protocol (CMIP)
 On TCP/IP stack:
o Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP),
o File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
o Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
o Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP

OSI model
 7. Application Layer

NNTP  · SIP  · SSI  · DNS  · FTP  · Gopher  ·

HTTP  · NFS  · NTP  · SMPP  · SMTP  · SNMP  ·
Telnet  · Netconf  · (more)

6. Presentation Layer

MIME  · XDR  · TLS  · SSL

5. Session Layer

Named Pipes  · NetBIOS  · SAP  · L2TP  · PPTP

· SPDY

4. Transport Layer

TCP  · UDP  · SCTP  · DCCP  · SPX

3. Network Layer

IP (IPv4, IPv6)  · ICMP  · IPsec  · IGMP  · IPX  ·

AppleTalk

2. Data Link Layer

ATM  · SDLC  · HDLC  · ARP  · CSLIP  · SLIP

· GFP  · PLIP  · IEEE 802.3  · Frame Relay  ·
ITU-T G.hn DLL  · PPP  · X.25  · Network
Switch  · DHCP

1. Physical Layer

EIA/TIA-232  · EIA/TIA-449  · ITU-T V-Series  ·

I.430  · I.431  · POTS  · PDH  · SONET/SDH  ·
PON  · OTN  · DSL  · IEEE 802.3  · IEEE 802.11
· IEEE 802.15  · IEEE 802.16  · IEEE 1394  ·
ITU-T G.hn PHY  · USB  · Bluetooth  · Hubs