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LESSON 10:
OSI MODEL
Lesson Objectives
vIntroduction To The ISO - OSI Model
Open System
The 7 Layer OSI Model
i. Physical
ii. Data Link
iii. Network
iv. Transport
v. Session
vi. Presentation
vii. Application
Purpose Of The OSI Model
How The OSI Model Works 3.6.3 The Purpose of the OSI
model
The Seven Layers
Key Words And Concepts From The OSI Model
Introduction to the ISO - OSI Model
In older days the data communications protocols of one
network were not compatible with any other network. More
over, standards of same network architecture also kept changing
from time to time. The incompatibilities started creating
bottleneck in the efficient and proper utilization of network
resources.
This problem was recognized by the International Standard
Organization (ISO) which establishes a sub-committee to develop
an international standard on network architectures. The result was
Open system Interconnection (OSI) model, which is a framework
for defining standards for linking heterogeneous computers in a
packet switched network. Thus the standardized OSI protocol
made it possible for any two heterogeneous computer systems,
located anywhere in the world, to easily communicate with each
other.
The OSI model is designed in a highly structured way. There is a 7
layers architecture and defined a separate set of protocol for each
layer. Thus each layer has a specific independent function.
Open Systems
An open systemis one which adheres to an agreed set of
standards which allows it to communicate with any other
system which adheres to these standards. The standards are
openly available to all manufacturers. This is as opposed to a
closed systems where the standards are not available for all to
use and therefore one manufacturer would not be able to
design systems to work with another system. (A system may
be taken to be hardware, software, communication media,
human operators etc.)
When discussing the OSI model some of the language is cauched
in terms that seems so abstract that it is almost incomprehensible.
This was deliberate! It was considered that any direct reference to
existing terminology (host, frame, packet etc.) could prejudice the
generality of the model.
The 7 Layer OSI Model
The modular networking architecture of Windows 95 is based
on two industry standard models for a layered networking
architecture, namely the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) model for computer networking, called
the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Reference Model, and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802
model. Windows NT and Windows for Workgroups are also
designed according to these standard models. The ISO OSI
and IEEE 802 models define a modular approach to
networking, with each layer responsible for some discrete aspect
of the networking process.
The OSI model describes the flow of data in a network, from the
lowest layer (the physical connections) up to the layer containing
the users applications. Data going to and from the network is
passed layer to layer. Each layer is able to communicate with the
layer immediately above it and the layer immediately below it.
This way, each layer is written as an efficient, streamlined software
component. When a layer receives a packet of information, it
checks the destination address, and if its own address is not
there, it passes the packet to the next layer.
When two computers communicate on a network, the software
at each layer on one computer assumes it is communicating
with the same layer on the other computer. For example, the
Transport layer of one computer communicates with the
Transport layer on the other computer. The Transport layer on
the first computer has no regard for how the communication
actually passes through the lower layers of the first computer,
across the physical media, and then up through the lower layers
of the second computer.
Layer 1 - Physical
Physical layer defines the cable or physical medium itself, e.g.,
thinnet, thicknet, unshielded twisted pairs (UTP). All media are
functionally equivalent. The main difference is in convenience
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and cost of installation and maintenance. Converters from one
media to another operate at this level.
Layer 2 - Data Link
Data Link layer defines the format of data on the network. A
network data frame, packet, includes checksum, source and
destination address, and data. The largest packet that can be sent
through a data link layer defines the Maximum Transmission
Unit (MTU). The data link layer handles the physical and logical
connections to the packets destination, using a network
interface. A host connected to an Ethernet would have an
Ethernet interface to handle connections to the outside world,
and a loop back interface to send packets to itself.
Ethernet addresses a host using a unique, 48-bit address called
its Ethernet address or Media Access Control (MAC) address.
MAC addresses are usually represented as six colon-separated
pairs of hex digits, e.g., 8:0:20:11:ac:85. This number is unique
and is associated with a particular Ethernet device. Hosts with
multiple network interfaces should use the same MAC address
on each. The data link layers protocol-specific header specifies
the MAC address of the packets source and destination. When
a packet is sent to all hosts (broadcast), a special MAC address
(ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff) is used.
Layer 3 - Network
NFS uses Internet work Protocol (IP) as its network layer
interface. IP is responsible for routing, directing datagrams from
one network to another. The network layer may have to break
large datagrams, larger than MTU, into smaller packets and host
receiving the packet will have to reassemble the fragmented
datagram. The Internetwork Protocol identifies each host with a
32-bit IP address. IP addresses are written as four dot-separated
decimal numbers between 0 and 255, e.g., 129.79.16.40. The
leading 1-3 bytes of the IP identify the network and the
remaining bytes identifies the host on that network. The
network portion of the IP is assigned by InterNIC Registration
Services, under the contract to the National Science Foundation,
and the host portion of the IP is assigned by the local network
administrators, locally by noc@indiana.edu. For large sites,
usually subnetted like ours, the first two bytes represents the
network portion of the IP, and the third and fourth bytes
identify the subnet and host respectively.
Even though IP packets are addressed using IP addresses,
hardware addresses must be used to actually transport data
from one host to another. The Address Resolution Protocol
(ARP) is used to map the IP address to it hardware address.
Layer 4 - Transport
Transport layer subdivides user-buffer into network-buffer
sized datagrams and enforces desired transmission control. Two
transport protocols, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and
User Datagram Protocol (UDP), sits at the transport layer.
Reliability and speed are the primary difference between these
two protocols. TCP establishes connections between two hosts
on the network through sockets which are determined by the
IP address and port number. TCP keeps track of the packet
delivery order and the packets that must be resent. Maintaining
this information for each connection makes TCP a stateful
protocol. UDP on the other hand provides a low overhead
transmission service, but with less error checking. NFS is built
on top of UDP because of its speed and statelessness.
Statelessness simplifies the crash recovery.
Layer 5 - Session
The session protocol defines the format of the data sent over
the connections. The NFS uses the Remote Procedure Call
(RPC) for its session protocol. RPC may be built on either TCP
or UDP. Login sessions uses TCP whereas NFS and broadcast
useUDP.
Layer 6 - Presentation
External Data Representation (XDR) sits at the presentation
level. It converts local representation of data to its canonical
form and vice versa. The canonical uses a standard byte ordering
and structure packing convention, independent of the host.
Layer 7 - Application
Provides network services to the end-users. Mail, ftp, telnet,
DNS, NIS, NFS are examples of network applications.
Purpose of the OSI model3.6.3 The Purpose of the OSI model
The OSI model provides a frame work whereby open system
applications may communicate with each other using the set of
OSI resources. This communication is achieved, at least, in the
abstract, by providing application processes with a set of resource
which are layeredin order to provide a structured hierarchy. Without
this framework future development of protocols would inevitably
have become even more chaotic then it has been until recently,
with no prospect what so ever of open systems ever interworking
except in special isolated cases. Therefore a framework such as the
OSI model was needed and needed urgently.
Provided that complete abstraction can be maintained it not to
difficult to define such a framework. However, one problem with
this approach, is in the pursing of abstraction to the limit, the
reference model has become littered with vague internationalese,
which can become difficult to relate to any real protocol or system.
Another problem, which concerns us less, was the enormous effort
required to define (let alone get agreement on) suitable and
consistent OSI model compatible standards service definitions
and protocols.
Purpose of the OSI model
3.6.3 The Purpose of the OSI model
The OSI model provides a frame work whereby open system
applications may communicate with each other using the set of
OSI resources. This communication is achieved, at least, in the
abstract, by providing application processes with a set of
resource which are layered in order to provide a structured
hierarchy. Without this framework future development of
protocols would inevitably have become even more chaotic then
it has been until recently, with no prospect what so ever of open
systems ever interworking except in special isolated cases.
Therefore a framework such as the OSI model was needed and
needed urgently.
Provided that complete abstraction can be maintained it not to
difficult to define such a framework. However, one problem
with this approach, is in the pursing of abstraction to the limit,
the reference model has become littered with vague
internationalese, which can become difficult to relate to any real
protocol or system. Another problem, which concerns us less,
was the enormous effort required to define (let alone get
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agreement on) suitable and consistent OSI model compatible
standards service definitions and protocols.
How the OSI Model Works
At the top of the model in the application layer are the actual
programs operated by the computer users, such as email clients
or web browsers. On the bottom is the physical layer
comprised of the network media that makes the actual physical
connection between computers. In between lie all the layers
that make the actual communication occur.
Each computer on a network needs to have a protocol stack,
sometimes called a protocol suite, which provides the software
necessary for the computer to communicate on the network. TCP/
IP is the most common protocol suite. These stacks are comprised
several different protocols that perform the functions of the various
layers of the OSI Reference Model.
When an application sends information from one computer to
another, the data is passed down through the protocol stack on
the sending computer, across the network, and then up through
the protocol stack on the receiving computer. At each level of the
process, information is attached to the data as it is sent. On the
receiving end, this information is stripped off until the original
data is finally available to the receiving application.
The Seven Layers
This is a top-down explanation of the OSI Model. It starts
with the users PC and it follows what happens to the users file
as it passes though the different OSI Model layers. The top-
down approach was selected specifically (vs. starting at the
Physical Layer and working up to the Application Layer) for ease
of understanding. It is used here to show how the users files
are transformed (through the layers) into a bit stream for
transmission on the network.
These are the 7 Layers of the OSI model:
7. Application Layer (Top Layer)
6. Presentation Layer
5. Session Layer
4. Transport Layer
3. Network Layer
2. Data Link Layer
1. Physical Layer (Bottom Layer)
Layer 7 - Application Layer
Basic PC Logical Flowchart
The Keyboard & Application are shown as inputs to the CPU
(requesting access to the hard disk). The Keyboard requests
accesses through user inquiries (such as DIR commands) and
the Application seeks access through File Openings and
Saves. The CPU, through the Disk Operating System, sends
and receives data from the local hard disk (C: in this example
Simple Network Redirection
A PC setup as a network workstation has a software Network
Redirector (the actual name depends on the network - we will
use a generic term here) placed between the CPU and DOS. The
Network Redirector is a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident)
program: it presents the network hard disk as another local
hard disk (G: in this example) to the CPU. All CPU requests
are intercepted by the Network Redirector. The Network
Redirector checks to see if either a local or a network drive is
requested. If a local drive is requested, the request is passed on
to DOS. However, if a network drive is requested, the request
is then passed on to the network operating system (NOS).
Electronic mail (E-Mail), client-server databases, games played
over the network, print and file servers, remote logons, and
network management programs (or any network aware
applications) are all aware of the network redirector. They have
the ability to communicate directly with other network
applications on the network. The Network Aware Applications
and the Network Redirector make up Layer 7.
PC Workstation with Network Aware Software
Layer 6 - Presentation Layer
The Network Redirector sends CPU operating system native
code to the network operating system: the coding and format
of the data is not recognizable by the network operating
system. The data consists of file transfers and network calls by
network aware programs.
For example, when a dumb terminal is used as a workstation (in
a mainframe or minicomputer network), the network data is
translated into (and from) the format that the terminal can use.
The Presentation layer presents data to and from the terminal
using special control characters to control the screen display (LF-
line feed, CR-carriage return, cursor movement, etc..). The
presentation of data on the screen would depend on the type of
terminal thats used: VT100, VT52, VT420, etc
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Similarly, the Presentation layer strips the pertinent file from the
workstation operating systems file envelope. The control
characters, screen formatting, and workstation operating system
envelope are all stripped or added to the file (if the workstation
is receiving or transmitting data to the network). This could also
include translating ASCII file characters from a PC world to
EBCDIC in an IBM Mainframe world.
The Presentation Layer also controls security at the file level: this
provides both file locking and user security. The DOS Share
program is often used for file locking. When a file is in use, it is
locked from other users to prevent 2 copies of the same file
from being generated. If 2 users both modified the same file,
and User A saved it, then User B saved it, then User As changes
would be erased!
At this point, the data is contiguous and complete (i.e. one large
data file).
Layer 5 - Session Layer
The Session layer manages the communications between the
workstation and the network. The Session layer directs the
information to the correct destination, and identifies the source
to the destination. The Session layer identifies the type of
information as data or control. The Session layer manages the
initial start-up of a session, and the orderly closing of a session.
The Session layer also manages Log on procedures and
Password recognition.
Layer 4 - Transport Layer
In order for the data to be sent across the network, the file must
be broken up into usable small data segments (typically 512 -
18K bytes). The Transport layer breaks up the file into segments
for transport to the network, and combines incoming segments
into a contiguous file. The Transport layer does this logically,
not physically, and it is done in software as opposed to
hardware.
The Transport layer provides error checking at the segment level
(frame control sequence). This makes sure that the datagrams
are in the correct order: the Transport layer will correct out of
order datagrams. The Transport layer guarantees an error-free
host to host connection. It is not concerned with the path
between machines.
Layer 3 - Network Layer
The Network layer is concerned with the path through the
network. It is responsible for routing, switching, and
controlling the flow of information between hosts. The
Network layer converts the segments into smaller datagrams
than the network can handle: network hardware source and
destination addresses are also added. The Network layer does
not guarantee that the datagram will reach its destination.
Layer 2 - Data Link Layer
The Data Link layer is a firmware layer of the network interface
card. The Data Link layer puts the datagrams into packets
(frames of bits: 1s & 0s) for transmission, and assembles
received packets into datagrams. The Data Link layer works at
the bit level, and adds start / stop flags and bit error checking
(CRC or parity) to the packet frame. Error checking is at the bit
level only: packets with errors are discarded and a request for re-
transmission is sent out. The Data Link layer is primarily
concerned with bit sequence
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Layer 1 - Physical Layer
The Physical layer concerns itself with the transmission of bits.
It also manages the network cards hardware interface to the
network. The hardware interface involves the type of cabling
(coax, twisted pair, etc.), frequency of operation (1 Mbps,
10Mbps, etc.), voltage levels, cable terminations, topography
(star, bus, ring, etc.), etc. Examples of Physical layer protocols
are as follows: 10Base5 - Thicknet, 10Base2 - Thinnet, 10BaseT -
twisted pair, ArcNet, FDDI, etc.
Application Layer 7
E-mail
FTP
Client/ server
TCP
Presentation Layer 6
Encryption/ decryption
ASCII to EBCDIC
TCP
Session Layer 5
Traffic Light or mediator
Maintains order
TCP
Transport Layer 4
Checks for lost or incomplete transmissions
End to end validity
TCP
Network Layer 3
WAN
Node to node transmission
CSU/ DSU
Switching functions
IP, IPX, SNA, AppleTalk
Data Link Layer 2
LAN
Checks integrity of transmissions
Router functions
LAN types:
Bus- Ethernet
Ring-Token Ring, Sonet, FDDI
Star-Mainframe, Switched Ethernet
MAC addressing
CSMA/ CD
ATM
Physical Layer 1
Plugs and connectors (RJ-11: telephone use; RJ-45: Ethernet use)
Sonet
Wiring
Unshielded vs. shielded Twisted pair (Cat 3, Cat 5, 10baseT)
Thin-net vs. thick-net Coax (Ethernet)
Single-mode vs Multimode Fiber
Points to Ponder
International Standard Organization (ISO) which establishes a
sub-committee to develop an international standard on network
architectures. The result was Open system Interconnection
(OSI) model, which is a framework for defining standards for
linking heterogeneous computers in a packet switched network.
An open systemis one which adheres to an agreed set of
standards which allows it to communicate with any other
system which adheres to these standards.
Physical layer defines the cable or physical medium itself, e.g.,
thinnet, thicknet, unshielded twisted pairs (UTP).
Data Link layer defines the format of data on the network. A
network data frame, packet, includes checksum, source and
destination address, and data
IP is responsible for routing, directing datagrams from one
network to another
Transport layer subdivides user-buffer into network-buffer
sized datagrams and enforces desired transmission control.
The session protocol defines the format of the data sent over
the connections
External Data Representation (XDR) sits at the presentation
level?
Application layer provides network services to the end-users.
Students Activity
1. Define use of OSI model?
2. Defiene various layers of OSI model?