A tutorial on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking reference model plus tips on how to memorize the seven layers. The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model is a conceptual framework that ...

Whether it’s wired or wireless, most data communications today happens by way of packets of information travelling over one or more networks. But before these networks can work together, though, they ...

Layers 7 through 4 are geared more to the application than the lower layers, which are designed to move packets from one place to another no matter what they contain. This top layer defines the ...

Other tips in this series have examined the seven-layer OSI model from the perspective of security. Although security was not the No. 1 goal of the designers of the OSI model, the idea behind these ...

The third layer of the OSI Model, the network layer, is where most network engineers focus their time and expertise. As Darragh commented in my post on the data link layer, Layer 2 is cool but Layer 3 ...

Getting a handle on the invisible part of your network—the protocols that are in use—can be of enormous value in helping you detect problems. So far, we've talked about the tangibles of your ...