Computer Network Model

Network engineering is a complicated task, which involves software, firmware, chip level
engineering, hardware, and electric pulses. To ease network engineering, the whole
networking concept is divided into multiple layers. Each layer is involved in some particular
task and is independent of all other layers. But as a whole, almost all networking tasks depend
on all of these layers. Layers share data between them and they depend on each other only to
take input and send output.

A computer network consists software and hardware that is used to send and receive data from
one device to another. The role of hardware is to prove the physical equipment that are
required in order to send and receive data while software defines the set of instructions that
uses the hardware equipment’s for data transmission. A simple transmission of data consists
several steps at various layers of computer network. In computer network models we will
discuss the models in detail to understand how the data is actually transferred and received at
a computer level. Before we discuss the computer network models, let’s have a discussion on
the layers that a computer model consists. Let’s have a basic idea of layers involved in data
communication. For data communication to take place and two or more users can transmit
data from one to other, a systematic approach is required. This approach enables users to
communicate and transmit data through efficient and ordered path. It is implemented using
models in computer networks and are known as computer network models. Computer network
models are responsible for establishing a connection among the sender and receiver and
transmitting the data in a smooth manner respectively. There are two computer network
models i.e. OSI Model and TCP/IP Model on which the whole data communication process
relies.

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 OSI Model in Computer Network
The OSI Model is one of the general purpose networking or communication model among
computer network models, which is responsible for establishing connection in an open manner
between all the communicable devices present across the globe. In a very basic scenario two
computers connected with a LAN and connectors transfer data using the NIC. This forms a
computer network, however if both the system uses different operating systems, for example
one system runs on windows and other one runs on MacOS then how can data be transferred
between these two different systems, here comes the role of a OSI model which is a seven
layered model that defines how a data can be transferred between different systems.

OSI stands for “Open System Interconnection” and the name of this reference model was
given by an organization known as “International Organization for Standardization”. The ISO
is responsible for generating and promoting industrial and commercial standards applicable
for all the users or universally.

OSI model is called as “Open Source” because of its “fit anywhere” ability. Any connection
can be established using the OSI model unless and until any protocols are not used as OSI
model does not support protocol establishment. It runs without the use of protocols. All the
networking devices which are open for communication can be connected together for data
communication through the OSI model.

Apart from OSI Model, another computer network models which is widely used is TCP/IP
Model. OSI model having a layered architecture, allows easy data communication as each
layer has predefined structured and functionalities.

The functionalities are different for each layer and thus when combined together forms the
OSI Model. There are seven layers in general purpose OSI model. These layers are connected
with each other, each layer provide certain data to its immediate higher and immediate lower
layer and receives certain data from the same.
The OSI model is composed of seven ordered layers: physical (layer 1), data link (layer 2),
network (layer 3), transport (layer 4), session (layer 5), presentation (layer 6), and application
(layer 7).

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1. Physical Layer
The physical layer coordinates the functions required to carry a bit stream over a physical
medium. It deals with the mechanical and electrical specifications of the interface and
transmission medium. It also defines the procedures and functions that physical devices
and interfaces have to perform for transmission to occur. The physical layer is also
concerned with the following:
 Physical characteristics of interfaces and medium. The physical layer defines the
characteristics of the interface between the devices and the transmission medium. It also
defines the type of transmission medium.
 Representation of bits. The physical layer data consists of a stream of bits (sequence
of 0s or 1s) with no interpretation. To be transmitted, bits must be encoded into signals--
electrical or optical. The physical layer defines the type of encoding.
.  Data rate. The transmission rate-the number of bits sent each second-is also defined
by the physical layer. In other words, the physical layer defines the duration of a bit, which
is how long it lasts.
 Synchronization of bits. The sender and receiver not only must use the same bit rate
but also must be synchronized at the bit level. In other words, the sender and the receiver
clocks must be synchronized.
 Line configuration. The physical layer is concerned with the connection of devices to
the media. In a point-to-point configuration, two devices are connected through a
dedicated link. In a multipoint configuration, a link is shared among several devices.
 Physical topology. The physical topology defines how devices are connected to make
a network. Devices can be connected by using a mesh topology (every device is connected
to every other device), a star topology (devices are connected through a central device), a
ring topology (each device is connected to the next, forming a ring), a bus topology (every
4 device is on a common link), or a hybrid topology (this is a combination of two or more
topologies).
 Direction of data exchange: The physical layer also defines the direction of
transmission between two devices: simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex. In simplex mode,
only one device can send; the other can only receive. The simplex mode is a one-way

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 communication. In the half-duplex mode, two devices can send and receive, but not at the
same time. In a full-duplex (or simply duplex) mode, two devices can send and receive at
the same time.
2. Data Link Layer
The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable
link. It makes the physical layer appear error-free to the upper layer (network layer). Other
responsibilities of the data link layer include the following:
 Framing. The data link layer divides the stream of bits received from the network
layer into manageable data units called frames.
 Physical addressing. If frames are to be distributed to different systems on the
network, the data link layer adds a header to the frame to define the sender and/or receiver
of the frame. If the frame is intended for a system outside the sender's network, the receiver
address is the address of the device that connects the network to the next one.
 Flow control. If the rate at which the data are absorbed by the receiver is less than
the rate at which data are produced in the sender, the data link layer imposes a flow control
mechanism to avoid overwhelming the receiver.
 Error control. The data link layer adds reliability to the physical layer by adding
mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames. It also uses a mechanism to
recognize duplicate frames. Error control is normally achieved through a trailer added to
the end of the frame.
 Access control. When two or more devices are connected to the same link, data link
layer protocols are necessary to determine which device has control over the link at any
given time.
3. Network Layer
The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of a packet,
possibly across multiple networks (links). Whereas the data link layer oversees the
delivery of the packet between two systems on the same network (links), the network layer
ensures that each packet gets from its point of origin to its final destination. If two systems
are connected to the same link, there is usually no need for a network layer. However, if
the two systems are attached to different networks (links) with connecting devices between

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 the networks (links), there is often a need for the network layer to accomplish source-to-
destination delivery. Other responsibilities of the network layer include the following:
 Logical addressing. The physical addressing implemented by the data link layer handles
the addressing problem locally. If a packet passes the network boundary, we need another
addressing system to help distinguish the source and destination systems. The network
layer adds a header to the packet coming from the upper layer that, among other things,
includes the logical addresses of the sender and receiver.
 Routing. When independent networks or links are connected to create internetworks
(network of networks) or a large network, the connecting devices (called routers or
switches) route or switch the packets to their final destination. One of the functions of the
network layer is to provide this mechanism.
4. Transport Layer
The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process delivery of the entire message.
A process is an application program running on a host. Whereas the network layer oversees
source-to-destination delivery of individual packets, it does not recognize any relationship
between those packets. It treats each one independently, as though each piece belonged to
a separate message, whether or not it does. The transport layer, on the other hand, ensures
that the whole message arrives intact and in order, overseeing both error control and flow
control at the source-to-destination level. Other responsibilities of the transport layer
include the following:
 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. The transport layer header must therefore include
a type of address called a service-point address (or port address). The network layer gets
each packet to the correct computer; the transport layer gets the entire message to the
correct process on that computer.
 Segmentation and reassembly. A message is divided into transmittable segments,
with each segment containing a sequence number. These numbers enable the transport
layer to reassemble the message correctly upon arriving at the destination and to identify
and replace packets that were lost in transmission.
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  Connection control. The transport layer can be either connectionless or connection
oriented. A connectionless transport layer treats each segment as an independent packet
and delivers it to the transport layer at the destination machine. A connection oriented
transport layer makes a connection with the transport layer at the destination machine first
before delivering the packets. After all the data are transferred, the connection is
terminated.
 Flow control. Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for flow control.
However, flow control at this layer is performed end to end rather than across a single
link.
 Synchronization. The session layer allows a process to add checkpoints, or
synchronization points, to a stream of data.

5. Session Layer
Session Layer is the fifth layer of OSI model and it provides appropriate sessions between
users and entities, where user interacts. This layer can be used on the basis of resources
available and it can be skipped too if not required. The services provided by the first three
layers (physical, data link, and network) are not sufficient for some processes. The session
layer is the network dialog controller. It establishes, maintains, and synchronizes the
interaction among communicating systems. The main role of session layer is to setup and
maintain the connection between different systems.
For example: Login Sessions in online banking.
6. Presentation Layer
This is the sixth layer of OSI model and it provides appropriate representation of data
through various data presentation techniques. The presentation layer formats the data for
presentation to the user. Its job is to accommodate different interfaces on different
terminals or computers so the application program need not worry about them. It is
concerned with displaying, formatting, and editing user inputs and outputs.
The presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information
exchanged between two systems. The data received from application layer is in form of
characters and numbers such as 1234. The presentation layer converts these characters
and numbers into machine understandable format which is known as binary format for

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 example 100111101. Specific responsibilities of the presentation layer include the
following:
 Translation. The processes (running programs) in two systems are usually exchanging
information in the form of character strings, numbers, and so on. The information must be
changed to bit streams before being transmitted. Because different computers use different
encoding systems, the presentation layer is responsible for interoperability between these
different encoding methods. The presentation layer at the sender changes the information
from its sender-dependent format into a common format. The presentation layer at the
receiving machine changes the common format into its receiver-dependent format.
 Encryption. To carry sensitive information, a system must be able to ensure privacy.
Encryption means that the sender transforms the original information to another form and
sends the resulting message out over the network. Decryption reverses the original process
to transform the message back to its original form.
 Compression. Data compression reduces the number of bits contained in the
information. Data compression becomes particularly important in the transmission of
multimedia such as text, audio, and video.

7. Application Layer
Application Layer is the topmost layer of the OSI model and has the responsibility for
providing interface between various users and application. Application layer is used
by computer applications such as google chrome, outlook, FireFox, Skype etc.
Application layer defines the protocols that are used by computer applications for
example: HTTP and HTTPS protocols are used by web browsers such as google chrome,
FireFox, Safari etc. FTP protocol is used for file transfer between two or more
computers. SMTP protocol is used for emails Telnet is used for virtual terminals. There
are dozens of other protocol that forms the application layer, such as NFS, FMTP,
DHCP, SNMP, POP3, IRC, NNTP etc. In short you can say that application layer
provides the services to computer applications with the help of protocols that are defined
in it.

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The application 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. Specific services provided by the application layer
include the following:
 Network virtual terminal. A network virtual terminal is a software version of a
physical terminal, and it allows a user to log on to a remote host.
 File transfer, access, and management. This application 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. This application provides the basis for e-mail forwarding and storage.
 Directory services. This application provides distributed database sources and access
for global information about various objects and services.

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 Computer Network TCP/IP Suite Model
The TCP/IP Model is developed before than OSI Model. The layers in TCP/IP Model are
different than OSI Model. In this guide, we will discuss TCP/IP model and its layers in detail.

The OSI reference model was the first communication model and was termed as general
purpose model because of its ability to fit in any type of network but without fitting the
protocols in. Due to its inability to fit protocols, TCP/IP reference model which is commonly
known as Internet Model was developed in year 1983 by US Military Wing called ARPANET.

In 1983 January 1, TCP/IP was made active permanently for the commercial use. From then,
TCP/IP has made a revolution in the field of networking and telecommunication as it was able
to overcome the drawbacks of general purpose OSI Model.

TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol with the help of which, protocol
implementation over the network can be achieved.

The TCP/IP model also has a layered architecture which allows easy data communication
along with the facility of integrating multiple protocols. The layout remains similar to OSI
Model but the number of layer, their functionalities and properties got changed. This Internet
Model (TCP/IP) comprises of only four layers as compared to seven layers of OSI Model.
These four layers are generated by combining the layers of OSI model internally so that
protocols can be implemented. These layers have fixed positions too and their positions cannot
be altered.

Application Layer, Transport Layer, Internet Layer and Network Access Layers are the four
layers of TCP/IP Model.

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 Architecture and Layers of TCP/IP Reference Model

1) The Network Access Layer

The Network Access Layer of TCP/IP reference model is also known as the Host-to-Host or
Host-to-Network layer as it is responsible for performing roles of the Physical Layer along
with the functions of Data Link Layer.

Data in the form of bits received in the Network Access Layer are connected in the form of
data packets to Internet Layer.

Network Access Layer = Data Link Layer + Physical Layer.

2) The Internet Layer

Internet layer is also called Network Layer which is responsible for establishment of
connection to send or receive data packets between multiple users or nodes or devices or
networks. This layer is placed on the 2nd position from bottom.

The Internet Layer routes the data packets from source to destination through the process of
routing with the help of various routing techniques and routing protocols.

3) The Transport Layer

The Transport Layer performs the same functions and have similar features as that in OSI
Model. The functionality of Transport Layer is, it provides end to end data transfer by using

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the technique of connection oriented services between sender and receiver with the help of
various protocols.

Two end-to-end transport protocols have been defined here. The first one, TCP (Transmission
Control Protocol), is a reliable connection-oriented protocol that allows a byte stream
originating on one machine to be delivered without error on any other machine in the internet.
It fragments the incoming byte stream into discrete messages and passes each one on to the
internet layer. At the destination, the receiving TCP process reassembles the received
messages into the output stream. TCP also handles flow control to make sure a fast sender
cannot swamp a slow receiver with more messages than it can handle. The second protocol in
this layer, UDP (User Datagram Protocol), is an unreliable, connectionless protocol for
applications that do not want TCP's sequencing or flow control and wish to provide their own.
It is also widely used for one-shot, client-server-type request-reply queries and applications
in which prompt delivery is more important than accurate delivery, such as transmitting
speech or video.

4) The Application layer

The Application Layer resides on the top of the TCP/IP reference model as line in OSI Model.
The functionality of Application Layer of TCP/IP reference model is to provide interface
between users and the applications. In some cases depending upon the requirements, it can
perform the functions of Session Layer (to provide sessions) and Presentation Layer (data
representation).

It contains all the higher-level protocols. The early ones included virtual terminal (TELNET),
file transfer (FTP), and electronic mail (SMTP). The virtual terminal protocol allows a user
on one machine to log onto a distant machine and work there. The file transfer protocol
provides a way to move data efficiently from one machine to another. Electronic mail was
originally just a kind of file transfer, but later a specialized protocol (SMTP) was developed
for it. Many other protocols have been added to these over the years: the Domain Name
System (DNS) for mapping host names onto their network
10 addresses, NNTP, the protocol for moving USENET news articles around, and HTTP, the
protocol for fetching pages on the World Wide Web, and many others.

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Application Layer = Session Layer + Presentation Layer + Application Layer.

Advantages: TCP/IP Reference Model

Use of protocols implementation and their support.

Each layer has its definite structure and functionality which makes OSI model simple and easy
to use.

Use of layered architecture.

Disadvantages: TCP/IP Reference Model

As some layers has multiple functionalities, it is more complex than OSI Model where each
layer has separate functions and services.

The TCP/IP reference makes use of protocols. But, in case of replacement of any protocol,
difficulty and issue might arise.

Comparison of the OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models: The OSI and TCP/IP reference
models have much in common. Both are based on the concept of a stack of independent
protocols. Also, the functionality of the layers is roughly similar. For example, in both models
the layers up through and including the transport layer are there to provide an end-to-end,
network-independent transport service to processes wishing to communicate. These layers
form the transport provider. Again in both models, the layers above transport are application-
oriented users of the transport service. Despite these fundamental similarities, the two models
also have many differences Three concepts are central to the OSI model:

 Services.
 Interfaces.
 Protocols.
Probably the biggest contribution of the OSI model is to make the distinction between these
three concepts explicit. Each layer performs some services for the layer above it. The service
definition tells what the layer does, not how entities above it access it or how the layer works.
It defines the layer's semantics. A layer's interface tells the processes above it how to access
it. It specifies what the parameters are and what results to expect. It, too, says nothing about

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how the layer works inside. Finally, the peer protocols used in a layer are the layer's own
business. It can use any protocols it wants to, as long as it gets the job done (i.e., provides the
offered services). It can also change them at will without affecting software in higher layers.
The TCP/IP model did not originally clearly distinguish between service, interface, and
protocol, although people have tried to retrofit it after the fact to make it more OSI-like. For
example, the only real services offered by the internet layer are SEND IP PACKET and
RECEIVE IP PACKET. As a consequence, the protocols in the OSI model are better hidden
than in the TCP/IP model and can be replaced relatively easily as the technology changes.
Being able to make such changes is one of the main purposes of having layered protocols in
the first place. The OSI reference model was devised before the corresponding protocols were
invented. This ordering means that the model was not biased toward one particular set of
protocols, a fact that made it quite general. The downside of this ordering is that the designers
did not have much experience with the subject and did not have a good idea of which
functionality to put in which layer. Another difference is in the area of connectionless versus
connection-oriented communication. The OSI model supports both connectionless and
connection-oriented communication in the network layer, but only connection-oriented
communication in the transport layer, where it counts (because the transport service is visible
to the users). The TCP/IP model has only one mode in the network layer (connectionless) but
supports both modes in the transport layer, giving the users a choice. This choice is especially
important for simple request-response protocols.

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