OSI Reference Model Cheat Sheet

What is the OSI Reference Model?

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a way to represent how devices
communicate with one another. It consists of seven layers:
1. Physical
\ 2. Data link
3. Network
4. Transport
5. Session
6. Presentation
7. Application

You receive data from layers 1 through 7 and transmit data in the opposite direction. That’s
because every layer of the OSI Model handles a specific job and passes data to and from
the layers above and below itself.

Although building computing devices doesn’t require the OSI model, it’s proven helpful in
troubleshooting computer networking problems. That’s because the OSI model gives
technicians an in-depth method to dissect the network problem to find its root cause. The
solution often becomes clear by narrowing it down to a specific model layer.

OSI Layers
The infographic below summarizes the seven layers of the OSI reference model. If you need
a quick refresher, this is the image to download.
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 The given examples of protocols are for your reference only. For a complete list, check out
our Ports and Protocols Cheat Sheet.

What Does Each Layer Do

Let’s consider the scenario of receiving an email on your smartphone. How did the email
arrive? What has been going on right up to the moment you got the “New Email” notification?

According to the OSI reference model, the following events have transpired:

Layer 1: The Physical Layer

The virtual world is fascinating, but the matrix requires a physical component. The physical
layer of the OSI model is a tangible or intangible medium through which our devices send
and receive electronic signals.

Wired Ethernet cables are a well-worn example of the physical layer. Still, given the ubiquity
of smart devices, we want our illustration in this article to be relevant to the times.

Suppose you’ve connected your phone to a Wi-Fi access point (AP). The AP receives
electromagnetic signals of ones and zeros called bits all day, some of which correspond to
the email message we’ve mentioned.

The physical layer takes out the portions corresponding to the preamble, start frame
delimiter (SFD), and the frame check sequence (FCS). It then passes the rest to the data
\ link layer as a frame.

Definitions:
● Ethernet: the traditional cabling technology for connecting telecommunication
devices in a wired network
● AP: (wireless) access point; a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi
devices to connect to a wired network
● Preamble: an indicator of the end of header information used to synchronize a data
transmission
● SFD: start frame delimiter; a data field in the header of a transmission frame that
marks the start of data
● FCS: frame check sequence; an error-detecting code added to a frame in a
communication protocol
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Layer 2: The Data Link Layer
The data link layer is usually a network interface card (NIC) in a switch or a bridge. Your
smartphone contains networking and routing components, so it has no separate NIC. The
NIC or networking circuitry reads the source and destination MAC addresses, which it
expects to map to devices on the local area network (LAN), itself included.

Next, it compares the destination MAC address against the MAC address burned into it. If
they match, this layer sends the frame to the network layer as an IP packet. Otherwise,
they’re undeliverable and discarded because MAC addresses only make sense within a
LAN.

As for the source MAC address, the data link layer keeps it in its memory in case the
network layer requires it in a return route. In that scenario, this layer attaches the source
MAC address to the data frame as the new destination MAC address.

Definitions:
● NIC: network interface card; for connecting a computer to a computer network
● MAC address: media access control address; a unique identifier assigned to a
NIC for use as a network address in communications within a network segment
 ● LAN: local area network; a series of computers connected as a network in a
circumscribed location
● IP: Internet Protocol; for logical addressing across computer networks

Layer 3: The Network Layer

You can no longer rely on MAC addresses to send data packets across distributed networks
larger than a LAN, such as in the broader Internet. The network layer is where we use logical
addressing, such as IP addresses, to identify different nodes in large networks.

The network layer, usually a router, picks up an IP packet from the previous layer. Using
network layer protocols such as Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and Network
Address Translation (NAT), it reads the source and destination IP addresses, saves the
source IP address for sending responses, and checks if the destination IP address is your
device’s.

If yes, it strips both IP addresses of the packet, and the remainder, which is often a TCP
segment or a UDP datagram, moves upward to the transport layer. If not, the IP packet is
lost because the network layer has discarded it.

Your phone is also a router, so it does the above automatically. As an aside, this is also why
you can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
 Definitions:
● ARP: Address Resolution Protocol; for uncovering the MAC address associated
with an IP address
● NAT: Network Address Translation; the process of mapping an IP address to
another by changing the header of IP packets while in transit via a router
● TCP: Transmission Control Protocol; a connection-oriented protocol that helps
establish and maintain connections until the applications on both ends have
completed data exchange.
● UDP: User Datagram Protocol; a connectionless protocol that enables data transfer
before reaching an agreement with the receiving party.

Layer 4: The Transport Layer

The transport layer is for processing chunks of data called TCP segments and UDP
datagrams. The purpose of this layer is to assemble and disassemble these different pieces
of incoming data.

The size of a data link frame has an upper limit, such as 1500 bytes for an Ethernet frame,
so the payload of a segment/datagram may be a portion of a larger set of data. The transport
layer rearranges these portions as appropriate and either joins them to recover the entire
body of data received or splits them up before transmission.

In the case of the email reaching your phone, the transport layer pieces together the TCP
segments corresponding to various components of your message—sender, recipient,
timestamp, subject line, content, attachments—and passes the data on to the session layer.
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Layer 5: The Session Layer

The session layer makes and maintains connections between your local host and remote
hosts. Data can travel between your phone’s mail client and the email server if they share an
established connection via TCP or UDP.

The data containing your email has reached the session layer, which saves the source and
destination port information. It uses the source port number to send data back, such as an
acknowledgment receipt or an error message, such as a nonexistent addressee or a full
mailbox unable to receive new mail.

Now that the session layer has received the reassembled email data and your mailbox has
space, this layer pushes the data forward to the port number of your phone’s email client.
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From our Ports and Protocols Cheat Sheet

Layer 6: The Presentation Layer

The conventional function of the presentation layer is to ensure the correct application
receives the data from the previous layer for processing and that the data is in a valid format
for viewing. Data encryption and decryption happen at this layer.

Most email services support the POP3S and IMAPS protocols for receiving emails. The
TLS/SSL portion of these protocols belongs to the presentation layer. Or, if you use end-to-
end encrypted email services such as Protonmail or Tutanota, this is the layer where your
emails stay encrypted until you click each subject line.

Some instructors deem the presentation layer disposable because computer applications
have become robust enough to read almost all data types or return relevant error messages.
In other words, all data is now machine-readable, even if it outputs gibberish.
\ Layer 7: The Application Layer
Your phone buzzes. A new notification appears. You’ve got mail. Your email app is working
as expected. Is that all to the application layer? For receiving emails, this is it. But for
sending emails, no.

This layer is responsible for the features built into the application that make them aware of
networks, such as an Application Programming Interface (API). Taking emails as an
example, email APIs, such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact, are for sending automated
emails, such as payment receipts, password resets, and newsletters.
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 The TCP/IP Reference Model
The TCP/IP model is a model of digital communications which laid the foundation for the
modern Internet and most Internet protocols we use today. Since it’s older than the OSI
model, it’s more accurate to say the OSI model is an alternative to the TCP/IP model rather
than the other way around.

Therefore, a major point of criticism raised against the OSI model was that it emerged too
late in the history of the Internet to be a game-changer. Here’s a graphic comparing both
models:

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Conclusion
Wherever you are in your IT learning journey, we hope this OSI model cheat sheet helps you
understand the OSI reference model. Check out our other networking articles and related
courses for more resources. Last but not least, if you’re studying the OSI model for an
upcoming exam, we wish you all the best.