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 ...

I like to think of the transport layer as the layer of the OSI Model that enables more interesting traffic. While we network engineers may love a lot of the simpler uses of the IP protocol and ...

The OSI model defines protocols for how a network technically handles communications at the various functional layers. Starting with electrons and photons at the physical layer (Layer 1), the model ...

We recently advised that people in the business of planning, building and supporting computer networks should not lose sight of the mythical OSI Layer 8. We define Layer 8 as the human-to-human ...

Could anyone help find authoritative online sources and /or otherwise articulate on why it makes sense to go from the “top down” in the OST 7 -- layer model, instead of “bottom up”, when ...

Understanding Protocols and the OSI Network Model 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. By Bill ...

First off, howdy and welcome to the inaugural post of the EtherGeek blog. My name is Josh Stephens and I’m Head Geek and VP of Technology at SolarWinds, an IT management software company in Austin.