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 ...

The application layer is at Layer 7, the top of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model. It ensures that an application can communicate with other applications on different ...

What is the network layer? Located at Layer 3 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model, the primary function of the network layer is to move data into and through other networks.

Networks function and flourish because they deliver reliable and fast communication over large distances. And while people often marvel at the speed, it's the reliability -- made possible through the ...

According to the OSI Model, the session layer is where connections are established, managed, and torn down. For connection-oriented network protocols, understanding how the session layer works, and ...

Network protocols are formal standards and policies consisting of rules, procedures, and formats that define how data is exchanged over networks. They ensure that devices can communicate effectively, ...

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 ...

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) provides for digital transmission over ordinary telephone copper wire as well as over other media uses. In this continuation of his tip on ISDN ...

Protocols The protocols that are in use on the network are also considered a part of the infrastructure. A protocol is simply an agreed upon way of communicating. If you and I talk with each other in ...