Network Processes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Network Processes - Essay Example Nevertheless, the fundamental process remains same and heavily depends on the seven layers of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and four layers of TCP/IP protocol stack. The OSI is a hypothetical model and provide the fundamental understanding of the communication infrastructure for modern networks. On the other hand TCP/IP is a suite of protocols which operates over this hypothetical model. In simplest words, protocol is a set of agreed upon communication rules that govern the communication between two or more machines. The OSI model and TCP/IP protocol suite work in close coordination at various layers to ensure a secure and efficient data communication. In majority of implementations, a sound understanding of the layers, protocols, processes and underlying technologies is required to appreciate the process that may occur in a network. Comer (2004) states this fact, â€Å"Understanding the internet technology requires one to distinguish between the low-level mechanisms prov ided by the hardware itself and the higher-level facilities that the TCP/IP protocol software provides†. Present day networks are so big and wide spread that they cannot be owned by a single business entity rather multiple entities look after their part of network to bridge the gap between various far of networks. Various issues surrounding the communication processes need in-depth investigation of the entire channel to find out the technicalities and interoperability potential of these layers and protocols. These layers and protocols are discussed at length in the following lines; A remote user starts this process by accessing the X-Stream Server through internet explorer. This access request is interpreted at Application Layer, by Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and it is destined for HTTP Port 80 at X-Stream Server. However, it must be noted that HTTP neither know the location of the server nor the routing details; it is the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) implement ation in the backdrop which takes care of actual transmission. Tanenbaum (2004) while pointing out the role of HTTP states, â€Å"It specifies what messages clients may send to servers and what responses they get back in return. All clients and all servers must obey this protocol. The value of using TCP is that neither browsers nor servers have to worry about lost messages, duplicate messages, long messages, or acknowledgements. All of these matters are handled by the TCP implementation†. Another significant impact of TCP transmission in the physical network, is the level of abstraction it has to offer. TCP ensures the reliable and efficient transfer of the data, no matter what physical network layout exists between the client machine and the server. Moreover, it is the last layer before data leaves a user machine for onward dispatch to network layer which falls in the domain of Internet Service Provider (ISP), except for the case of an Intranet implementation at either side of the network. At this stage, it will be prudent to get into the detail of various layers of OSI Model and TCP/IP protocol stack. OSI Model has a seven layer structure as oppose to four layer stack of TCP/IP, however both have sufficient commonalities for sustainable interoperability and coordination, a layout diagram for both is drawn here for better understanding; It is evident from this diagram that the Application Layer in TCP/IP is the combination of three upper layers of OSI Mode