The OSI Model Revisited
The International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model became the architectural basis for virtually all the communication and networking software in common use today. Even as technology evolves and technical eventualities that the original OSI committees never could have foreseen appear, the conversation remains couched mostly in these terms. The model is illustrated here with some additional commentary and a few examples. Most of the challenges of integration occur at layers 3 (Network Layer) and 7 (Application Layer). This is because agreement at the other levels is less subject to matters of configuration and application domain. Widespread acceptance of this architecture and the products that resulted have helped tremendously in resolving many, if not most, integration conflicts. |
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