Layer 7 - Application: The application layer makes the interface between

the program that

is sending or is receiving data and the protocol stack. When you
download or send e-mails,
your e-mail program contacts this layer.

Layer 6 - Presentation: Also called translation layer, this layer

converts the data format
received by the application layer to a common format used by the protocol
stack. For example
, if the program is using a non-ASCII code page, this layer will be in
charge of translating
the received data into ASCII. This layer can also be used to compress
data and add
encryption. Data compression increases network speed, as less data will
be sent to the
layer below (layer 5). If encryption is used, your data will be encrypted
while in transit
between layers 5 and 1 and they will only be decrypted on the layer 6 of
the computer at
the other end.

Layer 5 - Session: This layer allows two programs in different computers

to establish
a communication session. In this session these two programs define how
data transmission
will be done, adding progress markers to the transmitted data. If the
network fails, the
two computers restart the transmission from the last received marker
instead of
retransmitting all data again. For example, you are downloading e-mail
and your network
fails. Instead of downloading all e-mails again, your program would
automatically restart
from the last downloaded e-mail. Note that not all protocols implement
this feature.

Layer 4 - Transport: On networks data is divided into several packets.

When you are
transferring a big file, this file is sliced into several small packets,
and then the
computer at the other end gets these packets and put the file back
together. The Transport
layer is in charge of getting data sent by the Session layer and dividing
them into packets
that will be transmitted over the network. At the receiving computer,
this layer is also
in charge of putting the packets in order, if they arrived out-of-order
(this task is known
 as flow control), and also checking data integrity, usually sending a
control signal to
the transmitter called acknowledge or simply ack telling it that the
packet arrived and
data is intact. This layer separates the Application layers (layers 5 to
7) from the
Network layers (layers 1 to 3). Network layers are concerned with how
data is transmitted
and received over the network, i.e. how data packets are transmitted,
while Application
layers are concerned with what is inside the packets, i.e. if the data
itself. Layer 4,
Transport, makes the interface between these two groups.

Layer 3 - Network: This layer is in charge of packet addressing,

converting logical
addresses into physical addresses, making it possible to data packets to
arrive at their
destination. This layer is also in charge of setting the route the
packets will use to
arrive at their destination, based on factors like traffic and
priorities.

Layer 2 - Data Link: This layer gets the data packets send by the network
layer and convert
them into frames that will be sent out to the network media, adding the
physical address
of the network card of your computer, the physical address of the
network card of the
destination, control data and a checksum data, also known as CRC. The
frame created by this
layer is sent to the physical layer, where the frame will be converted
into an electrical
signal (or electromagnetic signal, if you are using a wireless network).
The Data Link
layer on the receiving computer will recalculate the checksum and see if
the new calculated
checksum matches the value sent. If they match, the receiving computer
sends an acknowledge
signal (ack) to the transmitting computer. Otherwise the transmitting
computer will
re-send the frame, as it didn’t arrive at destination or it arrived with
its data corrupted.

Layer 1 - Physical: This layer gets the frames sent by the Data Link
layer and convert
them into signals compatible with the transmission media. If a metallic
cable is used,
then it will convert data into electrical signals; if a fiber optical
cable is used, then
it will convert data into luminous signals; if a wireless network is
used, then it will
 convert data into electromagnetic signals; and so on. When receiving
data, this layer
will get the signal received and convert it into 0s and 1s and send them
to the Data
Link layer, which will put the frame back together and check for its
integrity.