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 ...

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, ...

The third layer of the OSI Model, the network layer, is where most network engineers focus their time and expertise. As Darragh commented in my post on the data link layer, Layer 2 is cool but Layer 3 ...

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 ...

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 ...

A tutorial on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking reference model plus tips on how to memorize the seven layers. The Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model is a conceptual framework that ...

Whether it’s wired or wireless, most data communications today happens by way of packets of information travelling over one or more networks. But before these networks can work together, though, they ...

We received this question from a student at a recent Profinet One-Day Training Class. I found it particularly prescient given the latest discussions going on around Industry 4.0. The question is ...