Re:How Do Routers Work, Really?
by jlmcguire on Thursday September 10, 2020 @05:43PM
(#24436851)
This is one of those cases where both sides have some insight depending on viewpoint. The OSI model is like every other model. It isn't reality (at least in TCP/IP) but instead is a helpful abstraction esp. around troubleshooting and understanding networking concepts. There comes a point where the model breaks down but that doesn't mean it's an unhelpful model just that it isn't a complete picture. I try and work networking problems through the OSI layer model but am aware when things don't really fit well into it (MPLS, MSS, ARP, Layer 5-7).
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I agree with you, except that the use of the OSI model seems to be distorting history: TCP/IP went up against OSI and won, even though OSI was favored, because TCP/IP could get working systems faster. That's a lesson which should be learned, but it gets obscured if you think that TCP/IP implemented OSI and there never was a competition.
Plus, the OSI model is rather complicated; there's a "TCP/IP Model" with four layers which is a lot simpler:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/tcp-ip-model/
> Process/Application Layer
> Host-to-Host/Transport Layer
> Internet Layer
> Network Access/Link Layer
(This seems to be the RFC 1122 model, BTW.)
RFC 1122 and RFC 871 each have models, too.
RFC 871 has:
> Application/Process
> Host-to-host
> Network interface