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Internetworking Models
When networks first came into being, computers could typically communicate only with
computers from the same manufacturer. For example, companies ran either a complete
DECnet solution or an IBM solution—not both together. In the late 1970s, the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) reference model was created by the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) to break this barrier.
The OSI model was meant to help vendors create interoperable network devices and software
in the form of protocols so that different vendor networks could work with each other.
Like world peace, it’ll probably never happen completely, but it’s still a great goal.
The OSI model is the primary architectural model for networks. It describes how data
and network information are communicated from an application on one computer through
the network media to an application on another computer. The OSI reference model breaks
this approach into layers.
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