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FIGURE 11.1 Representation of the OSI model
The OSI model is an open network architecture guide for network
product vendors. This standard, or guide, provides a common
foundation for the development of new protocols, networking services,
and even hardware devices. By working from the OSI model, vendors
are able to ensure that their products will integrate with products from
other companies and be supported by a wide range of operating
systems. If all vendors developed their own networking framework,
interoperability between products from different vendors would be
next to impossible.
The real benefit of the OSI model is its expression of how networking
actually functions. In the most tangible sense, network
communications occur over a physical connection (whether that
physical connection is electrons over copper, photons over fiber, or
