The Host-to-Network Layer in TCP/IP Model

The host-to-network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model and is concerned with the physical transmission of data. It is also called a network interface layer or link layer. It can be considered as the combination of physical layer and data link layer of the OSI model.

The functions of this layer are −

• It defines how bits are to be encoded into optical or electrical pulses.
• It accepts IP packets from the network layer and encapsulates them into frames. It synchronizes the transmission of the frames as well as the bits making up the frames, between the sender and the receiver.
• It states the transmission mode, i.e. simplex, half duplex or full duplex
• It states the topology of the network, i.e. bus, star, ring etc.

The protocols that this layer supports are −

• Ethernet
• Frame Relay
• Token Ring
• ATM

The following diagram depicts the host-to-network layer in the TCP/IP protocol suite −

Arushi

Published on 13-Jul-2018 13:03:58

• Related Questions & Answers
• The Transport Layer in TCP/IP Model
• The Application Layer in TCP/IP Model
• The Internet Layer in the TCP/IP Model
• The TCP/IP Reference Model
• What is the TCP/IP Reference Model?
• OSI vs. TCP/IP Reference Model
• What is application layer protocols in TCP/IP?
• Advantages and Disadvantages of the TCP/IP Model
• The Network Layer of OSI Model
• What are the functions of each layer in TCP/IP?
• Explain the TCP Service Model in Computer Network
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the TCP/IP model
• Difference between OSI and TCP/IP Reference Model
• TCP/IP in Computer Networking
• The Computer Network Layer