Something that has to do with the internet, I get this part. But what are those layers? Are they physical?
I also heard the term: layer 2 switch. What is that, is there a difference between this and a normal switch?
What can be achieved using the OSI model?
In: Engineering
It is just a way of organizing the needed parts of a network connection in a way that makes sense to a broad swath of IT professionals. Of course, if you opened up the hardware you would not find anything called a ‘data link’ layer. That is what we use to describe say…the ARP and deliver to a MAC address. So, above physical (actually plugging the thing in) and below the ‘network’ layer, or the ability to send traffic outside of our local network.
If I am dealing with a developer, they typically don’t care about the first 4 layers, those will be handled by the operating system(s). They need to know about layers 5-7, or session through application. What the user actually touches and the underlying softwares that enable to happen, which are all dependant on the layers below. It is why we use the term ‘layering’, you can’t worry about the session layer if the physical layer is unplugged.
Your other question is a terminology one, all switches work on layer 2, or I should say all *switching* works on layer two. We determine the tool by its function, so if I have a box full of ports that has software that can do routing and I configure it as such, it is a router. The spray paint on the box doesn’t matter, it matters how it is used. Saying ‘layer 2 switch’ is just shorthand I might use to tell another engineer that the switch’s sole purpose is to switch packets, it doesn’t do any routing or anything even if it is capable of it.
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