OSI vs TCP/IP comparison in Computer Networks - Hands-On Comparison

OSI vs TCP/IP Comparison

📖 Scenario: You are learning about how computers communicate over networks. Two important models help us understand this: the OSI model and the TCP/IP model. Each model breaks down communication into layers, but they do it differently.Imagine you want to send a letter to a friend. You write the letter, put it in an envelope, address it, and send it through the post office. Each step is like a layer in these models.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple comparison chart that lists the layers of the OSI model and the TCP/IP model side by side. This will help you see how the two models match up and understand their differences.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a dictionary called osi_layers with the 7 OSI layers in order from 1 to 7.

Create a dictionary called tcpip_layers with the 4 TCP/IP layers in order from 1 to 4.

Create a dictionary called layer_mapping that maps each OSI layer number to the corresponding TCP/IP layer name.

Add a final dictionary called comparison_chart that combines the OSI layer number, OSI layer name, and TCP/IP layer name for easy comparison.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Understanding these models helps network engineers and IT professionals troubleshoot and design networks by knowing how data moves through different layers.

💼 Career

Knowledge of OSI and TCP/IP models is fundamental for roles like network administrator, cybersecurity analyst, and systems engineer.

1

Create OSI Layers Dictionary

Create a dictionary called osi_layers with these exact entries: 1: 'Physical', 2: 'Data Link', 3: 'Network', 4: 'Transport', 5: 'Session', 6: 'Presentation', 7: 'Application'.

Computer Networks

# Create the osi_layers dictionary with layer numbers and names
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use a dictionary with numbers as keys and layer names as values.

2

Create TCP/IP Layers Dictionary

Create a dictionary called tcpip_layers with these exact entries: 1: 'Network Interface', 2: 'Internet', 3: 'Transport', 4: 'Application'.

Computer Networks

osi_layers = {
    1: 'Physical',
    2: 'Data Link',
    3: 'Network',
    4: 'Transport',
    5: 'Session',
    6: 'Presentation',
    7: 'Application'
}
# Create the tcpip_layers dictionary with layer numbers and names
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use a dictionary with numbers as keys and TCP/IP layer names as values.

3

Map OSI Layers to TCP/IP Layers

Create a dictionary called layer_mapping that maps each OSI layer number to the corresponding TCP/IP layer name exactly as follows: 1: 'Network Interface', 2: 'Network Interface', 3: 'Internet', 4: 'Transport', 5: 'Application', 6: 'Application', 7: 'Application'.

Computer Networks

osi_layers = {
    1: 'Physical',
    2: 'Data Link',
    3: 'Network',
    4: 'Transport',
    5: 'Session',
    6: 'Presentation',
    7: 'Application'
}

tcpip_layers = {
    1: 'Network Interface',
    2: 'Internet',
    3: 'Transport',
    4: 'Application'
}
# Create the layer_mapping dictionary to link OSI layer numbers to TCP/IP layer names
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Map each OSI layer number to the correct TCP/IP layer name as given.

4

Create Comparison Chart Dictionary

Create a dictionary called comparison_chart where each key is the OSI layer number and the value is another dictionary with keys 'OSI Layer' and 'TCP/IP Layer' holding the OSI layer name and the mapped TCP/IP layer name respectively. Use the osi_layers and layer_mapping dictionaries to build this.

Computer Networks

Need a hint?

Use a for loop to build the comparison_chart dictionary with nested dictionaries for each layer.