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Open Systems Interconnect Model OSI
  • Pertaining to an ISO reference model intended to coordinate the development of standards and all levels of communications. The objective is to allow purchasers of communications equipment much greater freedom in mixing and matching equipment as well as a greater degree of protection against obsolescence. (Source: Information Security: Dictionary of Concepts, Standards and Terms; Longley, Shain, Caelli; Macmillan, 1992)
  • An international standard for the organization of local area networks (LANs) established by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). The OSI reference model is an important contribution to the conceptual design of local area networks because this model establishes hardware independence. The model separates the communications process into distinct layers: The physical hardware (such as cabling), the transport layer (the method by which data is communicated via the physical hardware), the presentation layer (the layer by which the transmitted data interacts with application programs in each computer), and the application layer (the programs available to all users of the network). (QCUS+Pf-90)