Windows NT Networking versus the OSI Reference Model

Windows NT Networking versus the OSI Reference Model

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is one technique that you can use to understand the networking architecture of Windows NT. The OSI model was developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and is a layered architecture that standardizes how various computers in a network should exchange information with each other.

The components of the Windows NT networking architecture can be organized into three categories: network adapter card drivers, transport drivers, and file system drivers. The advantages of this modular design are increased flexibility and reliability because it is much easier to test and to change a small module than the entire block of network software. Also, each layer only needs to be written to be compatible with the layers immediately above it and below it in the overall architecture, which makes adding new capabilities much easier. Figure 4.1 compares the Windows NT network architecture model with the OSI model.

The OSI model is only a theoretical model. There is not a one-to-one match between the layers of the OSI model and the layers of the Windows NT network architecture.

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