OSI , TCP MODEL,

ENCAPSULATION AND
DECAPSULATION
OSI MODEL
The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI
model) is a conceptual model that characterizes
and standardizes the communication functions of
a telecommunication or computing system
without regard to its underlying internal structure
and technology. Its goal is the interoperability of
diverse communication systems with
standard communication protocols. The model
partitions a communication system
into abstraction layers. The original version of the
model had seven layers.
A layer serves the layer above it and is
served by the layer below it. For example, a
layer that provides error-free
communications across a network provides
the path needed by applications above it,
while it calls the next lower layer to send and
receive packets that constitute the contents
of that path. Two instances at the same layer
are visualized as connected by
a horizontal connection in that layer.
The model is a product of the Open Systems
Interconnection project at the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The purpose of the OSI reference model is to

guide vendors and developers so the digital
communication products and software
programs they create will interoperate, and
to facilitate clear comparisons among
communications tools.
While some people may argue that the OSI
model is obsolete (due to its theoretical
nature and less important than the 4 layers
of the TCP/IP model), Kumar says that “it is
difficult to read about networking technology
today without seeing references to the OSI
model and its layers, because the model’s
structure helps to frame discussions of
protocols and contrast various technologies.”
If you can understand the OSI model and
its layers, you can also then understand
which protocols and devices can
interoperate with each other when new
technologies are developed and explained.
TCP MODEL
TCP/IP, or the Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of
communication protocols used to
interconnect network devices on the internet.
TCP/IP can also be used as a communications
protocol in a private network (an intranet or
an extranet).
The entire internet protocol suite -- a set of rules
and procedures -- is commonly referred to as
TCP/IP, though others are included in the suite.
TCP/IP specifies how data is exchanged over
the internet by providing end-to-end
communications that identify how it should
be broken into packets, addressed,
transmitted, routed and received at the
destination. TCP/IP requires little central
management, and it is designed to make
networks reliable, with the ability to recover
automatically from the failure of any device
on the network.
The two main protocols in the internet
protocol suite serve specific
functions. TCP defines how applications can
create channels of communication across a
network. It also manages how a message is
assembled into smaller packets before they
are then transmitted over the internet and
reassembled in the right order at the
destination address.
IP defines how to address and route each
packet to make sure it reaches the right
destination. Each gateway computer on
the network checks this IP address to
determine where to forward the message.
TCP/IP uses the client/server model of communication in
which a user or machine (a client) is provided a service
(like sending a webpage) by another computer (a server) in
the network.
Collectively, the TCP/IP suite of protocols is classified
as stateless, which means each client request is considered
new because it is unrelated to previous requests. Being
stateless frees up network paths so they can be used
continuously.
The transport layer itself, however, is stateful. It transmits
a single message, and its connection remains in place until
all the packets in a message have been received and
reassembled at the destination.
ENCAPSULATION
Encapsulation is used to describe a
process of adding headers and trailers
around some data. This process can be
explained with the four-layer TCP/IP
model, with each step describing the role
of the layer.  For example, here is what
happens when you send an email using
your favourite email program 
Data encapsulation in the OSI model
Just like with the TCP/IP layers, each OSI
layer asks for services from the next lower
layer. The lower layer encapsulates the
higher layer’s data between a header
(Data Link protocols also add a trailer).
While the TCP/IP model uses terms like segment,
packet and frame to refer to a data packet defined
by a particular layer, the OSI model uses a
different term: protocol data unit (PDU). A PDU
represent a unit of data with headers and trailers
for the particular layer, as well as the
encapsulated data. Since the OSI model has 7
layers, PDUs are numbered from 1 to 7, with the
Physical layer being the first one. For example, the
term Layer 3 PDU refers to the data encapsulated
at the Network layer of the OSI model.
 Encapsulation is configurable on
Ethernet and EtherChannel interfaces.
IEEE 802.1Q is a standard protocol for
interconnecting multiple switches and
routers and for defining VLAN topologies.
Use the encapsulation dot1q command
in subinterface range configuration mode
to apply a VLAN ID to the subinterface.
DECAPSULATION
Decapsulation is the process of opening
up encapsulated data that are usually sent
in the form of packets over a
communication network. It can be literally
defined as the process of opening a
capsule, which, in this case, refers to
encapsulated or wrapped-up data.
When data are sent through a
communication network that follows the OSI
or TCP/IP protocol suite, they are usually
sent as discrete packets of information.
While sending a particular data packet, each
layer of the communication model adds a bit
of information to the raw data packet for
the understanding of the data at each layer
of the receiving end of the communication.
Data encapsulation is the process wherein
data are transmitted from the upper level to
the lower level of the protocol stack
(outgoing transmission from one network to
another). Each layer consists of a certain
amount of information (i.e., the header) and
the data. As it moves down each transport
level, the data are repacked until they reach
the network access layer (the destination
network). 
Data decapsulation is simply the reverse of
encapsulation. This is when an incoming
transmission (to be received by the destination
computer) is unpacked as it moves up the
protocol stack. The data at the bottom of the
layer are packaged several times to ensure
security. As they are sent along the transport
layer, these data are unpacked until they reach
the network application awaiting the data. The
information in the header is used to determine
which network the data are to be delivered to.