PERFORMANCE TESTING

What is OSI model?

OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) – Developed by ISO(International Standard
Organization), There are 7 layers which is responsible for transferring data from one system
to another.

What are the 7 layers of the OSI model?

Physical, data link, Network layer are called as lower/hardware layer.
Physical layer – Physical layer is the lowest layer and data is transmitted through bits. It is
the physical connection between the devices. The received data is converted into 1s and 0s
and sent to data link layer. Bits rate control and transmission mode and physical topology are
maintained here. Cables, hub, repeater are physical layer devices.
Bits rate control – No.of.bits transmitted per second.
Transmission mode – Simplex, half-duplex, full-duplex
Physical topology – Bus, star, line, fully connected are topologies that shows how the devices
are connected with each other.
Data link layer – Data link layer is responsible for the error-free data transfer as it checks for
a lost or damaged frame and resends it. The received packets from the network layer is
divided into frames depending on the frame size of the NIC(Network interface card). The IP
address is mapped to the respective MAC address using ARP protocol(Address resolution
protocol) .Here there are two sublayers.
Logical link control(LLC) – Multiplexing and demultiplexing happens here (Packets are cut
into smaller frames, frames are being generated as packets)
Media Access Control(MAC)- In each frame there will be a header which contains the MAC
address of the sender/receiver device. Also it handles the collision detection work.
Flow control and access control happens here.
Flow control – Checking whether the receiver can handle the amount of data so that the
data may not get corrupted.
Access control – Checks which device acts a channel at a given time.
Ex: Switch and bridge
Network Layer – In network layer, routing happens. Routing means finding the shortest path
to transmit the data. Here the segments are called as packets and in each header of the
packets, IP address of the sender and receiver is attached. Ex: Router, Switch
Transport layer – Successful data transfer happens here, It checks for the flow and error and
retransmits the data accordingly. Segmentation and reassembly happens here. Packets are
called as segments here. Each header of the segment contains the source and destination
port number. This port number is designated manually or by default. Ex: Default port
number for web application and web server request is 80.
There are two types of Services provided in this layer:
Connection-oriented service – There are 3 process: 1)Connection establishment 2)Data
transfer 3)Termination/Disconnection
It is a secure way to transmit data as acknowledgement will be given by the destination after
the data has been received.
Connectionless service – It is a faster way of communication where acknowledgement is not
given by the destination.
Transport layer is a part of the OS and TCP(Transmission control protocol) protocol which
transmits the messages across devices is used
Session layer – Responsible for establishment of connection, maintenance of the session
and authentication and ensures security.
Presentation layer – It is also called as translation layer. It extracts the data from application
layer and converts into the required format and sends it across the network.
Encryption/Decryption and compression takes place here.
Encryption/Decryption – Changing the format of the data (ciphertext) and converting back to
normal state(plain text) for a secure communication.
Compression – Reducing the no.of.bits for an easy transmission
Ex: JPEG, GIF.
Application layer – It is also called as desktop layer. It is the layer which displays the received
information to the user.
Ex: Applications – skype, mail. Protocol used is SMTP(Simple mail transfer protocol) – Used
for transferring mails
All the layers below the session layer i.e application, presentation, session layers are called
upper/software layers.
EXAMPLE OF OSI LAYERS – Sending an email
I send an email through an application called gmail in Application layer and in Presentation
layer it encrypts the messages for a secure communication and sends it to session. In
session layer, it establishes a connection to the sender and receiver and maintains the
session. Transport layer breaks down the message into smaller segments and checks the
error and sends it to network layer. Network layer finds the best path to send the message.
Data packets are encapsulated into frames in data-link layer and MAC address is linked to
them. Frames are being sent through physical connection like wires, wifi in physical layer.
What are Simplex, half-duplex, full-duplex?
Simplex – It means a single way communication. Ex: Keyboard/Monitor relationship
Half-duplex – It means there is a two way communication but only one at a time. Ex: Walkie
talkie
Full-duplex – It means there is a two way communication. Ex: Mobile phones

What is a MAC address?

Mac address Is the address of the physical device that is connected to the network.

What is a PPTP protocol?

PPTP(Point to point tunnelling protocol)protocol is used to establish a secure VPN
connection.

What is NVT and FTAM protocol?

NVT (Network virtual terminal) – It helps in logging in a remote host.
FTAM(File transfer access management) – It helps in access, retrieve, manage files in a
remote host.

What is TCP/IP Model?

TCP/IP protocol is a compact version of OSI model. Application layer contains application,
presentation, session layers . Transport and network layer is present. Network access layer
contains datalink layer and physical layer. TCP/IP model is a connectionless model.