OSI Model Visualizer

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Sender

Application L7
Presentation L6
Session L5
Transport L4
Network L3
Data Link L2
Physical L1

Click "Start Encapsulation" to begin

How Encapsulation Works

Data starts at the Application layer (L7) and travels down through each layer. At each layer, a header (and sometimes a trailer) is added to the data. This process is called encapsulation.

Receiver

L7 Application
L6 Presentation
L5 Session
L4 Transport
L3 Network
L2 Data Link
L1 Physical
Layer 7 Application
Layer 6 Presentation
Layer 5 Session
Layer 4 Transport
Layer 3 Network
Layer 2 Data Link
Layer 1 Physical
Scenario:
Layer 7 of 7 — Start at the Application layer and work down
PDU Encapsulation — live structure at current layer
PDU: Data
7
Application