I came across the attached comic on Mastodon, at a time in Principles where we are learning about how much time and data it takes to translate raw data to bits and send it across the Internet and back. It was shared in response to a “Send me your favorite memes” post, but for those who do not know, Mastodon is an algorithm-free open sources social network with a high proportion of nerds (scientists, technologists, journalists). And I follow the first two more closely.
Since we are studying The Internet in Principles now, it seemed relevant to me. But then I noticed that there is no OSI Model lesson in our curriculum. We do cover the TCP/IP model, which leaves out the endpoint layers. So I searched and found this. What I learned was:
- TCP/IP simpler than OSI: TCP/IP Application Layer covers OSI 5, 6, and 7, and TCP/IP Network Access Layer covers OSI 1, 2. So maybe simpler is better.
- TCP/IP was the model used by the Internet’s inventors, and that’s where we’re focusing in the curriculum.
- TCP/IP is a functional model designed to solve specific communication problems, based on specific, standard protocols, while OSI is a generic, protocol-independent model intended to describe all forms of network communication. So - outside scope of the Internet unit.
If anyone has any comments on this, share!
-Bram
I am not seeing anything about the OSI model in CS Principles. Anyone know why?