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TechKnowSurge Catalog Interactives Protocol-to-Layer Sorter
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Protocol-to-Layer Sorter

Sort protocols and technologies into their correct OSI layer, from Physical (L1) to Application (L7).

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

The OSI model is the shared vocabulary networking runs on: seven layers, each with one job, stacked so that the layer above never has to care how the layer below does it. Physical moves raw signals down a wire or a beam of light. Data Link frames those signals and addresses them to a machine on the same segment. Network addresses them across segments. Transport decides whether delivery is guaranteed. Session, Presentation and Application handle conversations, formats, and the thing the user actually wanted. Learn where a protocol sits and you can predict what it can and cannot do — and, when something breaks, which layer to go look at. This activity gives you seventeen protocols, media and technologies and seven bins to place them in. Most are direct: fiber carries light, so it is Physical; HTTP is what your browser speaks, so it is Application. Two are deliberately awkward, and they are the ones worth slowing down for. ARP is placed at Data Link (L2) here, because that is where CompTIA puts it — but ARP exists precisely to translate a Layer 3 IP address into a Layer 2 MAC address, so it touches both and is genuinely a boundary case. Expect to see it argued as L2/L3 in the wild; know the exam answer and know why the argument exists. TLS is the mirror image: in practice it spans Session and Presentation, negotiating a session and then encrypting and encoding what crosses it, but CompTIA places it at Presentation (L6), which is where it belongs here. Neither of these is a trick. They are the places where a tidy seven-layer diagram meets a messier reality, and noticing that is the point.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Network+
1.1 Explain concepts related to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model.
1.4 Explain common networking ports, protocols, services, and traffic types.
1.5 Compare and contrast transmission media and transceivers.
CompTIA A+ Core 1
2.1 Compare and contrast Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports, protocols, and their purposes.
3.1 Explain basic cable types and their connectors, features, and purposes.
Cisco CCNA
1.5 Compare TCP to UDP
1.3 Compare physical interface and cabling types

Key terms

Open Systems Interconnection Model
OSI
A conceptual framework that standardizes network communication into seven distinct layers.
Physical Layer
Layer 1 of the OSI model, responsible for the transmission of raw bits over a physical medium.
Data Link Layer
Layer 2 of the OSI model responsible for node-to-node data transfer and error detection on a single network segment.
Network Layer
Layer 3 of the OSI model, responsible for logical addressing and routing data packets between networks.
Transport Layer
Layer 4 of the OSI model, responsible for end-to-end communication, flow control, and error recovery.
Session Layer
Layer 5 of the OSI model, responsible for establishing, managing, and terminating communication sessions.
Presentation Layer
Layer 6 of the OSI model, responsible for data translation, encryption, and compression.
Application Layer
The topmost layer of the OSI model (Layer 7) that provides network services directly to end-user applications.
Ethernet
A widely used wired networking technology that transmits data over copper cable using electrical signals.
Address Resolution Protocol
ARP
A protocol used to map an IP address to a physical MAC address on a local network.
Transmission Control Protocol
TCP
A connection-oriented transport protocol that ensures reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data.
User Datagram Protocol
UDP
A connectionless transport protocol that sends data without establishing a connection or guaranteeing delivery.
Internet Protocol
IP
The principal communications protocol for routing packets across network boundaries.
Transport Layer Security
TLS
A cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over a network, successor to SSL.
Domain Name System
DNS
A hierarchical naming system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
HTTP
An application-layer protocol that defines how web browsers and servers communicate to request and deliver web pages and other content, operating over TCP on port 80. HTTP transmits data in plaintext, which is why it has been largely replaced by HTTPS for sensitive content.

Topics

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