Layer 2

The data link layer or layer 2 is the second layer of the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking. This layer is the protocol layer that transfers data between adjacent network nodes in a wide area network (WAN) or between nodes on the same local area network (LAN) segment. The data link layer provides the functional and procedural means to transfer data between network entities and might provide the means to detect and possibly correct errors that may occur in the physical layer.

The data link layer is concerned with local delivery of frames between devices on the same LAN. Data-link frames, as these are called, do not cross the boundaries of a local network. Inter-network routing and global addressing are higher-layer functions, allowing data-link protocols to focus on local delivery, addressing, and media arbitration. This way, the data link layer is analogous to a neighborhood traffic cop; it endeavors to arbitrate between parties contending for access to a medium, without concern for their ultimate destination. When devices attempt to use a medium simultaneously, frame collisions occur. Data-link protocols specify how devices detect and recover from such collisions, and may provide mechanisms to reduce or prevent them.

Examples of data link protocols are Ethernet for local area networks (multi-node), the (PPP), HDLC and ADCCP for point-to-point (dual-node) connections. In the (TCP/IP), the data link layer functionality is contained within the link layer, the lowest layer of the descriptive model.

A frame's header contains source and destination addresses that indicate which device originated the frame and which device is expected to receive and process it. In contrast to the hierarchical and routable addresses of the network layer, layer-2 addresses are flat, meaning that no part of the address can be used to identify the logical or physical group to which the address belongs.

The data link thus provides data transfer across the physical link. That transfer can be reliable or unreliable; many data-link protocols do not have acknowledgments of successful frame reception and acceptance, and some data-link protocols might not even have any form of checksum to check for transmission errors. In those cases, higher-level protocols must provide flow control, error checking, and acknowledgments and retransmission.

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