Inside Windows® Server 2003

Overview of Windows Server 2003 Networking

This topic covers the methods used by Windows Server 2003 to determine the proper address and port at each Network layer. It uses the standard Open System Interconnection (OSI) model as a road map (see Figure 4.2). Windows networking doesn't precisely follow OSI, but the structure is close enough to permit parallels.

Figure 4.2. Diagram of OSI layers and Windows Server 2003 network drivers.

Data Link Layer

In the OSI model, the data link layer defines methods for packaging data to be transmitted over physical media. The OSI data link layer is divided by IEEE 802.1 into a Media Access Control (MAC) layer ...