Network layer


In the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking, the network layer is layer 3. The network layer is responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers.

Functions

The network layer provides the means of transferring variable-length network packets from a source to a destination host via one or more networks. Within the service layering semantics of the OSI network architecture, the network layer responds to service requests from the transport layer and issues service requests to the data link layer.
Functions of the network layer include:
; Connectionless communication
; Host addressing
; Message forwarding

Relation to TCP/IP model

The TCP/IP model describes the protocols used by the Internet. The TCP/IP model has a layer called the Internet layer, located above the link layer. In many textbooks and other secondary references, the TCP/IP Internet layer is equated with the OSI network layer. However, this comparison is misleading, as the allowed characteristics of protocols placed into these layers are different in the two models. The TCP/IP Internet layer is in fact only a subset of functionality of the network layer. It describes only one type of network architecture, the Internet.

Fragmentation of Internet Protocol packets

The network layer is responsible for fragmentation and reassembly for IPv4 packets that are larger than the smallest MTU of all the intermediate links on the packet's path to its destination. It is the function of routers to fragment packets if needed, and of hosts to reassemble them if received.
Conversely, IPv6 packets are not fragmented during forwarding, but the MTU supported by a specific path must still be established, to avoid packet loss. For this, Path MTU discovery is used between endpoints, which makes it part of the Transport layer, instead of this layer.

Protocols

The following are examples of protocols operating at the network layer.