OSI Model Flashcards

OSI Model flashcards — the free 24

Every question and answer on the free cards, written out. Check them against your own textbook before you spend anything.

OSI Layer 1

Physical — mechanical, electrical, functional and procedural means to transmit bits over the medium

OSI Layer 2

Data Link — frames between adjacent nodes on a link; detects, and may correct, Physical Layer errors

OSI Layer 3

Network — routing and relaying; moves data between end systems across one or more subnetworks

OSI Layer 4

Transport — end-to-end transfer between end systems; routing and relaying do not happen here

OSI Layer 5

Session — organises and synchronises the dialogue between the two ends and manages their data exchange

OSI Layer 6

Presentation — data representation; picks the transfer syntax so the meaning survives the transfer

OSI Layer 7

Application — the only layer that serves application processes directly; no layer sits above it

The seven OSI layers, Layer 1 up to Layer 7

Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, Application

Mnemonic for the OSI layers bottom-up (1 → 7)

Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away

Mnemonic for the OSI layers top-down (7 → 1)

All People Seem To Need Data Processing

Which OSI layer does a hub or repeater work at?

Layer 1, Physical — it regenerates the signal and reads no addresses

Which OSI layer does an Ethernet switch or bridge work at?

Layer 2, Data Link — it forwards frames by MAC address

Which OSI layer does a router work at?

Layer 3, Network — it forwards packets by logical (IP) address

Which OSI layer is IP placed at?

Layer 3, Network — logical addressing and routing

Which OSI layer are TCP and UDP placed at?

Layer 4, Transport — port numbers belong to this layer too

Which OSI layer are HTTP, FTP, SMTP and DNS placed at?

Layer 7, Application

Which OSI layer is a MAC address used at?

Layer 2, Data Link — the MAC sublayer of the Data Link Layer

Which OSI layer handles compression and format translation?

Layer 6, Presentation — it selects the transfer syntax both ends accept

The two sublayers IEEE divides OSI Layer 2 into

MAC (media access control) and LLC (logical link control)

Everyday name for the Layer 2 protocol data unit

Frame — ISO/IEC 7498-1 itself calls it a data-link-protocol-data-unit

Everyday name for the Layer 3 protocol data unit

Packet

Everyday name for the Layer 4 protocol data unit

Segment for TCP; a UDP one is called a datagram

Is the TCP/IP model just another name for the OSI model?

No — two separate models. RFC 1122 gives TCP/IP four layers: Link, Internet, Transport, Application

How do the four TCP/IP layers line up with the seven OSI layers?

Roughly Link ≈ OSI 1–2, Internet ≈ 3, Transport ≈ 4, Application ≈ 6–7 — RFC 1122's own wording; session has no home

OSI Model flashcards — questions people ask

How many cards are in the OSI Model flashcard deck?

The OSI Model deck on PuzzlePage has 24 cards, and all 24 are free to play and free to download with no account and no payment. 24 cards — the model has exactly seven layers, so this deck covers each layer once, the devices and protocols usually placed at each, and the OSI-to-TCP/IP mapping. Padding it further would mean repeating the same seven facts.

What is on the osi model flashcards?

The seven OSI layers straight from ISO/IEC 7498-1 — each layer's number, name and purpose, the device or protocol that sits there, and both mnemonics. Cards look like this: OSI Layer 1 → Physical — mechanical, electrical, functional and procedural means to transmit bits over the medium; OSI Layer 2 → Data Link — frames between adjacent nodes on a link; detects, and may correct, Physical Layer errors. The deck is written for grades 9–12 and filed under career, tech & modern.

Can I study osi model flashcards online for free?

Yes. All 24 cards of the OSI Model deck play free in any web browser at puzzlepage.app, with no account, no app and no card details. It works on a phone, tablet, Chromebook, laptop or classroom projector. Practice mode flips through the cards with nothing scored; quiz mode makes you answer each card before it flips, times the run and scores it.

Are the osi model flashcards accurate?

Every card in the OSI Model deck cites two independent published sources — two different organisations, not a standards body and a site reprinting it — and a script checks that, rather than taking the writer's word for it. A second specialist then re-verified the deck against sources of their own, without reading the citations first. That is the difference from a user-generated flashcard site, where the cards are whatever a stranger typed and nobody is accountable for them.

Can I print the osi model flashcards?

Yes. The OSI Model cards are available as a printable double-sided PDF to cut up, as well as playable in the browser. The whole 24-card printable is free to download, with no account.

How should I use the OSI Model deck to revise?

Start in practice mode and go through the OSI Model deck once without scoring, to find out which cards you already know — the deck is dealt in a different order every time you open it, so you are recalling the card rather than its position. Then switch to quiz mode, which times and scores the run and lets you re-run only the cards you missed. Use the "flip deck" control to swap which side is the question: recognising an answer is much easier than producing one, so a deck you find easy one way round is usually the harder and more useful drill the other way. Two or three short sessions across a week beat one long one, which is the whole reason flashcards work.

What grade level are the osi model flashcards for?

The OSI Model deck is written for grades 9–12. Because the cards are plain term-and-answer pairs, they are also used outside that band — by adults revising career, tech & modern, and by teachers running them as a whole-class starter on a projector.