Data Link Layer OSI Model

The data link layer is the protocol layer that transfers data between adjacent network nodes in a wide area network or between nodes on the same local area network 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. Examples of data link protocols are Ethernet for local area networks (multi-node), the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), HDLC and ADCCP for point-to-point (dual-node) connections.

The data link layer is concerned with local delivery of frames between devices on the same LAN. Data-link frames, as these protocol data units 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. In 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.

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.

Delivery of frames by layer-2 devices is effected through the use of unambiguous hardware addresses. 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.

List of data-link-layer services

• Encapsulation of network layer data packets into frames
• Frame synchronization
• Logical link control (LLC) sublayer:
• Error control (automatic repeat request,ARQ), in addition to ARQ provided by some transport-layer protocols, to forward error correction (FEC) techniques provided on the physical layer, and to error-detection and packet canceling provided at all layers, including the network layer. Data-link-layer error control (i.e. retransmission of erroneous packets) is provided in wireless networks and V.42 telephone network modems, but not in LAN protocols such as Ethernet, since bit errors are so uncommon in short wires. In that case, only error detection and canceling of erroneous packets are provided.
• Flow control, in addition to the one provided on the transport layer. Data-link-layer error control is not used in LAN protocols such as Ethernet, but in modems and wireless networks.
• Media access control (MAC) sublayer:
• Multiple access protocols for channel-access control, for example CSMA/CD protocols for collision detection and re-transmission in Ethernet bus networks and hub networks, or the CSMA/CA protocol for collision avoidance in wireless networks.
• Physical addressing (MAC addressing)
• LAN switching (packet switching) including MAC filtering and spanning tree protocol
• Data packet queuing or scheduling
• Store-and-forward switching or cut-through switching
• Quality of Service (QoS) control
• Virtual LANs (VLAN)

Protocol examples

• Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
• ARCnet
• ATM
• Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP)
• Controller Area Network (CAN) etc.,