Technical Differences

The axiom for the existing internets protocols for ‘session setup/ connection establishment’ is a good place to begin to understand how WWFM is different. This common ‘session setup/ connection establishing’ process is explained below.

The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model is a conceptual framework used to understand network communication in seven layers. These layers define how data is transmitted over a network and how different systems communicate with each other. When two nodes (devices) need to send information over a network, they follow specific steps at each OSI layer, from the physical hardware up to the application level.

7 Layer OSI

Physical Layer (Layer 1)
Responsible for the actual transmission of raw bits over a physical medium (e.g., cables, wireless signals).

Data Link Layer (Layer 2)
Responsible for error detection, flow control, and establishing logical link control between devices on the same network segment.

Network Layer (Layer 3)
Responsible for routing data across different networks (e.g., using IP addresses).

Transport Layer (Layer 4)
Provides end-to-end communication, error recovery, and flow control (e.g., TCP, UDP).

Session Layer (Layer 5)
Manages sessions and connections between applications, including establishing, maintaining, and terminating sessions.

Presentation Layer (Layer 6)
Handles data encoding, encryption, and compression to ensure data is in a format understandable by the receiving system.

Application Layer (Layer 7)
Provides network services directly to end-users (e.g., file transfer, email, web browsing).

OSI LayerKey Contributors/Protocols
ApplicationTim Berners-Lee (HTTP, HTML)
PresentationStandard Bodies (e.g., ISO – JPEG, MPEG, ASCII, SSL/TLS)
SessionAndrew S. Tanenbaum (Concepts from MINIX, RPC)
TransportVinton Cerf & Robert Kahn (TCP)
NetworkDARPA (IP Protocol) Radia Perlman (Spanning Tree)
Data LinkRobert Metcalfe (Ethernet)
PhysicalStandard Bodies (e.g., IEEE Ethernet Standards)

Two Nodes: Sending Information

To understand how two nodes communicate, let’s break down the activities step-by-step based on the OSI layers.

Sender (Node A):
Application Layer generates the data.
Data is formatted and encrypted (if needed) by Presentation and Session Layers.
Transport Layer segments the data, ensuring reliable delivery.
Network Layer handles addressing and routing.
Data Link Layer frames and addresses hardware.
Physical Layer transmits the signal.
Receiver (Node B):
Physical Layer receives the signal.
Data Link Layer extracts and verifies frames.
Network Layer processes the packet and routes it to the correct destination.
Transport Layer reassembles and verifies the data.
Session and Presentation Layers ensure proper session management and data formatting.
Application Layer delivers the data to the recipient’s application.
By following these steps across the OSI layers, the two nodes can successfully exchange information.
Detailed Step-by-Step Activities of Two Nodes Sending Information

Node A (Sender):

  1. Application Layer (Layer 7)
  • Activity: The sender’s application (e.g., web browser, email client) generates data that needs to be sent to the receiver (Node B). For instance, a user sends an email or accesses a website.
  • Action: Data is passed to the Presentation Layer in the form of user information (e.g., HTML for a web page, text for an email).
  1. Presentation Layer (Layer 6)
  • Activity: The presentation layer formats the data so that the receiver can understand it. This might involve encryption, compression, or converting data into the correct format.
  • Action: The data is passed to the Session Layer.
  1. Session Layer (Layer 5)
  • Activity: The session layer establishes, manages, and terminates the connection between the two nodes. It ensures that the communication session is maintained and synchronized.
  • Action: The data is passed down to the Transport Layer.
  1. Transport Layer (Layer 4)
  • Activity: The transport layer breaks the data into smaller chunks (segments) and provides error detection, flow control, and ensures that the data reaches the receiver reliably (e.g., using TCP or UDP).
  • Action: Each segment is passed down to the Network Layer.
  1. Network Layer (Layer 3)
  • Activity: The network layer determines the best path to reach the destination node (Node B) across different networks (e.g., using IP addresses). The data is encapsulated in packets, with source and destination IP addresses.
  • Action: The packet is handed off to the Data Link Layer.
  1. Data Link Layer (Layer 2)
  • Activity: The data link layer creates frames by adding MAC (Media Access Control) addresses to identify the sender and receiver’s hardware (e.g., Ethernet addresses). It also handles error detection and frames the data for transmission.
  • Action: The frame is passed to the Physical Layer.
  1. Physical Layer (Layer 1)
  • Activity: The data is converted into a signal (electrical, optical, or wireless) and transmitted over the physical medium (e.g., fiber optic cable, Wi-Fi).
  • Action: The signal is transmitted across the physical medium to the receiver.

Node B (Receiver):

  1. Physical Layer (Layer 1)
  • Activity: Node B receives the signal from the physical medium (e.g., electrical pulses on a cable or radio waves for wireless communication).
  • Action: The signal is converted into binary data (bits) for further processing by higher layers.
  1. Data Link Layer (Layer 2)
  • Activity: The data link layer receives the bits, extracts the frame, and verifies the integrity of the data (error detection). It checks for the correct destination MAC address to ensure the frame is for the correct device.
  • Action: The frame is passed up to the Network Layer.
  1. Network Layer (Layer 3)
  • Activity: The network layer checks the destination IP address, ensuring the packet is meant for Node B. It processes routing, fragmentation, and reassembly if needed.
  • Action: The packet is passed to the Transport Layer.
  1. Transport Layer (Layer 4)
  • Activity: The transport layer reassembles the data into its original segments, checks for any transmission errors, and ensures that data is complete and in the correct order (in the case of TCP).
  • Action: The reassembled data is passed to the Session Layer.
  1. Session Layer (Layer 5)
  • Activity: The session layer manages the ongoing connection, ensuring that the session is open and can continue. It synchronizes the data between the two nodes.
  • Action: The data is passed to the Presentation Layer.
  1. Presentation Layer (Layer 6)
  • Activity: The presentation layer processes the data, ensuring that it is in a usable format (e.g., decrypting or decompressing if necessary) for the application.
  • Action: The processed data is handed off to the Application Layer.
  1. Application Layer (Layer 7)

Action: The user receives the data as intended (e.g., viewing a webpage or reading an email).

Activity: The application layer delivers the data to the recipient’s application (e.g., the email client or web browser), which makes the data available to the user.

Summary of Activities:

Before going into detail about how WWFM differs from the existing internet, it’s worth noting that WWFM compliments these protocols in the 7 layer OSI e.g. HTTP, TCP/IP etc. So WWFM is technically an alternative framework used to understand and standardize how these different networking protocols interact;

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