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| Networking : Tricky Ones : Question-2 about the OSI Model |
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| Question: | My question is in regards to the OSI Model.
Each candidate must explain this model to the interviewer, and some reading that I have come across has me concerned. Different people have different ways of telling the levels (i.e. one candidate told me that the 3rd level is the network (which is switches) but there area also switches in the 4th level as well. Any suggestions on some questions that I can ask to better screen these individuals? Also, what's the best way to describe the OSI Model? As you can probably tell, I'm not a technical expert. Any suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated! |
| Answer: | Well, you bring up a difficult issue! Depending on the level of expertise you're trying to interview for, it is difficult for a non-technical person to gauge a technical person! On the other hand, sometimes it's difficult for a technical person to gauge another technical person!
So, does that make you feel any better? Probably not. The OSI model may be a tough thing to ask questions about, unless you ask them more specifically. Looking at what you have been told.... OSI Layer 3 is the Network layer. Some switches do operate here, but it's not the PRIMARY place where switches operate. If you were to ask what type of equipment is commonly known to work at this layer, the answer would be routers. Or ask, three to five years ago, what type of equipment operated at this layer? Some switches also claim to work at layer 4 (transport). Personally, I think that's all marketing fluff, but that's just my opinion. :-) If you put more brains on a switch, it's still a switch. Perhaps ground your questions more towards protocols or something that really doesn't have much fluctuation in its theory. |
| last updated 01.03.2003 | |
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