How OSI Works

Businessman pointing at a lock icon showing cybersecurity and privacy concepts to protect information online. — The core of this standard is the OSI Reference Model, a set of seven layers that define the different stages that data must go through to travel from one device to another over a network. Teera Konakan / Getty Images

Virtually all networks in use today are based in some fashion on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standard. OSI was developed in 1984 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), a global federation of national standards organizations representing approximately 130 countries.

The core of this standard is the OSI Reference Model, a set of seven layers that define the different stages that data must go through to travel from one device to another over a network. In this article, you'll find out all about the OSI standard.