nerdexam
(ISC)2

CISSP · Question #1260

Which Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layer(s) BEST corresponds to the network access layer in the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) model?

The correct answer is B. Data Link and Physical Layers. The TCP/IP model's network access layer maps to the OSI model's Data Link and Physical layers, both handling hardware-level framing, MAC addressing, and bit transmission.

Submitted by neha2k· Mar 5, 2026Communication and Network Security

Question

Which Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layer(s) BEST corresponds to the network access layer in the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) model?

Options

  • ATransport Layer
  • BData Link and Physical Layers
  • CApplication, Presentation, and Session Layers
  • DSession and Network Layers

How the community answered

(35 responses)
  • A
    6% (2)
  • B
    91% (32)
  • C
    3% (1)

Why each option

The TCP/IP model's network access layer maps to the OSI model's Data Link and Physical layers, both handling hardware-level framing, MAC addressing, and bit transmission.

ATransport Layer

The OSI Transport layer (Layer 4) maps to the TCP/IP transport layer, not the network access layer, as it handles end-to-end communication via TCP and UDP.

BData Link and Physical LayersCorrect

The TCP/IP network access layer (also called the link layer) encompasses the functions of both the OSI Data Link layer (Layer 2) and the OSI Physical layer (Layer 1). The Data Link layer handles framing, MAC addressing, and error detection, while the Physical layer manages the actual transmission of raw bits over a physical medium - together these correspond to what TCP/IP consolidates into its single network access layer.

CApplication, Presentation, and Session Layers

The OSI Application, Presentation, and Session layers (Layers 7, 6, and 5) collectively map to the TCP/IP application layer, not the network access layer.

DSession and Network Layers

The OSI Session layer (Layer 5) maps to the TCP/IP application layer, and the OSI Network layer (Layer 3) maps to the TCP/IP internet layer - neither corresponds to the network access layer.

Concept tested: TCP/IP to OSI layer mapping correspondence

Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/nic-teaming/nic-teaming

Topics

#OSI model#TCP/IP model#network layers#network access layer

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full CISSP Practice