1. ACTIVITY 1: Standards, Standards Organization and Introduction to the OSI Reference Model Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this experiment, the student shall be able to:
 Explain the standardization process
 Explain the importance of standards in data communication
 Enumerate organizations and their contributions in the field of data communication
 Explain the functions of the different Layers of the OSI Reference Model
Requirements
 Internet Access
Background
During the 1970's and 1980's data and computer networking is growing exponentially. Furthermore the increasing
demands for support services have disturbed the stability of the market over the years. For this reason, a process called
standardization is introduced. As a result International, regional, and national organizations have worked together to
speak the same language. Standardization enabled the market to be stable by allowing vendors to manufacture
equipments compatible with any other equipment including a specific standard. For example home and business
networkers are looking to buy wireless local area network (WLAN) routers and they end up in array of choices like D-link,
Linksys, Trendnet, etc and yet all of those equipments conform to an IEEE 802.11x standard. Standards have been
adopted by most communication companies and carriers to provide quality service worldwide. These are the list of the
principal advantages and disadvantages during the standard- making process:
Advantages:
a. A standard assures that there will be a large market for a particular piece of equipment or software. This
encourages mass production and, in some case, the use of large-scale-integration (LSI) or very-large-scale-
integration (VLSI) techniques, resulting in lower costs.
b. A standard allows product from multiple vendors to communicate, giving the purchaser more flexibility in
equipment selection and use.
Disadvantages:
a. A standard tends to freeze the technology. By the time a standard is developed, subjected to review and
compromise, and promulgated, more efficient techniques are possible.
b. There are multiple standards for the same thing. This is not a disadvantage of standards per se, but of the
current way things are done. Fortunately, in recent years the various standards-making organizations have
begun to cooperate more closely. Nevertheless, there are still areas where multiple conflicting standards exist.
Data communication standards fall into two categories: de facto (by fact or by convention) and de jure (by law
or regulation) De facto: Standards that have not been approved by an organized body but have been adopted as
standards through widespread use are de facto standards. Such were established originally by the
manufacturers to define the functionality of a new product or technology. De jure: Standards that have
legislated by an officially recognized body are de jure standards.
I. Standardization Process: An Example
A step in a Standardization process includes having a recommendation from IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) for
the advancement of the protocol, and ratification of IAB (Internet Architecture Board). Moreover, a standardization
process must be finished at a minimum practical time. A proposed standard must remain for at least six months and a
draft standard for at least four months for the allotment of time for revisions. An experimental comment known as RFC
(Request for Comment) is published for protocol/s or specifications that are not considered ready for standardization.
However, it may be resubmitted after further work by implementation and operational experience with consideration of
stability and significance to provide worldwide service, then a RFC number will be assigned to the proposed standard.
On the other hand, when a protocol becomes out of date, it is assigned to the historic state.

2. Questions:
1.1 Discuss the importance of having a standard.
1.2 Why can it take up to four years or more for the ITU to adopt a recommendation?
1.3 What is a RFC (Request for Comment)? Explain
II. Standards Organization
Standards are developed through the cooperation of standards creation committees, forums and government regulatory
agencies. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) the ISO is a multinational body whose membership is
drawn mainly from the standard creation committees of various governments throughout the world. It is active in
developing cooperation in realms of scientific, technological and economic activity.
Log on to the homepage of ISO (http://www.iso.org/iso/home.htm). Look at the About ISO section, then click The ISO
System.
2.1 As abbreviated, the International Organization for Standardization was given the acronym ISO. How was the acronym
derived?
2.2 How are standards developed by ISO?
2.3 What are the three categories of membership to the ISO? Describe each category. Is the Philippines a member body
of the ISO? If so, what governing body represents the Philippines to the ISO?
2.4 Return to the homepage of the ISO. At the Standards Development Section, click the Technical Committees link. Look
at the list of the ISO technical committees and complete the table below:

3. One of ISO’s greatest contributions in the field of data communications is the Open Systems Interconnection Model (ISO
7498) since ISO7498 is not a free document, one may learn the highlights of the OSI model through the wiki
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model). Proceed to the wiki site and answer the following:
2.5 Describe the layering approach as a means of analyzing network architecture.
2.6 In order, what are the layers of the OSI model?
2.7 Associate the following services/processes/protocols to their corresponding OSI layer:
International Telecommunications Union the ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and
communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing
networks and services. To know more of the ITU, log-on to the ITU site (http://www.itu.int/net/about/). Briefly answer
the following.
2.8 What are the three sectors of the ITU and describe the functions of each sector.
ITU-T Recommendations are defining elements in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure.
Whether we exchange voice, data or video messages, communications cannot take place without standards linking the
sender and the receiver. In data communications, the most notable recommendations include the V, X, I, G, H and the Q-
series recommendations. View the recommendation page (http://www.itu.int/ITUT/publications/recs.html) to
complete the table below:

4. To get an insight of some of the ITU-T recommendations mostly used in data communications, see the ITU-T
recommendations page (http://www.itu.int/itu-t/recommendations/index.aspx). Complete the table below with the
following recommendations:
2.9 Comparatively, the OSI model can be compared to what ITU-T standard?
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) By far, the IEEE is considered as the largest professional
organization for electrical, electronics, and computing engineers. Notably, IEEE is highly acclaimed in the data
communications industry because of their efforts in the development of the IEEE802 standards. To get an overview of
the IEEE802 standards, please view their portfolio on this web link http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/portfolio.html
Answer the following questions:
2.10 Identify the following names of the following IEEE802 active working groups:
2.11 Click the link of the IEEE802 Working groups. What are the two inactive working groups?
Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a non-profit trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for
electronics manufacturers in the United States. EIA is accredited by ANSI to help develop standards on electronic
components, consumer electronics, electronic information, telecommunications, and Internet security. The
recommended standards (formerly designated as RS-#, currently EIA-#) are designed so that manufacturer’s equipment
can be interchanged and compatible. Some of the well-known recommendations made by the EIA include the EIA-232,
EIA-449 and EIA-530.
To have a glimpse of the EIA-232, proceed to the wiki site as provided (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232). Answer
the following questions:
2.11 What four specifications does the EIA-232C of 1969 define?

5. Proceed to the Connectors Section to answer this question.
2.12 RS-232 devices may be classified as Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) or Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (DCE).
What type of connector should be used for devices with DTE pin functions? With DCE pin functions? In the RS-232
specification, the pin connector is composed of how many pins?
Internet Society (ISOC) Internet standards are developed by group of organizations which operate under the auspices of
the Internet Society (ISOC). Log-on to the standards section of the ISOC (http://www.isoc.org/standards/) and answer
this question.
2.13 What are the three key areas of the standards and technology priorities of the ISOC?
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) The IETF is a large, open international community of network designers,
operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth
operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual. The IETF's technical work is performed by working
groups, organized into major topic areas.
The IETF's official products are documents, published free of charge as Request for Comments (RFC). The IETF is as the
group of people who work together to improve the technology of the Internet on a daily basis. As well as producing
RFCs, the IETF is a forum where network operators, hardware and software implementers, and researchers talk to each
other to ensure that future protocols, standards and products will be even better.
To have an overview of RFC, log on to IETF’s RFC page (http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html). On the IETF Repository Retrieval,
type 1918, then click Go. Browse the document to answer the following questions:
2.14 What does RFC 1918 describe?
2.15 How do you differentiate hosts that require private from public IP addresses?
2.16 According to RFC1918, what are the three blocks of IP private addresses space reserved by the Internet Assigned
Numbers Authority (IANA) for private internets?