![[Featured Image] A female network engineer stands in a server room with a laptop looking at the physical layer mechanics](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/42GBEzDEWSsolDo2vGutCX/dbc5bc22c122fe5fc93455820e7d2b34/GettyImages-1334003868.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
What Is the Physical Layer: A Beginner’s Guide
When communicating via technology, you need physical components to receive and transmit information. They are the “physical layer” of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. Learn more about OSI and the function the physical layer plays.
October 8, 2024
Article

![[Featured Image] A person in an orange shirt who works in service design is working on their desktop.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/1MbYixwppQFdCYm7eWHlo3/b3d7140532ef2c628b32eb7c7e65c47b/GettyImages-1492169489.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] Aspiring computer network architects learn about CSMA and its importance in data collision avoidance in a classroom setting.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/7aqC4iblQSvfLhxYydKD8Q/f733835f0bf3ec44f9f32b4ded2782eb/GettyImages-459163579.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)



![[Featured Image] A woman with red curly hair smiles while studying the OSI model on her laptop computer in her home office.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/5s8xjuCPpgYMC3piH1dIea/34a23e5a7c2a01248e1d587b8a17c137/GettyImages-1371828696.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] An enterprise architect walks a new employee through some of the tasks they will handle as part of the team as they review content on a laptop with a whiteboard in the background.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/6r97ppN7PquswIMUDRx9Ls/0df6775479d93e2b6920dab762fda3a3/GettyImages-607477463__1_.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] Thanks to client-server architecture, a business person sitting at a table working on their laptop has a positive user experience.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/7hmc2Pr0fQjZh3DNuIya3R/02899d02ab8c8267c831f80f70a5f4db/GettyImages-691573537.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] A person works on a laptop in a data center that stores data users can access through Gigabit Ethernet.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/4Ugixk6RhhfOvhFCBV3VsD/2a5aae2187a22fdacaf22ddba08e660c/GettyImages-1347880352.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] A person sits at their desk with a laptop and is using a wide area network to communicate with their colleagues.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/5aXiuH9mX5Wfppm0LdvZLb/250fe2f62d79d4ec0115701aed9279ae/GettyImages-1492179023.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] An ERP analyst explains their enterprise resource planning strategies to stakeholders.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/1mOr6FkK9xkPktz9W94LbZ/b75642536d3ef06a485fb8ddab23ceed/GettyImages-1485146526.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] A smiling woman IT support specialist talks on a headset to a customer as she looks at a desktop in front of her.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/28fPPqYsmu3cr0PVM8boV3/7ede8f387aeb065c8065460b13e442f3/GettyImages-1437821111.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] A young professional looks through instructions about how to perform speed tests to assess their connection speed.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/lfls0sWa4E6rIOkBRTYVu/d0b6e08e2d2540422d34777e833e59d7/GettyImages-1478181321.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured Image] A man working in IT service management talks on a headset while looking at a computer and sitting beside a colleague in a bright, airy office setting.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/7cuewa1qYH9k4UDtXY9NXf/156848a27a315c3479fcec4e59eb1d65/GettyImages-1447107841.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
