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Common Network Protocols by OSI Layer

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published 2026-08-13 22:12:18 updated 2026-08-30 14:10:59

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@systems #network #protocols #OSI

This post lists common network protocols, their full names, and the OSI layers to which they are commonly assigned.

Some protocols span multiple layers or may be classified differently depending on the networking model. The tables below use their most common OSI classifications.

Layer 7: Application

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
HTTP	Hypertext Transfer Protocol	Application
HTTPS	Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure	Application
FTP	File Transfer Protocol	Application
FTPS	File Transfer Protocol Secure	Application
SFTP	SSH File Transfer Protocol	Application
TFTP	Trivial File Transfer Protocol	Application
SMTP	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol	Application
POP3	Post Office Protocol Version 3	Application
IMAP	Internet Message Access Protocol	Application
DNS	Domain Name System	Application
DHCP	Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol	Application
SSH	Secure Shell	Application
Telnet	Teletype Network Protocol	Application
SNMP	Simple Network Management Protocol	Application
NTP	Network Time Protocol	Application
LDAP	Lightweight Directory Access Protocol	Application
LDAPS	Lightweight Directory Access Protocol Secure	Application
SIP	Session Initiation Protocol	Application
RTP	Real-time Transport Protocol	Application
RTCP	Real-time Transport Control Protocol	Application
RTSP	Real-Time Streaming Protocol	Application
MQTT	Message Queuing Telemetry Transport	Application
AMQP	Advanced Message Queuing Protocol	Application
CoAP	Constrained Application Protocol	Application
WebSocket	WebSocket Protocol	Application
SMB	Server Message Block	Application
NFS	Network File System	Application
RDP	Remote Desktop Protocol	Application
IRC	Internet Relay Chat	Application
XMPP	Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol	Application
NNTP	Network News Transfer Protocol	Application
Syslog	System Logging Protocol	Application
WHOIS	Whois Protocol	Application
RADIUS	Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service	Application
TACACS+	Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus	Application
Kerberos	Kerberos Network Authentication Protocol	Application
BGP	Border Gateway Protocol	Application
RIP	Routing Information Protocol	Application

Layer 6: Presentation

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
TLS	Transport Layer Security	Presentation
SSL	Secure Sockets Layer	Presentation
MIME	Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions	Presentation
ASN.1	Abstract Syntax Notation One	Presentation

Layer 5: Session

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
RPC	Remote Procedure Call	Session
NetBIOS	Network Basic Input/Output System	Session
PPTP	Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol	Session
L2TP	Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol	Session

Layer 4: Transport

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
TCP	Transmission Control Protocol	Transport
UDP	User Datagram Protocol	Transport
SCTP	Stream Control Transmission Protocol	Transport
DCCP	Datagram Congestion Control Protocol	Transport
QUIC	Quick UDP Internet Connections	Transport

Layer 3: Network

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
IPv4	Internet Protocol Version 4	Network
IPv6	Internet Protocol Version 6	Network
ICMP	Internet Control Message Protocol	Network
ICMPv6	Internet Control Message Protocol Version 6	Network
IGMP	Internet Group Management Protocol	Network
IPsec	Internet Protocol Security	Network
GRE	Generic Routing Encapsulation	Network
OSPF	Open Shortest Path First	Network
IS-IS	Intermediate System to Intermediate System	Network
EIGRP	Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol	Network
VRRP	Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol	Network
PIM	Protocol Independent Multicast	Network
MPLS	Multiprotocol Label Switching	Network/Data Link

Layer 2: Data Link

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
Ethernet	Ethernet Protocol	Data Link
ARP	Address Resolution Protocol	Data Link/Network
RARP	Reverse Address Resolution Protocol	Data Link/Network
PPP	Point-to-Point Protocol	Data Link
PPPoE	Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet	Data Link
HDLC	High-Level Data Link Control	Data Link
STP	Spanning Tree Protocol	Data Link
RSTP	Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol	Data Link
MSTP	Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol	Data Link
LACP	Link Aggregation Control Protocol	Data Link
LLDP	Link Layer Discovery Protocol	Data Link
CDP	Cisco Discovery Protocol	Data Link
VLAN	Virtual Local Area Network	Data Link
VXLAN	Virtual Extensible Local Area Network	Data Link
MACsec	Media Access Control Security	Data Link

Layer 1: Physical

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
DSL	Digital Subscriber Line	Physical
ADSL	Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line	Physical
VDSL	Very High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line	Physical
SONET	Synchronous Optical Networking	Physical
SDH	Synchronous Digital Hierarchy	Physical
PON	Passive Optical Network	Physical
ISDN	Integrated Services Digital Network	Physical
RS-232	Recommended Standard 232	Physical

Multi-Layer Technologies

Abbreviation	Full Name	Layer
Wi-Fi	Wireless Fidelity	Physical/Data Link
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless Technology	Physical/Data Link
NFC	Near-Field Communication	Physical/Data Link
LTE	Long-Term Evolution	Multiple layers
5G NR	Fifth-Generation New Radio	Multiple layers
Zigbee	Zigbee Wireless Networking Standard	Multiple layers
LoRaWAN	Long Range Wide Area Network	Multiple layers
SD-WAN	Software-Defined Wide Area Network	Multiple layers
VPN	Virtual Private Network	Multiple layers