Member Avatar for silvercats

let's say they live in both OS and Router. what will happen if we try to use a modern technology like Wifi with an older version OS?like windows 95? Doesn't 95 have the data link protocls needed to communicate correctly with Wifi or something?

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Short practical answer for (and building on ): protocol duties are split across several pieces, not housed in a single box. Parts of the data‑link work live in the radio/NIC hardware and firmware, other parts live in the host driver and OS networking stack, and routers/APs also implement link and higher‑level services when they act as bridges, access points, or gateways.

What each piece usually does: the PHY (bit timing, modems, RF) is in the radio hardware; framing, MAC addressing and real‑time management can be in firmware (so called FullMAC devices) or in the host driver/stack (SoftMAC). IP, TCP/UDP and routing live in the OS (or in a router’s firmware). Functions like DHCP, NAT, firewalls or SSID management are implemented in router/AP firmware or in host software as appropriate. Authentication/encryption (WPA/WPA2/3) may be handled by the host supplicant or offloaded to the NIC—implementations vary by chipset and driver.

For an old OS (example: Windows 95) the practical constraint is driver and supplicant availability. Without a driver that exposes the radio as a network interface and the appropriate support for modern security, the OS cannot use a Wi‑Fi card even if the hardware exists. Realistic options: locate a vendor driver/supplicant for that OS (rare), or use an external Wi‑Fi client/bridge or a travel router in client mode so the old machine connects over plain Ethernet. If secure wireless is required and driver support is missing, upgrading the OS or adding a bridge device is the simplest, safest fix.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

The OSI model is conceptual. In the example you provided the Win 95 system would require a driver to support Wifi.

Each layer depends on te lower layer to get to the wire. For example if you were to develop an application, would would code into your app how to place the 0's and 1's on the network media. You application make calls into the lower layer (other programs) so on and so on. The reverse happens on the target machine on the way up the OSI until it reaches the application layer. For example, wifi NIC vendors do not integrate code into their firmware for a specific target app.

Member Avatar for JorgeM

A few corrections, sorry about that.

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Each layer depends on the lower layer to get to the wire.

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For example if you were to develop an application, you would not code into your app how to place the 0's and 1's on the network media

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