Top-down or Bottom-up?

Do you think an introductory networking course should be taught with a top-down approach (i.e., starting with the Application layer and moving down to the Physical layer) or a bottom-up approach (Physical to Application).

I got in a debate with one of my profs over this and I think it's more intuitive to teach it top-down. Especially when talking about encapsulation...it just seems more natural.

Also, those unfamiliar with networking (usually) have at least a basic understanding of network applications. That is, they know what a web browser "is" but might not know how it works. Again, starting with the familiar concept of a browser and working down the stack seems like an easier transition in my mind.

Anyone else think differently?[/img]

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Comments

nel

There probably isnt a right or wrong answer to this. everyone is different. i was taught it from layer 1 - 7. but overall to learn it for me was down to repitition.

I can see what your trying to say with starting with something that is familiar to the student though.

Pash

Either way shouldnt matter, you always start with the basics when troubleshooting, ie ping, nslookup. Totally depends on the symptons.

vCole

I personally learned from 1 to 7.

RTmarc

I've always felt it should be taught 1-7 or bottom-up. I think people need to understand how a network works first and understand the physical connections before you start talking about how the communication actually occurs. I understand your view point, but I liken it to knowing how to freerun before you can actually crawl.

blargoe

Definitely bottom up if supporting networks is part of your job. If you're more on the applications development end, top-down might work better.

JDMurray

An instructor that more comfortable with hardware and layers 1-3 will start from the bottom; an instructor more familiar with network software development in layers 5-7 is more likely to start from the top. I would personally teach the OSI starting at layer 7 and drilling down in the stack to emphasize that there is much more to the whole cake than just the visible icing on the surface.

royal

Either way. I was taught from layer 1 to layer 7 but really learned it from the several times I re-looked at everything to make sure I had things down.

hypnotoad

new B.S. grad: all ninja turtles deserve pizza every friday? is that right? oh, that's how we learned it.

new M.S. grad: the set of all layers in a 1:1 mapping over the set of integers from 1 to 7 traversed in chomsky normal form.

manager: the correct order is the golf layer and the beer subnet! lollllll. i am so cool!

developer: the correct order is 7, 6, and Vista.

ccna: the correct order is whatever helps you understand subnetting.

consultant: the correct order is 5,2,1,6,3,7,4. sorting this out will cost at least $12,000.

sir_creamy_

nl wrote:

new B.S. grad: all ninja turtles deserve pizza every friday? is that right? oh, that's how we learned it.

new M.S. grad: the set of all layers in a 1:1 mapping over the set of integers from 1 to 7 traversed in chomsky normal form.

manager: the correct order is the golf layer and the beer subnet! lollllll. i am so cool!

developer: the correct order is 7, 6, and Vista.

ccna: the correct order is whatever helps you understand subnetting.

consultant: the correct order is 5,2,1,6,3,7,4. sorting this out will cost at least $12,000.

Oops, I forgot to mention the 8th and most important layer: the user layer.

dynamik

According to Mike, that's Layer 0

JDMurray

dynamik wrote:

According to Mike, that's Layer 0

I thought Layer 0 was the electrons in the transmission media. The users would be Layer 8.

mikej412

Layer 8 -- end user

Layer 0 can be user (as in the network admin) or power (as in the network admin not plugging it in).