The ISO - OSI Model document discusses the OSI model, which was created by the International Organization for Standardization to establish a standard for how systems use protocols to communicate over a network. The OSI model defines seven layers of network functionality, each building on the layers below. It allows different hardware and software components from different vendors to communicate by standardizing network communication. The model breaks network communication into smaller, simpler parts that are easy to develop and facilitates interoperability between devices.