Editing OSI model (section)

===Layer 7: Application layer===
{{main|Application layer}}
The application layer is the layer of the OSI model that is closest to the end user, which means both the OSI application layer and the user interact directly with a software application that implements a component of communication between the client and server, such as [[File Explorer]] and [[Microsoft Word]]. Such application programs fall outside the scope of the OSI model unless they are directly integrated into the application layer through the functions of communication, as is the case with applications such as [[web browser]]s and [[email program]]s. Other examples of software are Microsoft Network Software for File and Printer Sharing and Unix/Linux Network File System Client for access to shared file resources.

Application-layer functions typically include file sharing, message handling, and database access, through the most common protocols at the application layer, known as HTTP, FTP, SMB/CIFS, TFTP, and SMTP. When identifying communication partners, the application layer determines the identity and availability of communication partners for an application with data to transmit. The most important distinction in the application layer is the distinction between the application entity and the application. For example, a reservation website might have two application entities: one using [[HTTP]] to communicate with its users, and one for a remote database protocol to record reservations. Neither of these protocols have anything to do with reservations. That logic is in the application itself. The application layer has no means to determine the availability of resources in the network.<ref name="guide-to-networking-essentials" />