|  | 2.1 | General Model of Communication
| 2.1.5 | The evolution of ISO networking standards

The early development of LANs, MANs, and WANs was chaotic in many ways. The early 1980's saw tremendous increases in the numbers and sizes of networks. As companies realized the money they could save and the productivity they could gain by using networking technology, they added networks and expanded existing networks almost as rapidly as new network technologies and products could be introduced.

By the mid-1980's, these companies began to experience growing pains from all the expansions they had made. It became harder for networks that used different specifications and implementations to communicate with each other. They realized that they needed to move away from proprietary networking systems.

Proprietary systems are privately developed, owned, and controlled. In the computer industry, proprietary is the opposite of open. Proprietary means that one or a small group of companies controls all usage of the technology. Open means that free usage of the technology is available to the public.

To address the problem of networks being incompatible and unable to communicate with each other, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) researched network schemes like DECNET, SNA, and TCP/IP in order to find a set of rules. As a result of this research, the ISO created a network model that would help vendors create networks that would be compatible with, and operate with, other networks.

The process of breaking down complex communications into smaller discrete tasks could be compared to the process of building an automobile. When taken as a whole, the design, manufacture, and assembly of an automobile is a highly complex process. It’s unlikely that one single person would know how to perform all the required tasks to build a car from scratch. This is why mechanical engineers design the car, manufacturing engineers design the molds to make the parts, and assembly technicians each assemble a part of the car.

The OSI reference model (Note: Do not confuse with ISO.), released in 1984, was the descriptive scheme they created. It provided vendors with a set of standards that ensured greater compatibility and interoperability between the various types of network technologies that were produced by the many companies around the world.

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