The network layer provides internetwork routing and logical network addresses. It defines how to transport traffic between devices that are not locally attached. The network layer also supports connection-oriented and connectionless service from higher-layer protocols. Routers operate at the network layer. IP, IPX, AppleTalk, and DDP are examples of network layer implementations.

Network layer addresses are logical addresses specific to the network layer protocol being run on the network. Each network layer protocol has a different addressing scheme. They are usually hierarchical and define networks first and then host or devices on that network. An example of a network address is an IP address, which is a 32-bit address often expressed in decimal format. 192.168.0.1 is an example of an IP address in decimal format.

Routers learn, record, and maintain awareness of different networks. They decide the best path to these networks and maintain this information in a routing table.
The routing table includes the following:

1. Network addresses, which are protocol-specific. If you are running more than one protocol, you have a network address for each protocol.
2. The interface the router uses to route a packet to a different network.
3. A metric, which is the distance to a remote network or the weight of the bandwidth, load, delay, and reliability of the path to the remote network.
4. Routers create broadcast domains. One interface on a router creates a single broadcast domain and collision domain. However, an interface on a switch creates only a single collision domain.

Routers perform these tasks:

1. Routers, by default, do not forward broadcasts or multicasts.
2. Routers can perform bridging and routing functions.
3. If a router has multiple paths to a destination, it can determine the best path to the destination.
4. Routers forward traffic based on Layer 3 destination addresses.
5. Routers can connect Virtual LANs (VLANs).
6. Routers can provide quality of service for specified types of network traffic.

The data link layer provides functional and procedural means for connectionless mode among network entities, and for connection mode entities it provides the establishment, maintenance, and release of data link connections among network entities and for the transfer of data link service data units. The data link layer translates messages from the network layer into bits for the physical layer, and it enables the network layer to control the interconnection of data circuits within the physical layer. Its specifications define different network and protocol characteristics, including physical addressing, error notification, network topology, and sequencing of frames. Data link protocols provide the delivery across individual links and are concerned with the different media types, such as 802.2 and 802.3. The data link layer is responsible for putting 1s and 0s into a logical group. These 1s and 0s are then put on the physical wire. Some examples of data link layer implementations are IEEE 802.2/802.3, IEEE 802.5/802.2, packet trailer (for Ethernet, the FCS or CRC), FFDI, HDLC, and Frame Relay.