Dictionary · Networking Fundamentals
Encapsulation
Models · Intermediate
The process of wrapping data with the headers, and sometimes trailers, needed at each layer so the next network can handle it.
Each layer adds its own label to the message. The receiver removes those labels in the opposite order and eventually delivers the original application data.
Picture it
Sending adds labels from the inside out. The receiver removes them in the opposite order. A header describes the data. It does not by itself keep it secret.
Example: An application message receives a transport header, then an internet header, then a link-layer frame before it is placed on the cable.
Common misconception
- Encapsulation is not encryption. Adding a header describes the data; it does not by itself keep the data secret.