The document discusses the OSI reference model, which was introduced in the late 1970s by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to establish a standard for network communication. The OSI model defines seven layers of network functionality, including the physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation, and application layers. Each layer has a specific role, with lower layers focusing on physical connectivity and higher layers dealing with process-to-process communication between applications. The document also covers addressing schemes like MAC addresses, IP addresses, and port addresses used in TCP/IP networks.