One of my coworkers loves to say “Layer 2”, “Layer 3”, etc. I learned this in school to pass a test and promptly forgot. There’s always a mnemonic, I know I memorized it once for that test. So I looked it up again so I can maybe stop feeling dumb on those calls:

  • All Pros Search Top Notch Donut Places
  • All People Seem To Need Data Processing
  • All People Should Try New Dr Pepper
  • A Priest Slapped The Nun During Prayer

And a couple OSI layer mnemonics which work from the bottom up:

  • Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away
  • Please Do Not Touch Steve’s Pet Alligator

And a handy table with the layer number and an example:

# Layer Example
7 Application HTTP
6 Presentation SSL
5 Session Logical port
4 Transport TCP
3 Network IP
2 Data Link MAC
1 Physical DSL

I won’t remember any of this, but now I can find it quickly the next time that coworker tosses “Layer 2” out 😀