Quiz Entry - updated: 2026.07.14
What are the two sublayers of the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Data Link Layer and their functions?
LLC talks to the networking software above; MAC handles data encapsulation and access to the physical medium below.
The Data Link Layer consists of two sublayers:
* LLC faces the software above; MAC faces the medium below — both inside Layer 2. *
| Sublayer | Full Name | Function |
|---|---|---|
| LLC | Logical Link Control | Communicates between networking software at upper layers and device hardware at lower layers |
| MAC | Media Access Control | Responsible for data encapsulation and media access control |
Visual position in OSI model:
- LLC sublayer is above MAC sublayer
- Both sit between Network Layer (above) and Physical Layer (below)
Go deeper:
IEEE 802.2 — LLC (Wikipedia) — the primary-standard view: LLC header (DSAP/SSAP), service types, and how LLC rides above MAC.- Logical link control (Wikipedia) — the upper sublayer in depth: it interfaces to the network-layer software above and multiplexes protocols.
- IEEE 802 (Wikipedia) — shows the canonical split of the data link layer into LLC and MAC, aligned to the OSI model.