The Application layer is where Network Traffic Begins and Ends. When we initiate network traffic, we utilize an application to process network data to send.
In this stage of packet generation, we refer to what’s getting processed as data.
One example of application layer traffic is HTTP. With HTTP, we initiate a request for a specific URL. The application generates an HTTP request. when services like compression or encryption are involved, the data goes to the Session Layer.
When we receive HTTP packets, we take the Application layer and have an application (typically a web browser) to process and display the content.