Layer 6 - The presentation layer

The presentation layer provides a common representation of the data transferred between application entities, and provides independence from differences in data representation/syntax. This layer is also sometimes referred to as the syntax layer. The presentation layer works to transform data into the form that the application layer can accept. This layer is also responsible for encryption and decryption for the application data.

Some examples of protocols at the presentation layer are MIME, ASCII, GIF, JPEG, MPEG, MIDI, SSL, and so on.