Which of the following best describes the function of the presentation layer?

• A. Deals with formatting of data and encryption.
• B. Provides access to network resources.
• C. Transmits raw bit streams.
• D. Routes data between networks.

Answer: (A)

In the OSI model, the presentation layer is all about how data is represented for transmission. It handles formatting, encoding, data compression, and encryption so that the data from the sending application is turned into a standard form that the receiving end can interpret, regardless of differing systems or character sets. Encryption (and decryption) is a typical presentation-layer concern to keep content secure while in transit. This makes it the best description among the choices. Transmitting raw bit streams is a physical-layer task, routing between networks is handled by the network layer, and providing access to network resources aligns more with application-layer services rather than how data is presented.