What does the Session Layer manage between two nodes?

The Session Layer is a crucial component of the OSI model, responsible for managing and controlling the interactions between two nodes in a network. It establishes, maintains, and terminates sessions, which are lasting communications between users. This involves managing the dialog between the applications on both ends, ensuring that data can be effectively sent and received in a coherent manner.

The Session Layer ensures that the communication is synchronized, meaning it can control the flow of information and manage how data is organized during transmissions. This can include handling the opening and closing of connections and managing aspects like session checkpoints and recovery to provide smooth communication between systems.

Other choices, while important in the context of networking, do not accurately describe the primary responsibilities of the Session Layer. Data integrity is more closely associated with the Transport Layer, which ensures that data is sent accurately and without errors. Network configurations pertain to the roles of different layers in setting up network connections, while routing algorithms belong to the Network Layer, responsible for determining the best paths for data transmission. Thus, the role of the Session Layer is uniquely tied to establishing and managing communication sessions.