Network frame definition
A network frame is a segment of data. It is used to identify data packets in telecommunications and networking structures. It usually consists of a header with preamble, destination address, source address, data payload, and information for checking errors. Data receivers use frames to interpret a data stream.
Network frames vs. packets
Packets and frames are both small parts of a message. The main difference between them is the association with the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) layers. Packets are the data unit used in the network layer. A frame is the data unit used in the data link layer of the OSI model. A frame also contains more information about the message than a packet. Data packets from the network layer can be turned into frames by adding extra bytes to them. This process is called “framing.”
