Ethernet frame

An Ethernet frame is the link-layer unit carried over an Ethernet network. It contains destination and source MAC addresses, a type-or-length field, payload, and a frame check sequence.

MAC address: A link-layer identifier assigned to a network interface, used to deliver frames on a local network. The destination and source fields identify the interfaces involved in frame delivery.
Ethernet: A family of wired networking technologies that connects devices over local and metropolitan networks. Ethernet is the broader technology that defines this frame format.
IEEE 802.11 frame: A wireless LAN frame format defined by the IEEE 802.11 standards. Its control fields and addressing reflect wireless links rather than Ethernet's wired framing.
Ethernet switching: The forwarding of Ethernet frames between network ports based on destination MAC addresses. Switches inspect frame addresses to choose where to send each frame.
EtherType: A 16-bit Ethernet field that identifies the protocol carried in the frame payload. Values such as IPv4 and IPv6 tell receiving devices how to interpret the payload.
Data link layer: The network layer responsible for transferring data between directly connected nodes over a link. Ethernet frames are units of communication at this layer.
Point-to-Point Protocol: A data-link protocol that transports network-layer packets over direct point-to-point connections. PPP frames use a distinct structure and link model instead of Ethernet MAC framing.
ARP: A protocol that maps IPv4 addresses to link-layer addresses on a local network. ARP requests and replies are carried as Ethernet frame payloads.
IEEE 802.3: The IEEE standard family defining Ethernet physical and data-link layer specifications. Its frame formats and transmission rules define how Ethernet frames are represented on the wire.
Network packet: A formatted unit of data exchanged by a network-layer protocol such as IP. An IP packet is commonly carried inside an Ethernet frame's payload.

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