In this publication, the term frame denotes an information unit whose source and destination is a link-layer entity. The term packet denotes an information unit whose source and destination is a network-layer entity. Finally, the term message denotes an information unit whose source and destination entity exists above the network layer. Key Organizations Without the services of several key standards organizations, the world of networking would be substantially more chaotic than it is currently. Standards organizations provide forums for discussion, help turn discussion into formal specifications, and proliferate the specifications once they complete the standardization process.
Most standards organizations have specific processes for turning ideas into formal standards.
Although these processes differ slightly between standards organizations, they are similar in that they all iterate through several rounds of organizing ideas, discussing the ideas, developing draft standards, voting on all or certain aspects of the standards, and finally formally releasing the completed standard to the public. This organization is responsible for the OSI reference model and the OSI protocol suite. This board sets much of the policy for the Internet through decisions and assignment of task forces to various issues.