This graphic shows the relative sizes of the prokaryote to the eukaryote. Eukaryotes are ten to a hundred times larger than prokaryotes. Note the common features seen here, the plasma membrane, the matrix, and the DNA

With respect to packaging of the DNA, eukaryotic cells have DNA housed in a membrane bound structure called the nucleus. The nucleus contains all of the protein "machinery" needed to copy the DNA and to read the DNA in order to make proteins. Similar to the cell as a whole, the nucleus also has a filamentous system, termed the nuclear matrix. These protein fibers aid in separating the DNA during cell division (mitosis), and in general manipulation of the massive DNA molecule for transcription (DNA reading) and replication (DNA copying). The nuclear membrane has pores to allow substances to enter and exit the nucleus. These pores are very selective; hence the environment within the nucleus is distinct from the rest of the cell.