What is a network interface? Network Interface Card ( NIC ) is a physical device, which is incorporated in a computer, provided by a PCI slot, which connects the computer to external peripherals such as printer, scanner or camera through bus interfaces to the mother board. There are four types of Network Interface controllers: Simplex, LXO, ISA and PCMCIA. They differ in their modes of operation and their configuration and security features.
The most widely used type is Simplex. It is found on all new computers and used as their point-to-point adapter. Network interface cards also use standard Ethernet standards for function, such as receiving and transmitting data. In order for them to work, they must be placed within a category of slots within the PC motherboard. This allows the PC’s operating system to identify the card for communication to the operating system or other software programs.
A LXO network interface card is also a hardware component and plugs into an existing PCI slot. It uses the same standard Ethernet standards as a Simplex adapter, but instead connects to the local area network (LAN). As with Simplex, an Ethernet network card must be placed within a host’s PCI slots in order to function. The advantage to this type of card over other types is that it is faster and more efficient, as well as being able to connect to multiple nearby devices.
An ISA network interface controller card is another hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network. This is a unique type of hardware device, because it uses a different form of Ethernet networking than most other hardware components. It is available as either an Ethernet card inside a PCI slot or as an ISA card, which fits into a PCI slot.
ISAs are usually manufactured by a separate company than the manufacturer of the network interface cards. They are available as either ready to install (RUIP) or as pre-configured and pre-branded. Some manufacturers offer both types of products. An advantage of the former is that manufacturers can make changes to the software during updates to prevent downtime, whereas with the latter type, a network interface card must be upgraded after a setup has been made.
An ISA can be configured in a variety of ways. These include being either static or dynamic. A static network interface card is one in which the IP address stays the same through all connection attempts. A dynamic network interface card is one in which changes in IP address are logged in the system registry, but these changes are not saved when the connection is closed. The most popular and widely used IP change is for a network interface card to connect to an ATM card. This saves the entire transaction history of the card and allows it to be cloned across multiple locations.
A network interface controller connects a computer to the network using a serial port or a wireless peripheral device. This hardware component also determines how the card will respond to traffic, such as whether it will provide an error reply or not. There are two main types of hardware controllers: software and firmware. Firmware is what a network interface controller software controls, while software is what the computer actually uses.
In order to understand how an Ethernet card is implemented in a network, it is important to have an overall understanding of the Ethernet standard. The physical layer includes all the layers above the physical layer including the network layer and header, and the physical layer separates the purpose of a packet of data from the layer which stores it.
From the physical layer, a packet travels through a set of controls to reach the network adapter where it is stored before being sent onto the network. From there, the network card can either forward the packet on to another networked computer, or it can forward the packet on to a destination. This entire process is known as networking.
