📟 About Network Card
What is a Network Card ?
In simple terms, a network card or NIC, which stands for Network Interface Card, is actually a piece of hardware (circuit board or chip) that is installed on your computer to enable the system to connect to the Internet. Its new models have the ability to support Direct Memory Access, data transfer, network traffic engineering, and partitioning.
In fact, we can say that a network card allows the user to use the computer to connect to the Internet. In other words, this piece is physically added to the system to allow communication with a standard data link layer such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Each of these pieces is involved in preparing, transmitting, and controlling the flow of data.
A network card uses the OSI or Open Systems Interconnection model to send signals at the physical layer, transfer data at the network layer, and interface at the TCP/IP layer. In other words, we can say that this piece is the interface between the computer and the data network. For example, when a user wants to open a web page, the computer sends this request to the network card, which is ultimately converted into electronic impulses.
The impulses are received by the web server on the Internet, and the web page is returned to the network card as electronic signals. The card receives these signals and, after converting them into data, shows them to you on the display.
Types of Network Cards :
Although a network card is simply a component that enables the system to connect to a computer, there are different types of it. In fact, each of these models has specific characteristics that the user can choose according to their needs. We will introduce the types of network cards to you below.
Wireless : First, we will answer the question of what a wireless network card is. This type of network card uses an antenna to receive radio waves. This makes Wi-Fi connection possible.
Wired : This type of network card has inputs for connecting a wire. The most popular LAN technology is currently Ethernet.
USB : Network cards that enable Internet connectivity by connecting to a USB port.
Optical fibers : These are network cards that are used as a high-speed support system for network traffic in server computers. Of course, such support can also be achieved by combining several NICs. Fiber optic network cards are generally more complex and expensive than other models.