A Network Interface Controller (NIC), also known as a or , is a hardware component that allows a computer or other device to connect to a network. NICs can be built into the or added as an expansion card in a computer. They are essential for establishing communication between devices on a local area network (LAN) or the . NICs operate at the (Layer 2) of the OSI model. They handle the framing of data packets, , and, in some cases, error correction.
The primary function of a NIC is to transmit and receive over a network. It converts data from the computer into a format suitable for over the network medium (like Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.). NICs have a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address, a hardware address that identifies the device on a network. The MAC address is used by switches and other network devices to route to the correct . NICs can operate at different speeds (e.g., 10/100/1000 Mbps for Ethernet) and in full-duplex (sending and receiving data simultaneously) or half-duplex modes.
Different types of NICs include , which are used for wired networking and connect devices using Ethernet cables, and , used for wireless networking, allowing devices to connect to Wi-Fi networks. There are also , which are used in networks where fiber optic cables are employed for higher data transfer speeds and longer distances, as well as , which are used in virtual machines to provide them with network connectivity without a physical NIC.
Some notable features of NICs include , which allows a computer to be remotely powered on or awakened from sleep mode using a network message, and , which offloads certain processing tasks from the CPU to the NIC, improving performance in high-speed networks. Additionally, VLAN Support enables the NIC to be used in a virtual LAN, which can segment network traffic for security and .
Keywords
virtual nics | wake-on-lan | ethernet nics | data | destination | transmission | internet | network adapter | motherboard | efficiency | network interface card | wireless nics | fiber optic nics | data link layer | tcp offloading | error detection | data |
