

10 Gigabit Ethernet NICs are also available, and, as of November 2014, are beginning to be available on computer motherboards. Such controllers are designated as 10/100/1000, meaning that they can support data rates of 10, 100 or 1000 Mbit/s. Ethernet network controllers typically support 10 Mbit/s Ethernet, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet, and 1000 Mbit/s Ethernet varieties.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/definition-of-adapter-817585-adcdbfdb93a046c5bcc60e84fc144932.png)
Older NICs also supplied BNC, or AUI connections. A general trend in computer hardware is towards integrating the various components of systems on a chip, and this is also applied to network interface cards.Īn Ethernet network controller typically has an 8P8C socket where the network cable is connected. A separate network card is typically no longer required unless additional independent network connections are needed or some non-Ethernet type of network is used. The Ethernet capabilities are either integrated into the motherboard chipset or implemented via a low-cost dedicated Ethernet chip. Newer server motherboards may have multiple network interfaces built-in. The low cost and ubiquity of the Ethernet standard means that most new computers have a network interface controller built into the motherboard.

Network controllers were originally implemented as expansion cards that plugged into a computer bus. The lower right-most card is an early wireless network card, and the central card with partial beige plastic cover is a PSTN modem.
#WHAT IS A VIRTUAL ADAPTER PC#
Modern network interface controllers offer advanced features such as interrupt and DMA interfaces to the host processors, support for multiple receive and transmit queues, partitioning into multiple logical interfaces, and on-controller network traffic processing such as the TCP offload engine.ġ2 early ISA 8 bit and 16 bit PC network cards. The low cost and ubiquity of the Ethernet standard means that most newer computers have a network interface built into the motherboard, or is contained into a USB-connected dongle. Įarly network interface controllers were commonly implemented on expansion cards that plugged into a computer bus. A network interface controller ( NIC, also known as a network interface card, network adapter, LAN adapter or physical network interface, and by similar terms) is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network.
