Network adapter - description and application

The Internet has emerged quite recently, but has already managed to "draw on" specific terms, such as, for example, a router, a gateway, a network adapter. All these names denote the ways and types of Internet connection and sometimes have the same meaning. The most common Means of access to the network - a network card or adapter. It serves as a transmitter between a network cable and a computer system.

There are many types of network cards, but they perform the same functions. First, they transmit and receive data, forming packages from them. They are formed in the buffer, and with the computer's memory the adapter interacts through the RAM. In addition, Internet cards encode or decode data using parallel or sequential codes (depending on whether this information is received or transmitted).

By the way of integration the network adapter is divided into three types: external, internal and built-in. Built-in adapters are part of the motherboard. The connector to which the network cable is connected , and the processing information of the microcircuit are located directly Nano on the PCB's PCB, and additional functions of the built-in adapter are implemented by the CPU. Almost all motherboards are equipped with such cards.

The internal network adapter is a chip installed in the system unit. To the motherboard it is connected via PCI, PCIe or ISA connectors. The external card is enclosed in a plastic casing and connected to the system via the USB interface. Such cards are used where there is no built-in or internal adapter, or it is broken.

Until recently, the Internet map was the only way to go online. However, gradually this device was replaced by wireless communication. One of them is a wireless network adapter (or Wi-Fi). In fact, Wi-Fi is an antenna that allows you to connect to the Internet "by air". Such adapters are also external, internal and embedded. Built-in Wi-Fi integrated in the system board. Internal very often are a "hybrid" Antenna and network card. External Wi-Fi-adapters are very similar to the now fashionable 3G-modems. They are necessarily equipped with an antenna - either built-in or external - and the latter have a much higher speed.

Network cards differ not only in terms of integration, but also in their capabilities. Some adapters have sockets for installing their own software. Others differ in the width of the system bus or in the presence of additional ports. There are Internet cards equipped with RAM and LED indicators. In addition, the network adapter has several types, differing in the way they interact with the computer system and the modes of operation. Interact with the system card can either via the control bus, or by using direct memory access. By operating modes, these devices are divided into two types: cyclic I / O and memory sharing.

The speed of the Internet card depends on these properties. The network adapter, which has at least half of the listed features, will provide a very fast and comfortable way to go online.