It is well worth knowing that a network adapter furnishes the user interface between a computer and a network connection. This piece of critical computer hardware, namely network adapter, is also very often spoken about in terms of being a LAN Adapter, a network card, as also a network interface card. All of these names mentioned above, are designed and or showcased to allow computers to transmit and or communicate over a computer network.
A network adapter has the inherent quality of allowing users to connect to each other in two possible ways, the two ways being, either by using cables, or if need be, the wireless mode. This given variety of adapter is considered to be both, a physical layer device, as well as a data link layer device. In the case of the former, it provides physical access to a networking medium, while the latter provides a low level addressing system through the use of Media Access Control address. This MAC address or Ethernet Hardware Address as it is commonly referred to as, is a near unique identifier connected and or affiliated, to most network adapters.
It is important to know that modern and high tech network adapter hardware exists in a number of forms. Besides the conventional PCI Ethernet cards, there is also the ever green USB device, as also the PCMCIA device. Of the three names mentioned above, the last named is based on the principle of using the PC Card form factor, and is well suited for notebook computers.
Finally, a name which is worth a mention here, and that is, a ‘device driver’. This important piece of software plays a critical role in supporting both wireless and wired network adapters, for both Windows and other operating systems. 

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Network adapter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.