What is Network card?
A '''Network interface card''' (also known as a '''NIC''', '''network card''', or '''network interface controller''') is an [[electronic]] device that connects a [[computer]] to a [[computer network]] , usually a [[Local Area Network|LAN]]. It is considered a piece of [[computer hardware]]. Most modern computers support an internal [[network interface controller]] embedded in the [[motherboard]] directly rather than provided as an external component. Network cards let a computer exchange [[data]] with a network. To achieve the connection, network cards use a suitable [[protocol]], for example [[Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection|CSMA/CD]]. Network cards usually implement the first two layers of the [[OSI model]], that is the physical layer, and the data link layer. There are older network protocols such as [[ARCNET]], introduced in 1977, [[LocalTalk]] or [[Token Ring]], but today, most network cards use [[Ethernet]].[[File:Network card.jpg|thumb|A network card, as it was common in the 1990s. This card was used for ethernet. It has both a [[10Base2]] connector for a [[coaxial cable]] and a [[10BaseT]] connector for a [[twisted pair]] cable]]Ethernet cards are available in several different standard packages called form factors that have evolved over the last several generations of PC hardware: * In the 1990s and early 2000s, large Industry Standard Architecture cards were the first standard for PCs. Computer owners had to open the computer's case to install the card. * Newer Ethernet cards installed inside desktop computers use the Peripheral Component Interconnect standard and are usually installed by the manufacturer. These cards are still common in desktop PCs, for computers whose motherboards do not contain an onboard Ethernet port. * Smaller Personal [[Computer memory|Computer Memory]] Card International Association Ethernet cards that resemble credit cards are readily available for laptop and other mobile computers. These insert conveniently into slots on the side or front of the device