Johan Simbade
Network Adapters and the Wi-Fi Technology
Network cards are the most basic type of hardware in any computer system. It is the device that acts as the connection point between the internal parts of a PC. A network interface controller, also known as a switch or a hub, is a small computer hardware part that connects two or more computers via a physical network cable. The controller maintains a connection between the network of computers and the PCs. If there is a problem with the link, the PC will be able to access the Internet and the other PCs for information. This type of technology has many uses.
Network card hardware is an example of a physical layer in the computer system. The physical layer used here is the Ethernet technology. The Ethernet network cards use a built-in physical layer in the computer system. This has ports that are on the motherboard or CPU. These ports can be configured as either Static or dynamic.
To access internet from computer A, computer B needs to connect to the hub via Ethernet network cards. Computer A uses the same ports as computer B, but now, they need to configure the ports as required by the operating system. In the case of the Linux operating system, it is the kernel that configures the necessary ports. As long as the physical layer exists, the Linux operating system will use it for the Ethernet network cards as well.
The physical network cards have a number of advantages. First of all, the faster the speed, the higher the transfer rate. The faster you transfer data, the faster your Internet connection. The second advantage is that they give you more portability. For people who travel frequently, especially to another location, having 100 mbps Ethernet network cards in each computer can give you a lot of space in the network so you won’t have to buy a new router to keep your connection with your old one.
On the other hand, sometimes you need a fast connection. There are many situations when you want to use the Wi-Fi in a place where you don’t have any Wi-Fi adapters. It is possible to use a USB Wi-Fi stick. However, if you connect your device to the laptop via a USB port, some older network adapters may not be compatible with the Wi-Fi signal.
A 10 gigabit ethernet card is the modern way of going wireless. With a single device, you get an entire network card that can link with other devices and connect to the web. It also gives you the freedom to place your computers at any location and at any height. In case of a laptop, a wireless adapter will allow you to take your laptop anywhere. If your desktop has a wireless adapter, you can use your wireless cards to access the Internet. You can also connect your printer to the network cards and print documents wirelessly.
