Networking computers with
network cards
Network cards are used to
connect computer together on a LAN or Local
Area Network. The network card is the device
sending and receiving data to a HUB or network
switch to share data between computers. They
are also used to connect on the internet on
some cable modems.
NIC or Network Interface
Card offer different transfer speed and
connection types. Most networks are using
twisted pair cabling that looks like a phone
connector but a little bit bigger. Twisted
pair replaced the old BNC cables that offered
a slow data transfer and if one of the cable
was disconnected breaking the loop of the
cable, the whole network would go down.
Twisted pair NIC can operate
at 10, 100 or 1000 baseT which is the data
transfer speed. Today, most network run on 100
baseT and basically only cable modems use 10
baseT. If you only have two computers to
connect together you do not need to have a HUB
or a switch to connect them together, you can
use a crossover cable. The crossover cable is
made to send signal on the receiving wire of
the remote computer.
There are also wireless
network cards and switches to eliminate the
long cables needed to connect the computers
together. If you have 50 PC connected to a
network it means you need 50 cables running in
walls going to a room where they are connected
on the main switch. This is one reason the
wireless is becoming more and more popular.
When you have more than 2
computers to connect on a LAN you will need
either a HUB or a network switch. This is a
box that you connect all the computers to and
will be able to send the data from one to the
other. A HUB will give slower traffic on the
network cause the data sent from one computer
will go to every single PC so the target
computer will take the data. More computers
equals more data traffic, so slower response
time.
When connecting a computers
on a HUB, you need to either have a DHCP
server on the network, or set static IPs on
each of the computers so they can communicate.
The DHCP server will automatically assign an
IP address to each computer that logs on the
network to allow then to have access to the
LAN resources.
A network switch is like a
HUB except it has a software in it to control
what is going on the network. Using IP
addresses, a switch can determine which
computer the data has to be sent to and will
send that data on the target computer port
only. Sending the data on the target computer
port only lowers the traffic on the network
and will dramatically increase the speed of
the network.
Network switches come with a
built in DHCP server that will assign the IP
address to computers logging on the network.
This is nice, since you do not have to have a
computer acting as a DHCP server and you do
not need to set static IPs that will conflict
if you use the same on two different PCs. They
usually come with built in security features.
Internet routers used to share your internet
cable modem connection will have a built in
firewall for example.
The network cards are
usually Plug&Play and fit in a PCI slot of
your computer, you just have to install it and
it will be detected. Most will not need
additional drivers and will be automatically
set up. If you do not have a switch, then you
will have to configure the IP and other
settings in Windows to be able to connect to
the LAN.
|
