Network Components

1.Hardware Components :

• Nodes or devices are Endpoints with computers, smartphones and IoT devices.
• Each network might contain multiple types of devices used at a time to perform official work in an efficient manner.

Common Networking Devices :

1. Network Interface Card (NIC) :

NIC is a hardware component that allows a computer/laptop or devices to connect to a network. It works as the translator between your device and the network either it's a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or the Internet.

Role of LAN Cards :

• It converts data from your device into a format suitable for transmission over a network.
• It handles both sending and receiving of data packets.
• It provides a unique MAC address (MAC- Media Access Control) for identification on the network
• Most Lan cards are found integrated on the motherboard.
• We can connect PCI-Express X16 or X1 slots.
• Some external USB Lan cards are also available as per requirements.

Types of Network Interface Cards :

a. PCI-Express Lan Card X1 Ethernet :

Uses RJ-45 connectors and twisted-pair cables for wired LAN connections

b. PCI-Express Lan Card x16 :

c. USB External Lan card :

d. Wireless Lan card :

e. USB Wireless Lan card :

f. Fiber optic NIC :

It uses Fiber optic cables for high-speed data transfer over long distances in server computers.

g. Virtual NIC :

Software-based NIC used in virtual machines.

It is used in Cloud Computing and Virtualization.