The Physical Layer: Network Interface Cards

Aaron Ehrlich

Daniel Dunevant

Introduction

Welcome to the simple world of Network Interface Cards!Network Interface Cards, or NICs, provide computers with an interface to the network media.They also handle the details of accessing, sending, and receiving network media.It is VERY DIFFICULT to network a PC without a Network Interface Card!

Introduction, pt. II

There are three main areas of the physical NIC experience:

Bus Types

Supported Media Types and

Advanced Features

NIC Bus TypesThe bus type, that is, the protocol for interfacing with the PC, of an NIC can affect the performance of the computer or server. The most common types:ISA – Old but still readily available busEISA – Improvement over ISA, but even more rarePCI – Clearly the dominant bus type for NICs and is rapidly becoming the only interface option for new PCsPCI is preferred for faster data transfer rates, and normally clocks in at about 33MHz.

Media Types Supported

Media consideration is an important factor in using and NIC; it may support twisted-pair, 10Base2, fiber-optic, or a combination of the above. Money is directly proportional to the media options- the cheapest NICs support only one media type. An AUC, attachment unit interface, is used on some NICs to adapt to certain media types.

NIC Features

Not all NICs are created equal.Some popular features are:Front-panel Indicators: indicator lights in the form of LEDs that can be used to signal different states of activity, usually on, malfunctioning, or disconnected by green, amber, and red. Duplex-mode indicators show that an NIC is either Half-duplex or Full-duplex mode; half-duplex means that a device cannot both send and receive simultaneously, while full-duplex can.

Wake-on-LAN: allows an administrator to remotely turn on the computer by sending a network signal to the NIC.Remote Boot: Set of ROM chips installed in an NIC that allow the Network Card to load an operating system across the entire network. Rarely used anymore.

NIC Features, cont.Desktop Management Interface (DMI) is a standard framework for managing and tracking components on a PC/Server remotely. Processes include:RMON Data Collection: standard software interface for gathering network statistics.Bus Mastering: allows an NIC to access system bus without intervention from the CPU or loss of multitaskingEncoding: allows the NCIC to encrypt network IP addresses uniquely across a network without configuration.

NIC Support Issues

Most operating systems and NIC support Plug and Play- installing a NIC will result in the OS installing the drivers and configuring it properly.When Plug and Play is not an option, such as Windows NT, options that must be configured include the IRQ and port number of the NIC. Barring these rare problems, NICs are one of the least likely hardware sources to malfunction.

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 1: 30 points

What is the most common modern NIC bus type?

A. ISA

B. PCI

C. DDR

D. EISA

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 1: 30 points

What is the most common modern NIC bus type?

A. ISA

B. PCIC. DDR

D. EISA

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 2: 20 points

What color usually means “on” or “properly connected” on NIC indicators?

A. Purple

B. Red

C. Amber

D. Green

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 2: 20 points

What color usually means “on” or “properly connected” on NIC indicators?

A. Purple

B. Red

C. Amber

D. Green

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 3: 40 points

What does AUI stand for?

A. Attachment Unit Interface

B. Allocation Unit Interface

C. Attachment User Interface

D. Antique Universal Inspiration

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 3: 40 points

What does AUI stand for?

A. Attachment Unit InterfaceB. Allocation Unit Interface

C. Attachment User Interface

D. Antique Universal Inspiration

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 4: 40 pointsWhich of the following is the definition of Half-duplex mode?A. Can both send and receive data simultaneouslyB. Can send but not receive dataC. Can send and receive data, but cannot do both simultaneouslyD. Can receive but not send data

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 4: 40 pointsWhich of the following is the definition of Half-duplex mode?A. Can both send and receive data simultaneouslyB. Can send but not receive data

C. Can send and receive data, but cannot do both simultaneouslyD. Can receive but not send data

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 5: 50 pointsRemote Boot is no longer a common NIC feature because:A. It was too expensive to continue integrating into new NICsB. The prices of hard drives that could store the same kind of information decreasedC. Remote Boot only allowed the main server to install network operating systemsD. Operating system files became too complex to encode onto NIC chipsets

Game TimeGet Ready.

Question 5: 50 pointsRemote Boot is no longer a common NIC feature because:A. It was too expensive to continue integrating into new NICs

B. The prices of hard drives that could store the same kind of information decreasedC. Remote Boot only allowed the main server to install network operating systemsD. Operating system files became too complex to encode onto NIC chipsets