Network interface controller: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Hardware component that connects a computer to a network}}

{{short description|Hardware component that connects a computer to a network}}A '''network interface controller''' ('''NIC''',<!--"Controller" is correct; once upon a time, they might all have been add-in cards, and called "network interface cards", but most of them are probably on the motherboard or in the SoC these days.--> also known as a '''network interface card''', '''network adapter''', '''LAN adapter''' and '''physical network interface''') is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network.

{{Redirect|Network card|the British Rail discount card|Network Railcard}}

{{Infobox Computer Hardware Generic

Early network interface controllers were commonly implemented on expansion cards that plugged into a [[computer bus]]. The low cost and ubiquity of the Ethernet standard means that most newer computers have a network interface built into the motherboard, or is contained into a USB-connected dongle.

| name = Network interface controller

| image = Network card.jpg

| caption = A 1990s [[Ethernet]] network interface card that connects to the motherboard via the now-obsolete [[ISA bus]]. This combination card features both a [[BNC connector]] (left) for use in (now obsolete) [[10BASE2]] networks and an [[8P8C]] connector (right) for use in [[10BASE-T]] networks.

| invent-date =

| invent-name =

| conn1 = [[Motherboard]]

| via1_1 = integrated in [[chipset]] or [[System on a chip|SoC]]

| via1_2 = [[motherboard#Integrated peripherals|discrete onboard]]

| via1_3 = [[Peripheral Component Interconnect|PCI]] Connector

| via1_4 = [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] Connector

| via1_5 = [[PCIe]] (including [[Mini PCIe]] and [[M.2]])

| via1_6 = [[FireWire]]

| via1_7 = [[USB]]

| via1_8 = [[Thunderbolt (interface)|Thunderbolt]]

| conn2 = Network

| via2_1 = [[Ethernet]]

| via2_2 = [[Wi-Fi]]

| via2_3 = [[Fibre Channel]]

| via2_4 = [[Asynchronous Transfer Mode|ATM]]

| via2_5 = [[FDDI]]

| via2_6 = [[Token Ring]]

| via2_7 = [[ARCNET]]

| class-name = Speeds

| class1 = [[Full-duplex]] or [[half-duplex]]:

| class2 = {{bulleted list|10 Mbit/s|100 Mbit/s|1 Gbit/s}}

| class3 = [[Full-duplex]]:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Port speed and duplex mode configuration|url=http://docs.ruckuswireless.com/fastiron/08.0.70/fastiron-08070-managementguide/GUID-EDD7D44C-A627-4B76-A9FE-D7657FFF62D3.html|access-date=2020-09-25|website=docs.ruckuswireless.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Admin|first=Arista|date=2020-04-23|title=Section 11.2: Ethernet Standards - Arista|url=https://www.arista.com/en/um-eos/eos-section-11-2-ethernet-standards|access-date=2020-09-28|website=Arista Networks|language=en-gb}}</ref>

| class4 = {{bulleted list|2.5 Gbit/s|5 Gbit/s|10 Gbit/s|up to {{nowrap|160 Gbit/s}}}}

| manuf1 = [[Intel]]

| manuf2 = [[Realtek]]

| manuf3 = [[Broadcom]] (includes former [[Avago]], [[Emulex]])

| manuf4 = [[Marvell Technology Group]]

| manuf5 = [[Cavium]] (formerly [[QLogic]])

| manuf6 = [[Mellanox]]

| manuf7 = [[Chelsio]]

}}

{{short description|Hardware component that connects a computer to a network}}A '''network interface controller''' ('''NIC''',<!--"Controller" is correct; once upon a time, they might all have been add-in cards, and called "network interface cards", but most of them are probably on the motherboard or in the SoC these days.--> also known as a '''network interface card''',<ref name="Dell"/> '''network adapter''', '''LAN adapter''' and '''physical network interface'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd392944(v=ws.10).aspx|title=Physical Network Interface|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|date=January 7, 2009}}</ref>) is a [[computer hardware]] component that connects a [[computer]] to a [[computer network]].<ref name=networking_01>{{cite web

Modern network interface controllers offer advanced features such as interrupt and DMA interfaces to the host processors, support for multiple receive and transmit queues, partitioning into multiple logical interfaces, and on-controller network traffic processing such as the TCP offload engine.

|url = http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/networking-basics-part1.html

|title = Networking Basics: Part 1 - Networking Hardware

|author = Posey, Brien M.

|year = 2006

|work = Windowsnetworking.com

|publisher = TechGenix Ltd

|access-date = 2012-06-09

}}</ref>

Early network interface controllers were commonly implemented on [[expansion cardscard]]s that plugged into a [[computer bus]]. The low cost and ubiquity of the [[Ethernet]] standard means that most newer computers have a network interface built into the [[motherboard]], or is contained into a [[USB]]-connected [[dongle]], although network cards remain available.

Modern network interface controllers offer advanced features such as [[interrupt]] and [[Direct memory access|DMA]] interfaces to the host processors, support for multiple receive and transmit queues, partitioning into multiple logical interfaces, and on-controller network traffic processing such as the [[TCP offload engine]].

== Purpose ==

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[[File:Qle3442-cu 10gbe nic.jpg|thumb|A [[Qlogic]] QLE3442-CU SFP+ dual-port NIC]]

Modular designs like [[Small formForm-factor pluggable transceiverPluggable|SFP and SFP+]] are highly popular, especially for [[fiber-optic communication]]. These define a standard receptacle for media-dependent transceivers, so users can easily adapt the network interface to their needs.

[[LED]]s adjacent to or integrated into the network connector inform the user of whether the network is connected, and when data activity occurs.

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| publisher = [[Intel]] }}</ref>

The hardware-based distribution of the interrupts, described above, is referred to as '''[[receive-side scaling''']] (RSS).<ref name="intel-grantley">{{cite web

| url = http://www.intel.com/content/dam/technology-provider/secure/us/en/documents/product-marketing-information/tst-grantley-launch-presentation-2014.pdf

| title = Intel Look Inside: Intel Ethernet