A '''network interface controllercard''' ('''NIC''',<!--"ControllerCard" 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''' or '''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> and by similar terms) is a [[computer hardware]] component that connects a [[computer]] to a [[computer network]].<ref name=networking_01>{{cite web
