This printed circuit board provides the physical and electrical connection to networking media like twisted pair cables or fiber optics. It handles the low-level framing of data packets and manages the hardware address required for local routing. Current desktop systems usually integrate this circuitry directly onto the motherboard, but enterprise servers still rely on discrete expansion cards for high-speed fiber links.
Swap out the network interface card on server three, the port keeps dropping packets under load.
Also heard as
- NIC
- network adapter
- LAN adapter
Related terms
Ethernet card
An expansion board that provides a physical connection between a computer host and a local area network.
Peripheral device
An external piece of hardware connected to a computer to provide input, output, or storage functions.
Router
A network device that forwards data packets between computer networks.