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Objectives:
1. Describe the role a network adapter card plays in networked
communications.
2. Explain how network adapters prepare data for transmission, accept incoming
network traffic, and control how networked communications flow.
3. Understand the variety of configurable options for network adapters, and
describe common settings.
4. Describe important characteristics for selecting adapter cards
5. Recount network adapter enhancements that can improve performance
6. Explain the role of driver software in network adapters.
Important Points
1. Network Interface Cards (NIC) plug into adapter slot inside the computers.
a) establishes and manages computers network connection
b) translates digital computer data into signals the network
can use.
c) parallel transmission -bus- multiple lines from cpu to nic
d) serial transmission - single line from network to computer
nic or computer nic to net work.
e) buffer hold data and transfers from parallel to serial and
from serial to parallel.
f) bus width - 8 bit, 16 bit, 32 bit and 64 bit.
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) is 16 bit, Peripheral component Interface (PCI)
is 32 bit.
g) transceiver is designed or the specific medium in use
h) NIC's arrange bits into packets.
i) Media Access Control MAC address is six two digit
hexadecimal nubmers. First three numbers identify manufacture the next three
establish a unique address for the nic.
j. PC buses
1) ISA industry standard architecture
- 16 bit 10Mhz
2) EISA extended industry standard
architecture - 32 bit - 10Mhz - bus mastering
3) MCA micro channel architecture
32 bit - up to 66Mhz - bus mastering
4) PCI Peripheral Component Interface
32bit, 64 bit, 128 bit - 133 Mhz - bus mastering - Plug and Play- IRQ sharing
5) PCMCIA pc cards - add
functionality to lap tops. wireless
6) AGP accelarated graphics port-
computer displays only - 33mhz -
7) developing bus standards PCI x266
& PCI x533 -2gb to 4.3gb.
k. PC interfaces for networking
1) USB 1.0 - 12Mbs - USB 2.0 480 Mbs
2) Firewire (ieee 1394) serial bus -
400Mbs - iee1394b -3200Mbs
l. NIC configurations - IRQ, Base I/O, Base memory address
must be set when plug and play is not available for the nic card.
1)ESTABLISH PHYSICAL LINK TO
NETWORKING MEDIUM
2) Generating signals that traverse
the networking medium
3) Receives incoming signals.
4) implement controls when to
transmit when to receive.
m. NIC physical characteristics that must match computer.
n.
Hardware enhancements of NIC cards.
1) Direct Memory Access
(DMA) transfer data directly to computer memory without CPU
2) Shared adapter memory
- map directly into RAM-computer treats NiC ram as own.
3) Shared System Memory
NIC treats computer ram as it own.
4) Bus Metering -NIC take
control of computer bus to manage data transfers independent of CPU
5) Ram Buffering - NIC
has additional memory
6) On board coprocessors-
NIC process data itself.
7) Security features NIC
handles several protocol functions.
8) Traffic Management -
Quality of Service - guarantees levels of access to the network
9) Falut tolerance Two
NIC to back each other up or NIC with two ports redundant system
10) Improved management -
NIC can be configured and handled remotely
o. Special Purpose NICs
1)Wireless
NIC's.
2) Boot PROM
NIC - enough BIOS to load operating system from network.
m. Drive software
1) Network
Device Interface Specification (NDIS) allows NIC to run multiple protocols
2) WIN32
Drive Model (WDM) interfaces with plug and play
3) Open
Data-link interface (ODI) apple computers multiple protocols.
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