NETWORK CONCEPTS

Basic Hardware :
What is a NIC? A Network Interface Card (NIC), also called a Network Adapter, is used to connect a computer to the cabling used in a local area network (LAN). Typically, the NIC attaches to the computers expansion bus via an ISA slot (8-bit or 16-bit) or a PCI slot(32-bit). The NIC has one or more external ports with which to attach the network cable. The primary function of a NIC is to allow the computer to communicate on the network. It does this by transmitting/receiving and controlling traffic with other computers or devices on the network. When transmitting, the NIC converts data from parallel to serial, encodes and compresses it, and then places it on the wire in the form of an electrical or optical signal. The process is reversed on the receiving end. The NIC translates the electrical signal it receives off the wire into bits that can be read by the computer. Each NIC has a unique identifying MAC address hard-coded onto the card. In addition, a NIC must have a network adapter driver that enables it to communicate with the network protocols. (The network adapter driver is discussed under the section 'Network Driver Standards: NDIS and ODI.') A NIC is specific to a particular type of LAN architecture (e.g., Ethernet, Token Ring, or Fiber-Optic). It is possible to install more than one NIC in the same computer. Most NICs connect directly to a computers system bus via a 32-bit PCI slot or an 8-bit or 16-bit ISA slot for older computers. A NIC operates at the Physical layer, the lowest layer of the OSI model. What is the MAC address? Each network interface card (NIC) has a unique MAC address assigned to it. The MAC address, also referred to as the physical address, is a 6-byte (48-bit), hexadecimal serial number hard-coded onto the card by the manufacturer. A NIC manufacturer (e.g., Intel, 3Com, Cisco, etc.) must apply to the IEEE (institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) for a block of addresses to assign to its cards. The leftmost 3 octets of the address identify the manufacturer and the rightmost 3 octets represent the unique serial number for the card.

If your system is running TCP/IP, you can learn your MAC address by going to a command prompt and typing IPCONFIG /ALL (Windows NT) or WINIPCFG (Windows 95). Shown below is a portion of the information returned by the IPCONFIG /ALL command showing the MAC (physical) address of a NIC:

Note that the name MAC stands for Media Access Control, a division of the Data Link layer under the IEEE 802 model. Thus, MAC address is something of a misnomer. The MAC address is referenced at this layer but actually resides at the physical layer. Although physical address is the more accurate description, MAC address is the term most often used in practice. What does the MAC Address do? The MAC Address provides a way to distinguish one NIC from any other NIC. Operations at the lower layers of the OSI model (the physical and data-link layers) do not directly recognize computer names or protocol addresses (e.g., the IP address). The MAC address allows a card to recognize the data that is sent to it. A NIC checks each frame or packet on the network traffic to see if it contains its MAC address. Once the NIC identifies a frame with its MAC address, it decodes the frame and processes it. A bridge, which operates at the data-link layer, looks at MAC addresses. A router, which operates at the network layer, looks at protocol addresses. Thus, a router is able to perform more sophisticated traffic management functions than a bridge.

How does a NIC connect to the cable? An interface connector is the physical connection between the Network Interface Card (NIC) and the cable. There are three common types of interface connectors used with LANs: BNC (British Naval Connector). Used with coax cable RJ-45. An 8-wire modular connector that looks similar to a telephone jack connector (RJ-11). Used with twisted-pair cable. (An RJ-11 has only 6 pins. An RJ-45 has 8 pins.) AUI (Attachment Unit Interface). Normally a 15-pin interface used with Thicknet coax. Also called a DIX (Digital Intel Xerox) interface. Not very common anymore.

Some NICs have more than one interface connector (e.g., an RJ-45 and a BNC) What is the difference between a local and an expansion bus?

Originally there were two types of buses: local and expansion. The local bus (also called a processor or system bus) is the path directly connected to the CPU. It is actually four buses (data, address, control, and power). Components on the local bus are synchronized with the CPU. This means that they can operate on a 32-bit path at full clock speed (386 processors and above). Generally only the processors main memory and controller logic are connected to the local bus. The expansion bus (also called an AT Bus) allows the CPU to communicate with controllers and peripheral devices. It connects various peripherals such as the disk and video controllers, serial and parallel cards, and a network interface cards (NIC) Typically these components communicate through 16-bit ISA expansion cards at 8 MHz. In other words, they perform tasks at a much slower speed than the processor. Because of its speed and data path are inferior to the local bus, the expansion bus can become the "bottleneck" in system performance.

The PCI (Peripheral Connection Interface) bus design provides the capability to tap directly into the local bus (32-bit) for faster transfer of data. This allows peripherals like a NIC to bypass the expansion bus. A VLB (VESA Local bus) also attaches directly to the local bus. What are the common bus architectures and their characteristics? The most popular expansion bus designs are distinguished as follows: PCI - Peripheral Connection Interface. Currently the most popular and fastest bus design. PCI was developed by Intel and has essentially become the industry standard for Pentium systems. It can exchange data with the CPU at 32- or 64-bits per second and supports bus mastering (allows intelligent cards to do processing independent of the CPU). It also supports multiplexing (the sharing or mixing of signals on the bus). PCI slots only accept PCI cards and PCI cards only fit in PCI slots. VLB - VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) Local Bus. VLB was originally designed to remove the display adapter as the system bottleneck. Supports 3 slots for high speed peripherals on what is essentially the 32-bit local bus (CPU). It also supports bus mastering and offers backward compatibility (i.e., a VLB slot will accept an ISA card but the ISA card still functions as an ISA card; it does not access the local bus.). MCA - Micro Channel Architecture. Developed by IBM for its PS/2 computers, this design never really caught on. Data path is 16- or 32-bits wide. An MCA slot accepts only a MCA card. EISA - Extended Industry Standard Architecture. A counter to IBMs MCA design that transfers data at 32-bits and offers backward compatibility (i.e., EISA slot will accept ISA card). EISA never really caught on except in some specialized servers.

ISA - Industry Standard Architecture. The original bus design. Also known as the PC/AT bus. Data is transferred at either 8-bits or 16-bits depending on the card. A 16-bit ISA slot will accept an 8-bit ISA card or a VLB card.

What is an IRQ conflict? When a device such as a keyboard or printer needs the attention of the CPU, it sends a signal via its assigned IRQ (interrupt request) line. When the CPU detects the interrupt, it knows which device is signaling and allocates its time based on the requesters priority. Some IRQs are permanently assigned (e.g., the keyboard is always IRQ 1). However, other IRQs can be assigned by the user. Generally only one device can be assigned to a specific IRQ line. If two devices are inadvertently assigned to the same IRQ, the CPU cannot distinguish which device is signaling and the result is an IRQ Conflict.

Two devices can share the same IRQ; they just cant use it at the same time. For example, if both the mouse and a modem are assigned to IRQ 3 (COM2), a conflict could develop. Typically one or both of the devices will lock up or start behaving erratically. It is possible for an IRQ conflict to render the entire system inoperable.

What are the common assignments for IRQs 0 to 15? For an 80286 processor and above, IRQ settings are typically assigned as shown below. System timer keyboard cascade to IRQ 9/programmable interrupt controller COM2/COM4 (communication ports) COM1/COM3 (communication ports) LPT2 parallel port; typically used by the sound card Floppy Disk Controller parallel port; LPT 1 system or real-time clock/CMOS cascade from IRQ 2 open

open sometimes OS/2 mouse or trackball math co-processor hard disk controller second hard disk controller

Exam Tip: For the exam you will need to know the IRQ associated with common devices. For example, you may be given a situation where you have a modem on COM2 and a NIC on IRQ 3. Although not given, you need to know that COM2 uses IRQ 3 and the NIC and modem are in conflict. Which IRQs are commonly used for a NIC? How can I tell which IRQs are available? Typically, IRQs 10, 11 and 15 can usually support a Network Interface Card (NIC). If no sound card is present, IRQ 5 is often assigned to a NIC. Or IRQ 3 can be used for a NIC if the second serial port (COM2/COM4) is not being used by another device (e.g., a modem). The status of IRQs on a Windows NT system can be checked using Administrative Tools | Windows NT Diagnostics | Resources | IRQ. On a windows 95 computer, the same information is available under Control Panel | System | Device Manager | Computer | Interrupt Request.

What is the DMA Channel? DMA (Direct Memory Access) Channels are used to transfer data directly between memory and an 'intelligent' I/O device like a network interface card (NIC). A DMA channel actually consists of 2 signal lines; a receive line and an acknowledgement line.

A DMA channel allows a device on an expansion board to transfer data to or from the systems RAM without going through the CPU. When the device needs to access memory, it signals the CPU via its assigned DMA channel. The CPU then gets out of the way and the data transfer takes place directly between the device and memory. The downside to this method is that CPU operations are put on hold until the transfer is complete. Not all devices use DMA channels. A tape backup device is an example of a device that normally does. Most NICs generally do not use DMA channels because of the interruption they cause with the CPU. However, if a device does require a DMA channel, the assigned channel must be unique or conflicts can develop. The number of DMA channels available depends on the system bus. There are only 4 channels available to an older 8-bit ISA bus. For other buses, there are 8 channels (numbered 0-7) of which only 7 are available to the expansion slots. Typically the DRAM refresh, floppy disk controller, the DMA controller itself, and LPT1 use DMA channels 0, 2, 4, and 7, respectively. Others channels are usually free to be assigned.

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