NETWORK INTERFACE CARD

(NIC)
• A network interface card (NIC) is a hardware
component without which a computer cannot be
connected over a network. It is a circuit board
installed in a computer that provides a dedicated
network connection to the computer. It is also
called network interface controller, network
adapter or LAN adapter.
 PURPOSE
• NIC allows both wired and wireless communications.
• NIC allows communications between computers connected
via local area network (LAN) as well as communications over
large-scale network through Internet Protocol (IP).
• NIC is both a physical layer and a data link layer device, i.e. it
provides the necessary hardware circuitry so that the
physical layer processes and some data link layer processes
can run on it.
TYPES OF NIC
 INTERNAL NETWORK CARDS

• In internal networks cards, motherboard has a slot for the

network card where it can be inserted. It requires network
cables to provide network access. Internal network cards are
of two types. The first type uses Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI) connection, while the second type uses
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA).
INTERNAL NETWORK CARDS
 EXTERNAL NETWORK CARDS

• In desktops and laptops that do not have an internal NIC,

external NICs are used. External network cards are of two
types: Wireless and USB based. Wireless network card
needs to be inserted into the motherboard, however no
network cable is required to connect to the network. They
are useful while traveling or accessing a wireless signal.
EXTERNAL NETWORK CARDS
Windows
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Set View by to Category.
3. Click Network and Internet.
4. Click Network and Sharing Center.
5. On the left pane, click Change adapter
settings.
6. Right-click the local area network connection that is
connected to the radio hardware and select Properties.
• If an unused network connection is available, the local area
connection appears as Unidentified network.
• If you plan to reuse your network connection, select the local area
connection that you plan to use for the radio hardware.
• If you have only one network connection, check if you can connect
wirelessly to the existing local area network. If you can, you can
use the network connection for the radio hardware.
• You can use a pluggable USB to Gigabit Ethernet LAN adapter
instead of a NIC. The instructions are the same.
7. On the Networking tab of the Properties dialog box,
clear all options except Internet Protocol Version 4
(TCP/IPv4). Other services, particularly antiviral
software, can cause intermittent connection problems
with the radio hardware.
8. Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
9. On the General tab, select Use the following IP
Address.
10. The default IP address of the Xilinx Zynq hardware
board is 192.168.1.101. The development computer
network connection must be on the same subnet as
the hardware board. To meet this requirement, a
compatible IP address must be assigned to the
development computer network connection. Set the
network IP address to 192.168.1.x, where x is any
number in the range 1 through 255, apart from 101.
• Note
• Instead of 192.168.1, use the subnet address given by your
hardware in the IP address.
11. Leave the subnet mask set to the default value of
255.255.255.0 and click OK.