Transcript The Physical Layer: Network Interface Cards

The Physical Layer:
Network Interface
Cards
Aaron Ehrlich
Daniel Dunevant
Introduction
Welcome to the simple world of Network
Interface Cards!
Network Interface Cards, or NICs, provide
computers with an interface to the network
media.
They also handle the details of accessing,
sending, and receiving network media.
It is VERY DIFFICULT to network a PC
without a Network Interface Card!
Introduction, pt. II
There are three main areas of the
physical NIC experience:
Bus Types
Supported Media Types and
Advanced Features
NIC Bus Types
The bus type, that is, the protocol for
interfacing with the PC, of an NIC can affect
the performance of the computer or server.
The most common types:
ISA – Old but still readily available bus
EISA – Improvement over ISA, but even more
rare
PCI – Clearly the dominant bus type for NICs
and is rapidly becoming the only interface
option for new PCs
PCI is preferred for faster data transfer rates,
and normally clocks in at about 33MHz.
Media Types Supported
Media consideration is an important
factor in using and NIC; it may support
twisted-pair, 10Base2, fiber-optic, or a
combination of the above. Money is
directly proportional to the media
options- the cheapest NICs support only
one media type. An AUC, attachment
unit interface, is used on some NICs to
adapt to certain media types.
NIC Features
Not all NICs are created equal.
Some popular features are:
Front-panel Indicators: indicator lights in the form of LEDs that can be
used to signal different states of activity, usually on, malfunctioning, or
disconnected by green, amber, and red. Duplex-mode indicators show
that an NIC is either Half-duplex or Full-duplex mode; half-duplex
means that a device cannot both send and receive simultaneously,
while full-duplex can.
Wake-on-LAN: allows an administrator to remotely turn on
the computer by sending a network signal to the NIC.
Remote Boot: Set of ROM chips installed in an NIC that
allow the Network Card to load an operating system
across the entire network. Rarely used anymore.
NIC Features, cont.
Desktop Management Interface (DMI) is a
standard framework for managing and
tracking components on a PC/Server
remotely. Processes include:
RMON Data Collection: standard software
interface for gathering network statistics.
Bus Mastering: allows an NIC to access
system bus without intervention from the CPU
or loss of multitasking
Encoding: allows the NCIC to encrypt network
IP addresses uniquely across a network
without configuration.
NIC Support Issues
Most operating systems and NIC support
Plug and Play- installing a NIC will result in
the OS installing the drivers and configuring it
properly.
When Plug and Play is not an option, such as
Windows NT, options that must be configured
include the IRQ and port number of the NIC.
Barring these rare problems, NICs are one of
the least likely hardware sources to
malfunction.
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 1: 30 points
What is the most common modern NIC
bus type?
A. ISA
B. PCI
C. DDR
D. EISA
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 1: 30 points
What is the most common modern NIC
bus type?
A. ISA
B. PCI
C. DDR
D. EISA
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 2: 20 points
What color usually means “on” or
“properly connected” on NIC indicators?
A. Purple
B. Red
C. Amber
D. Green
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 2: 20 points
What color usually means “on” or
“properly connected” on NIC indicators?
A. Purple
B. Red
C. Amber
D. Green
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 3: 40 points
What does AUI stand for?
A. Attachment Unit Interface
B. Allocation Unit Interface
C. Attachment User Interface
D. Antique Universal Inspiration
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 3: 40 points
What does AUI stand for?
A. Attachment Unit Interface
B. Allocation Unit Interface
C. Attachment User Interface
D. Antique Universal Inspiration
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 4: 40 points
Which of the following is the definition of Halfduplex mode?
A. Can both send and receive data
simultaneously
B. Can send but not receive data
C. Can send and receive data, but cannot do
both simultaneously
D. Can receive but not send data
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 4: 40 points
Which of the following is the definition of Halfduplex mode?
A. Can both send and receive data
simultaneously
B. Can send but not receive data
C. Can send and receive data, but
cannot do both simultaneously
D. Can receive but not send data
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 5: 50 points
Remote Boot is no longer a common NIC
feature because:
A. It was too expensive to continue
integrating into new NICs
B. The prices of hard drives that could store
the same kind of information decreased
C. Remote Boot only allowed the main server
to install network operating systems
D. Operating system files became too
complex to encode onto NIC chipsets
Game Time
Get Ready.
Question 5: 50 points
Remote Boot is no longer a common NIC
feature because:
A. It was too expensive to continue
integrating into new NICs
B. The prices of hard drives that
could store the same kind of
information decreased
C. Remote Boot only allowed the main server
to install network operating systems
D. Operating system files became too