Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
When you're selecting a network adapter, the most important shopping considerations
are as follows:
Wired or Wireless
Choose according to the way you plan to connect to the router or switch.
Network Adapter Standard
You must determine the standard to which the network
adapter conforms. For wired adapters, this is easy, because you'll probably fi nd only
one type for sale: 1 Gbps Ethernet. For wireless adapters, you'll need to choose between
802.11g (cheaper) and 802.11n (faster and with greater range). These standards are covered
in more detail later in this chapter.
Interface Type
A desktop PC can accept an expansion board (provided the PC has an
open slot for it); a notebook PC will probably require a USB adapter.
Most network adapters are Plug and Play, so Windows recognizes them and sets them
up automatically when you install them. In some cases, you may need to run the Setup
program that comes with the adapter to fi nalize its installation in Windows.
Each network adapter has a unique 48-bit
Media Access Control (MAC)
address. No
two network adapters in the entire world have the same MAC address; it's assigned by
the manufacturer of the device. Mac addresses are usually written as six groups of two
hexadecimal digits, separated by hyphens or colons, like this:
01-23-45-67-89-AB
. As
an end user, you don't need to know the network adapter's MAC address; however, the
internal workings of network transmission rely heavily on the MAC address in order to
ensure that packets of data are intelligently routed to the right locations.
Although originally intended to be permanent and globally unique
hardware identifiers, MAC addresses can be faked and even changed,
so they can't be used as 100 percent positive identifiers of the origin of a
message.
EXERCISE 3.6
Explore Your Computer's Network Adapters
1.
Look on the outside of your computer's case for a wired Ethernet jack. This will be an
RJ-45 jack, like a wider-than-normal telephone jack. On a desktop PC, it'll be on the back;
on a notebook PC, it may be on the back or on one side. Don't confuse the Ethernet jack
with modem jacks, which look like two regular-width telephone jacks side-by-side.
2.
In Windows, click Start Control Panel System And Security System Device
Manager. The Device Manager window opens.
3.
Double-click the Network Adapters category to open it. All the networking adapters on
your system appear here. In the following graphic, there are four. The fi rst is the wired
adapter, and the second is the wireless adapter. The other two are special-purpose
network adapters that are beyond the scope of this topic.
