Network Interface Controller/Card (NIC)

NIC or network interface card or network adapter, LAN adapter is an important  hardware requirement for connectivity . Actually this interface  card provides us the 'gateway' through which data from one computer A can be transfered to another computer B. Its somewhat the  same as normal gate that we use in daily life to enter and exit.
A NIC technically is network adapter hardware in the form factor of an add-in card such as a PCI or PCMCIA card. Its actually a stick( looking somewhat like ram) and is mostly having an RJ45 connector at their one end.( u can see it at the back of ur laptop or PC..its where ur Ethernet wire is attached). Here is an image of what NIC looks like:

NIC is OSI layer 2 device (DATA LINK LAYER U can see this for more osi blog) . its consist of factory fitted 48bit address similar to that of ip address, here its called the MAC address or the Media Access Control address which is in .human-friendly form, is represented in  six groups of two hexadecimal digits, separated by hyphens (-)  or  colons (:), in transmission order.
For example ,consider the following

• 01-23-45-67-89-ab

•  01:23:45:67:89:ab

•  0001.4202.8360

the last one is not used much now days.

Basics Of Networking

Hey guys, this is the first time i m blogging and would like to start by talking about networking. What is  networking ,what u require for networking and few interesting  facts about  it...
So lets begin.

What is networking ??

In the world of computers, networking is the practice of linking two or more computing devices together for the purpose of sharing data. Networks are built with a mix of computer hardware and computer software.In easy words , what we are trying to do is that we want computer A to send a file to computer B ,so that i can be view over there.But we can use storage devices for this purpose.But what if  A is in C.A and B in Delhi. Its for this we need a system through which we can send the data while  maintaining its integrity ,authenticity and prevent manipulation  ..
Hardware  requirements are as follow :-

• computer /laptops ( at least two of them)
• NIC ( network interface card)
•  Connecting wires( a large variety is available)
• IOS (Internetwork Operating System)
• Topology used to connect the systems
• ID numbers,that identify two systems( usually called ipv4 ,ipv6)

Another important question 

Why do we require networking?? 

The answer is very interesting.

1. sharing of info/data  that is required while working on the a project
2. individual software cost is higher than that of  network softwares
3. reducing the number of hardware ( using  a single printer /fax for, say, 100 computers)
4. this is one of the most basic reason why students like us think of networking..( actually even i started it because of it)..Its Gaming ...

In the next blog i will tell u  about NIC and Connecting wires, i will also be telling about  the OSI Model and few other things...


Keep looking ..