Network interface card (NIC)

Network interface card (NIC)-

Provides physical interface between computer and network medium
It Performs two crucial tasks

      -Establishes and manages computer’s network connection

     -Translates data into signals for outgoing messages and translates signals for incoming messages




Most computers use parallel data lines, called bus, to send data between CPU and adapter cards
Most networking media transmits data in single line, called serial transmission
NIC translates parallel into serial for outgoing messages and serial into parallel for incoming messages