Network Interface Card

A Network Interface Card or NIC is the physical circuit board inside a PC or other similar device that provides the electrical connection between that device and the network. Some computers have the NIC built right into the motherboard but many PCs have the NIC installed into a specific connector, usually a PCI slot. Once the NIC is installed physically, the device drivers for the NIC have to be installed as well so that it will interact with the computer and be able to facilitate network communication. The NIC will have a RJ 45 port so that you can plug in a CAT 5 cable, providing the physical link between the computer and the rest of the LAN. See the terms CAT 5, Device Drivers, LAN, Motherboard, Network Interface and PCI in this glossary for more information.