How does a Network Interface Card (NIC) Facilitate Connectivity in a Wired Network?
Answer: A network interface card (NIC) facilitates connectivity in a wired network by providing an interface between the physical layer which provides the physical connection with the cables and the data link layer which provides reliable communication channel.
The NIC converts the digital data into electrical data so that it can be transferred using physical cables. NIC also manages the MAC addressing, minimizes congestion and collision and provides a buffer for synchronization between the data transfer rate of network to the data processing rate of the system.
NIC (Network Interface Card) facilitates connectivity in a wired network in different ways by acting as the interface between the physical layer and data link layer. NIC provides the facilities like data conversion, MAC addressing, minimizing collision and congestion and provides synchronization between network and system. NIC converts the digital data of computer to the electrical data so as it can be transferred using physical hardware. Every NIC has a unique MAC address which helps in identifying the desired system. NIC also handles the error correction and detection and can request to resend the data if data is corrupted. NIC also facilitates the data transfer. NIC has a buffer inside it to store temporary data. Hence, NIC is an essential part of the connectivity in a wired system.