An NIC takes data from the computer and converts it into data frames that are broadcast onto the network wire. These cards work correspond to the physical layer of the OSI model. When considering a replacement, upgrade, or building of a LAN, adequate care should to be taken in the choice of NICs.

There are certain things you will want to pay special attention to when purchasing an NIC. Among other things, the bus-mastering drivers, OS compatibility issues, easy-installation, and pricing are important. Price plays a big role, especially in larger, enterprise level rollouts.

n Adapter Slot: Printers, modems and sound cards as well as many workstations are all examples of components that still tend to use an ISA bus. However, servers will benefit from a faster bus. PCI bus would be more helpful in case the user runs heavy graphics and multimedia applications. PCI 32-bit bus master architecture provides high throughout. The PCMCIA bus is mainly meant for notebooks.

n Speed of Network: The network can work at various speeds depending on whether it is on Ethernet, fast Ethernet or gigabit Ethernet.

n Cable Connector: The RJ-45 connector is today more popular than the BNC connector. Because of wider availability, it is better to go for the RJ-45.

n Warranty: It is imperative to look for lifetime warranty on network cards from almost all vendors. The rapid obsolescence of technology makes the average life cycle of a network card not beyond five years. Therefore, lifetime warranty becomes essential.

n Warranty support: The vendor should provide service support even beyond the warranty period. It should also offer free drivers downloadable from its website.

n Service Support Network: The vendor should have a pan-Indian support network and each node should have skilled support manpower.

n Full/half Duplex Support: In full-duplex support, data is transmitted and received at the same time while in half-duplex support only one action takes place while the other action is then paused. There is option of auto negotiation for automatic speed selection (10 Mbps or 100 Mbps) in full-duplex support.

n Ease of Installation: Plug-and-play installation is essential. Besides, there should be a single driver for both server and workstation.

n Integrated Card: Most computers are now having the NICs integrated onto the motherboards. But if the user is comfortable in tinkering with the network card in case of a loose connection, it is better for him to stick to the traditional standalone card.

n Additional Features: Ideally, the user should look for boot ROM socket for optional remote booting as well as wake-on-LAN function.