What hardware must be installed on a microcomputer to connect to a local area network?

The hardware that a microcomputer must install to connect to a local area network is a "network card". A network card, also known as a network adapter, is an interface that connects a computer and a transmission medium; a network card is mainly used to convert computer data into signals that can be transmitted through the transmission medium.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 10 system, Dell G3 computer.

The hardware that a microcomputer must install to connect to a local area network is a "network card".

A network card is a piece of computer hardware designed to allow computers to communicate on a computer network. Since it has a MAC address, it falls between Layer 1 and Layer 2 of the OSI model. It allows users to connect to each other via cable or wirelessly.

Each network card has a unique 48-bit serial number called a MAC address, which is written in a ROM on the card. Every computer on the network must have a unique MAC address.

No two network cards produced have the same address. This is because the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is responsible for assigning unique MAC addresses to network interface controller (network card) vendors.

Types of network cards

To access the Internet, a network device needs to be connected through a network card. Due to different ways of accessing the Internet, the types of network cards used will also be different. The types of network cards are as follows:

1) Wired network card

A wired network card is a network card that connects to the network through a "line". The "line" mentioned here refers to the network cable. The common forms of wired network cards are as shown in the figure.

2) Wireless network card

Contrary to the wired network card, the wireless network card does not need to be connected through a network cable, but is connected through a wireless signal. A wireless network card usually refers specifically to a wireless network card for a Wi-Fi network. The common forms of wireless network cards are as shown in the figure.

3) Bluetooth adapter

The Bluetooth adapter is also a wireless network card. The difference between a Bluetooth adapter and a wireless network card is the data communication method. Common styles of Bluetooth adapters are shown in the figure.

Main functions

1. Data encapsulation and decapsulation

When sending, add the header and tail to the data passed from the previous layer. Becomes an Ethernet frame. When receiving, the header and tail of the Ethernet frame are stripped off, and then sent to the upper layer

2. Link management

Mainly through CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection , Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) protocol to implement

3. Data encoding and decoding

is Manchester encoding and decoding. Among them, Manchester code, also known as digital bidirectional code, phase code or phase encoding (PE), is one of the commonly used binary code line encoding methods. It is used by the physical layer to encode the clock and data of a synchronous bit stream. In communications technology, a code used to represent the combination of data and timing signals in the bit stream to be sent. Commonly used in Ethernet communications, train bus control, industrial buses and other fields.

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