Network adapter for what you need

The first of these is TP-Link TL-WN722N. It supports wireless data transmission at a frequency of 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi standard at a maximum speed of 150 MB/s and has a USB 2.0 connection interface.

Contents

Adapter Types
Working with the device
What is a network adapter?
What does a network adapter look like?
Why do I need a network adapter?
Wireless adapters
Synopsis at
Compact (whistle)
TP-Link AC600 Wireless Wi-FI Adapter Overview
Types of Network Adapters
Classification based on network connections
Classification based on bus interfaces
Learn the operating system that your NIC supports
Other factors not to ignore when deciding to buy a network adapter

Adapter Types

In addition to USB-adapters, there are PCI, PCI-Express and PCMCI-adapters. They represent full-fledged network cards capable of transferring data at speeds in excess of 600 Mbit/sec. These devices are installed inside the computer and are connected via the corresponding slot on the motherboard.

The advantage of USB adapters is their portability – they can easily be carried and used in other computers. However, the speed of data transfer and the level of signal reception in such devices can be lower than in expensive PCI-E cards. This is due to the peculiarities and limitations of the USB interface. It is worth noting that some USB adapters support connection speeds of 150 and 300 Mbit/sec. This is usually sufficient for home wireless networking and comfortable surfing the Internet.

Working with the device

The adapter is installed in the appropriate slot on the computer chassis according to the instructions that come with the device. Once the adapter is installed in the slot, it is adjusted, i.e. the necessary driver is installed for the system to support wireless data transfer through the adapter. The driver can be installed either from the disc, which is usually delivered together with the device, or by downloading the driver installation file from the manufacturer's official web site. Once the driver has been installed, you start configuring the network settings, i.e. selecting the available Internet access point. The parameters can be applied directly to the system used on the computer.

When choosing an adapter, you should pay attention not only to its speed characteristics, but also to the manufacturer. The most popular and high-quality adapters are produced by such companies as D-Link, Asus, TP-Link, Zyxel, LinkSys. The most expensive models of these manufacturers have the ability to not only receive, but also distribute Internet signals. Thus, some adapters can act as a router, so you can connect your phone or any other device to a wireless Wi-Fi network.

When choosing, also pay attention to the network standard that the device uses for data transfer. For example, the fastest standard is 802.11n, which supports data rates of up to 600 Mbps under ideal conditions.

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How to enable a wi-fi adapter
How to identify a network adapter
How to set up a wi-fi adapter
How to choose a modem for your notebook
How to choose a wifi for your home
How to set up a WiFi Adapter
What is a Network Adapter and what does it do?
Why do you need a network adapter?
How does your network adapter work?
How to choose a router
How to connect to the internet with an adapter
How to set up Wi-Fi Internet access
How to choose a wi-fi router
How does Wi-Fi work
How to choose the best network card
How does a wi-fi modem work
Why do you need a router?
What does the abbreviation wi-fi mean?
SMA connector: description, purpose, classification
How to make your computer give out wi-fi

What is a network adapter?

It is extremely rare nowadays that a PC is used alone without access to the Internet, not interacting with other home or office devices. To turn your computer into a complete device, you need an additional element: a network adapter (alternative name: NIC, network interface). Almost all modern devices have an Ethernet card integrated on the motherboard. The purchase of auxiliary adapters is made to improve the speed of the connection or to connect to new types of networks.

What does a network adapter look like?

Modern models of such a device, depending on the variety of appearance differs greatly. Internal network card more like one of the computer boards, and external adapters look like a standard flash drive or USB adapter. To improve the quality of communication, many components are equipped with an external small antenna, which is extremely important for wireless connection.

The controller is actually a mini-processor for data processing.
Port for connecting to Ethernet cables.
Bus interface – available in internal type network adapters to connect to the corresponding slot.
External type cards have a USB plug or connectors of another type (PCMCIA, LPT were common previously).
Indicators – LEDs to determine the performance of the device.
Connector for wired Internet connection.
Antenna (to amplify the signal in a wireless connection).

Why do I need a network adapter?

This element of the system is an intermediary between a PC or server and an external network. The main function of a network adapter is to solve data exchange tasks using the available communication lines. Modern NICs are capable of performing the following functions:

Carry out the transmission of an information signal.
Convert logical signals into network signals and vice versa.
To encode the signals when transmitting and receiving.
Recognize received data packets.
Perform direct parallel-to-series conversion and reverse process.
Perform data buffering.
Provide network access.
Perform checksum counting of packet data for error correction.

Wireless adapters

Wireless networks are developing rapidly, it seems only recently there was Wi-Fi 6, as already on the free sale there are access points that support the newer high-speed standard Wi-Fi 6E, promising a gigabit speed over the air. Moreover, the newer Intel 12th generation chipsets have native support for this standard, but you can't always see the connectors for the antennas on your motherboards: it all depends on the engineering of its manufacturer.

So if you get a motherboard without built-in wireless support, and your computer just needs to be connected to Wi-Fi, you can separately buy a wireless board for your PC. There is enough space in the case, the main thing is to find a free PCI-E slot. But if everything is busy – it's not a problem, there are models for M.2. Such modules do not have their own antennas, they have connectors for connection, the same as in laptops. The main mistake is that very often the antennas are mounted by users inside the computer case, which is made of metal and can shield the Wi-Fi signal very well.

If a wireless network adapter for a computer is a bit exotic, then a laptop without Wi-Fi is comparable to a smartphone without a SIM card slot. Why then an additional wireless adapter might be useful at first glance may not be clear.

Often in many laptops to reduce its thickness minimized the number of connectors not only for peripherals, which are visible from the outside, but also internal slots, so the Wi-Fi module in most cases soldered to the main board of the laptop. And a situation may arise that the built-in wireless module, for example, supports only 2.4 GHz, while a new access point with 5 GHz was purchased.

Of course, the newer router has backward compatibility and will not leave your laptop without connection, but after comparing connection speeds, you will immediately want to use faster Internet not only in your smartphone, but also in your laptop. Even if the Wi-Fi module is made in the form of a separate board, the chances to upgrade it tend to zero: the lists of supported adapters are artificially limited to single models, and the first found wireless module is not sure that it will fit in size, not to mention the fact that the laptop will correctly identify it. Therefore, the easiest way to solve this problem is to buy a Wi-Fi adapter that supports the new speed standard.

Synopsis at

The use of network cards and wireless adapters may be necessary in some cases. For personal computers, all possible variants of these devices are suitable, but it is still better to pay attention to discrete boards. As for laptops – there are not so many options for them as for PCs, often they are USB devices the size of an ordinary flash drive.

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Compact (whistle)

Both compact adapters have similar characteristics. TP-Link TL-WN725N и Asus USB-N10 Nano support wireless data transfer at 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi standard at a maximum speed of 150 Mbps and have a USB 2.0 connection interface.

The next two models are placed on the table and have antennas. The models connect to a computer via a cable.

— TP-Link TL-WN822N. Supports 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n WiFi networking at a maximum speed of 300 Mbps and have a USB 2.0 interface;

— TP-Link Archer T9UH supports wireless data transfer over a frequency of 2.4/5 GHz WiFi standard IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac at a maximum speed of 1300 Mbps and have a USB 3.0 connection interface.

Types of Network Adapters

Network adapters can be classified into different types based on various functions such as host interface, baud rate, and applications. The following part gives details.

Classification based on network connections

Depending on how the network adapter accesses the network, there is a wired network adapter and a wireless network adapter. As the name implies, a wired network adapter usually needs to connect the host to the network with a cable, such as an Ethernet cable and an optical cable. A wireless network adapter often comes with a small antenna that uses radio waves to communicate with an access point to connect to a wireless network.

Classification based on bus interfaces

ISA (Industry Standard Architecture: ISA bus was developed in 1981 and was the standard bus architecture for IBM-compatible devices. Because of the low card speed (9 Mbps), the ISA bus interface is no longer a recognized type and is difficult to find in today's stores.

The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect: PCI bus was developed in 1990 to replace the previous ISA standard. It has a fixed width of 32 bits (133 MB/s transfer) and 64 bits (266 MB/s transfer). This type of NIC was first used on servers and then gradually applied to PCs. Today, most PCs do not have expansion cards, but rather devices integrated into the motherboard. As a result the PCI NIC was replaced by other bus interfaces such as PCI-X or USB.

The PCI-X (Peripheral Component Interconnect eXtended) network adapter: PCI-X is an advanced PCI bus technology. It operates at 64-bit speed and is capable of speeds up to 1064MB/s. In many cases, PCI-X is backwards compatible with PCI network cards.

The PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) network adapter: Is the latest standard and is now popular on computer and server motherboards. The PCIe network card is available in five versions and each version supports five line types at different speeds. Learn more about PCIe Network Cards by reading: PCIe Card Guide: everything you need to know about PCI Express cards.

Learn the operating system that your NIC supports

PCs, network servers, and other hosts from different vendors support different operating systems (OS). For example, network servers may run Windows Server 2008 R2, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, etc. Therefore, it is important to make sure that your new network adapter supports the OS that your device uses before you purchase it. Otherwise, the network card will not work.

Make sure that the features of the NIC can satisfy your applications. If you just want it to offer Internet access, all NIC cards can do that. But if advanced features such as FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) implementation, iSCSI, or PCI-SIG need to be supported, you should check the user manual or contact the vendor directly to verify that the NIC supports the desired feature.

Other factors not to ignore when deciding to buy a network adapter

Budget is always a significant factor when you are considering how to choose a NIC. The price of the NIC card varies greatly as it is designed by different models, speeds, features and manufacturers. Also, make sure that you buy from vendors with a good reputation, because a vendor with a good reputation will usually provide a better service. Some suppliers may not offer a comprehensive service to customers. Choosing a vendor that offers 24/7 customer service and technical support, covering pre-sales and after-sales support to solve all your problems, which can be a plus.

How to choose a network card? Based on the above, it is advisable to consider the bus type, transmission speed, port numbers, connector type, operating system, features, brand and price factors of the NIC based on the actual network environment before buying.