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Networking Fundamentals · Foundational

Network Interface Card (NIC)

The hardware that connects a device to a network, providing a physical connection and a MAC address.

Definition

NICs can be integrated on the motherboard or added as expansion cards or USB adapters and may be wired or wireless. Server NICs support features such as teaming, offloads, SR-IOV and multiple ports at 10-400 Gbps. NICs operate at Layers 1 and 2.

Example

ipconfig /all shows the NIC model and physical (MAC) address.

Exam tip

NICs are Layer 2 devices because they have MAC addresses.

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