Network & Wireless Cards
The world is going wireless faster than one could ever imagine. This is not an exaggeration, since nowadays Internet access points might be found everywhere: inside buildings and outside. Hence, the need to connect various devices to the wireless network becomes acute. For sure, a laptop or a PDA (smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks are also included) would not be able to establish connection without a dedicated adapter/card. This adapter provides for the creation of strong ties between the device and the network, basically due to network & wireless cards drivers.
In simple phrase, wireless network cards enable mobile devices, as well as desktop PCs, to connect with Local Area Network (LAN) without any cables. They facilitate the communication between the device and the wireless network. In other words, the cards are physically installed into a PC (laptop, etc.) that, in its turn, controls the card by sending particular information which later on must be sent to the Internet.
Quite the contrary, these cards communicate with the network without physical appearance via a radio link. In a home network access points are usually represented by routers connected with an Internet Service Provider through a cable. In municipal networks adapters establish communication directly with LAN without any cables.
It should be noted that wireless adapters might stand for separate units or built-in controllers. In both cases one needs to download drivers for network & wireless cards with the aim to enhance the efficiency of speed connection.
To continue, wireless network adapters come in two variations, depending on the type of connection to the computing device: PCI (Express) cards and USB cards. PCI network cards are connected to the corresponding PCI bus on the motherboard; they also come in ‘mini-size’ to fit in laptops and tablets.
USB wireless network adapters resemble traditional flash-drives and are connected to the free external USB interface. Oftentimes they are based on 802.11g or 802.11b standard, providing access to the specified network.
Please, note: computing devices with built-in controllers of any type frequently have a special switch that enables the communication. Turning it on will ensure connection to the access point. If it doesn’t help, try to update drivers for network & wireless cards.
» Network & Wireless Cards: Full list of devices
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