NICs: Look for Mr Dependable

Technology Options

n Adapter

slot



Industry Standard Architecture (ISA): The ISA bus, originally used in the IBM
PC, was designed to transfer 8 Mbps. This was done using eight-bit paths, which

worked well in the 8086 and 8088 CPUs, which could only handle eight bits at

once. Once the 80286 was released, there was a need for 16-bit cards.

Peripheral Component Interface (PCI): The PCI bus runs up to

33 MHz and can transfer 32 bits at a time. It was originally developed to help

speed up graphics applications on more recent computers. Most PCI cards are

software configurable and usually support the plug and play standard for

automatic configuration. PCI slots are not backward compatible with any other

type.

PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International

Association): The PCMCIA v1.0 standard defines specifications for memory cards.

Later, when other types of devices were required, v2.0 of the standard was

established. This allowed the use of other devices such as modems, disk drives

and network cards.

n Cable

connectors



BNC Connector: The BNC connector is a small, round cylinder with two small

prongs on the outside that allows a connector to be attached to it. A small hole

for a copper wire to go into is inside the connector. The T connector is used to

connect the network adapter to the two pieces of coaxial cable.

RJ-45 Connector: The RJ-45 connector looks much like a normal

telephone cable connector, but larger. It uses twisted-pair cabling with four

pairs of wires. A normal telephone jack uses a RJ-11 connector, which is a

twisted pair with two pairs of wires.

n Speed

of Network: The speed of the network depends on the Ethernet standard. The

few common Ethernet standards are:

Ethernet: Ethernet is the first and least expensive

high-speed LAN technology. The Ethernet adapters transmit and receive data at

speeds of 10 Mbps through up to 300 feet of telephone wire to a hub or a

switching device.

Fast Ethernet: Second in the series of Ethernet, fast

Ethernet adapters run a network at speeds of 100 Mbps as compared to 10 Mbps of

Ethernet. This LAN technology is more expensive than Ethernet.

Gigabit Ethernet: There are two gigabit Ethernet

standards that describe Ethernet systems operating at a speed of 1000 Mbps. The

802.3z standard describes the specifications for the 1000 BASE-X gigabit

Ethernet system for networks based on fiber optic and the 802.3ab standard,

which describes the specifications for the 1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet system

for twisted pair networks. Though both Intel and 3Com are active in the gigabit

Ethernet NIC segment, the market has not taken off as expected.

Buying Tips

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.

MARKET INFO

The NIC market was the worst hit amongst all the networking equipment

segments in 2001-02. The market size was pegged at Rs 62.9 crore, a 24 percent

downward slide from the previous fiscal. According to IDC, the market is

expected to shrink further and touch barely Rs 40 crore in 2002-03.

It is not difficult to peg the reasons behind this southward

movement of NIC sales. With almost all the manufacturers and even assemblers now

integrating the NICs with the motherboards, the decline was inevitable. Add to

this, the steep fall in PC sales, which too had a direct bearing on the NIC

market. According to most vendors, traditional NIC sales are happening only in

India and that too primarily through the OEM route.

D-Link, with sales worth Rs 28 crore, continues to rule the

roost in this shrinking market with a 44.5 percent share. It even managed to

absorb some of the impact of the negative market growth by virtue of its

alliance with Taiwan-based motherboard manufacturer, Gigabyte Technologies, that

allowed it to manufacture motherboards integrated with NICs.

Dax, which had already established a strong foothold in South

India, further consolidated its position this year. It mopped up revenue worth

Rs 11.60 crore by virtue of selling over 135,000 units of NICs. This enabled Dax

to occupy the No. 2 slot.

Intel and 3Com were the two other major players in the NIC

sector. The competition between them was restricted more to feature-rich NICs,

with special thrust on security. The cards from both Intel and 3Com stable come

with in-built firewall, thereby bringing security to the desktop level.

EXPERTS PANEL Amar Babu, general manager (channels), Intel India Anand Mehta, marketing manager, D-Link India Sujit Singh, country manager, Dax Networks