In a computer network, each machine must have a network card installed to communicate with the network router. The router directs traffic on the local network and also handles requests made to the Internet, and subsequent responses. The network card in each machine must support the same protocols as the network router so that all devices are speaking the same language. A network adapter can substitute for an internal network card when a card is not present, or when the internal card does not support the required standard.

There are two basic types of networks: wired and wireless. Network adapters are made for both types of networks, with more variety among the wireless flavor as there are different types of wireless networks.

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A printed circuit board that plugs into the bus of both user machines (clients) and servers in a local area network (LAN). Also commonly called a "network interface card" (NIC) or "LAN card," the network adapter transmits data onto the network and receives data from the network. It works at the data link protocol level

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