• Network interface cards allow you to access networks, including the Internet.Computer Network Interface Card image by Northwest Photo from Fotolia.com
  
  The network interface card is a type of expansion card, which means that it plugs into an expansion slot on the computer's motherboard. This card allows the computer to connect to a LAN (local area network) connection. The main difference between network cards is how fast they access and with what medium they connect to networks.
  
  

10/100 Ethernet

• This is the most common type of network interface card, and it is most often seen in homes and small businesses. These cards are generally compatible with category 5 or 6 network cables. These cards plug into one of the following expansion slots: PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), PCIe (PCI Express) or ISA (Industry Standard Architecture). 10/100 Ethernet cards can transmit information either at 10 MB (megabytes) or 100 MB per second. This type of network card is compatible with standard desktop computers and regular servers.
  
  

Wireless

• A wireless network interface controller network card allows you to connect to a computer network via radio signals. Unlike traditional interface cards, it is not wired to the computer. Wireless network interface controller network cards are essential for wireless connectivity, and they are generally found in laptops. These cards can transfer information at generally 54 MB per second, but you can boost their speeds if you use it with another type of network interface card. These types of network cards provide you with more freedom because you do not need to plug into an Ethernet cable port to access a network source. Instead, you can search for wireless networks in your area.
  
  

Gigabit Ethernet

• These types of network interface cards are very similar to standard 10/100 Ethernet cards, except that they can transfer information at up to 1 GB per second. These generally use the PCIe slot over the other types of expansion slots, and these cards usually use one of the following categories of network cables: 5, 5e, 6 or 7. In some instances, they may even use fiber optic cables, especially if being used by a client server.
  
  

Fiber Optic

• Fiber optic network interface cards can transfer information between 10 and 100 GB per second, and they are often used in network infrastructures. They require fiber optic cables to run correctly, and usually these are not hard-wired to the system. Instead, they are external devices that plug into servers or desktop workstations. Fiber optic network interface cards are for large or IT (information technology) businesses, and they tend to be more expensive than standard network interface cards.