Network interface controller

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![Intel 82574L Gigabit Ethernet NIC, a PCI Express ×1 card, which provides two hardware receive queues[5]](/uploads/202501/29/An_Intel_82574L_Gigabit_Ethernet_NIC,_PCI_Express_x1_card1446.jpg)
A network interface controller (NIC, also known as a network interface card, network adapter, LAN adapter or physical network interface, and by similar terms) is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network.
Early network interface controllers were commonly implemented on expansion cards that plugged into a computer bus. The low cost and ubiquity of the Ethernet standard means that most newer computers have a network interface built into the motherboard.