NIC Drivers

A Network Interface Card (NIC) is a device that allows communication between computers in a local area network (LAN) typically via the Ethernet. The NIC driver is a software solution that translates the language of the NIC to the operating system or hub so that the commands of the NIC can be performed adequately. Communication via the NIC card occurs on a physical level and a data protocol level, such as the Ethernet. Each computer within the network must possess a NIC card with a unique Multiple Access Control (MAC) address to facilitate communication with the entire LAN network. This address typically resides on a ROM chip on the NIC device. The unique MAC address allows the network to know which PC within the system is requesting to send or receive data.

The operating systems within the LAN are either connected physically via Ethernet Cable or wirelessly via radio waves. The physical wire or the radio waves transmit to a central hub or switch passing data between the computers. Most computers have NIC Ethernet Cards built into the motherboard; however, NIC devices are also expansion cards that plug into a computer bus.

Each NIC device manufacturer develops a card to perform the basic function of transmitting data packets between different operating systems on a Local Area Network. However, each manufacturer’s NIC card differs depending upon the manufacturer’s proprietary information which differentiates the product from their competitors. This is why a NIC driver is necessary because each manufacturer has not established the same set of protocol to communicate to the operating system or the hub in a language that it will understand.

COMMON PROBLEMS WITH NIC DRIVERS

Operation problems with the NIC device may be a result of issues with the NIC driver:

1. Conflicts between two or more drivers caused by missing or busy resources
2. Missing drivers
3. Corrupted driver files
4. Poorly designed drivers that reduce a system’s stability and performance
5. Incompatibility with the operating system or hardware device
6. Problems in the Windows Registry

TROUBLESHOOTING

Before making the assumption that the driver is the problem, check the hardware itself, the connections, whether physical or wireless, the network configurations and the firewall.

Verify the Ethernet card is configured correctly. On a UNIX-based platform, the user can employ the ‘ping’ command to ‘ping’ the interface itself and then ‘ping’ another machine on the network.

If the device works but performance is poor one may try tuning to optimize the database system.

If you receive a “device timeout” message, double check to determine if it is in conflict with another driver or device.

If you receiver a “watchdog timeout” message, check to determine if there is a problem with the network cable. Alternatively, check the connection between the NIC card and the motherboard. This may require reading the manual for the specific device.

If you receive a “ping: sendto: Permission denied”, it is typically a problem with the firewall configuration.

If no problems exist with the physical hardware, firewall, or connections, the NIC driver may need to be reinstalled with the existing software, upgraded with new software, or rolled back to the previous version of software. One can typically utilize the software that is made available by the manufacturer or one can make use of FreeBSD, which is a UNIX -based operating system that makes downloading, building, and installing third party vendor software easy. Many vendors will provide schematics for their drivers, but others do not to maintain their trade secrets. Even though FreeBSD exists, most individuals will use the existing NIC drivers available for the Microsoft Windows platform.