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.It is a good idea to check the hardware compatibility lists provided with each release of Linux to make sure that the network cards you are considering purchasing have been tested and found to work properly with Linux.Many network interface cards provide more than one connector on the back plane of the card.It is not unusual to have both a 10Base2 BNC and 10Base5 AUI (thick Ethernet, used for much larger networks) connector on a single card, with either available for use.The same applies to RJ-45 and 10Base5 AUI connectors.A few cards provide 10Base2 BNC and 10Base-T RJ-45 connectors in addition to the 10Base5 AUI connector.These provide the ultimate in flexibility for the user and allow you to change your network from one format to the other as your network grows or shrinks.You can find network interface cards on the market from many different manufacturers, including brand name vendors such as Novell, Artisoft, Intel, SMC, and Hewlett-Packard; original equipment manufacturers (OEM); and some lesser-known brands, which are usually cheaper.Most network interface cards are clearly labeled with the type of connector (RJ-45 or BNC) and the network systems it supports.Some network interface cards require you to manually select the card's parameters, such as interrupt (IRQ) and interface address, by changing jumpers on the card.This can be daunting for novices, as well as difficult if you are not sure whether a setting will conflict with another card in your system.Watch the boot messages from Linux to see what the potential conflicts might be, use a DOS-based utility, or simply experiment! It doesn't hurt Linux to change settings, although you may end up with a frozen machine that requires rebooting and cleaning.More recently, auto-configuring cards have been appearing (such as the Intel EtherExpress series) which use DOS- or Windows-based software to set the parameters.You can use these features on a Linux system by booting into DOS (from a DOS boot disk or a DOS partition) to set the parameters, and then moving back to Linux and use the set parameters.Linux will recognize the card at those settings, as the hardware responds to its requests.SummaryThis chapter has covered a lot of ground, ranging from TCP/IP to network cabling.However, now that the basics are out of the way, the next few chapters can focus on networking with Linux and connecting to the Internet.Contactreference@developer.com with questions or comments.Copyright 1998EarthWeb Inc., All rights reserved.PLEASE READ THE.Copyright 1998 Macmillan Computer Publishing.All rights reserved
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