Linux Network Cards and Network Controllers
Last Updated: April 1, 2025
Description
Linux network cards and network controllers are hardware components that facilitate the connection of a computer system to a network. They enable the transmission and reception of data over a network, allowing devices to communicate with each other. These components are essential for establishing network connectivity in systems running the Linux operating system.
Working Principle
Network cards and controllers operate by interfacing with the computer's motherboard through various bus interfaces such as PCI or PCMCIA. They manage the data exchange between the computer and the network by converting data into signals that can be transmitted over the network medium. These devices support different network protocols, including Ethernet, which is widely used for local area networks (LANs). Ethernet cards, for example, can operate at different speeds, such as 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps, and are capable of full-duplex communication, allowing simultaneous data transmission and reception .
Applications
Linux network cards and controllers are used in a variety of applications. For instance, they are integral in setting up wired and wireless LANs in corporate environments, enabling desktop and notebook computers to connect to the network. They are also used in mobile terminals, PDAs, and barcode scanners that require wireless connectivity to enhance business operations .
Advantages over other Network Cards and Network Controllers
Linux network cards and controllers offer compatibility with a wide range of network protocols and operating systems, including Linux, which is a popular choice for servers and technical applications. This compatibility ensures flexibility and ease of integration into existing network infrastructures. Additionally, the support for full-duplex Ethernet allows for efficient data transmission without the risk of collisions, which is an improvement over traditional Ethernet methods .
Limitations
One limitation of Linux network cards and controllers is the potential for compatibility issues with certain hardware configurations or network protocols not supported by Linux. Additionally, while they offer flexibility, the performance of these devices can be constrained by the speed of the network interface and the bus interface used for connection to the computer .
Considerations
When selecting Linux network cards and controllers, it is important to consider factors such as initial costs, operating expenses, and maintenance requirements. The choice of network protocol and data rate can impact the overall cost and performance of the network. Durability and reliability are also crucial, as these components are critical for maintaining network connectivity. Replacement and maintenance costs should be evaluated to ensure long-term cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency .
from Advantech
2 Ports 40GbE QSFP+ Bypass Network Mezzanine Card for enterprise applications. 1 x Intel ® XL710-BM2. 2 x QSFP slots (built-in). 1 x PCIe 3.0 x8, Gen3. RoHS compliant [See More]
- Operating System: Linux
- Compliance: CE/FCC
- Processor Type: 2 Ports 40GbE QSFP+ Bypass Network Mezzanine Card for enterprise applications.
from Advantech
4 Ports 10GbE RJ-45 Network Mezzanine Card. Ideal for enterprise network infrastructure and high-performance computing. 2 x Intel ® ELX550 -AT2. 4 ports RJ-45 connector. 2 x PCIe 3.0 x4. RoHS compliant [See More]
- Operating System: Linux
- Processor Type: 4 Ports 10GbE RJ-45 Network Mezzanine Card. Ideal for enterprise network infrastructure and high-performance computing.
- Port Type: RJ-45
- Compliance: CE/FCC
from Advantech
4 Ports 1GbE Fiber Bypass Network Management Card. Ideal for network segmentation applications and inline security monitoring. 1x Intel ® I350_AM4. 4 x LC(SX or LX) fiber connectors with fiber bypass module. 1 x PCIe 2.0 x4, Gen2. Fiber bypass functionality includes advanced LAN bypass mode,... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux
- Compliance: CE/FCC
- Processor Type: 4 Ports 1GbE Fiber Bypass Network Management Card. Ideal for network segmentation applications and inline security monitoring.
from Advantech
4 Ports 1GbE SFP Module. Ideal for network segmentation applications and fiber-based networking. 1 x Intel ® i350_AM4. 4 x SFP slots. 1 x PCIe x4, Gen2. RoHS compliant [See More]
- Operating System: Linux
- Compliance: CE/FCC
- Processor Type: 4 Ports 1GbE SFP Module. Ideal for network segmentation applications and fiber-based networking.
from Advantech
8 Ports 1GbE Fiber Module. Ideal for multi-segment network deployments and fiber-based networking. 2 x Intel ® i350_AM4. 8 x SFP slots. 2 x PCIe x4, Gen2. RoHS compliant [See More]
- Operating System: Linux
- Compliance: CE/FCC
- Processor Type: 8 Ports 1GbE Fiber Module. Ideal for multi-segment network deployments and fiber-based networking.
from Versitron, Inc.
Bring fiber to your desktop and reap its rewards! Enjoy the absolute security of fiber along with its support of longer networking distances and immunity to EMI/RFI. VERSITRON'S Fast Ethernet Network Interface Card is easy to install and offers flexible options. 3 types of connectors are available... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 2000; Netware; Linux; Windows XP/2000/ME/Vista/7/8
- Data Rate: 200000
- Protocol / Network: Fast Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCI
from Computer Express L.L.C.
acirc; € ¢ Dual Intel 82541PI 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Controller â € ¢ Compliant with PCI Bus Specification Rev. 2.2 â € ¢ 2 x 2-pin Header for Indicator LAN Active and Link Status â € ¢ Pin Header for Dual LAN Ports â €... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 2000; Linux
- Host Bus: PC/104
- Protocol / Network: Gigabit Ethernet
- Operating Temperature: -25 to 70
from Eaton | Power Quality
ConnectUPS Web/SNMP devices allow you to connect your Eaton UPS directly to the Ethernet network and the Internet. This unique solution allows you to conveniently monitor and manage your UPS with a standard Web browser, while simultaneously providing graceful shutdown for multiple computer systems... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 95/98; Windows NT; Windows 2000; Mac OS; Netware; Linux; SuSE
- Host Bus: Minislot
- Protocol / Network: 10Base-T Ethernet
- Number of Ports: 2
from ACCES I/O Products, Inc.
Features. Universal PCI, PCI-X, 3.3V and 5V compatible (Call for PCI-Express availability). Two or Four RS-232 Serial Communication ports. Throughput up to 921.6 Kbps. 32-Bit PCI-bus Interface. UART includes 16-Byte FIFO Buffer. Compatible w/ MS-DOS, Windows, & Linux. FCC and CE approved. The... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 95/98; MS-DOS; Windows NT; Windows 2000; Linux
- Data Rate: 920
- Protocol / Network: Serial
- Host Bus: PCI
from Digi International, Inc.
Built on leading Digi embedded device server technology, the Digi Connect N2S-170 card is an intelligent and highly integrated Ethernet network controller solution for Model 170 traffic signal controller equipment. It delivers reliable network connectivity for Model 170 equipment in Model 400 modem... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; SCO; Microsoft® Windows®,
- Data Rate: 10000 to 100000
- Protocol / Network: Fast Ethernet; 10/100Base-T
- Number of Ports: 1
from SIE Computing Solutions, Inc.
ControlTower 3.L Console Management System enables systems administrators to manage hundreds of serial consoles from anywhere, at anytime. ControlTower 3.L provides a reliable time and cost saving solution for monitoring and controlling multiple devices through an RJ-45/DB-25 interface from a... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; SCO
- Number of Ports: 128
- Protocol / Network: Fibre Channel
- Port Type: RJ-45; DB-25
from Broadcom Inc.
Models: OCe14102B-UX, OCe14102B-UM, OCe14401B-UX, OCe14104B-UX and OCe14104B-UM. The OCe14000B family of Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) provides high performance 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) and 40GbE connectivity delivering multiple benefits for the enterprise cloud, including: Increasing data center... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; CentOS, Debian, FreeBSD, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu, VMware vSphere, Windows
- Data Rate: 6.40E7
- Protocol / Network: 10Gb Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCI Express® 3.0
from Intelligraphics, Inc.
IGX-UACB1-9378a6-BT is an 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n dual band 2 ×2 wifi and Bluetooth combo USB stamp module designed for devices which require high throughput and lower-power consumption. It ’s a highly integrated module that supports 2-stream 802.11ac/a/b/g/n MIMO technology with data rate... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux
- Data Rate: 867000
- Technology: Wireless
- Host Bus: USB
from American Portwell Technology Inc.
High performance IPSec and SSL network accelerator PCI card with Cavium CN505 [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 95/98; Windows NT; Windows 2000; Linux; BSD, VxWorks
- Data Rate: 200000
- Protocol / Network: IPSec, IKE, SSL, TLS,WTLS
- Host Bus: PCI
from Matrox Imaging
Matrox Solios GigE is an industrial Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) network interface card (NIC) optimized for the use of GigE Vision ™ cameras. This x4 PCIe ™ short card features four Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports and a full range of auxiliary on-board I/O. An optional customizable FPGA-based... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 2000; Linux; Windows® XP
- Host Bus: PCIe
- Protocol / Network: Gigabit Ethernet
- Number of Ports: 4
from Versitron, Inc.
Bring fiber to your desktop with the N70150 1000Base-X PCI Adapter! This product supports GBIC module technology for multimode or singlemode cable and guarantees you all the benefits of optical networks including more available bandwidth, longer networking distances, and immunity to EMI/RFI. Plug... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 2000; Netware; Linux; Windows XP/2000/ME/Vista/7/8
- Data Rate: 2.00E6
- Protocol / Network: Gigabit Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCI
from Computer Express L.L.C.
acirc; € ¢ Dual Realtek RTL8110SC 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Controller â € ¢ Compliant with PCI Bus Specification Rev. 2.2 â € ¢ 2 x 2-pin Header for Indicator LAN Active and Link Status â € ¢ Pin Header for Dual LAN Ports â... [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 2000; Linux
- Host Bus: PC/104
- Protocol / Network: Gigabit Ethernet
- Operating Temperature: -25 to 70
from Digi International, Inc.
Digi Neo multiport serial cards are designed for reliable serial port expansion in tight workspaces and specialized server/PC environments. They are ideal for point-of-sale, industrial automation, factory control, kiosks and data collection applications. [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 2000; Linux; Windows Vista
- Data Rate: 922
- Protocol / Network: Serial
- Host Bus: PCI
from Broadcom Inc.
Models: OCe14102B-UX, OCe14102B-UM, OCe14401B-UX, OCe14104B-UX and OCe14104B-UM. The OCe14000B family of Converged Network Adapters (CNAs) provides high performance 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) and 40GbE connectivity delivering multiple benefits for the enterprise cloud, including: Increasing data center... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; CentOS, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, VMware vSphere, Windows
- Data Rate: 6.40E7
- Protocol / Network: 10Gb Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCI Express® 3.0
from Intelligraphics, Inc.
IGX-UACC1-9377a1-BT is an 802.11ac/abgn 2.4GHz+5GHz USB module based on Qualcomm QCA9377-7 chipset. It supports 1T1R with RX diversity (Support Wi-Fi/BT co-existence) technology, which runs up to 433Mbps and 1~3Mbps EDR for BT, provides higher throughput performance, reliability and range. The... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; Windows 7 and 8.1 and 10
- Data Rate: 433000
- Technology: Wireless
- Host Bus: USB
from American Portwell Technology Inc.
High performance IPSec and SSL PCI-X network accelerator card with Cavium CN1010X [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; BSD, VxWorks
- Data Rate: 1.00E6
- Protocol / Network: IPSec, IKE, SSL, TLS,WTLS
- Host Bus: PCI-X
from Computer Express L.L.C.
â € ¢ LAN 10/100 Mbps, RTL8139C â € ¢ Full Duplex transfer mode â € ¢ Power saving and Wake-on-LAN [See More]
- Operating System: Windows 95/98; Windows NT; Windows 2000; Mac OS; Netware; Linux; SCO
- Protocol / Network: Fast Ethernet
from Broadcom Inc.
BladeEngine ® 3 (BE3) is a single-chip, dual-port 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) controller targeting enterprise applications requiring 10GbE wire-speed performance, multi-protocol offload capabilities and advanced I/O virtualization. The BE3 Controller has two 10GbE interfaces that support XAUI, CX-4,... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; VMware ESX, Linux KVM, Xen and Microsoft Hyper-V
- Data Rate: 1.00E7
- Protocol / Network: 10Gb Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCIe 2.0
from Intelligraphics, Inc.
IGX-PACAH1-6174a1-BT is a single-die wireless local area network (WLAN) and Bluetooth combo solution to support 2x2 multi-user multiple input, multiple output (MU-MIMO) with two spatial streams IEEE802.11 ac/b/g/n WLAN standards and Bluetooth 4.2+HS, designed to deliver superior integration of... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; Windows 7 and 8.1 and 10
- Data Rate: 867000
- Technology: Wireless
- Host Bus: PCI; USB: Bluetooth
from Broadcom Inc.
Simplify and streamline SAN management while reducing TCO. OneCommand ™ Manager, the successor to Emulex market proven HBAnyware management application, provides centralized management of Emulex fabric (Fibre Channel HBA) and network (iSCSI UCNA, FCoE CNA and 10Gbps Ethernet Adapter)... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; Linux, Solaris, Windows
- Data Rate: 1.00E7
- Protocol / Network: Fibre Channel
- Compliance: FC-MI, FC-SP
from Intelligraphics, Inc.
IGX-PACD1-6174a1-BT is an 802.11ac/a/b/g/n Dual -Band WiFi + bluetooth M.2 card based on Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174A chipset. It was opened to test functionality. It is dual band AC on 2.4 and 5GHz and incorporates the latest Bluetooth 4.2. The slot type is M.2 2230. The download speed is 300Mbps on N... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; Windows 7 and 8.1 and 10
- Data Rate: 867000
- Technology: Wireless
- Host Bus: PCI; USB: Bluetooth
from Broadcom Inc.
The OneConnect ® OCe14104-UM is a quad-port 10GbE Converged Network Adapter (CNA) with Short Reach Optical connectivity. It provides multiple benefits for the enterprise cloud, including: Increasing data center IT agility and scalability through deployment of a secure multi-tenant cloud. Driving... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; CentOS, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, VMware vSphere, Windows
- Data Rate: 6.40E7
- Protocol / Network: 10Gb Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCI Express® 3.0
from Intelligraphics, Inc.
Powered by the Qualcomm Atheros AR9592 the IGX PNF1-9592a1 is a highly integrated single-chip solution for 2.4 or 5GHz 802.11n wireless local area networks (WLAN). It enables the high-performance 2 ×2 MIMO with 2 spatial stream configuration for wireless applications demanding the highest... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; Windows 7 and 8.1 and 10
- Data Rate: 11000 to 3.00E8
- Technology: Wireless
- Host Bus: PCIe
from Broadcom Inc.
As the fourth generation of the Emulex OneConnect ® product line, the OCe14000 family of Ethernet network adapters provides high performance 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) and 40GbE connectivity delivering multiple benefits for the enterprise cloud, including: Increasing data center IT agility and... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; CentOS, Debian, FreeBSD, Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu, VMware vSphere, Windows
- Data Rate: 6.40E7
- Protocol / Network: 10Gb Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCIe 3.0
from Broadcom Inc.
The OneConnect ® OCe11102-FM is a dual-port 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) adapter that consolidates network and storage traffic with high performance CPU offloads for Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) protocols. A member of the OneConnect Universal... [See More]
- Operating System: Linux; CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Windows Server
- Data Rate: 6.40E7
- Protocol / Network: 10Gb Ethernet
- Host Bus: PCI Express® 2.0