In general, when purchasing the adapter to consider the following factors:

Network Type

Now more popular with Ethernet, token ring, FDDI network, etc., when the choice should be based on the type of network to select the corresponding adapter.

Etekcity USB Wireless Network Adapter Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006JWMOOI

Transmission rate

Should be according to the requirements of the bandwidth of the server or workstation and combined with the physical transmission medium can provide maximum transmission rate to select the network card transfer rate. Ethernet, for example, there is an optional rate 10Mbps, 10/100Mbps, 1000Mbps, even 10Gbps other, more appropriate, but not the higher rate. For example, for the connection in only have 100 m transmission speed of the computer on the twisted-pair configuration 1000 MB card is a kind of waste, because of its up to also can realize the transfer rate of 100 m.

Bus Type

Common computer bus slot types: ISA, EISA, VESA, PCI and PCMCIA, etc. Usually PCI or EISA bus on the server, smart card, workstations are available using ordinary PCI or ISA bus card, then use the card in the laptop's PCMCIA or parallel bus interface portable adapter. Currently the PC is basically no longer support ISA connections, so when purchasing a PC for their card, do not buy outdated ISA card, but should be optional PCI card.

Network adapter cable interface support:

Nic is ultimately to be connected to the network, so it must have an interface to make cables to connect it with the rest of the computer network equipment. Different network interfaces for different types of networks, there are now common interface RJ-45 interfaces, interfaces and thin coaxial BNC coaxial coarse AUI interfaces, FDDI interfaces, and ATM interfaces, such as Ethernet. And some cards to apply to a wider range of application environments provide two or more types of interfaces, if the card will also provide RJ-45, BNC interface or AUI interface.

1.RJ-45 Interface: This is the most common type of card, but also the most widely used type of interface card, which is mainly due to the popularity of twisted-pair Ethernet applications.

Because this type of RJ-45 interface card that is applied to the twisted-pair Ethernet as the transmission medium, its interface is similar to the common telephone interface RJ-11, RJ-45, but eight cores, and telephone lines the interface is a 4-core, usually only take two cores (ISDN phone line connected to 4 wires). On the card also comes with two status indicator light, through the two LED color can determine the initial card working condition.

2.BNC Interface: This interface card to be applied with a thin coax Ethernet or Token Ring transmission medium, the current type of interface card rare, mainly because with a thin coaxial cable as a transmission network medium is relatively small.

3. AUI Interface: this interface type is applied to the card on thick coaxial cable as the transmission medium of Ethernet or Token Ring, this type of interface card is currently rare.

FDDI interface: the interface card is adapted to the FDDI (fiber distributed data interface) in the network, the network has 100 MBPS bandwidth, but it is the transmission medium used by optical fiber, so this kind of FDDI interface card interface and optical fiber interface. With the rapid emergence of Ethernet, its speed advantages no longer exist, but it requires the use of expensive optical fiber as a transmission medium drawback has not changed, so the current is very rare.

4. ATM interface: This interface is the type of card used in ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) fiber (or twisted pair) network. It provides a physical transmission speed of 155Mbps
5. Price and brand
Different rates, different brands of card prices are different.