25Gb NIC

What is fiber NIC (Network Interface Card) and 25Gb NIC?

Network card (NIC) is a hardware component that can provide network connection for computers or servers. It is an essential basic component of any network, especially enterprise network and data center. At present, fiber optic NICs have different port numbers, transmission rates and types of transmission media, which are suitable for different network environments and are very popular among users.

So, why use a network card? What are its functions?

The use of a network card is closely related to its role and function. On a physical level, a NIC provides a connection interface between a computer or server and a network, whether it is a wired network or a wireless NIC, to establish a communication link. In addition, the use of NICs enables communication between end devices and local area networks (LANs) as well as communication over large networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP). When used at the physical and data link layers, NICs can provide standard interfaces for proper operation of physical and data link layer processes.

How to Choose a Network Interface Card?

How to choose different network interface cards is important. 

Firstly, according to the bus interface type of the network card, it can be generally divided into ISA interface network cards, PCI interface network cards, PCI-X bus interface network cards and PCIe network cards. Based on different interface, it can be grouped into Ethernet RJ-45 interface network cards, BNC interface network cards, AUI interface network card, FDDI interface network cards and ATM interface network cards. So you need to choose different types of network interfaces card according to different supported connectors.

Secondly, in terms of transmission speed, there are gigabit network cards, 10G fiber network cards, 25G network cards and 40G network cards. So you need to be careful when selecting network interfaces with different transmission rate.

Thirdly, the prices of network interface cards in different brands is various. When you comparing different network interface cards, you should not only consider the prices, but also you need to take each parameter of network cards in different brands into consideration, then make a wise choice.

What is 25Gb NIC and why is it so popular?

The most widely used NICs in the market today are mainly 10G, 25G and 40G NICs, and the 25Gb NIC is the most popular among them. 25G fiber NIC card typically operates at the physical or data link layer and has a unique physical address (MAC address). In addition, the 25G fiber NIC card has one or two SFP28 ports on the side panel, which is mainly used to connect the optical module to the switch. It can support 50Gbps transmission bandwidth, and supporting PCI-E 3.0 X8 standard slot, ensure the network card efficient and stable work.In addition, the network card also supports VLAN, QOS strategy, flow control and other functions, suitable for medium and large LAN applications. Common SFP28 optical module or the SFP28 high-speed cable (DAC) can be used in 25G fiber NIC card. The 25G fiber NIC card is mainly used for the connection between the servers and the switches. 

25G NICs can realize the communication between servers and switches in two ways. The first one, for long-distance transmission (more than 100 meters), 25G NIC is used with SFP28 optical module and fiber patch cable; the second one, for short-distance transmission (within 5 meters), 25G NIC is used with SFP28 DAC high-speed cable.