NIC stands for network interface card. On the wall, the jack is referred to as a face plate. Each face plate has a corresponding port number in the wiring closet. A data cable has a thick plastic coating plus a rectangular connector on one end and a 9 ping connector on the other. Once you know the protocol used at you office you are ready to select a network card.
Network cards come with many different features.
We recommend purchasing cards from 3Com or Intel. I have found empirically that PCI cards are harder to install and support than ISA cards. In conclusion a good network card comes with diagnostic software, drivers and plenty of documentation. If possible have the PC vendor factory install. Software Components Networking software is the glue which connects your applications to the network.