Patent ID: 6928086

Claim:
A network interface card for interfacing between a processor system and one of a plurality of local area network (LAN) types and LAN speeds, wherein said network interface card includes a plurality of media access controllers, each of the plurality of media access controllers adapted to detect different LAN types from the plurality of LAN types, whereby each of the plurality of LAN types includes a different media access control layer, the network interface card comprising: means that automatically determines the LAN type; means that automatically determines the LAN speed of the LAN to which said network interface card is connected, wherein said plurality of LAN types and LAN speeds are comprised of one or more of the following: Ethernet operating at either 10 or 100 MHz rates, Token-Ring operating at either 4 or 16 MHz rates, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode operating at either 25.6 or 155 MHz rates that includes receive-only mode.