Network Interface Card

As stated in a letter to Vice Presidents and Deans on 11/2/95, OIT has determined that the time to connect PCs to the network and the overall cost to the University can be reduced by having Network Interface Cards (NICs) pre-installed in new PCs. The reasons are:

• the cost of labor to install NICs in machines delivered to departments can equal the cost of the NIC
• the use of staff to install NICs reduces the time available to work on problems requiring their attention
• central budgeting and scheduling installation of NICs, without control over the quantity or installation timing, presents unnecessary problems

In the future, all PCs purchased at ISU for network connection should be ordered with the NICs pre-installed. These costs should be considered your responsibility when ordering new PCs. OIT is no longer maintaining a NIC inventory. If we are required to install a NIC, there will be an extended time period to do so.

To help you make your purchasing decision, OIT maintains recommended minimum configuration for microcomputers. This page contains information on how much memory, hard drive size, and type of NIC you should purchase for maximum performance with ISU applications and the ISU network.