Linux
For modern (pretty much anything that doesn't use an ISA slot) LAN cards, there is probably no need to do anything from the
Linux side. Most LAN cards are already supported in the
Linux kernel, and modern distros typically use udev to automatically assign a name (such as eth0, eth1, etc...). Assuming your system does not do this, for whatever reason, here is a relatively simple method for setting up a new network card:
1. Look at the dmesg on startup to see what module your network card uses (such as rt8139).
2. Try activating the interface manually, by issuing the command "ifconfig " If you have no other NICs on your computer, it is probably called "eth0"; otherwise, increment the number accordingly. If the command doesn't return anything, it probably worked, otherwise the card is not at that number or is not working.
3. Modify /etc/modules and add the following:
alias
4. Modify /etc/network/interfaces and add the following:
auto
iface inet dhcp
5. Restart your network, either by rebooting, or running '/etc/init.d/networking restart'
