What are network drivers? What is a network driver? It’s a valid question, no one’s born knowing this stuff. In this blog post, I’ll explain network drivers, why they’re important, and where to find them.
What are network drivers?
Network drivers are the software that permit your network hardware, whether it’s a separate card or integrated onto the motherboard, to interact with your operating system. Just like most other hardware components in your computer, the network hardware needs a driver for it to operate.
Network drivers aren’t something we necessarily have to think much about. That’s because operating systems typically come with a wide selection of network drivers and they usually install one automatically. Pulling down updates or even major operating system components during installation is commonplace these days. That task wouldn’t be possible without having a functioning network driver very early on in the installation process.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean the driver that shipped with the operating system is the best one to use for the lifetime of the system. I have solved weird issues by replacing the stock driver with a driver from the maker of the system or the maker of the network card. I roll with whichever one is newer. One time, I had a web server whose network card would just stop working randomly two or three times a week. Both Dell, the system manufacturer, and Intel, had newer drivers than the driver that came with Windows. Either one would have been a better bet. But if we ever ran into other trouble, I didn’t want Dell blaming the network driver. So I used Dell’s driver. The network related problems disappeared after that.
A dedicated driver can also provide more functionality than the minimal driver that Microsoft ships with Windows.
Where to find network drivers?
Sometimes you can update a network driver just by right clicking on it in Device Manager and selecting update from the menu. Failing that, you can often find one in Windows Update. And if you have a halfway decent patch deployment system like, say, Manage Engine — Microsoft SCCM is not a decent patch deployment system — it probably has a selection of network drivers as well.
In other cases, you may have to search for it. If your network card came with your computer, going to your computer manufacturer’s support page and looking for your model number or serial number will frequently pull up a drivers page. If they have any updated drivers, they will appear there. These drivers can be preferable to the drivers that came straight from Broadcom, Intel, or Realek because they may be tuned to the specific components that shipped with your system.
But once the system reaches a certain age, the hardware manufacturer stops providing updated drivers. So it’s not a bad idea to search the manufacturer’s page for a generic driver for your network hardware. If whatever Broadcom, Intel, or Realtek have available is significantly newer than what your computer manufacturer supplies, it may be the better bet.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.