Difference between Ethernet and Wireless NIC

Ethernet NIC:

• It uses CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision Detection)
• Only receives frames destined for it.
• Consistent data rates
• Throughput is the line rate

Wireless NIC:

• It uses CSMA/CA ( Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision Avoidance)
• Demodulates all 802.11 frames it hears.
• Data rate varies wildly based on signal strength, SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), traffic on the channel, etc.
• Throughput decreases as the number of clients increases. As old Wi-Fi standard uses a half-duplex.