PS2 Network Adaptor

The Network Adaptor was released together with the launch of the PlayStation 2 Network Play service. Two models of the adapter were available - one with a dial-up modem and an Ethernet jack for broadband Internet connection (sold in North America), and one with only an Ethernet interface (sold in Europe and other regions). A start-up disc (''Network Access Disc'') is included with the Network Adaptor and installs a file on the memory card for connection settings which are accessible by all but one Network Adaptor compatible game. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was released in November 2001 and supported the Network Adaptor hardware, but not the software as it was not finalized until much later.

The Network Adaptor also provides a Parallel ATA interface and a Molex disk drive power connector to allow installation of a 3.5 in IDE hard disk drive in the expansion bay. As the two disk connectors are on separate circuit boards from the main Network Adapter one, third party connector replacements including a SATA connector and SATA to IDE converter are available.

Slimline PlayStation 2 models have an ethernet port built-in, but no official hard disk drive interface. However, the first slimline model (SCPH-70000) has a complete Network Adapter onboard (including an analog modem in the earliest North American models), and may be modified to add an external IDE connector board. From the SCPH-75000 series onwards, Ethernet functionality was integrated into the I/O Processor (which was completely internally redesigned), completely removing the disk interface.

The maximum supported rate is 100Mbit/s, at full duplex. It is also backwards compatible with 10Mbit/s hardware and configurations.