What Does Attached Resource Computer Network (ARCNET) Mean?
Attached Resource Computer Network (ARCnet) is a type of LAN protocol that provides network services to 255 nodes at data rates of up to 2.5 Mbps. ARCnet is similar to token ring and Ethernet network services.
ARCnet was fast, reliable and cheap, and it allowed different transmission systems to be merged and implemented on same network. ARCnet was the first simple networking based solution that provided for all kinds of transmission regardless of the transmission medium or the type of computer. ARCnet was also the first widely available networking system for microcomputers. Although a new ARCnet specification, ARCnet Plus, has been developed to deliver data transfer rates of 20 Mbps, ARCnet is still used in the embedded systems market.