A new specification, called ARCnet Plus, will support data rates of 20 Mbps.
Short for Attached Resource Computer network, ARCnet is one of the oldest, simplest, and least expensive types of local-area network. ARCnet was introduced by Datapoint Corporation in 1977. It uses a token-ring architecture, supports data rates of 2.5 Mbps, and connects up to 255 computers. A special advantage of ARCnet is that it permits various types of transmission media — twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and fiber optic cable — to be mixed on the same network.
