Attached Resource Computer NETwork (ARCNET)

In 1986, Datapoint Corporation developed ARCNET, a communications protocol for local area networks (LANs). It was the first widely available networking system and was used widely in the 1980s for office automation. Unlike other computer systems that required all networked computers to be homogenous, ARCNET was the first solution that did not make assumptions about why types of computer networking technology would be connected. ARCNET speed was limited to 2.5 Mbit/s, and while it was popular during its reign, it was less reliable and less flexible than other systems, particularly Ethernet.

Token Ring and Network Topology

In the 1980s, token ring protocols became more popular, mostly as a response from IBM to the openness of the new Ethernet protocol. This local area network (LAN) set-up connects all the computers in a ring or star wherein data is passed from host to host. This protocol prevents collisions of information packets on a network by ensuring that only a host that holds a token can send data, and that tokens are only released when data receipt is confirmed.

IBM's Token Ring technology was launched in October, 1985 and ran at 4 Mbit/s. The star-wired physical topology was run over shielded twisted-pair cabling, and became the basis for the ANSI/IEE standard 802.5. Eventually a 16 Mbit/s Token Ring was standardized, and increased to 100 Mbit/s just near the end of its existence. Many scientists argued that token ring LANs were better than Ethernet, which had recently been developed. However, Ethernet provided more cost effective methods for networking, which helped make commercial token ring systems virtually non-existent by the 2000s.