Technologies that Didn’t: ARCnet
In the late 1980’s, I worked at a small value added reseller (VAR) around New York City. While we deployed a lot of thinnet (RG58 coax based Ethernet for those who don’t know what thinnet is), we also had multiple customers who used ARCnet.
Back in the early days of personal computers like the Amiga 500, the 8086 based XT (running at 4.77MHz), and the 8088 based AT, all networks were effectively wide area, used to connect PDP-11’s and similar gear between college campuses and research institutions. ARCnet was developed in 1976, and became popular in the early 1980’s, because it was, at that point, the only available local area networking solution for personal computers.
ARCnet was not an accidental choice in the networks I supported at the time. While thinnet was widely available, it required running coax cable. The only twisted pair Ethernet standard available at the time required new cables to be run through buildings, which could often be an expensive proposition. For instance, one of the places that relied heavily on ARCnet was a legal office in a small town in north-central New Jersey. This law office had started out in an older home over a Continue reading
