Editing ARCNET (section)

{{Short description|LAN communications protocol}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2010}}
[[File:Amiga A560 Arcnet Adapter - IMGP1436.JPG|thumb|An ARCNET adapter for an [[Amiga 500]] computer. The small card next to it is the size of a credit card.]]

'''Attached Resource Computer NETwork''' ('''ARCNET''' or '''ARCnet''') is a [[communications protocol]] for [[local area network]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url={{google books|id=uj-RtknCc_oC|page=19|plain-url=yes}} |title=LANs to WANs: The Complete Management Guide |first=Nathan J. |last=Muller |publisher=Artech House |year=2003 |isbn=9781580535731}}</ref> ARCNET was the first widely available [[Computer network|networking]] system for [[microcomputer]]s and it became popular in the 1980s for office automation tasks. It was later applied to [[embedded system]]s where certain features of the protocol are especially useful.