Editing RISC iX (section)

== Peripherals ==

As well as industry-standard Ethernet, Acorn's own [[Econet]] was supported, facilitating connectivity between Econet and [[Internet Protocol|IP]]-based Ethernet networks.<ref name="acorn_APP240">{{cite book |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Brochures/Acorn_APP240_ConnectivityFromAcorn.pdf |title=Connectivity from Acorn |publisher=Acorn Computers Limited |date=September 1989 |access-date=16 October 2020 |issue=1 |pages=5 |quote=The R140, which is connected between the Ethernet and Econet networks, provides an internet routing service between the two.}}</ref> Moreover, the Econet interface on a RISC iX workstation could be treated as a "Unix networking" interface, permitting [[TCP/IP]] requests to be sent over Econet to hosts capable of handling them.<ref name="acorn_unix_econet">{{cite tech report |url=https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~theom/riscos/docs/Acorn-Unix-Econet-Device-Driver-and-Network-Device.pdf |title=Acorn Unix Econet Device Driver and Network Device |author=RISC-iX Group, Acorn Computers, Cambridge, UK |publisher=Acorn Computers Limited |access-date=16 October 2020}}</ref> In 1991, with Ethernet becoming more widespread on campus networks, Acorn offered a Network Gateway Starter Pack featuring the R140 equipped with Econet and Ethernet adapters at a price of £2499, with a licence for the TCP/IP Protocol Suite included to allow Archimedes computers to be able to communicate with such Ethernet-based networks via the gateway.<ref name="acornuser199107_gateway">{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser108-Jul91/page/n11/mode/1up |title=Arc into Unix will go |work=Acorn User |date=July 1991 |access-date=3 June 2021 |pages=10}}</ref>

Similar Econet gateway capabilities were eventually extended to computers running RISC OS with Acorn's TCP/IP Protocol Suite product<ref name="app286">{{cite tech report |url=http://www.4corn.co.uk/archive/docs/AMPAPP/150/APP286%20(2nd%20ed)%20-%20World%20of%20Standards%20(1989)-opt.pdf |title=The Power of Archimedes Computers in the World of Standards: TCP/IP Protocol Suite |publisher=Acorn Computers Limited |date=August 1990 |access-date=12 March 2021 |issue=2 |quote=A gateway can be set up using either a UNIX workstation, such as an R140 or R260, or an Archimedes computer such as the 440.}}</ref> and with the broader Acorn Universal Networking (AUN) suite of technologies,<ref name="AUN">{{cite press release |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/PR/AUN.txt |title=Acorn introduces Universal Networking |quote=An Acorn Universal Network can consist of a number of Econet and Ethernet networks linked together via a backbone Ethernet network using RISC OS computers as Gateway stations. These computers can act at the same time as local fileservers.}}</ref> and a [[device driver]] update eventually provided a similar means of routing TCP/IP communications over Econet networks for RISC OS machines.<ref name="xemplar_econetA">{{cite press release |url=http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/PR/New_EconetA_module_available.txt |title=New EconetA module available |publisher=Xemplar Education Limited |quote=EconetA is a driver module that allows Econet and Nexus client computers to act as full TCP/IP clients as well as enabling gatewaying between the above systems and standard Ethernet installations.}}</ref>