<s>
Econet	B-Device
was	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
's	O
low-cost	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
system	O
,	O
intended	O
for	O
use	O
by	O
schools	O
and	O
small	O
businesses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
software	O
was	O
later	O
mostly	O
superseded	O
by	O
Acorn	O
Universal	O
Networking	O
(	O
AUN	O
)	O
,	O
though	O
some	O
suppliers	O
were	O
still	O
offering	O
bridging	O
kits	O
to	O
interconnect	O
old	O
and	O
new	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
was	O
specified	O
in	O
1980	O
,	O
and	O
first	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Atom	I-Device
and	O
Acorn	O
System	O
2/3/4	O
computers	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
that	O
year	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
was	O
released	O
,	O
initially	O
with	O
provision	O
for	O
floppy	O
disc	O
and	O
Econet	B-Device
interface	O
ports	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
without	O
the	O
necessary	O
supporting	O
ICs	O
fitted	O
,	O
optionally	O
to	O
be	O
added	O
in	O
a	O
post	O
sale	O
upgrade	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
that	O
year	O
Barson	O
Computers	O
,	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Australian	O
computer	O
distributor	O
,	O
had	O
released	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Microcomputer	I-Device
with	O
floppy	O
disc	O
storage	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
bundle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
's	O
Hermann	O
Hauser	O
and	O
Chris	O
Curry	O
agreed	O
to	O
allow	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
also	O
offered	O
with	O
Econet	B-Device
fitted	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
had	O
previously	O
done	O
with	O
the	O
disc	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
previously	O
with	O
the	O
Disc	B-Application
Filing	I-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
they	O
stipulated	O
that	O
Barson	O
would	O
need	O
to	O
adapt	O
the	O
network	O
filing	O
system	O
from	O
the	O
System2	O
without	O
assistance	O
from	O
Acorn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barson	O
's	O
engineers	O
applied	O
a	O
few	O
modifications	O
to	O
fix	O
bugs	O
on	O
the	O
early	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
motherboards	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
adopted	O
by	O
Acorn	O
in	O
later	O
releases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
both	O
floppy	O
disc	O
and	O
networking	O
available	O
,	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
was	O
approved	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
schools	O
by	O
all	O
state	O
and	O
territory	O
education	O
authorities	O
in	O
Australia	O
and	O
New	O
Zealand	O
,	O
and	O
quickly	O
overtook	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
as	O
the	O
computer	O
of	O
choice	O
in	O
private	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
no	O
other	O
supporting	O
documentation	O
available	O
,	O
the	O
head	O
of	O
Barson	O
's	O
Acorn	O
division	O
,	O
Rob	O
Napier	O
,	O
published	O
Networking	O
with	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Microcomputer	I-Device
,	O
the	O
first	O
reference	O
documentation	O
for	O
Econet	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
was	O
officially	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
in	O
the	O
UK	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
later	O
became	O
popular	O
as	O
a	O
networking	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Archimedes	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
was	O
eventually	O
officially	O
supported	O
on	O
all	O
post-Atom	O
Acorn	O
machines	O
,	O
apart	O
from	O
the	O
Electron	B-Device
(	O
except	O
in	O
Australia	O
and	O
New	O
Zealand	O
where	O
Barson	O
Computers	O
built	O
their	O
own	O
Econet	B-Device
daughter	O
board	O
)	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
3rd	O
party	O
ISA	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Ecolink	O
"	O
ISA	B-Architecture
interface	O
card	O
for	O
IBM-compatible	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
was	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
used	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
MS-NET	O
Redirector	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
to	O
provide	O
file	O
and	O
printer	O
sharing	O
via	O
the	O
NETUSE	O
command	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
was	O
supported	O
by	O
Acorn	B-Operating_System
MOS	I-Operating_System
,	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
,	O
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
and	O
Linux	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
falling	O
prices	O
and	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
of	O
IP	B-Protocol
networking	I-Protocol
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
Acorn	O
Universal	O
Networking	O
(	O
AUN	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
implementation	O
of	O
Econet	B-Device
protocols	O
and	O
addressing	O
over	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
(	O
in	O
Acorn	O
's	O
words	O
"	O
an	O
AUN	O
network	O
is	O
a	O
conformant	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
underneath	O
the	O
Econet-like	O
veneer	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
to	O
provide	O
legacy	O
support	O
for	O
Econet	B-Device
on	O
Ethernet-connected	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
protocol	O
and	O
AUN	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
kernel	O
in	O
2012	O
from	O
version	O
3.5	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
lack	O
of	O
use	O
and	O
privilege	O
escalation	O
vulnerabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
was	O
supported	O
by	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
different	O
computer	O
and	O
server	O
systems	O
,	O
produced	O
both	O
by	O
Acorn	O
and	O
by	O
other	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
well	O
as	O
Acorn	O
's	O
MOS	B-Operating_System
and	O
RISCOS	B-Operating_System
these	O
also	O
used	O
other	O
operating	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
CP/M	O
,	O
DR-DOS	O
,	O
Unix	O
,	O
Linux	B-Application
or	O
Microsoft	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Econet	B-Device
API	O
includes	O
an	O
Econet_MachinePeek	O
command	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
software	O
to	O
determine	O
if	O
a	O
machine	O
is	O
present	O
on	O
the	O
network	O
and	O
its	O
hardware	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
are	O
a	O
useful	O
indication	O
of	O
the	O
range	O
of	O
hardware	O
that	O
offered	O
Econet	B-Device
as	O
their	O
primary	O
networking	O
function	O
or	O
as	O
an	O
option	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
is	O
a	O
five-wire	O
bus	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
composed	O
of	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
segments	O
(	O
up	O
to	O
127	O
)	O
,	O
where	O
each	O
segment	O
may	O
be	O
up	O
to	O
500	O
m	O
long	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Econet	B-Device
devices	O
have	O
an	O
internal	O
capability	O
to	O
generate	O
the	O
clock	O
signal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
connectors	O
were	O
five-pin	O
circular	O
180°	O
DIN	B-Architecture
types	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
later	O
32-bit	O
machines	O
(	O
notably	O
the	O
A3020	B-Device
and	O
A4000	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
connection	O
was	O
made	O
via	O
five	O
of	O
the	O
pins	O
on	O
their	O
15-pin	O
D-type	B-Protocol
Network	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
could	O
also	O
accept	O
MAUs	O
(	O
Media	O
Attachment	O
Units	O
)	O
to	O
allow	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
network	O
to	O
be	O
connected	O
via	O
the	O
same	O
socket	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
port	O
looks	O
similar	O
to	O
an	O
AUI	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
but	O
is	O
not	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Acorn	O
A4	O
laptop	O
used	O
another	O
implementation	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
5	O
pin	O
mini-DIN	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
Econet	B-Device
interface	O
was	O
controlled	O
by	O
a	O
Motorola	O
MC68B54	O
Advanced	O
Data	O
Link	O
Controller	O
(	O
ADLC	O
)	O
chip	O
,	O
which	O
handled	O
electrical	O
transmission/reception	O
,	O
frame	O
checksumming	O
and	O
collision	O
detection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
used	O
a	O
connectionless	B-Protocol
transmission	O
model	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
UDP	B-Protocol
,	O
with	O
no	O
checksumming	O
or	O
error	O
correction	O
at	O
this	O
layer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
packet	B-Protocol
had	O
a	O
four	O
byte	O
header	O
consisting	O
of	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
the	O
station	O
ID	O
is	O
set	O
using	O
jumper	O
pins	O
on	O
the	O
motherboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
provision	O
for	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
transmissions	O
,	O
a	O
single	O
frame	O
sent	O
with	O
its	O
destination	O
station	O
and	O
network	O
numbers	O
set	O
to	O
255	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
are	O
given	O
in	O
the	O
RISCOS	B-Operating_System
Programmer	O
's	O
Reference	O
Manual	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
markets	O
for	O
which	O
Econet	B-Device
was	O
developed	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
purpose	O
of	O
computer	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
was	O
to	O
provide	O
local	O
area	O
shared	O
access	O
to	O
expensive	O
hardware	O
such	O
as	O
disc	O
storage	O
and	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
provided	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
to	O
implement	O
a	O
file	O
server	O
,	O
and	O
optionally	O
a	O
printer	O
server	O
also	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
server	O
software	O
was	O
further	O
developed	O
over	O
many	O
years	O
,	O
and	O
Acorn	O
and	O
other	O
manufacturers	O
also	O
produced	O
dedicated	O
Econet	B-Device
servers	O
based	O
on	O
various	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Acorn	O
Fileserver	O
,	O
from	O
Level	O
1	O
through	O
Level	O
4	B-Device
,	O
running	O
on	O
a	O
standard	O
computer	O
(	O
BBC	O
,	O
Master	O
or	O
Archimedes	B-Device
)	O
and	O
providing	O
simple	O
file	O
and	O
print	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Notably	O
,	O
Oak	O
Solutions	O
collaborated	O
with	O
Acorn	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
Level	O
4	B-Device
Fileserver	O
solution	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Short	O
utilities	O
such	O
as	O
network	O
chat	O
programs	O
were	O
often	O
published	O
in	O
magazines	O
or	O
distributed	O
by	O
sharing	O
among	O
users	O
;	O
these	O
made	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
protocols	O
to	O
work	O
alongside	O
the	O
basic	O
file	O
and	O
print	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
was	O
similar	O
in	O
concept	O
to	O
what	O
is	O
now	O
termed	O
Network	B-Application
Attached	I-Application
Storage	I-Application
,	O
being	O
a	O
standalone	O
unit	O
dedicated	O
to	O
serving	O
files	O
over	O
a	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Filestore	O
was	O
a	O
65C102-based	O
machine	O
with	O
64KB	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
64KB	O
of	O
ROM	O
,	O
Econet	B-Device
connectivity	O
,	O
two	O
3.5	O
"	O
floppy	O
drives	O
,	O
a	O
parallel	O
printer	O
interface	O
,	O
expansion	O
bus	O
,	O
Econet	B-Device
clock	O
and	O
termination	O
circuits	O
,	O
a	O
real-time	O
clock	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
quantity	O
of	O
battery-backed	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
,	O
hard	O
disk	O
expansion	O
was	O
offered	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
E20	O
module	O
providing	O
a	O
3.5	O
"	O
20MB	O
Winchester	O
disk	O
drive	O
(	O
hard	O
disk	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
E01	O
base	O
unit	O
;	O
later	O
expansions	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
E40S	O
and	O
E60S	O
provided	O
40MB	O
and	O
60MB	O
storage	O
respectively	O
for	O
the	O
E01S	O
base	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acorn	O
also	O
offered	O
the	O
Level	O
1	O
,	O
Level	O
2	O
and	O
Level	O
3	B-Device
Fileserver	O
solutions	O
running	O
on	O
sufficiently	O
upgraded	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
or	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Level	O
1	O
product	O
offered	O
access	O
to	O
existing	O
Acorn	B-Application
DFS	I-Application
discs	O
via	O
a	O
BBC	B-Device
Model	I-Device
B	I-Device
with	O
Econet	B-Device
,	O
a	O
disc	O
interface	O
and	O
single	O
or	O
dual	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Econet	B-Device
upgrade	O
originally	O
cost	O
significantly	O
less	O
than	O
a	O
disk	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Level	O
3	B-Device
introduced	O
Winchester	O
hard	O
drive	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
Level	O
4	B-Device
Fileserver	O
software	O
providing	O
a	O
means	O
to	O
"	O
extend	O
the	O
life	O
of	O
existing	O
Acorn	O
computers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
A310	O
"	O
,	O
allowing	O
"	O
any	O
Archimedes	B-Device
computer	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
a	O
fileserver	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
emphasis	O
had	O
evidently	O
shifted	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
Filestore	O
and	O
towards	O
the	O
Level	O
4	B-Device
product	O
at	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
base	O
Filestore	O
E01S	O
unit	O
had	O
a	O
price	O
inclusive	O
of	O
VAT	O
of	O
£1148.85	O
in	O
February	O
1989	O
,	O
whereas	O
an	O
Archimedes	B-Device
310	O
with	O
1MB	O
of	O
RAM	O
cost	O
only	O
£958.00	O
and	O
an	O
Econet	B-Device
module	O
£56.35	O
,	O
illustrating	O
the	O
pricing	O
considerations	O
for	O
potential	O
buyers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1991	O
,	O
the	O
Filestore	O
was	O
apparently	O
no	O
longer	O
offered	O
in	O
Acorn	O
's	O
pricing	O
(	O
nor	O
was	O
the	O
A310	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Level	O
4	B-Device
software	O
was	O
priced	O
at	O
£233.83	O
and	O
an	O
Archimedes	B-Device
410/1	O
with	O
1MB	O
of	O
RAM	O
at	O
£1049.33	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
Unix	O
workstations	O
running	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
,	O
an	O
envisaged	O
application	O
for	O
Econet	B-Device
was	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Master	O
128	O
computers	O
acting	O
as	O
terminals	O
to	O
these	O
Unix	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
systems	O
also	O
offered	O
the	O
capability	O
to	O
act	O
as	O
bridges	O
between	O
Econet	B-Device
and	O
Ethernet	O
networks	O
,	O
offering	O
routing	O
facilities	O
to	O
any	O
Unix	O
machines	O
attached	O
to	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
,	O
this	O
being	O
enabled	O
by	O
the	O
IP-over-Econet	O
support	O
in	O
RISC	B-Operating_System
iX	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Econet	B-Device
X.25	B-Protocol
gateway	O
product	O
was	O
offered	O
by	O
Acorn	O
,	O
providing	O
access	O
to	O
X.25	B-Protocol
networks	O
for	O
computers	O
on	O
an	O
Econet	B-Device
,	O
with	O
the	O
X25	O
Terminal	O
ROM	O
and	O
the	O
existing	O
Acorn	O
DNFS	O
ROM	O
needing	O
to	O
be	O
fitted	O
to	O
computers	O
to	O
enable	O
access	O
to	O
X.25	B-Protocol
services	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Terminal	O
ROM	O
providing	O
terminal	O
emulation	O
and	O
file	O
transfer	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gateway	O
hardware	O
consisted	O
of	O
the	O
core	O
functionality	O
of	O
a	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
,	O
this	O
being	O
the	O
network	O
service	O
module	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
,	O
combined	O
with	O
a	O
Z80	O
second	O
processor	O
connected	O
via	O
the	O
Tube	O
interface	O
,	O
this	O
acting	O
as	O
the	O
gateway	O
module	O
and	O
having	O
16KB	O
ROM	O
and	O
32KB	O
of	O
private	O
RAM	O
,	O
augmented	O
by	O
another	O
board	O
with	O
a	O
Z80	O
processor	O
with	O
32KB	O
of	O
private	O
RAM	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
the	O
X25	O
module	O
accessing	O
the	O
X.25	B-Protocol
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Econet	B-Device
users	O
would	O
send	O
network	O
service	O
requests	O
to	O
the	O
gateway	O
that	O
would	O
be	O
forwarded	O
by	O
the	O
STS	O
functionality	O
of	O
the	O
gateway	O
to	O
the	O
X.25	B-Protocol
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Incoming	O
X.25	B-Protocol
calls	O
would	O
be	O
forwarded	O
by	O
the	O
STS	O
functionality	O
to	O
the	O
network	O
service	O
functionality	O
and	O
on	O
to	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Network	O
service	O
requests	O
could	O
employ	O
X.25	B-Protocol
,	O
Yellow	O
Book	O
Transport	O
Service	O
,	O
and	O
X.29	O
protocols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Econet	B-Device
was	O
essentially	O
specific	O
to	O
the	O
Acorn	O
range	O
of	O
computers	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
share	O
common	O
concepts	O
with	O
modern	O
network	O
file	O
systems	O
and	O
protocols	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Remote	B-Operating_System
Procedure	I-Operating_System
Call	I-Operating_System
–	O
Almost	O
all	O
network	O
operations	O
were	O
performed	O
via	O
a	O
primitive	O
remote	B-Operating_System
procedure	I-Operating_System
call	I-Operating_System
system	O
,	O
either	O
by	O
passing	O
a	O
command	O
line	O
direct	O
to	O
the	O
file	O
server	O
,	O
or	O
by	O
passing	O
an	O
operating	O
system	O
call	O
parameter	O
block	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Access	O
Permissions	O
–	O
By	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
Acorn	O
Level	O
4	B-Device
File	O
Server	O
and	O
the	O
SJ	O
Research	O
MDFS	O
systems	O
,	O
Econet	B-Device
file	O
servers	O
had	O
a	O
full	O
user	O
name	O
and	O
password	O
system	O
with	O
public	O
and	O
private	O
attributes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subnetting	B-Protocol
–	O
A	O
basic	O
Econet	B-Device
would	O
be	O
a	O
single	O
network	O
segment	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
usually	O
assumed	O
to	O
be	O
network	O
0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
bridges	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
have	O
up	O
to	O
127	O
Econet	B-Device
segments	O
with	O
up	O
to	O
254	O
hosts	O
each	O
,	O
for	O
a	O
maximum	O
of	O
32,258	O
possible	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Broadcasting	B-Operating_System
–	O
By	O
using	O
host	O
255	O
,	O
an	O
Econet	B-Device
host	O
could	O
send	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
packets	I-Operating_System
to	O
all	O
hosts	O
on	O
the	O
network	O
segment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Printer	B-Device
Spooling	I-Device
–	O
Later	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
printer	O
server	O
software	O
used	O
printer	B-Device
spooling	I-Device
to	O
locally	O
cache	O
print	O
jobs	O
before	O
sending	O
to	O
the	O
remote	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ports	B-Protocol
–	O
Because	O
the	O
various	O
protocols	O
(	O
file	O
and	O
printer	O
servers	O
,	O
bridge	O
discovery	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
forth	O
)	O
used	O
defined	O
port	B-Protocol
numbers	I-Protocol
,	O
it	O
was	O
possible	O
to	O
for	O
additional	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
BroadcastLoader	O
,	O
AppFS	O
,	O
a	O
teletext	O
server	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
chat	O
programs	O
and	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
to	O
coexist	O
within	O
the	O
Econet	B-Device
system	O
.	O
</s>
