Ethernet was developed in its experimental form at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1972 and is now the most common technology in use for building LANs. The prime objective of the network is to enable high-speed communication between computer equipment and other hardware, irrespective of the make or design of that equipment. Until the arrival of Ethernet most inter-machine communication, except that between equipment from the same manufacturer, was limited in practice to around 9600 bps on twisted pairs.