Abstract: An adaptive throughput control for controlling the transfer of individual bytes of a message communicated between network controllers of adapters at nodes of a LAN enhances or maximizes the rate of transfer of bytes between the sending and receiving nodes at the time of each byte transmission. The adaptive throughput control is embodied in the logic of the network controllers and provides a minimum time gap between sequential ones of the data bytes transferred. The network adapter uses the motherboard DMA or programmed-I/A of the PC attached at the node for obtaining the data transfers between system memory of the PCs, rather than any local intelligence or on-board packet buffering. The adaptive throughput control incorporates handshaking which incorporates a unique signal in each data byte transferred and the unique signal is detected by the receiving network controller and in response to which a response signal is sent when the receiving network controller means is ready to accept the next data byte.