Making transport protocols fast

Abstract

An international group of researchers, led by Dr. G. Chesson at Silicon Graphics Inc., has developed a new transport+network protocol for modern distributed computing systems. Extant protocols (e.g. TCP, TP4, Delta-t, NETBLT, GAM-T-103, VMTP, URP) were first examined to understand their solutions to common data transfer problems. Then, a new protocol called XTP (Xpress Transfer Protocol) was developed which both reuses ideas known to be good and breaks new ground in the definition and delivery of communications services. XTP is specifically designed for implementation in hardware as the Protocol Engine which will connect to a commercial FDDI chipset. The author reports first on the philosophy underlying XTP's design, and then on his experiences in producing a software implementation.<>