Performance comparison and analysis of XTP and TCP/IP over the BERKOM broadband ISDN network

The Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP), a full-featured lightweight protocol with mechanisms and functionality specifically design for high-speed network environments, is examined. XTP can provide the full range of services needed to support distributed processing systems. A software implementation of XTP has been completed to run over the BERKOM broadband ISDN network. The performances of XTP over the BERKOM network and an Ethernet are reported and compared to those of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). XTP has been found to perform about as well as and in some situations better than TCP/IP. A tentative conclusion is that as a full-featured protocol XTP does not gain its performance advantage at the cost of functionality or the other way round