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From: david@elroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (David Robinson)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: IP protocol on a chip(s)
Message-ID: <4994@elroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov>
Date: Tue, 8-Dec-87 19:40:35 EST
Article-I.D.: elroy.4994
Posted: Tue Dec  8 19:40:35 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 13-Dec-87 15:39:52 EST
Organization: Image Analysis Systems Grp, JPL
Lines: 22
Keywords: Faster IP?


I frequently hear that TCP/IP is too slow of a protocol.  I have seen
good ethernet boards on a Sun push packets as fast as 5Mbps and claims
of Crays pushing > 10Mbps on hyperchannels.

The throughput on most machines appears to be the speed that the 
CPU can process the packets, whether the CPU is the main CPU or
an on board CPU.

To increase TCP/IP performance has anyone looked into making an IP
protocol chip or chipset?  Would this be practical to do given
the complexity of IP?  IP on a chip would also be interesting from
a routing point of view.

Any comments on the idea and potential problems that I may not
have thought of?


-- 
	David Robinson		elroy!david@csvax.caltech.edu     ARPA
				david@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov	  ARPA
				{cit-vax,ames}!elroy!david	  UUCP
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