XTP: A New Communications Protocol for Factory Automation

As modern factory automation systems become more distributed through the use of local area network technology, their need for high throughput, low latency communication increases. The Xpress Transfer Protocol (XTP) provides a rich new set of functionalities specifically targeted to the needs of these distributed, real-time applications. When implemented in hardware with the Protocol Engine, XTP can provide transport layer communications services at the same speed as the underlying network media. This paper discusses the motivation and history of XTP development, the new functionality which the protocol provides, the protocol optimizations which enhance performance, and current plans for its VLSI implementation.
Note: Abstract extracted from PDF file via OCR

Weaver, A. "XTP: A New Communications Protocol for Factory Automation." University of Virginia Dept. of Computer Science Tech Report (1993).