HIPPI

The ANSI (American National Standards Institute) specification (X3T9-3, 1991) for a high speed computer bus for the connection of storage devices. The original specification was for 50-pair twisted-pair cable (and huge connectors) supporting a data rate of 100 MBps (800 Mbps) in simplex mode over distances up to 25 meters. Subsequently, a specification was released for optical fiber supporting a data rate of 200 MBps over distances up to 10 km.The most recent specification was for HIPPI-6400, which runs at 6.4 Gbps over 50-pair twisted pair (50 meters) or optical fiber (1 km). HIPPI operates at the Physical Layer and a portion of the Data Link Layer of the OSI Reference Model. HIPPI has been overwhelmed by faster and more compact specifications such as Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and Fibre Channel. See also ANSI, bus, Data Link Layer, Fibre Channel, optical fiber, OSI Reference Model, Physical Layer, SCSI, simplex, and twisted pair.