The HyperTransport Technology Consortium — of which Apple is a member — announced Monday the DirectPacket HyperTransport 1.1 specification. While the DirectPacket 1.1 spec is downwardly compatible with earlier versions, it also adds new features designed to meet the needs of communications equipment, server and storage system makers who are using HyperTransport technology.
HyperTransport made its debut on the Macintosh with the introduction of the Power Mac G5. It’s a high-bandwidth I/O technology that speeds the transfer of data between chips.
The new DirectPacket specification describes four new capabilities: Native packet handling designed to more efficiently transport data packets through board-level systems; a more robust retry protocol for use in high-reliability environments like servers and communication systems; peer-to-peer routing to facilitate direct connections between I/O devices, and three new sets of “Virtual Channels” including 16 channels designed for streaming traffic.