Network, Computer and Programming Resources

Network - Protocol, CIPX (Compressed IPX)

CIPX is a variant of Novell's IPX (Internet Package Exchange) protocol. CIPX uses a compressed header instead of the 30-octet header characteristic of IPX packets. The compressed header is between one and seven octets if just the IPX header is compressed. For IPX packets that contain NCP (Network Control Protocol) data, it's possible to compress both the IPX and NCP headers simultaneously. Instead of a 36-octet NCP/ IPX header, the CIPX header is between one and eight octets. Such compression is useful when transmitting over relatively slow WAN (Wide Area Network) lines. The actual compression algorithm to be used must be negotiated between sender and receiver. It's also possible to use header compression in conjunction with a data compression algorithm, which can help further reduce the number of octets that must be transmitted. When both header and data compression are used, the order in which the applications are applied is important. The sender must first use header compression and then data compression; at the receiving end, the algorithms must be applied in reverse order. PRIMARY SOURCES RFC 1553