GT 3.9.5 Component Fact Sheet: XIO

Brief component overview

Globus XIO is an extensible input/output library for the Globus ToolkitŪ. It provides a single POSIX-like API (open/close/read/write) that supports multiple wire protocols, with protocol implementations encapsulated as drivers . The XIO drivers distributed with 3.9.5 include TCP, UDP, file, HTTP, GSI, GSSAPI_FTP, TELNET and queuing.

In addition, Globus XIO provides a driver development interface for use by protocol developers. This interface allows the developer to concentrate on writing protocol code rather than infrastructure, as XIO provides a framework for error handling, asynchronous message delivery, timeouts, etc.

The XIO driver-based approach maximizes the reuse of code by supporting the notion of a driver stack . XIO drivers can be written as atomic units and stacked on top of one another. This modularization provides maximum flexibility and simplifies the design and evaluation of individual protocols.

Summary of features

Features new in release 3.9.5

  • UDT driver.
  • Queuing Driver
  • Ordering Driver
  • Dynamically loadable drivers.

Other Supported Features

  • Single API to swappable IO implementations.
  • Asynchronous IO support.
  • Native timeout support.
  • Data descriptors for providing driver specific hints.
  • Modular driver stacks to maximize code reuse.
  • TCP, UDP, file, HTTP, GSI drivers.

Deprecated Features

  • Telnet driver now distributed with the GridFTP server.
  • GSSAPI_FTP driver now distributed with the GridFTP Server

Usability summary

Usability improvements for XIO:

  • improvement #1
  • ...
  • improvement #n

Backward compatibility summary

Protocol changes since GT version 3.2

  • None.

API changes since GT version 3.2

  • None.

Schema changes since GT version 3.2

  • None.

Technology dependencies

XIO depends on the following GT components:

  • Globus Core
  • Globus Common
  • Globus GSSAPI

Tested platforms

Tested Platforms for XIO:

  • platform #1
  • ...
  • platform #n

For More Information

Click here for more information about this component.