<s>
HiperSockets	B-Device
is	O
an	O
IBM	O
technology	O
for	O
high-speed	O
communications	O
between	O
partitions	B-Device
on	O
a	O
server	O
with	O
a	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
most	O
commonly	O
associated	O
with	O
System	B-Device
z9	I-Device
and	O
later	O
IBM	B-Device
Z	I-Device
mainframes	O
which	O
can	O
provide	O
in-memory	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
connections	O
between	O
and	O
among	O
LPARs	B-Device
running	O
several	O
different	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
z/OS	B-Application
,	O
z/VM	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Linux	B-Application
on	I-Application
IBM	I-Application
Z	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
applications	O
perceive	O
no	O
functional	O
differences	O
,	O
HiperSockets	B-Device
require	O
less	O
processing	O
overhead	O
on	O
either	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
connections	O
,	O
improving	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HiperSockets	B-Device
also	O
provide	O
security	O
benefits	O
,	O
especially	O
on	O
the	O
memory	O
key-protected	O
mainframe	O
,	O
even	O
without	O
encryption	O
,	O
because	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
opportunity	O
to	O
intercept	O
a	O
network	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
HiperSockets	B-Device
improve	O
reliability	O
and	O
availability	O
because	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
network	O
hubs	O
,	O
routers	O
,	O
adapters	O
,	O
or	O
wires	O
to	O
break	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
disadvantage	O
to	O
HiperSockets	B-Device
is	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
only	O
exist	O
within	O
a	O
single	O
physical	O
system	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
are	O
not	O
applicable	O
between	O
and	O
among	O
physical	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Server	O
consolidation	O
can	O
help	O
more	O
applications	O
use	O
HiperSockets	B-Device
.	O
</s>
