Online Computer Dictionary

(CATNIP, originally Common Architecture Technology for Next-generation Internet Protocol) A network architecture designed to provide a compressed form of the existing network layer protocols and to integrate CLNP, IP, and IPX. It provides for any of the transport layer protocols in use, including TP4, CLTP, TCP, UDP, IPX, and SPX, to run over any of the network layer protocol formats: CLNP, IP (version 4), IPX and CATNIP.

CATNIP was originally proposed by Robert L. Ullmann of Lotus Development Corporation on 1993-12-22. It was published as RFC 1707 in October 1994 but it is not an Internet standard of any kind.