It was specified by the IVI Foundation[1] and is intended to replace the older VXI-11[2] protocol.
Like VXI-11, HiSLIP is normally used via a library that implements the VISA API.
A HiSLIP client contacts a server by opening two TCP connections, both to port 4880, and sends packetized messages on both: To migrate from VXI-11 to HiSLIP, a user of a VISA library and instrument that support both merely has to change the VISA resource string used to address the instrument.
The shortest possible version of a VXI-11 VISA resource string is "TCPIP::
To use the HiSLIP communication channel, such a VISA resource string needs to be changed to: "TCPIP::