The 800 Mb HIPPI (High-Performance Parallel Interface) data channel defined by ANSI X3T9.3 has the capability to connect a variety of computers and peripherals which can take advantage of such speeds. The HIPPI architecture further permits a large number of HIPPI channels to be interconnected via crossbar switches, permitting a single channel to selectively converse with many other HIPPI destinations. The author explores the capability of such switches, and the ability of interconnected HIPPI switches to serve as a multi-gigabit network in a variety of environments.