Like CORBA, IIOP follows a client-server architecture for communication, where a message request is always transmitted from a client to a server.

Object Management Group (OMG) specifications for IIOP are as follows:

• Common Data Representation (CDR): Provides a standard data encoding/decoding method
• Interoperable Object Reference (IOR): The client must have a program address, known as an IOR, prior to sending a server request. The IOR is based on the IP address and port numbers of the server and is usually mapped to a value table created by the client’s computer.
• Message formats defined to support CORBA's ORB specifications

IIOP advantages include:

• Better architecture neutrality
• Communication transparency
• Scalability
• Code reusability