---
title: "Protocol compatibility"
description: "How to mix and match ice and icerpc?"
url: https://docs.icerpc.dev/icerpc/protocols-and-transports/protocol-compatibility
docs_index: https://docs.icerpc.dev/llms.txt
---

> For an index of every page, see [llms.txt](https://docs.icerpc.dev/llms.txt).

# Protocol compatibility

How to mix and match ice and icerpc?

## Incompatible protocols

Even though their names are similar, the ice and icerpc protocols are completely incompatible. A server listening for ice connections accepts only ice connections. The same is true for icerpc: a server listening for icerpc connections accepts only icerpc connections.

## Listening for both ice and icerpc connections

A server application does not have to be ice-only or icerpc-only because it can easily create two servers:

- one server for ice
- another server for icerpc

These two servers can share the same [dispatch pipeline](https://docs.icerpc.dev/icerpc/dispatch/dispatch-pipeline.md). This way, the server application as a whole is reachable through ice and icerpc and provides the same services to all its clients.