diff --git a/src/mem/packet.hh b/src/mem/packet.hh
index d6231f48f..2b667d26d 100644
--- a/src/mem/packet.hh
+++ b/src/mem/packet.hh
@@ -767,6 +767,12 @@ class Packet : public Printable
     }
 
 
+  public:
+    /**
+     * @{
+     * @name Data accessor mehtods
+     */
+
     /**
      * Set the data pointer to the following value that should not be
      * freed. Static data allows us to do a single memcpy even if
@@ -845,15 +851,50 @@ class Packet : public Printable
     }
 
     /**
-     * return the value of what is pointed to in the packet.
+     * Get the data in the packet byte swapped from big endian to
+     * host endian.
+     */
+    template <typename T>
+    T getBE() const;
+
+    /**
+     * Get the data in the packet byte swapped from little endian to
+     * host endian.
+     */
+    template <typename T>
+    T getLE() const;
+
+    /**
+     * Get the data in the packet byte swapped from the specified
+     * endianness.
+     */
+    template <typename T>
+    T get(ByteOrder endian) const;
+
+    /**
+     * Get the data in the packet byte swapped from guest to host
+     * endian.
      */
     template <typename T>
     T get() const;
 
+    /** Set the value in the data pointer to v as big endian. */
+    template <typename T>
+    void setBE(T v);
+
+    /** Set the value in the data pointer to v as little endian. */
+    template <typename T>
+    void setLE(T v);
+
     /**
-     * set the value in the data pointer to v.
+     * Set the value in the data pointer to v using the specified
+     * endianness.
      */
     template <typename T>
+    void set(T v, ByteOrder endian);
+
+    /** Set the value in the data pointer to v as guest endian. */
+    template <typename T>
     void set(T v);
 
     /**
@@ -925,6 +966,18 @@ class Packet : public Printable
         data = new uint8_t[getSize()];
     }
 
+    /** @} */
+
+  private: // Private data accessor methods
+    /** Get the data in the packet without byte swapping. */
+    template <typename T>
+    T getRaw() const;
+
+    /** Set the value in the data pointer to v without byte swapping. */
+    template <typename T>
+    void setRaw(T v);
+
+  public:
     /**
      * Check a functional request against a memory value stored in
      * another packet (i.e. an in-transit request or
diff --git a/src/mem/packet_access.hh b/src/mem/packet_access.hh
index 9e6f1cbb1..1a2db6921 100644
--- a/src/mem/packet_access.hh
+++ b/src/mem/packet_access.hh
@@ -1,4 +1,16 @@
 /*
+ * Copyright (c) 2015 ARM Limited
+ * All rights reserved
+ *
+ * The license below extends only to copyright in the software and shall
+ * not be construed as granting a license to any other intellectual
+ * property including but not limited to intellectual property relating
+ * to a hardware implementation of the functionality of the software
+ * licensed hereunder.  You may use the software subject to the license
+ * terms below provided that you ensure that this notice is replicated
+ * unmodified and in its entirety in all distributions of the software,
+ * modified or unmodified, in source code or in binary form.
+ *
  * Copyright (c) 2006 The Regents of The University of Michigan
  * All rights reserved.
  *
@@ -27,6 +39,7 @@
  *
  * Authors: Ali Saidi
  *          Nathan Binkert
+ *          Andreas Sandberg
  */
 
 #include "arch/isa_traits.hh"
@@ -37,29 +50,98 @@
 
 #ifndef __MEM_PACKET_ACCESS_HH__
 #define __MEM_PACKET_ACCESS_HH__
-// The memory system needs to have an endianness. This is the easiest
-// way to deal with it for now. At some point, we will have to remove
-// these functions and make the users do their own byte swapping since
-// the memory system does not in fact have an endianness.
 
-/** return the value of what is pointed to in the packet. */
 template <typename T>
 inline T
-Packet::get() const
+Packet::getRaw() const
 {
     assert(flags.isSet(STATIC_DATA|DYNAMIC_DATA));
     assert(sizeof(T) <= size);
-    return TheISA::gtoh(*(T*)data);
+    return *(T*)data;
 }
 
-/** set the value in the data pointer to v. */
 template <typename T>
 inline void
-Packet::set(T v)
+Packet::setRaw(T v)
 {
     assert(flags.isSet(STATIC_DATA|DYNAMIC_DATA));
     assert(sizeof(T) <= size);
     *(T*)data = TheISA::htog(v);
 }
 
+
+template <typename T>
+inline T
+Packet::getBE() const
+{
+    return betoh(getRaw<T>());
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline T
+Packet::getLE() const
+{
+    return letoh(getRaw<T>());
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline T
+Packet::get(ByteOrder endian) const
+{
+    switch (endian) {
+      case BigEndianByteOrder:
+        return getBE<T>();
+
+      case LittleEndianByteOrder:
+        return getLE<T>();
+
+      default:
+        panic("Illegal byte order in Packet::get()\n");
+    };
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline T
+Packet::get() const
+{
+    return TheISA::gtoh(getRaw<T>());
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline void
+Packet::setBE(T v)
+{
+    setRaw(htobe(v));
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline void
+Packet::setLE(T v)
+{
+    setRaw(htole(v));
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline void
+Packet::set(T v, ByteOrder endian)
+{
+    switch (endian) {
+      case BigEndianByteOrder:
+        return setBE<T>(v);
+
+      case LittleEndianByteOrder:
+        return setLE<T>(v);
+
+      default:
+        panic("Illegal byte order in Packet::set()\n");
+    };
+}
+
+template <typename T>
+inline void
+Packet::set(T v)
+{
+    setRaw(TheISA::htog(v));
+}
+
 #endif //__MEM_PACKET_ACCESS_HH__