IBM N Series - Host Utilities Kits; Host Utilities Kit Components; What Is Included in the HUK; Current Supported Operating Environments

226 IBM System Storage N series Hardware Guide
17.1 Host Utilities Kits
Host Utilities Kits (HUKs) are a set of software programs and documentation that enable you
to connect host servers to IBM N series storage systems.
The N series Host Utilities enable connection and support from host computers to IBM N
series storage systems that run Data ONTAP. Data ONTAP can be licensed for Fibre
Channel, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).
The Host Utilities consist of program files that retrieve important information about the storage
systems and servers that are connected to the SAN. The storage systems include N series
and other storage devices. The Host Utilities also contain scripts that configure important
settings on your host computer during installation. The scripts can be run manually on the
host computer later to restore these configuration settings.
The HUK is retained in a software package that corresponds to the operating system on your
host computer. Each software package for a supported operating system contains a single
compressed file for each supported release of the Host Utilities. Select the appropriate
release of the Host Utilities for your host computer. You can then use the compressed file to
install the Host Utilities software on your host computer as described in the Host Utilities
release’s installation and setup guide.
Installation of N series Host Utilities is required for hosts that are attached to N series and
other storage array to ensure that IBM configuration requirements are met.
17.2 Host Utilities Kit components
This section provides a high-level description of the Host Utility components.
17.2.1 What is included in the HUK
The following items are included in a HUK:
򐂰 An installation program that sets required parameters on the host computer and on certain
host bus adapters (HBAs)
򐂰 A file set for providing Multipath I/O (MPIO) on the host operating environment
򐂰 Scripts and utilities for gathering specifications about your configuration
򐂰 Scripts for optimizing disk timeouts to achieve maximum read/write performance
These functions can be expected from all Host Utilities packages. Other components and
utilities can be included, depending on the host operating environment and connectivity.
17.2.2 Current supported operating environments
IBM N series provides a SAN Host Utilities kit for every supported OS. This is a set of data
collection applications and configuration scripts, which includes SCSI and path timeout
values and path retry counts. Tools to improve the supportability of the host in an IBM N
series SAN environment also are included. These functions include gathering host
configuration and logs and viewing the details of all IBM N series-presented LUNs.