Product Requirements

Connect:Direct® FTP+ must be installed and configured on the local computers (or clients) that communicate with the Connect:Direct server. If the Connect:Direct server runs on Windows or UNIX, you must also install Connect:Direct FTP+ on the Connect:Direct server.

Requirements for the Connect:Direct Server

  • One of the following versions of Connect:Direct:
    • Connect:Direct for z/OS® v4.8.00 or later
    • Connect:Direct for Microsoft Windows v4.5.00 or later
    • Connect:Direct for UNIX v4.0.00 or later
  • To use Connect:Direct FTP+ to communicate with a Connect:Direct for z/OS server, the z/OS server must have RACF access to the BPX.SERVER resource. Also, each Connect:Direct FTP+ user ID must have HFS authority on the z/OS server.
  • To use Connect:Direct Secure Plus for secure communications, it must be installed on the Connect:Direct server.

Requirements for the Local Computer

Connect:Direct FTP+ requires one of the following operating systems on the local computer:
  • Windows Server 2019 Standard
  • Windows Server 2016 Standard
  • Microsoft Windows 2012 R2 Standard x64
  • HP-UX Itanium 11iv2 or later
  • Solaris 11 (11.4 and above) on Sun SPARC
  • Solaris 11 (11.4 and above) on Intel and AMD x86-64
  • IBM AIX 7.2, 7.3
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (8.6 and above)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (9.2 and above)
  • SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 (12.3 and above) or 15.x
Note: The support for Windows Server 2019 and 2016 Standard is added from 1.3.0.0.iFix017.
Note: Support for the following platforms will end on April 30, 2024:
  • Solaris 11 (11.4 and above) on Intel and AMD x86-64
  • HP-UX Itanium 11iv2 or later

Virtualization support

IBM cannot maintain all possible combinations of virtualized platforms. However, IBM generally supports all enterprise class virtualization mechanisms, such as VMware ESX, VMware ESXi, VMware vSphere, Citrix Xen Hypervisor, KVM (Kernel-based virtual machine), and Microsoft Hyper-V Server.

IBM investigates and troubleshoots a problem until it is determined that the problem is due to virtualization. The following guidelines apply:
  • If a specific issue is happening because the system is virtualized and the problem cannot be reproduced on the non-virtualized environment, you can demonstrate the issue in a live meeting session. IBM can also require that further troubleshooting is done jointly on your test environment, as there is not all types and versions of VM software installed in-house.
  • If the issue is not able to be reproduced in-house on a non-virtualized environment, and troubleshooting together on your environment indicates that the issue is with the VM software itself, you can open a support ticket with the VM software provider. IBM is happy to meet with the provider and you to share any information, which would help the provider further troubleshoot the issue on your behalf.
  • If you chose to use virtualization, you must balance the virtualization benefits against its performance impacts. IBM does not provide advice that regards configuring, administering, or tuning virtualization platforms.