Hardware and Software Requirements

IBM® Connect:Direct® for UNIX and its related software require the following hardware and software: It supports systems running in 64-bit mode.

Component or Functionality Hardware Software RAM (min.) Disk Space (min.)
IBM Connect:Direct for UNIX with TCP/IP or FASP connectivity HP Integrity system with Intel Itanium processor HP-UX version 11iv3 or higher
Note: Not supported with FASP.
2 GB 1 GB*
  IBM® System pSeries, POWER7 or greater processor required AIX versions 7.1 and 7.2
Note: Not supported with FASP.
2 GB 1 GB*
  IBM System pSeries, POWER8 or greater processor required SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (ppc64le) version 12.4 and greater.
Note: Not supported with FASP.
2 GB 1 GB*
  Sun SPARC system Solaris version 10, update to level 11 (Jan 2013) or higher, and Solaris 11.
Note: Not supported with FASP.
2 GB 1 GB*
  Intel and AMD x86-64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 7.2 or above

Any point release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 8.x

2 GB 1 GB*

Any point release of CentOS version 7.2 or above

Any point release of CentOS version 8.x
Note: Supported, but not certified**
Any point release of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server version 12.x or 15.x 2 GB 1 GB*
  Linux® zSeries Any point release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 7.x.

Any point release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 8.x

2 GB 1 GB*
Any point release of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server version 12.x or 15.x.
Note: Not supported with FASP.
2 GB 1 GB*
Sterling Connect:Direct File Agent Same as requirements for Connect:Direct for UNIX Same as requirements for IBM Connect:Direct for UNIX

Java™ Standard Edition 6, installed with Sterling Connect:Direct File Agent

Note: On Linux zSeries, the JRE is not bundled with Sterling Connect:Direct File Agent. You must obtain and install Java Standard Edition 8 before you install Sterling Connect:Direct File Agent.
2 GB 275 MB
Connect:Direct Secure Plus Same as requirements for IBM Connect:Direct for UNIX. Same as requirements for Connect:Direct Secure Plus.

Java Standard Edition 8, installed with Connect:Direct Secure Plus.

2 GB 70 MB
High-Availability support IBM System pSeries, POWER7 or greater processor required IBM HACMP    
Sun SPARC system SunCluster 2.2, 3.0 or 3.2    

* When upgrading Connect:Direct for UNIX through Control Center Directer, an extra 3 GB is required for temporary storage.

** IBM does not formally test and certify Connect:Direct on CentOS. However as CentOS is derived from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), we believe that the product should work correctly. IBM will investigate and troubleshoot a problem until it is determined that the problem caused by a difference in behavior between CentOS and RHEL. Defect support will only be available for problems that can be reproduced on a certified platform as documented in the Software Product Compatibility Reports (link: https://www.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity/index.html?lnk=uctug_ratl_dw_2013-02-01_clarity_updated).

Virtualization and public cloud support

IBM cannot maintain all possible combinations of virtualized platforms and cloud environments. 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.