GLYPH<SM590000> DS8k with I/O Bay Planar board and firmware level 8.4 or later 

GLYPH<SM590000> z15 with zHyperLink Express1.1 adapter (FC 0451) installed 

GLYPH<SM590000> FICON channel as a driver 

GLYPH<SM590000> Only ECKD supported 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/VM is not supported 

Up to 16 zHyperLink Express adapters can be installed in a z15 (up to 32 links). 

The zHyperLink Express1.1 is virtualized as a native PCIe adapter and can be shared by multiple LPARs. Each port can support up to 127 Virtual Functions (VFs), with one or more VFs/PFIDs being assigned to each LPAR. This configuration gives a maximum of 254 VFs per adapter. The zHyperLink Express requires the following components: 

GLYPH<SM590000> zHyperLink connector on DS8k I/O Bay 

For DS8880 firmware R8.3 or newer, the I/O Bay planar is updated to support the zHyperLink interface. This update includes the update of the PEX 8732 switch to PEX8733 that includes a DMA engine for the zHyperLink transfers, and the upgrade from a copper to optical interface by a CXP connector (provided). 

GLYPH<SM590000> Cable 

The zHyperLink Express1.1 uses optical cable with MTP connector. Maximum supported cable length is 150 meters (492 feet). 

## zHyperLink Express (FC 0431) 

zHyperLink is a new technology that provides up to 5x reduction in I/O latency times for Db2 read requests with the qualities of service IBM Z clients expect from I/O infrastructure for Db2 v12 with z/OS. The z/OS supported versions for Reads are: 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.4 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.3 with PTFs 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.2 with PTFs 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.1 with PTFs 

The z/OS supported versions for Writes support are: 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.4 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.3 with PTFs 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS V2.2 with PTFs 

The zHyperLink Express feature (FC 0431) provides a low latency direct connection between z15 and DS8k I/O Port. 

The zHyperLink Express is the result of new business requirements that demand fast and consistent application response times. It dramatically reduces latency by interconnecting the z15 directly to I/O Bay of the DS8880 by using PCIe Gen3 x 8 physical link (up to 150-meter [492-foot] distance). A new transport protocol is defined for reading and writing IBM CKD data records$^{8}$, as documented in the zHyperLink interface specification. 

On z15, zHyperLink Express card is a new PCIe adapter, which installed in the PCIe+ I/O drawer. HCD definition support was added for new PCIe function type with PORT attributes. 

## Requirements of zHyperLink 

The zHyperLink Express feature is available on z15 servers, and includes the following requirements: 

GLYPH<SM590000> z/OS 2.1 or later 

