Ixia Software Release Notes
IxOS 8.50 EA
Build Number: 8.50.1700.5 (Sep 10, 2018)

• About This Release
• Licensing
• Installation Notes
• Tcl/Tk Support for Client Applications
• How to Report Problems
• Additional Documentation
• Field Notices
• What's New in IxOS
• Known Issues List
• Resolved Defects List

About This Release

IxOS 8.50 EA is an Early Adopter release. This release consolidates all releases since the last release.
It supports Ixia's latest chassis, load modules and software applications that are compatible with this release. 

Application Compatibility
 The following application releases support IxOS 8.50 EA:

 

      

              
Application
              
IxOS 8.50 EA
          
      
      
   
          

              
BPS
              
8.50 EA
          
       
	  

              
FLIX OS
              
2018.1.0.3 (XGS2-HS & XGS12-HS)
2018.1.78.12 (XGS2-HSL/XGS12-HSL/XGS2-SDL/XGS12-SDL/NovusONE/PSONE)
          
	 
	  

              
HLTAPI
              
8.50 EA
          
	  

              
IxANVL
              
9.20 EA
          
	  

              
IxChariot
              
Not Supported
          
          

              
IxLoad
              
8.50 EA
          
          

              
IxNetwork
              
8.50 EA
          
          

              
IxVM
              
8.50 EA
          
          

              
Licensing
              
5.10 EA
          
          

              
Metronome
              
1.2 EA
          
      


In addition, current interoperability and compatibility coverage for IxOS 
8.50 EA can also be retrieved using the on-line compatibility tool.

Licensing

Ixia Licensing
Any chassis which runs IxServer must have an IxOS license installed on it. 
IxOS 8.50 EA ships with Ixia Licensing 5.10 EA, which is installed automatically along with IxOS Installation.

Some of the key benefits of this new licensing system are:
  - Reduced the number of licensing services from 4 to 1 (Ixia nodedv3).
  - The list of TCP ports required for external connections has been reduced, specifically TCP port 4502 is no longer required.
  - Improved performance and memory usage.

Installing a License
Ixia Licensing 5.10 EA upgrades Ixia Licensing 5.0 EA and prior versions. 
Once upgraded, Ixia Licensing cannot be downgraded to previous versions. 

The upgrade will proceed in either of following two ways:
  - Ixia Registration Utility (IRU) will be replaced by Ixia Licensing Utility (ILU) if upgrade is performed on 3.xx release.
    Registration Numbers in IRU will be migrated as activation codes in ILU.
  - Previous version of Ixia Licensing Utility (ILU) will be upgraded to latest version of Ixia Licensing Utility (ILU).

The upgrade will also attempt to migrate existing licenses to latest version of ILU. If your system is connected to the Internet,
this migration will be transparent. Otherwise, you will be prompted to follow an "Offline Migration" method.

For more information about the IxLicensing system, please refer to the "Ixia Licensing Management User Guide" 
provided with the Ixia software, or downloadable from the Ixia web site.

Installation Notes

Installation on XGS2-SD and XGS12-SD chassis
Starting from IxOS 8.40 EA, the XGS2-SD and XGS12-SD chassis can optionally be converted to run Native IxOS, 
for improved stability and performance. The conversion removes the Microsoft Windows Operating System, and 
replaces it with IxOS running natively on the chassis. Once complete the chassis are effectively converted to 
XGS2-SDL and XGS12-SDL. For more information, including the conversion process procedure, please read 
the Converting_XGS_SD_to_Native_IxOS.pdf document available on IxOS Downloads And Update page.

For installation on Windows, Please follow the Installation Requirements On Windows below.

Installation on XGS2-HS and XGS12-HS chassis
Starting from IxOS 8.13 EA, the XGS2-HS and XGS12-HS chassis can optionally be converted to run Native IxOS, 
for improved stability and performance. The conversion removes the Microsoft Windows Operating System, and 
replaces it with IxOS running natively on the chassis. Once complete the chassis are effectively converted to 
XGS2-HSL and XGS12-HSL. For more information, including the conversion process procedure, please read 
the Converting_XGS_and_PSOne_to_Native_IxOS.pdf document available on IxOS Downloads And Update page.

For installation on Windows, Please follow the Installation Requirements On Windows below.

Installation Requirements On Windows
IxOS 8.50 EA installation requires 13 GB of free space on chassis' system drive and 5.5 GB of free space on client's system drive.
IxExplorer 8.50 EA installation requires 2.5 GB of free space on client's system drive.
A minimum of 1GB RAM is recommended on chassis and client. If your chassis does not meet these requirements, 
please contact Customer Support at  support@ixiacom.com or 1-877-FOR-IXIA about appropriate upgrades.

NOTE:
   - When installing from CD, some virus scanning configurations present a malicious code alert during execution of the Windows 
     auto-run feature. If this occurs, please double click open the index.htm file present inside CD-ROM drive.
   - IxOS installer automatically installs a Microsoft Hotfix 2921916 (if not already installed) for an issue due to which 
     "Untrusted publisher" dialog would appear when installing IxOS on Windows 7. 

Operating System Support
Windows Client PC: 
  - Windows 2008 Server 64-bit
  - Windows 7 Enterprise 32-bit (Build 7601)
  - Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (Build 7601)
  - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (Build 7601)
  - Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit (Build 7601)
  - Windows 2012 Server Standard R2 64-bit
  - Windows 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit and 64-bit (Build 9600)
  - Windows 10 Pro (Build 1803)

  The following versions of Windows operating systems are no longer supported on the client:
     - Windows Vista Enterprise SP2 32-bit and 64-bit - starting with IxOS 8.21 EA
     - Windows XP Professional 32-bit SP3 - starting with IxOS 8.30 EA

UNIX Client PC: 
  - Fedora Core 14.0 and above
  - RedHat Enterprise 5.0 and above
  - Centos 6.0 and above
  - Ubuntu 16.0 and above

  Other versions of UNIX platforms may operate properly, but are not officially supported.

VMware
  - Server 1.0.2
  - Server 2.0

Windows Chassis
  - Windows XP Professional 32-bit SP3
  - Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit

  NOTE: IxOS will not be supported on the Windows XP Professional, 32-bit operating system starting with the IxOS 8.60 EA software release.

  Languages supported are English, Chinese (traditional and simplified), French, German
  Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish.

Installation Features
The IxOS installation program offers the user a selection of five installation 
options: Client, Server, Demo Server, Tcl Server, and Hardware Manager. The 
Server option is normally chosen for installation on Ixia chassis. The Demo 
Server option should NOT be chosen for chassis installations: it is used for 
client installations.

Server Startup Configuration Options
There are three options offered for configuring IxOS server startup:

1. Service: A Windows Service for IxServer (or TCL Server) will be created which can be started/stopped
    from Windows Service Control Manager. Desktop Shortcuts and IxServer User Interface are not available.
    Any configuration of IxServer or TCL Server requires user to stop the service, manually invoke server
    from Start Menu shortcuts, close the server and restart service.
2. Startup: IxServer starts when user logs on to the chassis or when it is rebooted.
3. Manual: IxServer or TCL Server can only be started or stopped manually from
    Desktop or Start Menu shortcuts.
 
    NOTE:
       - Telnet connectivity is unavailable when TCL Server is configured to run as a service.
       - Demo Server is configured to operate manually even if service option is selected.

Tcl Version Option
IxOS 8.50 EA is shipping with Tcl 8.5 and 8.6. Both of them will be installed and the option
of using either of the version can be set for usage as follows:
1. On Windows Chassis, open TCL Server and select appropriate TCL version from options.
2. On Windows Client, select appropriate TCL version from Desktop or Start Menu shortcut.
3. On Native IxOS Chassis, login to IxOS CLI using SSH and execute:    set tcl active-version 8.x
4. On Unix Client, execute a script inside installed directory:    ./bin/set_tcl_active_version.sh 8.x

Chassis Management Console
 
Chassis Management Console (CMC) is a web application that provides access to Ixia Native IxOS Chassis and its components 
(i.e. load modules and ports) and enables users to control and monitor the chassis by means of any client computer connected to it. 
CMC is supported on following browsers:

 

      

              
Application
              
Version
          
      
      
   
          

              
Google Chrome
              
32 or newer
          
       
	  

              
Mozilla Firefox
              
26 or newer
          
	 
	  

              
Microsoft Internet Explorer
              
11 or newer
          
	  

              
Microsoft Edge
              
17 or newer
          
	  

              
Apple Safari
              
9.1.3 or newer
          
      


UNIX Client Installation Notes
Using .bin Installer:

This installs packages for IxOS TCL API and Ixia TCL Interpreter. If you are updating an existing 
installation, be sure to run the installer as the same user who initially installed the software. Always 
run the uninstaller prior to removing any files manually. If installing as the root user and install 
location is a network-mounted file system, ensure the root user has write permission to the file system.

To proceed with installation, perform following steps (Note: the binary file name 'IxOS8.50.XXX.XXXLinux.bin' 
is used in the example below. In most cases, the file name will be different):

1. Copy the IxOS8.50.XXX.XXXLinux.bin file to the system.
2. Make the binary executable if it is not already:    chmod +x ./IxOS8.50.XXX.XXXLinux.bin
    Also, make sure target installation directory has full permissions granted.
3. Execute the IxOS installer file:    ./IxOS8.50.XXX.XXXLinux.bin
4. When the installer prompts, select appropriate Tcl version (e.g. 8.5 or 8.6)
5. Follow the installation prompts to complete the installation.

If the installation fails, check that there is enough disk space on the system  by using the command: df -ak
There must be enough space in the /tmp folder (to extract the files), and in the target folder (where files are 
to be installed). If the /tmp dir does not have enough space, specify the dir by setting IATEMPDIR environment 
with path to the folder where you have enough free space. The following example show the use of the options:

export IATEMPDIR=/tempdir
./IxOS8.50.XXX.XXXLinux.bin

Using .tar.gz:

This installs packages for IxOS TCL API only. To install, perform the following steps:

1. Create a destination folder and extract contents of .tar.gz file into it. e.g. /export/home/ixos8.50
2. After extraction, set the following variables (please replace sample path with original path):
        IXIA_HOME=/export/home/ixos8.50
        IXIA_VERSION=8.50.XXX.XXX
        TCLLIBPATH=/export/home/ixos8.50/lib
3. Optionally, specify the following environment variables to specify the location of logs, samples and results files for IxOS:
	IXIA_LOGS_DIR=$IXIA_HOME/logs
	IXIA_RESULTS_DIR=$IXIA_HOME/results
	IXIA_SAMPLES=$IXIA_HOME/samples
	IXIA_TCL_DIR=$IXIA_HOME/lib
4. If the Tcl option was installed with an IxOS installation, add Ixia's bin 
    and lib directory to the PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable in order to use it. 
    For example:
        IxiaLibPath=$IXIA_HOME/lib
        IxiaBinPath=$IXIA_HOME/bin
        PATH=$IxiaBinPath:$PATH
        LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$IxiaLibPath:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
    
Multiple IxOS versions
Multiple IxOS versions can co-exist on an Ixia Chassis or client. Installing another IxOS version does not affect the existing versions.
On Windows Chassis, to set active IxOS version, users are required to close any running instance of
IxServer or TCL Server and start the intended IxServer version from Start Menu or Desktop Shortcuts.
On Native IxOS Chassis, users can login to IxOS CLI via SSH and set active IxOS version using
the command: set ixos active-version 8.x.x.x

NOTE: Any card, port, stream, etc., files generated by IxOS are forward compatible but not backward compatible. 

Tcl/Tk Support for Client Applications

Tcl Server was first supplied free of charge starting with IxOS 3.80 EA. 
Installation of this feature is optional; it should only be installed if 
required for specific application.
 
Installation and operation of the Tcl Server is required for IxChariot when 
running hardware performance pairs, for IxANVL when running VNIC (Virtual 
Network Interface Card) and for IxAuthenticate. The Tcl Server can be installed 
on either the Ixia chassis or a separate Windows workstation. 

The following limitations exist with respect to Wish and Tcl shell support:

   Tcl shell does not run on any version of Windows with Ixia software. Under
   Linux or Solaris, the Tcl shell runs on any version of Tcl greater than or 
   equal to 8.3.

How to Report Problems

    

        

            

                
Ixia Headquarters
                

                    
+1 877 367 4942 - Toll-free North America
                    
+1 818 871 1800 - Outside North America
                    
+1.818.871.1805 - Fax
                    
https://www.ixiacom.com/contact/info
                
            
        
        

            

                
Support
                

                    

				   	    
Global Support
				   	    
support@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+1 818 595 2599
                    
                    

				   	    
APAC Support
				   	    
support-asiapac@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+91 80 4939 6410
                    
                    

				   	    
EMEA Support
				   	    
support-emea@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+40 21 301 5699
                    
                    

				   	    
Greater China Region
				   	    
support-china@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+400 898 0598
                    
                    

				   	    
India Office
				   	    
support-india@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+91 80 4939 6410
                    
                    

				   	    
Japan Head Office
				   	    
support-japan@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+81 3 5326 1980
                    
                    

				   	    
Korea Office
				   	    
support-korea@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+82 2 3461 0095
                    
                    

				   	    
Singapore Office
				   	    
support-asiapac@ixiacom.com
				   	    
+656 494 8910
                    
                
            
        
    

Additional Documentation

Please refer to our website at http://support.ixiacom.com/support-services/product-support/user-guides.

You will be required to provide a login and password to enter this section of 
the web site. If you do not have the username and password, please forward your 
request to support@ixiacom.com.

Field Notices

Laser Warnings
The 10G load modules may use a Class III laser. Precautions should be 
taken to prevent personal injury. The spring-loaded safety cover should always be 
securely in place over the port when there is no cable installed. Avoid exposure
and never look directly into an open port aperture.

Inserting / Removing Load Modules
Modules in the XGS12-SD, XGS12-HS, XGS12-HSL, XGS12-SDL, XGS2-SD, XGS2-HS, XGS2-HSL, XGS2-SDL, XG12, XM12, and XM2 can be inserted/removed while the chassis is still operational.  

For all chassis types, use caution when inserting or removing multi-slot modules 
to evenly insert and remove. Load modules are tightly spaced; avoid contacting 
the adjoining modules while inserting and removing.

Safety Notice Regarding Ixia Load Modules
WARNING: In order to prevent accidental injury to personnel, do not leave transceiver 
(SFP/SFP+/QSFP/QSFP28/CXP/CFP4) cages uncovered on Ixia load modules. When transceivers 
are not installed, port end caps (Part No. 503-006) must be used. The metal edge of 
the transceiver cage is SHARP. To avoid injury, ALWAYS keep the transceiver cage covered.
   
Contact Ixia Technical Support to obtain end caps. Please reference Ixia Product
safety notice Part No. 913-0715 Rev A, June 2009. For additional information
refer to Chapter three of the IXOS Getting Started Guide under the section, 
Notes, Cautions and Warnings.

Use Ejector Tabs Properly
Ejector tabs on load modules are to be used only to eject a load module from
the chassis backplane connector. They are not designed to support the weight
of the load module. Ejector tabs can bend or break if used improperly as handles
to push, pull, or carry a load module.