About host files

The hosts file is used by the control network and the streaming/FTP network for name resolution, which determines the IP address of a device on the network when only the device name (hostname) is given. The hosts file is located at C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts on the GV I/O Live Ingest and Playout Server. The hosts file must be the same on all network devices. It includes the names and addresses of all the devices on the network.

For FTP transfers on a K2 SAN system, transfers go to/from K2 Media Servers that have the role of FTP server. No transfers go directly to/from the shared storage GV I/O clients that are on the K2 SAN system. To support FTP transfers, in the hosts file of the GV I/O Live Ingest and Playout Server hostname must have the _he0 extension added at the end of the name and that hostname must be associated with the FTP/streaming network IP address.

Here is an example of IP addresses and names associated in a hosts file:

10.251.53.178	MYKUL-GVIO03	MYKUL-GVIO03_he0
10.251.53.179   MYKUL-GVIO04    MYKUL-GVIO04_he0

Each GV I/O Live Ingest and Playout Server has its hostname associated with its control network IP address. In addition, each GV I/O Live Ingest and Playout Server has its _he0 hostname associated with its streaming/FTP network address.

Use SiteConfig to define your networks and devices. When you do so, SiteConfig creates the correct hosts file and copies the hosts file to each network device. This enforces consistent hosts files across networks and reduces errors introduced by editing and copying hosts files on individual devices. You can also view hosts files from SiteConfig for troubleshooting purposes.