This is a read-write index selecting which entry in the ipHostTable is being addressed, with valid values ranging from 1 up to the current value of ipHostNumber (the total count of IP host entries configured on this switch). An admin uses this to pick a specific IP-host configuration slot to read or modify, since the table can hold multiple IP entities (e.g., primary and secondary management IPs) on this Centillion switch. For example, setting this to 2 before reading ipHostType would retrieve the type of the second configured IP host entity on the switch.