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Appendix G: Wall Data Rumba Office 95/NT


Note: Screen snapshots are copyright Wall Data Incorporated


This document provides sample views of an 802.2 DLC connection for Wall Data Rumba Office 95/NT. We have validated the CCIAPPC component against Rumba Office 95/NT version 5.0. This document is arranged in a logical sequence for an new installation of the Rumba product.

G.1 Installing DLC for Windows 95

The Rumba product requires the Microsoft 32-bit DLC protocol to provide support for a connection over 802.2. You should already have installed the 32-bit DLC driver for Windows 95 or Windows NT. If you have not yet done this, please follow the instructions for installing this driver in Configuring DLC over 802.2 on Windows 95 or Configuring DLC over 802.2 on Windows NT.

G.2 Installing Rumba Office 95/NT

You should have already installed Rumba Office 95/NT. We suggest that you install using the custom install options to insure that the APPC Client, the 802.2 DLC Interface, and the Rumba Communications Monitor is installed. The APPC Client must be selected and would not normally be installed if using the express installation.

G.3 Configuring Rumba Office 95/NT

After successfully installing the Rumba Office 95/NT product, you can start to configure your APPC connection. You should have a VTAM definition of the connection you are attempting to configure available to you during the configuration. Select Start from the Taskbar, then Programs, then Rumba 95 NT Folder, then Rumba Administrative Tools, then APPC Configuration. The APPC Configuration window will be displayed. A sample window with a full configuration is displayed below for reference. Your window will have some default values filled in, you can override these and configure your own connection using the instructions below.

G.4 Step 1: Enter Network Name and Control Point Name

The first screen presented in the configuration tool allows you to enter a Network Name and Control Point Name. Enter the network name for this SNA network. This should be obtained from the network administrator of the host system. Enter the Control Point (CP) name assigned to this machine. This should be obtained from the network administrator of the host system. The CP Name should match the Physical Unit (PU) name assigned to this machine as specified in the PU definition in VTAM for this machine.

G.5 Step 2: Configuring the Connection

Select Connections by clicking in the Connections portion of the configuration window, then click the Add button. The Select a Connection window will appear. Select the type of physical network connection which will be used, in this case 802.2 DLC (Token Ring and Ethernet) and select OK. If you are using an alternative network connection type, such as SDLC or DFT Coax for instance, ensure that you have already installed a device driver for the network adapter.

G.6 Step 3: 802.2 DLC Configuration

  1. Enter a name to describe the Link which will be unique within this node. For example, use a name which will describe the remote node, i.e. the host system, which this Link is used to communicate with.
  2. Enter the Block ID, Node ID, this is the 8 digit hexadecimal number which is used to identify this local system on the SNA network.. The first 3 digits is the block (IDBLK) number followed by the last 5 digits of the node (IDNUM) number. These numbers usually correspond with the IDBLK and IDNUM fields of the PU definition for this machine as defined in VTAM on the host system.
  3. Enter the Destination Address, this is a hexadecimal adapter address of the network controller attached to the remote host system. This should be obtained from the network administrator of the host system.
  4. Enter the Remote SAP Address and Local SAP Address. You may accept the default values of 4 in most cases.
  5. Finally select Mainframe for Link Options.

G.7 Step 4: Configuring the Advanced Options

In the 802.2 DLC Configuration dialog box, select the Advanced tab by clicking on it and enter the following parameter settings:

  1. Specify which local network adapter is to be used. If the local machine only has one adapter you may leave the default of Primary Adapter selected. If the machine has more than one adapter and you would like to use the secondary adapter select Secondary Adapter.
  2. Select Xid Type 3. In most SNA configurations this option should be selected. If the host system is running an older version of NCP/VTAM then Xid Type 0 may be required, in which case this checkbox should be left unselected. Check with the network administrator of the host system which Xid type is required
  3. Enter the Maximum Frame Size of a packet that can be transmitted without segmentation. You must specify a value that is less than or equal to the value of the MAXDATA parameter of the PU definition in VTAM for this machine. For a 4 Mbs Token Ring specify a value of 4195 or less. For a 16 Mbs Token Ring specify a value of 16393 or less. For an Ethernet LAN specify a value of 1493 or less.
  4. Enter the Max Out parameter. This parameter specifies the number of frames that the local machine can send on this link before waiting for an acknowledgment from the partner machine. Set this value to 7.
  5. You may leave the Connection Network Name blank.
  6. You may leave Auto Disconnect Link unselected.
  7. We suggest that the Auto Start Link selection initially be left unselected, so that the link is tested by starting manually. Once this is tested this option can then be activated.
  8. You should un-select End Node
  9. Enter 2 for the 3270 Session count.
  10. Enter 2 for the 3270 Start Address. This parameter should be obtained from the VTAM definition of the LU that you plan to use for 3270 Terminal sessions.
  11. Select OK to complete the definition of the connection. The new connection should appear in the Connections window of the RUMBA APPC Configuration window.

G.8 Step 5: Configuring Local LU's

Before attempting to communicate using CCIAPPC you must define the local and remote LUs which will be used to communicate over the SNA connection you have configured. In this section we will describe the configuration of Independent LUs to be used to communicate over the host connection. When communicating with Host systems running VTAM (or NCP) the Remote LU is known as the APPLID (pronounced 'apple-id').

  1. Select Local LU's by clicking in the Local LU's portion of the configuration window, then click the Add button. The Configure Local LU's window will appear.
  2. Enter the Local LU Name as defined in the list of LUs defined for this PU in VTAM on the host system.
  3. Enter the LU Alias in most cases this should duplicate the LU Name.

G.9 Step 6: Configuring Local LU's Advanced Options

  1. Select the Advanced settings panel by clicking on the Advanced tab.
  2. Enter the LU Address. This value should correspond to the value of the LOCADDR parameter of this LU definition in VTAM on the host system. For independent LUs this value should be zero, whereas dependent LUs have a non-zero address.
  3. Select Use As Default LU. You should click this option for the LU that you wish to use with CCIAPPC. This must be checked if you expect CCIAPPC to be able to determine which local LU to use for communications to the Host.
  4. Select OK to complete the Local LU definition. The new Local LU should appear in the Local LU's window of the RUMBA APPC Configuration window. Repeat this section until all required Local LUs have been added.

G.10 Step 7: Configuring a Dependent LU to be Used for a 3270 Terminal Session

In order to verify the connection to the Mainframe it is wise to configure an LU to be used as a 3270 Terminal Session. In this section we will describe the configuration of a Dependent LU.

  1. Select Local LU's by clicking in the Local LU's portion of the configuration window, then click the Add button. The Configure Local LU's window will appear.
  2. Enter the Local LU Name as defined in the list of LUs defined for this PU in VTAM on the host system. We will use the first dependant LU for our terminal session, the dependant LU's will have a LOCADDR that is not equal to zero. In our case we chose an LU with a LOCADDR of 02.
  3. Enter the LU Alias in most cases this should duplicate the LU Name.

G.11 Step 8: Configuring Dependent Local LU's Advanced Options

  1. Select the Advanced settings panel by clicking on the Advanced tab.
  2. Enter the LU Address. This value should correspond to the value of the LOCADDR parameter of this LU definition in VTAM on the host system. For independent LUs this value should be zero, whereas dependent LUs have a non-zero address.
  3. Select OK to complete the Local LU definition. The new Local LU should appear in the Local LU's window of the RUMBA APPC Configuration window. Repeat this section until all required Local LUs have been added.

G.12 Step 9: Configuring Remote LU's

Now we will configure the Remote LU that will be used to communicate with the Mainframe Fileshare process.

  1. Select Remote LU's by clicking in the Remote LU's portion of the configuration window, then click the Add button. The Configure Remote LU's window will appear.
  2. Enter the name of the VTAM APPL on the host system which is specified by the CCIAPPC server in the publicname parameter (or in the /S parameter of the Fileshare Server).
  3. Enter the LU Alias, this usually duplicates the LU Name.
  4. Connection Select the connection which will be used to communicate with this Remote LU. In this case, the Link Name defined for the connection definition in section 1, or BOSTON.

G.13 Step 10: Configuring Remote LU's Advanced Options

  1. Select the Advanced settings panel by clicking on the Advanced tab.
  2. Network Name Enter the network name for this SNA network. This should be obtained from the network administrator of the host system.
  3. Uninterpreted LU Name Duplicate the LU Name.
  4. Use As Default LU Leave to default to selected.
  5. Select OK to complete the Remote LU definition. The new Remote LU should appear in the Remote LU's window of the RUMBA APPC Configuration window. Repeat this section until all required Remote LUs have been added.

G.14 Step 11: Configuring Session Limits: Defining a Mode

A Mode is used to define the attributes of sessions used between a Local LU and a Remote LU.

If the default mode #INTER is not appropriate (because its settings are incompatible with the modes defined on the host system for the Remote LU, or perhaps because a larger number of sessions is required) then a new mode can be defined.

CCIAPPC uses a single APPC session for each CCI session between the client and the server (e.g. between the MFA client and Fileshare running on a mainframe). When CCIAPPC establishes a connection between the client and server the attributes of the Mode determine, amongst other things, the number of CCI sessions available between the Local LU and the Remote LU (APPLID in VTAM). Hence the Mode determines how many client sessions can be established using the same Local LU - Remote LU pairing.

The Session Limit and the Minimum Contention Winners values together determine how many sessions can be established by the Local LU (see below).

For example: if 10 client sessions are required, all using the same Local LU then the Mode session attributes might be:

Session Limit = 20
Minimum Contention Winners = 15

Alternatively the same number of client sessions could be attained by using multiple Local LUs with the client sessions divided between these LUs.


IMPORTANT NOTE: When a connection is established between a Local LU and a Remote LU the Mode characteristics are negotiated. This means that it is possible that the partner system (e.g. mainframe) will reduce the session limits to values which it can support. This may mean that fewer client sessions than expected will be supported. Hence it is important that the Mode characteristics, as defined for both the Local and Remote LUs, are compatible.


G.14.1 To Define a New Mode

  1. Select Modes by clicking in the Modes portion of the configuration window, then click the Add button. The Configure Modes window will appear.
  2. Enter Mode Name, this should match the Mode Name as defined on the Host system in VTAM. This can be the default log mode specified by the DLOGMOD parameter of the VTAM Applid (APPL) definition.
  3. Select the Limits panel by clicking on the Limits tab.
  4. Enter the Session Limit, Automatic Activation Limit, and Minimum Contention Winners. These values should be obtained from the system administrator of the host system
  5. Select the Send panel by clicking on the Send tab.
  6. Enter the RU Length and Pacing Count. These values should be obtained from the system administrator of the host system.
  7. Select the Receive panel by clicking on the Receive tab.
  8. Enter the RU Length and Pacing Count. These values should be obtained from the system administrator of the host system.
  9. Select OK to complete the Mode definition. The new Mode should appear in the Modes window of the RUMBA APPC Configuration window. Repeat this section until all required Modes have been added.

G.15 Step 12: Enabling CCIAPPC to Locate the Local LU

It is very important that the CCIAPPC module be able to determine the Local LU to use for communication with the Host application. You may have configured everything else correctly and all of your other APPC applications may work, but if you miss this final step you will fail to establish a CCI session with the host application. If the CCI-INITCLIENT call returns CCI error 9 and CCI_GETERROR returns the message "Transport failure, the client could not make a connection" it is likely that you have failed to complete this final step. When CCIAPPC attempts to allocate an LU 6.2 session with the remote system it must specify the Remote LU name which it requires a session with. This is the Remote LU name specified in the CCI Servername parameter (e.g. the /S parameter in FHREDIR.CFG). However, APPC needs to know the Local LU name as well as the Remote LU name when attempting to establish a session between the LUs. To enable APPC to retrieve the Local LU name to use when attempting to allocate APPC sessions set the Use As Default LU option in the Advanced window of the Configure Local LU's dialog box for the Local LU. This must be done prior to starting the CCIAPPC client.

G.16 Step 13: Saving your Configuration

Once the settings described above have been made the configuration must be saved before starting the RUMBA Engine. In the File menu select Save and then Exit the RUMBA APPC Configuration program.

G.17 Step 14: Updating the System Path

Before Rumba can be used with CCIAPPC the system path must be updated so that the required Rumba run-time DLLs can be found by CCIAPPC. CCIAPPC on 32 Bit Windows uses the WCPIC32.DLL from the Rumba product to provide CPI-C APPC support.

Use one of the following methods to update the path:

This takes affect immediately, applications subsequently started will have the correct path setting.

Restart Windows 95 to adopt the new path setting.

The new path will now be set when MFENV is used to set the environment for Cobol.

G.18 Step 15: Activating the Configuration

In order to activate the configuration follow the steps outlined below.

  1. From the RUMBA 95/NT Folder select the RUMBA Administration Tools folder and start the RUMBA Engine.
  2. Then from the same folder start the RUMBA Communication Monitor.
  3. Select the Link in the left hand window and select Start Link from the Control menu. If the Link activates successfully Active Link will be displayed in the right hand window. If the Link does not activate successfully and Inactive Link remains displayed in the right hand window (note that there is a delay between refreshes of the window) see the section Error Reporting and Diagnostics below for information on diagnosing the problem. Once the Link is active communication with CCIAPPC can be initiated.

G.19 Error Reporting and Diagnostics

Refer to the RUMBA Event Logger and Using the RUMBA Trace Console sections of the RUMBA Administrative Tools help topic in the RUMBA Help Desk. These sections will explain how to monitor error events and trace APPC within RUMBA.

Fileshare Error Reporting - Fileshare clients log messages returned from CCI in both the fhredir.msg and fhneterr.log files in the current directory. For Example: an entry from fhredir.cfg, "CCI: 970116 15183855 0009 07 CCIAPPC failed to allocate an APPC session, ensure that Local LU is defined". Column 2 and 3 gives the date and time stamp of the error. Column 4 (in this case 0009) gives the CCI error code Column 6 gives the CCI error message returned by CCI-GETERROR


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