Chapter 9: CICS Communications Using Microsoft Host Integration Server

This chapter describes how to configure CICS Option communication links using Microsoft Host Integration Server (HIS) as the communications manager. This architecture uses an SNA link between CICS applications running on a mainframe and CICS Option running on one or more Microsoft Windows PCs. HIS is a part of the BizTalk software suite.

In order to use these instructions, you should be familiar with:

• The concepts of CICS Option, and how CICS Option can operate over multiple machines in a single system environment
• CICS intersystem communication requirements
• Configuring a Microsoft HIS local server
• Configuring a Microsoft HIS client running CICS Option

For information on communication between IBM CICS products, see the IBM publication CICS Family: Interproduct Communication, SC33-0824.

For information on installing and configuring Microsoft HIS, see the Host Integration Server 2006 Help.

Process Overview

To set up an SNA link between a mainframe CICS environment and CICS Option environments running on a local server and client PCs, follow the procedures outlined in the following four stages. The procedures describe how to configure an 802.2 DLC connection:

• Configure the communication link between the HIS local server and the mainframe host:

  This stage involves installing the HIS software on the local server and any clients, and configuring the SNA link from the local server to the mainframe.

• Connect the local CICS Options to the Host CICS region:

  This stage involves configuring the connections between local CICS options (running on any clients), and the CICS region running on the host.

• Define the client connections and sessions to the host:

  This stage involves defining the local CICS Option connections and sessions to the host CICS region, so that the host can recognize sessions running on the client CICS Options.

• Set up communications from the host to local CICS options:

  This stage involves configuring the link so that the host can initiate tasks on a local CICS Option.

This chapter provides an overview of the procedures in each stage. For detailed information on each procedure, refer to the documentation delivered with the Microsoft HIS software.

Each procedure includes a list of the information you need to configure an 802.2 DLC connection. You can collect this information from your mainframe system administrator. An example value is included for each setting required. These example values are used consistently across the procedures described in this chapter, to help clarify situations where different procedures use the same values.

System Architecture

A system that uses Microsoft HIS to manage SNA communications typically consists of:

• A mainframe running CICS applications.
• A PC with a dedicated SNA link to the mainframe. This PC runs a HIS server installation, and acts as an SNA manager.
• One or more client PCs running HIS SNA client, and Micro Focus CICS Option.

Figure 9-1: HIS rchitecture

For details of a Microsoft HIS installation's hardware and software requirements, refer to the Host Integration Server 2006 Help.

Configuration Definitions

The terminology used often varies between environments and communications service managers used. The following table details the terminology that is used in this chapter. Alternative names are shown in parentheses.

Configuring HIS Local Server to Mainframe Communication

This section provides overviews of the configuration tasks, and information on the settings each the task configures. For specific details on performing each task, refer to your Microsoft Host Integration Software documentation.

To enable a mainframe CICS environment to communicate with CICS Option running on a HIS local server, an LU 6.2 link is required between the local server and the mainframe. The LU 6.2 link is separated into SNA Server (PC) and VTAM (mainframe) components.

Mainframe connection information requirements for 802.2 DLC

For an 802.2 DLC connection, you require, from your mainframe system administrator, the information detailed in the table below. For each item, the table lists the configuration task that requires the information, and an example value. For details of the local information required, refer to each task.

Installing the Microsoft HIS software on the local server

In this procedure, you install the Microsoft HIS server software onto the local server, and add the configuration details required to define the local server.

When you run the Microsoft Host Integration Server Installation Wizard, select the Server and the Documentation options.

Installing the Microsoft HIS software on each of the local clients

In this procedure, you install the Microsoft HIS client software onto each of the local clients.

When you run the Microsoft Host Integration Server Installation Wizard, select the Client and the Documentation options

Configuring the Link Service for the local server

In this procedure, you create a new DLC 802.2 Link Service and specify the network adaptor that the link service uses.

If the local server has more than one PU to the mainframe, you will need more than one link service. Each PU to a host requires a unique Local Service Access Point (SAP) address. If you are defining your first link service, use the default of 4. For a host with multiple PUs, the link service adapter number must be a hexadecimal number that is a multiple of 4, and is in the range of 04 to EC.

Configuring the connection

In this procedure, you define the 802.2 connection for the local server.

Configuring the remote system's network address

In this procedure, you configure the remote system's network address.

Configuring the System Identification

In this procedure, you configure the remote network system identification details.

Configuring 802.2 DLC Properties

In this procedure, you configure the maximum Basic Transmission Unit (BTU) length for the connection.

Before attempting to communicate to the host you must define the local and remote LUs that will be used to communicate over the SNA connection you have configured.

Configuring Local APPC LUs

In this procedure, you configure the Local APPC Logical Units (LUs). Independent LUs are used to communicate over the host connection. You need to configure:

• Local Advanced Program to program Communication (APPC) LUs
• Remote LUs

If you are using multiple APPC LUs, you can configure each of them as follows:

Configuring Remote LUs

In this procedure, you configure a remote Logical Unit ( LU) that is assigned to a connection.

Independent LUs are used to communicate over the host connection. You need to configure:

• Local Advanced Program to program Communication (APPC) LUs
• Remote LUs: When communicating with host systems running VTAM (or NCP), the Remote LU is known as the APPLID.

Adding a User

Before you can use a connection you need to be defined to the Microsoft HIS SNA server as a user.

Configuring a 3270 LU for the 3270 Applet

In order to use the Microsoft HIS Server 3270 Applet for 3270 terminal access to the host system, a 3270 LU must be configured for use by each terminal session.

This operation can be repeated for other 3270 dependent LUs for your PU. With a 3270 LU configured with the values below, the operation could be repeated for LU MCOTRM23 with an LU number of 3, and MCOTRM24 with an LU number of 4.

Associating a 3270 LU with a User

When a user runs the Microsoft HIS Server 3270 applet, a 3270 LU is required in order to establish a 3270 session with the host system. This LU may come from a pool of 3270 LUs or it may be associated with the user. The example values define a pool and associate a user to this pool.

Saving the Configuration

To save the configuration, from the File menu, click Save.

Activating the Configuration

To activate the configuration, you must stop and restart the Microsoft HIS Server service.

Provided the 'Activation Type' was defined as 'On Server Startup' or 'On Demand', when the server is active, the underlying connections activate.

When configured for Incoming and Outgoing calls, the status for Connections becomes 'On Demand/Incoming' when successfully activated. The connection status becomes 'Active' when the first session is established, or if the connection is activated manually by the administrator.

Connecting a Client CICS Option to the Host CICS Region

Once you have configured Microsoft HIS on the server, you can configure CICS Option on each client to communicate with the host CICS region. Once you have the Microsoft HIS SNA Server to host connection working as described in the previous section, the configuration of CICS Option and the host CICS region should be simple.

The parameters that you require for configuring CICS Option to the host are:

Defining a CICS Option Connection to a Host CICS System

To define a CICS Option running on a client's connection to the host, use the steps below:

1. Start Mainframe Express.
2. Load or define the project for the region that you want to communicate with the host.
3. On the Tools menu, click CICS and then Resource Definition.
4. Press F7, group resources.
5. Add or select a group to add your connection definition to.
6. When the group has been selected, press F9 =terminal/connection. Then press F3 =connection. The example value is HST1.
7. Enter the Connect id by which the host will be known to your local system That is, either of the following:
   • The SYSID of the host as used in the SYSID() entry of the EXEC CICS statements
   • The System ID as used in the resource definition
8. Press F3 =add, and configure the following values:
   • In the Description field, enter a description.
   • In the Connection type field, enter LU6.2.
   • In the LU alias field, enter the independent LU name for your PU as defined on VTAM. The example value is: MCOLU021
   • In the Partner alias field, enter the APPLID of the remote CICS system. The example value is: HSTCICS1
   • In the Alias applid field, enter the APPLID of the local system as defined to the host. The example value is: MCOLU021
   • In the Mode table field, enter the mode table that Microsoft HIS SNA Server and the host are to use. The example value is: #INTER
   • In the Session maximum field, enter the maximum number of sessions between LU-LU pairs that CICS Option will allow. The maximum supported number allowed by CICS Option is: 5
   • In the Net name field, enter the network name of the host CICS system. The example value is: MCOPU021
9. Press F10 to save the record.

Figure 9-2: Definition of Host Connection

Including the Resource Group in the Startup List

You need to ensure that the resource group with the host CICS system's definitions is included in the startup list, as follows:

1. In Mainframe Express on the Project View, select the CICS tab.
2. Right-click on CICS System, and from the list, select Startup List to display the Startup List Configuration dialog box.
3. Check whether the group containing the host CICS system's definitions is in the left-hand list of Groups in Startup List. If not:
   1. Select the group from the right-hand list.
   2. Click << Add to move it to the left-hand list.
   3. Click OK to confirm the move.

Defining a CICS Connection from the Host to the Local CICS Option System

In order for the host CICS region to recognize CICS Option running on a local client, you need to define a connection definition and an associated session on the host. On most host systems, a CICS region change such as this is usually applied by the system administrator. Liaise with your system administrator to perform this process.

You need to have a resource group for the connection and session definitions. The example group value is HSTTOSNA. The example connection name is LU21 and the session name is LU21SESS.

You can use an SNA Server 3270 applet to configure the host CICS system by entering the VTAM ID of your host CICS region when the terminal has a connection to the host VTAM system.

This procedure describes how to use the IBM-supplied transaction CEDA to configure the host CICS regions. For more information on the CEDA transaction, see the IBM publication CICS/ESA 3.3 Resource Definition.

In the following procedures, accept the default values for the fields that are not described. When you have defined your connection and sessions, and have tested them, you can configure the connections and settings to be installed automatically on the host CICS region at startup. You can do this by adding the group to your CICS startup list.

1. In CICS, on the host system, enter the following transaction:

   transaction 'CEDA DEFINE GROUP(group_name) CONNECTION(connection_name)

   where group_name is the name of the group containing the connection connection_name. A transaction using the example values in this chapter is:

   CEDA DEFINE GROUP(HSTTOSNA) CONNECTION(LU21)

2. In the Netname field, under Connection Identifiers, type the netname of you local CICS Option system and press Enter. The example value is MCOLU021. You should receive the message Define Successful near the bottom of the screen.
3. Press PF3 to end CEDA, followed by Clear.
4. Enter the transaction:

   CEDA DEFINE GROUP(group_name) SESSION(session_name)

   where group_name is the name of the group containing the session session_name. A transaction using the example values in this chapter is:

   CEDA DEFINE GROUP(HSTTOSNA) SESSION(LU21SESS)

5. In the Connection field, under Session Identifiers, type the name of the connection you have defined. The example value is LU21.
6. In the MOdename field, under Session Identifiers, type the name of the mode table that you are using. The example value is #INTER.
7. In Session Properties you need to enter the maximum number of sessions in the group and the maximum number of contention winners. Example values are 8 and 4 respectively.
8. If required, change send size and receive size default values. This will depend on your mode table.
9. Press Enter and you should receive the message Define Successful near the bottom of the screen.
10. Press PF3 to end CEDA, followed by Clear.

Defining a Terminal for Transaction Routing

On some versions of VTAM you might need to define a terminal so that you can perform transaction routing to the host CICS region from the local CICS Option.

This requirement is indicated by the error message TXCS1012E Comms error x'0006' during route of TRAN to system HST1 when you enter the first transaction ID to be run on the host CICS region.

If you define a transaction routing terminal, you also need to change the default terminal configuration as described in the section Configuring a Default Terminal. The example transaction routing terminal is: L21A.

1. Enter the transaction:

   CEDA DEFINE GROUP(group_name) TERMINAL(terminal_id)

   where group_name is the name of the group containing the terminal_id terminal definition. With the example values, the command is

   CEDA DEFINE GROUP(HSTTOSNA) TERMINAL(L21A)

2. Enter the following details under Terminal Identifiers:
   • Typeterm = DFHLU2
   • Netname=L21A
   • REMOTESYSTem = LU21
   • REMOTEName = L21A
3. Press Enter and you should receive the message 'Define Successful' near the bottom of the screen.
4. Press PF3 to end CEDA, followed by Clear.

Installing the Definitions

After you have defined the connection, the session, and, if required, the terminal, you need to install the terminal definitions. As a connection and a session are paired, you need to install the group that they are contained in rather than the individual entries.

• Using the example values, on your host CICS region, enter:

  CEDA INSTALL GROUP(HSTTOSNA)

  The message: Install Successful is displayed.

Configuring a Default Terminal

You only need to do this if you receive the following message when you enter the first transaction ID to be run on the host CICS region:

TXCS1012E Comms error x'0006' during route of TRAN to system HST1

See the section Defining a Terminal for Transaction Routing for more information.

1. On the Mainframe Express Tools menu, click CICS, then Region Management, and then Configure Default Terminal. This displays the Configure Default 3270 Terminal dialog box.
2. Under Terminal definition, set Based on to 'Netname' and Name to XXXXaaaa, where aaaa is the name of the terminal defined on the host CICS region. The example value is XXXXL21A. The last four characters of the netname are used as the terminal identifier. See the section Terminal Installation Parameters in the chapter Configuring CICS Terminals and Printers for more information on the setting of netname.

Testing the Connection to the Host CICS System

To test your connection to the host CICS system you need to ensure that:

1. The HIS local server has an active link to the host.
2. The host CICS region is running. In most installations this is the case, but sometimes you may need to ask your host system administrator to start the host CICS region that you are going to connect with. It can usually be tested by using an SNA Server 3270 applet and entering the VTAM ID of your host CICS region when the terminal has a connection to the host VTAM.

Starting the Local CICS Option

To start CICS Option on the client, use the following instructions:

1. On the Mainframe Express Tools menu, click CICS and then Start Region. In the console window, wait until both initialization phases have been run.
2. Click CICS and then Start 3270 terminal. This starts the 3270 terminal emulator for CICS Option, not the SNA server.
3. Complete any sign-on procedure required by your system.
4. Enter the transaction:

   CRTE SYSID=HST1

   where HST1 is your connection definition name. You should receive the following message:

   DFH4409 The routing session to system HST1 has been started

   This initiates transaction routing for this terminal without acquiring any resources. It does not test the connection.
5. To test the connection, enter a transaction that you know exists on the host CICS system. A suitable transaction is:

   CEMT INQUIRE CONNECTION

   This should return the following information:

   IN CONN
   STATUS:  RESULTS - OVERTYPE TO MODIFY 
   Con(COA1) Net(COA1REMT)  Ins Rel  Vta Appc
   Con(LU21) Net(MCOLU021)  Ins Acq  Vta Appc

   In the list of connections, you should see the connection that you have defined, and the netname associated with it. It should also have the acquired status (Acq).

Setting Up Communications from Host to Local CICS Options

At this stage, you are not able to use transaction routing, function shipping, or DPL from the host CICS region. Also, distributed transaction processing (DTP) does not work because the host CICS region is currently unable to initiate tasks on the local CICS Option.

If you have reached this point successfully, you should now have the HIS software on the local server configured and connected to the VTAM host system. CICS Option should be able to use transaction routing, function shipping, and distributed program linking (DPL) to the host system.

Defining Transaction Programs

In this procedure, you define transaction programs (TPs) to the HIS local server (or client connected to an SNA Server) so that it knows how to invoke CICS Option.

For inbound communications, the HIS SNA Server requires registry entries to be created for each CICS Option transaction on the local server or a client. These entries are used by the HIS SNA Server to start the CICS Option program dfhgatch.exe, which routes the request to the correct CICS Option region and transaction.

The Micro Focus CICS Option registry entries for the transaction programs can be found in the following location:

/HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services/SnaBase/Parameters/TP's/tpname/Parameters

You can use the supplied program mftpset.exe to add inbound transaction program information to the registry:

1. Start a Mainframe Express command prompt.
2. Run mftpset.exe. This displays a dialog box that enables you to add or overwrite the registry entry for the inbound transaction program.
3. Specify the TP Name. This is used to identify the transaction program to the HIS SNA Server. This TP name should correspond to the transaction that the host system attempts to run on the local CICS Option (for example, CRTE).
4. Specify the Command line that starts the transaction on the local CICS Option.
5. Specify the name of the Local LU Alias as defined to the HIS SNA server for the inbound request. This is the independent LU that you are going to use for your PU as defined to VTAM. The example value is: MCOLU021
6. Click OK.

For more information on adding and editing transaction programs, see the Host Integration Server 2006 Help.

An important point about tpstart.exe is that it only reads the registry when it is started. So, if you have updated the registry by adding or changing a TP, you need to stop and restart tpstart.exe to pick up any updates.

The following TPs must be defined for inbound function shipping, transaction routing, and distributed program linking:

For inbound function shipping, transaction routing, or distributed program linking, you must add the resource group DFHISC to the startup list in the SIT that contains the PCT definitions for the above transactions.

Testing Inbound Transaction Routing from the Host

When you have added the required TP definitions to the registry, you are able to perform inbound transaction routing from the host.

This test completes the configuration. To test your connection to the host ensure that:

1. The Microsoft HIS SNA server has an active link to the host.
2. The host CICS region is running. In most installations this is normally the case, but sometimes you may need to ask your host system administrator to start the host CICS region that you are going to connect with. It can usually be tested by using an SNA Server 3270 applet and entering the VTAM ID of your host CICS region when the terminal has a connection to the host VTAM.
3. You have restarted the region as described in the section Starting the Local CICS Option.

When the previous steps have been done:

1. Start a Microsoft HIS SNA Server 3270 applet to the host VTAM, as described earlier, and connect to the host CICS region.
2. When you have a session on the host CICS region, run the supplied transaction:

   CRTE SYSID=localwhere local is the name of the connection that you defined earlier. With the supplied example values, it is:

   CRTE SYSID=LU21

   .
3. You should now be able to use the SNA Server 3270 applet as if it was a terminal on your local CICS system. To test the connection, run the transaction CENV supplied with CICS Option. This should give you information about your local CICS system. When you have completed transaction routing, enter the CANCEL command.

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