========================= AS/400 CONNECTIVITY ========================= With the large installed base of IBM's AS/400 systems, the strategic importance of connectivity between HP systems and the AS/400 is increasing. HP, therfore, continues extensive testing to insure the greatest interoperability between HP systems and the AS/400. There have been a number of field and customer requests for information on which HP networking products do and do not provide communication to an IBM AS/400. This package contains an update on some of the products which CAN communicate to the AS/400, those which CAN NOT, and why, and those that still require testing. This is a living document and it will be updated as other products are tested. Please refer to the appropriate data sheet for more detailed information on these products and their requirements. MPE V, XL, AND HP-UX HP-IBM NETWORKING PRODUCTS BATCH COMMUNICATIONS **** RJE/XL (30295A), RJE/V (30248A), HP-UX BSC RJE (50967A S/300 ONLY) Both MPE/XL and MPE/v RJE products can communicate to an AS/400 today. The lab is just finishing formal certification testing, but RJE AS/400 communication has already been verified at customer sites. HP-UX BSC RJE is expected to work for AS/400 communication, but has NOT been verified or tested by the factory and, therefore, it is not a certified or supported configuration at this time. FUNCTIONALITY PROVIDED RJE emulates the major functions of an IBM 2780 or 3780 workstation. It allows transmission of batch jobs to, and receipt from, an IBM host processor. *****SNA NRJE/XL (30292A), SNA NRJE/V (30245A), HP-UX SNA3270 (36976A & 36977A) SNA NRJE and HP-UX SNA3770 are NOT able to communicate to the AS/400 because the AS/400 does not support a Job Entry Subsystem. INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATIONS *****SNA IMF/XL (30293A), SNA IMF/V (30247A) and HP-UX SNA3270 (36978A & 36980A) The SNA IMF and HP-UX 3270 products can communicate to an AS/400 today. This communication is fully supported. FUNCTIONALITY PROVIDED SNA IMF & SNA3270 provide 3270 emulation for HP terminals and printers. SNA IMF allows interactive communication between the HP 3000 and an AS/400 using SNA 3270 protocols. SNA3270 provides the same functionality between an HP 9000 and an AS/400. CONFIGURATION The AS/400 must be configured as a 3274 Cluster Control Unit with 3277 workstations (3278 workstation configurations did not work) and 3287 printers. Two emulation packages must be running on the AS/400 to accomplish 3270 communication: - SDLC Emulation Utility - 3270 Emulation Software Both utiltites come bundled with the AS/400 operating system. The HP 3000 or HP 9000 configuration for SNA IMF does not have to be modified for AS/400 communication. Details on this configuration can be found in the appropriate HP documentation. *****SNA DHCF product cannot communicate directly with an AS/400. However, AS/400 5250 terminal users can connect to a host where IBM's Host Command Facility (HCF) product is running and then use the DHCF product. FUNCTIONALITY PROVIDED Two emulation packages must be running on the AS/400 to accomplish 3270 communication: -SDLC Emulation Utility -3270 Emulation Software The host that the 5250 terminals connect to must be running IBM's Host Command Facility (HCF) version 2 or later PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNICATION *****LU 6.2 API/XL (30294A) AND HP-UX LU 6.2 API (98162a, 98164A) An enhanced version of the LU 6.2 API/XL product is currrently being developed. It's availability is scheduled for the 4Q91 timeframe. This will provide LU 6.2 API over PU2.1 giving peer-to-peer programmatic access to AS/400 applications. This enhancement does NOT apply to the LU 6.2 API/V product (30253A) as SNA LINK/V is not enhanced to run over PU2.1. A similar enhancement is planned for the HP-UX LU 6.2 API product scheduled for availability 3Q91. HP 3000 - HP 3000 COMMUNICATIONS *****NS over SNA/XL (30296A) The NS over SNA/XL product currently allows users on one HP 3000 series system to access another HP 3000 series 900 system via the NS services product over an exisitng SNA network. Enhancements to the product, which are due in the 4Q91 timeframe, will allow this communication through an AS/400 rather than an IBM host. ARPA PRODUCTS =============== The AS/400 has announced TCP/IP support recently. HP's response is that we can communicate with other vendors implementing true TCP/IP. File transfer (FTP) is believed to work to an AS/400. Initial Telnet/XL testing has shown this communication DOES NOT WORK because the AS/400 Telnet implementation uses line-mode only and Hp systems communicate in VPLUS block-mode or character mode. Further, IBM's line-mode implementation is not entirely standards based, so interoperability may continue to be a problem if HP were to implement line-mode. Investigation into this issue continues.