The Personals in OS/2 Warp 4

No, this article isn't about lonely people in search of the perfect mate. It's about the Personals--the IBM Personal Communications Entry (PCOMM-E) products, particularly PCOMM-E's TCP/IP version. Learn to use PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) to easily access your S/390 or AS/400 computer system from the OS/2 Warp 4 desktop.

'Well, this isn't about lonely people in search of the perfect mate. Here, the Personals are the IBM Personal Communications Entry (PCOMM-E) products, with the main focus on PCOMM-E's TCP/IP version. This article tells you how to use PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) to easily access your S/390 or AS/400 computer system from the OS/2 Warp 4 desktop.'

IBM Personal Communications Entry (PCOMM-E) is a group of entry-level versions of the popular PCOMM for OS/2 32-bit product. It provides a subset of the functionality and connectivity available in the IBM Personal Communications for OS/2 family of full-function products, while preserving the same basic look and feel.

PCOMM-E comes in three versions: This article focuses on the PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) version. For the rest of this article, the term PCOMM-E specifically denotes PCOMM-E(TCP/IP).
 * Personal Communications/3270 - IEEE 802.2 Entry Level Version 3.4, for interaction with S/390 applications through a native SNA LAN (IEEE 802.2) connection. PCOMM-E(IEEE) is shipped in the OS/2 Warp AttachPak.
 * Personal Communications/3270 - LUA Entry Level Version 4.0, also for interaction with S/390 applications. Access to the S/390 is through IBM Communications Server's LUA API or the OS/2 Access Feature. PCOMM-E(LUA) is shipped with IBM Communications Server.
 * Personal Communications AS/400 and 3270 - TCP/IP Entry Level Version 4.1 provides up to two 5250 and/or 3270 GUI display sessions for interaction with AS/400 or S/390 applications, respectively. Access to the AS/400 or S/390 is through TCP/IP Version 3.5 for OS/2 stack. PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) can take advantage of any transport for which the TCP/IP stack is configured, including LAN, SLIP, or PPP. PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) is shipped with OS/2 Warp 4.

PCOMM-E Highlights
PCOMM-E gives you access, at your OS/2 Warp 4 PC workstation, to 3270 and/or 5250 applications on host computers. As shown in Figure 1, PCOMM-E supports up to two host GUI display sessions (called WorkStation Sessions). Each session is autonomous, enabling you to have sessions to different hosts, using different emulations, different color mappings, different languages, and so forth.

'''Figure 1. Two WorkStations (AS/400 and S/390'''



The 5250 and 3270 applications adhere to any of the IBM 3270 Display Station screen sizes--24x80, 32x80, 43x80, or 27x132--with no need for scrolling. In fact, PCOMM-E's automatic font-sizing capability scales fonts to fit within a session window whenever the window is resized.

PCOMM-E provides additional capabilities to users who have historically used the limited TN3270 and TN5250 emulators that came with IBM TCP/IP for OS/2 products.

For the rare occasion when you may need to resolve a problem, PCOMM-E comes with administration tools. With these tools, you can trace the communications between PCOMM-E and sockets, and apply Authorized Program Analysis Reports (APARs), Corrective Service Diskettes (CSDs), and device drivers. Figure 2 displays the tools within the Administration Tools folder.

Key Functions PCOMM-E provides these major functions:
 * 3270 display emulation
 * 5250 display emulation
 * Color mapping
 * Maximum of two sessions
 * Models 2 through 5 screen sizes
 * Clipboard edit functions (Undo, Copy, Cut, and Paste)
 * Printer Definition Tables (PDTs)
 * Connectivity via TCP/IP Version 3.5 for OS/2, included with OS/2 Warp 4
 * Automatic font sizing
 * Trace setup utility
 * Maintenance tools for applying CSDs, APARs, and device drivers

What You Need to Know
Prior to installing and configuring PCOMM-E for access to an S/390 or AS/400, you need to determine certain facts:

Finally, you need to configure MPTS and/or TCP/IP to address all of these concerns.
 * Is your S/390 or AS/400 on the same network as your OS/2 Warp host? If not, you need to ensure that a router exists to provide the path between your network and the destination network.
 * Is there a name server available on the network, or is a host list available in the TCP/IP configuration at the OS/2 Warp host? If so, you need to know the host name of your destination. If not, you need to know its IP address.
 * Is only a single interface being used for all sessions between PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) and the S/390 and/or AS/400? If two interfaces are required (for example, LAN to the S/390 and SLIP to the AS/400), you need to ensure that both are enabled.
 * Is OS/2 Warp 4 Remote Access being used? If so, Remote Access must be properly configured with TCP/IP as a protocol.

PCOMM-E Interfaces
PCOMM-E supports native TCP/IP and TCP/IP encapsulated in NetBIOS. The interfaces available to the OS/2 Warp 4 workstation are:

IBM Dial-Up for TCP/IP lets you use SLIP or PPP through a COM port to connect to another TCP/IP host or to a service provider.
 * Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)
 * Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
 * LAN (Token-Ring, Ethernet, PC Network, or FDDI)
 * IBM Remote Access Client
 * IBM 8235 Dial-In Access to LANs (DIALs) Client

PCOMM-E also accommodates LAN connections supported by MPTS (Token-Ring, Ethernet, PC Network, and FDDI). Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) LAN Emulation is also an option.

Finally, PCOMM-E is supported by the IBM emulated LAN solutions, IBM Remote Access (LAN Distance), and IBM 8235 DIALs. For both Remote Access and 8235 DIALs, PCOMM-E resides on the client machine. The client machine communicates through the workstation's COM port to a server that is physically connected to the local area network. For IBM Remote Access, the server is a software solution; for IBM 8235 DIALs, the server is a hardware solution. In either case, the server gives the remote client running PCOMM-E access to a S/390 and/or AS/400 host residing on the LAN.

When you use either LAN or Remote Access as the transport for the TCP/IP protocol, you must verify your MPTS configuration and modify it as needed. You can do this in PCOMM-E's Adapter and Protocol Configuration screen, shown in Figures 3 and 4. In Figure 3, the TCP/IP protocol is bound to the physical Token-Ring adapter installed in the box. In Figure 4, the TCP/IP protocol is bound to the virtual LAN (LAN Distance) adapter provided with Remote Access.

Figure 3. TCP/IP Protocol Bound to Token-Ring

Figure 4. TCP/IP Protocol Bound to LAN Distance

TCP/IP Configuration
You may have to modify your existing TCP/IP configuration if it does not include the routes or name services that allow connectivity to your AS/400 and/or S/390. For the interface(s) that you have configured and enabled under TCP/IP, confirm the following:

For SLIP or PPP connections, you will need to use the IBM Dial-Up for TCP/IP utility to configure the connection to the destination TCP/IP host, either directly or through a service provider.
 * Verify that the current router definitions will get you to the destination host network and address. If not, add the necessary routing statements to your configuration.
 * If you want to use a host name rather than an IP address, make sure the host name exists locally or at the configured name server. Add the host name at either location if it does not exist.

AS/400 Configuration
Since this connectivity is via TCP/IP, software running on the AS/400 must include TCP/IP Connectivity Utilities/400 (product number 5763-TC1) as well as OS/400 (product number 5763-SS1). These utilities support the standard TCP/IP utilities and protocols on the AS/400.

PCOMM-E provides access to the AS/400 through 5250 Telnet; optionally, you can use 3270 Telnet. During TCP/IP Connectivity Utilities installation and subsequent setup, the required communication objects are created within OS/400 to allow access by remote TCP/IP applications. AS/400 supports TCP/IP via several media: LAN (Ethernet and Token-Ring), X.25, SDDI, FDDI, and ISDN.

The key information required to configure TCP/IP in OS/2 Warp 4 PCOMM-E is: The next series of steps shows you how to obtain this information. It is important that you work with your information systems professionals to ensure easy, quick access to the AS/400. For example, they will have to set up a valid password and security access to applications and databases on the AS/400.
 * Host name and/or IP address
 * A valid userid and password for AS/400
 * Whether the TCP/IP daemons (servers) have been started on the AS/400

The first step is to sign on to the AS/400. To do this, find a workstation or terminal attached to the AS/400 with which you want to communicate, and power it on (for a PC, start up Client Access/400). A Sign-On menu immediately appears. After you sign on, you see the AS/400 Main Menu screen (Figure 5).

Figure 5. AS/400 Main Menu

Next, perform the following steps to determine whether the TCP/IP Connectivity Utilities/400 are installed in the system:

1. In the AS/400 Main Menu, choose option 7, "Define or change the system." (To make this selection, enter 7 on the "Selection or Command" line at the bottom of the screen, then press Enter.) 2. In the "Define or Change the System" screen, select option 2, "Work with licensed programs." 3. In the "Work with Licensed Programs" screen, select option 10, "Display installed licensed programs." 4. In the "Display Installed Licensed Programs" screen, look for 5763-TC1 the TCP/IP Connectivity Utilities. If this program is not listed, you must install it before you can continue.

Once you know that the TCP/IP Connectivity Utilities are loaded, your next step is to gather the configuration information. Return to the AS/400 Main Menu by continually pressing F12 until the main menu is displayed. Then perform the following steps:

1. Enter the command CFGTCP at the main menu "Selection or Command" prompt to display the "Configure TCP/IP" screen. 2. Select option 1, "Work with TCP/IP interfaces." The "Work with TCP/IP Interfaces" screen appears (see Figure 6) and shows the subnet mask to use, plus the line description and line type (for example, *TRLAN = Token-Ring LAN) that the AS/400 is using to provide TCP/IP access.



'''Figure 6. Work with TCP/IP Interfaces'''

Note that the Internet address (IP address) for this AS/400 is 9.19.138.5. Remember this address, because you will use it in step 5 to determine the AS/400 host name in the "Work with TCP/IP Host Table Entries" screen. 3. Now, refer to the AS/400 TCP/IP host table to determine the TCP/IP host name of the AS/400. To do this, return to the "Configure TCP/IP" screen by pressing F12. 4. Back on the "Configure TCP/IP" screen, choose option 10, "Work with TCP/IP host table entries." 5. The "Work with TCP/IP Host Table Entries" screen (Figure 7) shows the names and IP addresses of all the hosts that the AS/400 knows about. It also displays the AS/400's host name.

'''Figure 7. Work with TCP/IP Host Table Entries'''

The IP address that you found in step 2 in the "Work with TCP/IP Interfaces" screen, 9.19.138.5, is associated with two names in Figure 7: A simple host name, DAL90TCP, and a fully qualified name (including domain), DAL90TCP.SL.DFW.IBM.COM. These represent the host names and the IP address that you should configure on your workstation to communicate with the AS/400.

At this point, you have all the information you need for connecting to the AS/400 from another TCP/IP host.

The next step is to check which servers (e.g., TCP/IP daemons) are running on the AS/400. This is also where you can determine which other users are connected, and which sockets are being used.

The command to view the current connection status of the AS/400 TCP/IP is either NETSTAT or WRKCNNSTS. Return to the AS/400 Main Menu by continually pressing F12 until it is displayed. At the bottom of the main menu, at the "Selection or Command" prompt, type either of these commands and press Enter. You see the "Work with TCP/IP Connection Status" screen, shown in Figure 8.



'''Figure 8. Work with TCP/IP Connection Status'''

Before attempting to connect, make sure that your "Work with TCP/IP Connection Status" screen contains a row with the entry "telnet" under Local Port, as shown in Figure 8. This entry indicates that the AS/400 TCP/IP Telnet server is listening for a remote host connection. If no such entry appears in your screen, then you must restart TCP/IP. To do that, from a command line, type STRTCP to start TCP/IP, or STRTCPSVR to start the TCP/IP servers, then press Enter. You can enter these commands on any screen that has "Selection or Command" at the bottom.

S/390 Configuration
For the S/390 host, you need to verify and collect much of the same configuration data that you did for the AS/400 host.

To verify that TCP/IP is installed and configured on the host system, consult its systems administrator.

The system administrator configures IBM TCP/IP Version 2 Release 3 for VM and IBM TCP/IP for MVS by modifying configuration files and datasets. At startup time, the configuration parameters for TCP/IP and all its services (server processes) are read from these configuration files and datasets.

Figure 9 summarizes the configuration files and datasets that contain information pertinent to this article. These files are meant to be viewed and altered by the system administrator. For this reason, we will not go into detail about them. If you have system administration responsibilities, please read IBM TCP/IP for VM V2R3 : Planning and Customization (SC31-6082) or IBM TCP/IP V3R2 for MVS: Customization and Administration Guide (SC31-7134) to build and tailor these configuration data sets.

PCOMM-E Configuration
PCOMM-E is installed alongside the base OS/2 Warp 4.

Configuring PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) is as simple as providing a host name or destination IP address. In fact, if both host GUI display sessions (workstation sessions in PCOMM-E terminology) are connected to a single destination, you need to configure only one session, then use the "Run the same" option under "File" in the menu bar of the PCOMM-E WorkStation Session window.

When PCOMM-E is installed during the OS/2 Warp 4 installation process, a Personal Communications folder is added to the OS/2 Warp 4 Programs folder. To configure a PCOMM-E workstation display session, open the Personal Communications folder (Figure 10) and do the following steps:

Figure 10. Personal Communications Folder

1. Double-click on the Start/Configure Session icon. When the Personal Communications welcoming message appears, click on OK. 2. In the Customize Communication window (Figure 11), select the host. The available options are S/390 (3270) or AS/400 (5250) Note: The only available attachment listed is the LAN adapter. Even though the adapter type in the configuration panel for Telnet3270 and Telnet5250 is LAN, the physical transport can be any adapter or port that is configured under TCP/IP.



Figure 11. Customize Communication Window

3. Select Telnet3270 or Telnet5250 as the type of attachment, based upon your host selection. (This example uses Telnet3270.) Then click mouse button 1 on the "Configure. . ." button. 4. The "Customize Communication - xxxx Host" (where xxxx = 3270 or 5250) window appears. (Figure 12 shows the 3270 window.) In this window, specify the Session Parameters (Screen Size, Session Type, and Host Code-Page). Then click on the "Configure Link. . ." button.



Figure 12. Customize Communication - 3270 Host

5. The Telnetxxxx (where xxxx = 3270 or 5250) window appears. (Figure 13 displays the Telnet3270 window.) In this window, enter the Host Name or IP Address. If you have a name server defined in your TCP/IP configuration that has the host name for the S/390 or AS/400, you can enter the host name (simple or fully qualified).



Figure 13. Telnet3270 Window

6. To specify Port Number, LU Name, or Auto-reconnect, select "Advanced. . ." to see the screen in Figure 14. In that screen, set the required values. The defaults are valid in most environments. Note: Don't confuse Auto-reconnect (in Figure 14) with the Autoconnect option in the Communication menu bar in a WorkStation Session window (discussed below). Auto-reconnect re-establishes a session after a logoff or temporary disruption. Autoconnect pertains only to the initial connection following session configuration.

The default Port Number is valid except when the port is being used by some other application or when the listening Port Number is different for the host to which you are trying to connect. The LU Name comes into play only when you are communicating through a TN3270E (extended) server.



Figure 14. Telnet3270 Advanced Window

7. Click on the OK buttons until the Customize Communication window disappears. Note: If you are reconfiguring an existing session (or configuring a second session, for example), a window appears asking if you are sure that you want to end the existing session and establish a new session using the new configuration. Click on Yes. Customization is now complete. The WorkStation Session window is in view and ready to be placed in session with the host.

If you previously selected Autoconnect from the Communication menu bar, an immediate attempt is made to establish a session with the host. If you have not selected Autoconnect, then select Communication from the menu bar of the WorkStation Session window. You see the Communication pulldown menu (Figure 15). In that menu, select Autoconnect to make the connection. (For the difference between Autoconnect and Auto-reconnect, see the note in step 6 above.)



Figure 15. Communication Pulldown Menu

If you require a second session to the same destination, do steps 8a and 8b to initiate the session. If you require a second session to a different destination, do steps 9a through 9f.

Second session to the same destination

8a. Select File from the menu bar of the WorkStation Session window. You see the File pulldown menu in Figure 16.



Figure 16. File Pulldown Menu

8b. Select "Run the Same" from the File menu. A second WorkStation Session window appears.

Second session to a different destination: 9a. Select File from the menu bar of the WorkStation Session window. You see the File pulldown menu shown in Figure 16. 9b. Select "Save As. . ." from the File pulldown menu. You see the "Save WorkStation Profile as" window (Figure 17). Enter the file name and a description of the profile to be used as the icon name. (If you do not furnish a description, the file name is used as the icon name.) For the sake of simplicity, assume that all files are stored in the default drive and directory, so it is not necessary to enter information into the other fields in this screen. Click on OK.



Figure 17. "Save WorkStation Profile as" Window 9c. You are asked whether you want to add an icon for this workstation session to the desktop. Click on Yes. 9d. When the PCSWS024 informational message appears, click on OK. You are back at the WorkStation Session window (Figure 1). 9e. From the menu bar of the WorkStation Session window, select Communication. In the Communication pulldown menu, select "Configure. . . ." You see the Customize Communication window (Figure 11). 9f. Repeat steps 2 through 7 with the configuration information for the second session. Advanced configuration can be done by editing the PCOMM-E configuration file (*.WS). By manually editing the file, you can specify the type of terminal emulation and associated functions. Refer to the online help provided with the product for further explanation of the advanced configuration options.

Limitations
Even with the wealth of features discussed in this article, PCOMM-E contains only a portion of the features available in the full-function IBM Personal Communications products.

The limitations listed below are based on a comparison with the PCOMM full-function product. PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) is not intended to replace PCOMM, so you must decide whether PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) fulfills your needs for 3270 and/or 5250 LAN and WAN connectivity.

Note: Functions that are available in the full-function PCOMM product, but not in PCOMM-E, appear in gray in the PCOMM-E menus.

Limitations in PCOMM-E(TCP/IP) are: PCOMM-E's limitations, however, do provide a benefit: Storage requirements are reduced, because the connection is TCP/IP only, with limited advanced usability features.
 * All connections are through the TCP/IP socket interface
 * No externalized API support
 * Command line file transfer interface only
 * No graphics support
 * Font set is limited to the IBM3270 set
 * Keyboard mapping is static
 * No hotspot support
 * No popup keypad support
 * Menu bar is not customizable
 * No iconic tool bar
 * No support for advanced edit functions ("copy append" and "paste next")
 * No AS/400 PC Support/Client Access features (data transfer and shared folders)

Authors
Collins is an advisory marketing support representative in PC Server pre-sales support within the IBM Personal Systems Competency Center, Roanoke, Texas. She provides technical and marketing assistance for IBM PC Servers and supported network operating systems. Fran previously developed IBM redbooks and workshops on IBM enterprise workstation software.

Kerl is a consulting marketing support representative in the IBM AS/400 Competency Center in Roanoke, Texas. His responsibilities include client/server application development and data warehouse planning, design, and implementation for the IBM AS/400. During his 28 years with IBM, James has provided technical assistance to customers who developed communication applications for AS/400 and System/3x systems, 3270 workstations and controllers, and host communication configurations.