Snipix Technologies

A quick guide to installing SNIPIX

This document briefly describes the main steps required to install SNIPIX on your Unix system, and outlines the steps required to communicate with an OS/390 (MVS/ESA) or AS/400 system.

These instructions assume that you already have TCP/IP installed and configured on your Unix, OS/390, and AS/400 systems, that you have already installed APPC/MVS on your OS/390 system, but that you have not used AnyNet/MVS or AnyNet/400 before.

Contents of this page

Before you begin

You need to find out these things:

  1. Your company's SNA network identifier (netid)
  2. Your company's TCP/IP domain suffix
  3. For MVS or OS/390, the LU name of APPC/MVS
  4. For AS/400, the LU name of the AS/400
  5. The hostname of your Unix system
  6. The IP addresses of your OS/390, AS/400, and Unix systems.

On OS/390

Enter these commands at an MVS console to find out your netid, and the local LU name (LLUN) of APPC/MVS:

D NET,VTAMOPTS,OPTION=NETID
D APPC,LU,LIST

Enter these TSO commands to find out the IP address of your OS/390 system, and your TCP/IP domain suffix:

NETSTAT HOME
NSLOOKUP LOCALHOST

On AS/400

Enter the DSPNETA command. The Local network ID is your netid, and the Default local location is the LU name of your AS/400.

Enter the CFGTCP command and take option 1. Work with TCP/IP interfaces. Under the heading internet address (ignore the loopback address 127.0.0.1) you should find the IP address of your AS/400.

Now press F12 and take option 12. Change local domain and host names. The Local domain name shows your TCP/IP domain suffix. Press F12 again to return to the command prompt.

On Linux

Use these commands to find out the host name and IP address of your Linux system:

hostname
ifconfig

When reading the output from the ifconfig command, ignore the loopback address (inet addr:127.0.0.1) and look at the eth0 or tr0 address (inet addr:n.n.n.n) to obtain the IP address of your Linux system.

On Solaris

Use these commands to find out the host name and IP address of your Solaris system:

hostname
/usr/sbin/ifconfig -a

When reading the output from the ifconfig command, ignore the loopback address (inet 127.0.0.1) and look at the le0 or tr0 address (inet n.n.n.n) to obtain the IP address of your Solaris system.

On SCO OpenServer

Use these commands to find out the host name and IP address of your SCO OpenServer system:

uname -n
/etc/ifconfig -a

When reading the output from the ifconfig command, ignore the loopback address (inet 127.0.0.1) and look at the e3B0 or net0 address (inet n.n.n.n) to obtain the IP address of your SCO OpenServer system.

Establish SNA to IP address mapping

Each LU used by SNA/IP must have an entry in your nameserver's DNS database. The host name for an SNA LU must be formed as follows:

luname.netid.domainsuffix

As an example, let us assume that you have two Unix systems whose LU names are UNIX1 and UNIX2, an AS/400 system whose LU name is A400SYS1, and an OS/390 system running APPC/MVS, whose LU name is MVS1APPC. Assume also that your SNA netid is YYNET, and that your domain suffix is yourco.com.

You would then need to add these host names to the DNS database with the appropriate IP addresses:

unix1.yynet.yourco.com
unix2.yynet.yourco.com
a400sys1.yynet.yourco.com
mvs1appc.yynet.yourco.com

Install SNIPIX on Unix

This section of the guide contain instructions specific to the Linux, Solaris, and SCO OpenServer Unix platforms. Be sure to follow the instructions which relate to your particular platform.

Installing SNIPIX on Linux

  1. Download the file snipix-2.14b-lnx.tar.gz to the /root directory on your Linux system.

  2. While logged on as root, use these commands to unpack the file:

    cd /;tar xvzf /root/snipix-2.14b-lnx.tar.gz

  3. Use this command to set up the SNIPIX configuration file:

    cp /usr/local/snipix/samples/mptn.conf /etc

    Then edit /etc/mptn.conf and alter the BUILD statement: 

    MPTN     BUILD TYPE=MPTN,
               NETID=YYNET,
               DOMAIN=yourco.com,
               DFTUSER=userid

    Be sure to replace YYNET by your netid, replace yourco.com by your domain suffix, and replace userid by a valid username for your Linux system.

  4. Edit /etc/syslog.conf and add the following line:

    local6.* /var/adm/snipix.log

  5. Restart the syslog daemon by entering this command:

    kill -HUP `cat /var/run/syslogd.pid`

  6. Obtain a SNIPIX evaluation licence key from Snipix Technologies and install it by creating a new file /etc/mptn.keys containing the licence key.

Installing SNIPIX on Solaris
  1. Download the file snipix-2.14b-solpkg.tar.Z to your home directory on your Solaris system.

  2. Use these commands to unpack the file and copy the package to the /var/spool/pkg directory: 
    uncompress snipix-2.14b-solpkg.tar.Z
tar xvf snipix-2.14b-solpkg.tar
su
Password: (enter superuser password)
cp -r snipix.pkg/* /var/spool/pkg
  3. Use the pkgadd command to install the SNIPIX package into the /opt/snipix directory:

    pkgadd snipix

  4. Use these commands to add the symbolic links required for SNIPIX: 
    ln -s /opt/snipix/hmpmain /usr/bin/snipix
ln -s /opt/snipix/samples/aping /usr/bin/aping
ln -s /opt/snipix/samples/apingd /usr/bin/apingd
ln -s /opt/snipix/libsnip.so.2 /usr/lib/libsnip.so.2
ln -s /opt/snipix/libsnip.so /usr/lib/libsnip.so
  5. Use this command to set up the SNIPIX configuration file:

    cp /opt/snipix/samples/mptn.conf /etc

    Then edit /etc/mptn.conf and alter the BUILD statement: 

    MPTN     BUILD TYPE=MPTN,
               NETID=YYNET,
               DOMAIN=yourco.com,
               DFTUSER=userid

    Be sure to replace YYNET by your netid, replace yourco.com by your domain suffix, and replace userid by a valid username for your Solaris system.

  6. Edit /etc/syslog.conf and add the following line:

    local6.* /var/adm/snipix.log

  7. Restart the syslog daemon by entering this command:

    kill -HUP `cat /etc/syslog.pid`

  8. Obtain a SNIPIX evaluation licence key from Snipix Technologies and install it by creating a new file /etc/mptn.keys containing the licence key.

Installing SNIPIX on SCO OpenServer
  1. Download the file snipix-2.14b-sco.Z.tar to the /opt directory on your SCO OpenServer system.

  2. While logged on as root, use these commands to unpack the file:

    cd /;tar xvf /opt/snipix-2.14b-sco.Z.tar

  3. Use this command to set up the SNIPIX configuration file:

    cp /usr/local/snipix/samples/mptn.conf /etc

    Then edit /etc/mptn.conf and alter the BUILD statement: 

    MPTN     BUILD TYPE=MPTN,
               NETID=YYNET,
               DOMAIN=yourco.com,
               DFTUSER=userid

    Be sure to replace YYNET by your netid, replace yourco.com by your domain suffix, and replace userid by a valid username for your SCO OpenServer system.

  4. Create the SNIPIX log file by entering this command:

    touch /var/adm/snipix.log

  5. Edit /etc/syslog.conf and add the following line:

    local6.* /var/adm/snipix.log

  6. Restart the syslog daemon by entering this command:

    kill -HUP `cat /etc/syslog.pid`

  7. Obtain a SNIPIX evaluation licence key from Snipix Technologies and install it by creating a new file /etc/mptn.keys containing the licence key.

Configure AnyNet/MVS on OS/390

  1. Add a member named ANYNET to SYS1.VTAMLST: 
    ANYNET   VBUILD TYPE=TCP,                                              X
               DNSUFX=YOURCO.COM,                                      X
               TCPIPJOB=TCPIPMVS
ANYNETGP GROUP ISTATUS=ACTIVE
ANYNETLN LINE
ANYNETPU PU    NETID=YYNET

    Be sure to replace YOURCO.COM by your domain suffix, replace TCPIPMVS by the jobname of your TCP/IP address space, and replace YYNET by your SNA netid. Notice also the continuation marker which must appear in column 72 of the first two lines of this member.

    Then enter this command at an MVS console:

    V NET,ACT,ID=ANYNET

  2. Add a member named ANYCDRSC to SYS1.VTAMLST: 
    ANYCDRSC VBUILD  TYPE=CDRSC
         NETWORK NETID=YYNET
UNIX1    CDRSC   ALSLIST=ANYNETPU
UNIX2    CDRSC   ALSLIST=ANYNETPU

    Be sure to replace YYNET by your SNA netid, and replace UNIX1, UNIX2, etc. by the names of your Unix system(s).

    Then enter this command at an MVS console:

    V NET,ACT,ID=ANYCDRSC

Configure AnyNet/400 on OS/400

  1. Enter this command to set the SNA/IP domain suffix:

    CRTDTAARA DTAARA(QUSRSYS/QZPAIDOMAN) TYPE(*CHAR) VALUE(YOURCO.COM)

    Be sure to replace YOURCO.COM by your domain suffix.

    Note that users of OS/400 V3R1 must install PTFs MF08352 and SF21042 to enable the domain suffix to be set. If you do not have these PTFs installed, then the domain suffix is fixed at its default value, which is SNA.IBM.COM. If your OS/400 system is at V3R2 or higher then you do not need any PTFs for domain suffix support.

  2. Enter this command to activate AnyNet/400:

    CHGNETA ALWANYNET(*YES)

  3. Enter this command to create an APPC controller for AnyNet/400:

    CRTCTLAPPC CTLD(ANYNET) LINKTYPE(*ANYNW) TEXT('Controller for AnyNet/400')

  4. Enter this command once for each Unix system:

    ADDCFGLE TYPE(*APPNRMT) APPNRMTE((UNIX1 YYNET *NETATR ANYNET *NETATR))

    Be sure to replace UNIX1 by your Unix hostname, and replace YYNET by your SNA netid.

Configure APING

You can use the IBM-supplied APING and APINGD programs to test out the connection between SNIPIX and your OS/390 or AS/400 host systems. A Unix version of APING/D is supplied with SNIPIX and is already configured in the /etc/mptn.conf file supplied. APING/D is supplied by IBM with both OS/390 and AS/400, but it needs to be configured before use.

Configuring APING on OS/390

Refer to Chapter 3 of the IBM manual SC31-6533 APPC Application Suite: Administration in the section Configuring APING Clients and Servers.

You need to perform Task 3 - Add a TP Profile. This explains how to set up an APPC/MVS TP Profile for TPNAME APINGD which executes the program APPPINGD from the system dataset SYS1.SAPPMOD1.

You should also follow the procedure Installing APPC Application Suite Messages if you wish to run APING under TSO.

Configuring APING on AS/400

APING and APINGD are shipped with OS/400 as part of QUSRTOOL. Refer to Appendix B of the IBM manual SG24-2531 AS/400 AnyNet Scenarios for information about how to install APING on the AS/400.

Alternatively, you can obtain precompiled versions of APING and APINGD for the AS/400 from Snipix Technologies.

Run SNIPIX

You are now ready to start SNIPIX on your Unix system, and to test it by running APING.

  1. Enter this command at the Unix shell prompt to start SNIPIX:

    snipix -s

  2. Use this command to view the SNIPIX message log:

    tail -f /var/adm/snipix.log

    (press ctrl-C when you are ready to return to the shell prompt)

  3. Test that SNIPIX can connect to your host system by entering this command at the Unix shell prompt:

    aping netid.luname -u userid -p password

    Be sure to replace netid.luname by the netid and LU name of your AS/400 or APPC/MVS system (for example, yynet.a400sys1 or yynet.mvs1appc), and replace userid and password by a valid userid and password for your AS/400 or OS/390 host system.

    You should see a list of echo test timings from the APINGD program at the host system.

  4. Test that the AS/400 can connect to Unix by entering this command at an AS/400 command prompt:

    CALL APING YYNET.UNIX1

    Be sure to replace YYNET by your SNA netid, and replace UNIX1 by the name of your Unix system.

    You should see a list of echo test timings from the APINGD program at the Unix system.

  5. Test that OS/390 can connect to Unix by entering this command at an MVS console:

    D NET,APING,ID=YYNET.UNIX1

    Be sure to replace YYNET by your SNA netid, and replace UNIX1 by the name of your Unix system.

    You should see a list of echo test timings from the APINGD program at the Unix system.

  6. If you have access to Netview on the OS/390 system, you can remotely run any shell command on the Unix system by entering this command at an NCCF screen:

    RUNCMD SP=UNIX1,APPL=REMOTEOP,command

    Be sure to replace UNIX1 by the name of your Unix system. Replace command by whatever command you wish to run, for example cat /proc/cpuinfo.

    You should see the output from the Unix command displayed on your NCCF screen.

    Note: Netview support is currently available only on the Linux version of SNIPIX 2.14b. Netview support for Solaris and SCO OpenServer may be made available as a chargeable feature in a future release of SNIPIX.

  7. Display a list of active SNIPIX sessions by entering this command at the Unix shell prompt:

    snipix -d

  8. Shutdown SNIPIX by entering this command at the Unix shell prompt:

    snipix -z

Troubleshooting

If you get problems, the first place to look is /var/adm/snipix.log on the Unix system. All significant events such as SNIPIX startup and shutdown, session establishment, and errors messages are logged to this file. If you need more detail, turn on buffer tracing by entering the command snipix -tb. This will dump the contents of all SNA request units to the log file. You can also request an abbreviated trace showing just the SNA request/response headers by entering the command snipix -th.

Also look at the message logs on the partner system. For MVS, use TSO/SDSF to view the syslog (look for VTAM messages ISTnnnn) and the job log for the CICS region. For AS/400, use the DSPLOG command to view the system log.

A common error is VTAM sense code 80040000. This means that AnyNet/MVS cannot find the IP address for the Unix system. Check that you have added the correct DNS entries to the DNS database, and that the MVS system can access the DNS server. If you have trouble with the DNS server, an alternative solution is to add the appropriate hostnames and IP addresses to the TCPIP.HOSTS.LOCAL file and run the command MAKESITE HLQ=TCPIP from TSO/ISPF option 6.

If you still have problems, send an email to support @ snipix.freeserve.co.uk and we will do our best to help.

Useful references

The following IBM manuals contain useful information about CPI-C, APPC, SNA/IP, AnyNet, and APING:


Last updated 01 Jun 1999