Configuring the Mainframe-to-Router Link

This chapter provides detailed instructions on setting up the link between the mainframe host and a router, which is stage one of the ISM installation process. In this chapter you will find the following information:

Coordinating the ISM Installation

This chapter contains information for both the network engineer and the MVS systems programmer to properly configure the network devices for use with ISM. It describes how the router configuration correlates to the VTAM PU definition on the mainframe.

To ensure successful configuration of the mainframe-to-router link, the network engineer should coordinate setup of the router configuration with the MVS systems programmer responsible for configuring the router's VTAM connection on the mainframe.

For the Network Engineer

This section describes installation information that is relevant for the network engineer.

If you have already configured SNA service point support on your routers for NSP Release 2.0, then you do not need to perform any additional configuration on the router.
If you are installing ISM at your site for the first time, be sure that you have read the chapter, "Preparing to Install ISM", before you continue with this chapter to configure SNA service point support on the router.

For the MVS Systems Programmer

This section describes installation information that is relevant to the MVS systems programmer.

If you have NSP Release 2.0 installed, then you only need to define a PU in VTAM if you are adding new routers to the network. If you do not need to add any new routers to your network, skip this chapter and read the "Installing ISM" chapter.
If you are installing ISM for the first time, then you need to configure VTAM to define a PU for each of the routers that you will be managing from ISM. This step can be performed before you install ISM to verify that the proper mainframe connections to the router are established.

: Be sure that you have read the chapter "Preparing to Install ISM" before you configure a VTAM connection.

Configuring a VTAM Connection

Before you can use ISM to view and manage a Cisco router from your SOLVE:Netmaster console, the router must be connected to the VTAM host through a systems services control point-to-physical unit (SSCP-to-PU) session. This connection is established by defining a PU for each router in the VTAM configuration file.

To define a PU, add the following lines to the VTAM configuration file for each router, and specify the values for the SERVICE_POINT_NAME, idblock number, and id number arguments for each router. These arguments need to correspond with the values that are specified in the configuration of the router.

Note Dynamic PU allocation is not supported by ISM.

Example

SWDRTRS VBUILD TYPE=SWNET			x
SERVICE_POINT_NAME	PU	ADDR=01, PUTYPE=2, IDBLK=idblock number, IDNUM=id number, DISCNT=(NO), ISTATUS=ACTIVE, MAXDATA=521, IRETRY=YES, MAXOUT=7, PASSLIM=5, MAXPATH=4	x x x x x x x x

The following example shows a sample PU definition in VTAM:

Table 2-1 defines each of the VTAM arguments. For information about how these arguments correspond to the router configuration, see the "Correlating the Router and VTAM Configuration Information" section.

Note The PU type, ID block, and ID number arguments are the most important arguments in the sample VTAM definition. The other arguments are provided as an example, but are not required.

Table 2-1:

Argument Description

SERVICE_POINT_NAME

Service point name of the router (1 to 8 characters).

idblock number

Identification number that is sent to the host when a connection is being established. The idblock number corresponds to the first 3 hexadecimal digits of the router exchange identification (XID) number. It is recommended that you specify 05D for routers.

id number

Unique number that identifies the router. The id number corresponds to the last 5 hexadecimal digits of the router's XID number.

VTAM Configuration File Argument Definitions

Configuring the Router

In addition to configuring a VTAM connection for each router, you also need to configure the router to support communication with ISM. To ensure that the router is properly configured, perform the following tasks to prepare each router that you want to manage using ISM:

To specify the name of your router, use the following command in global configuration mode:

hostname name

For more information about using this command, see the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Configuration Guide.

Enable Password

The enable password command controls access to various privilege levels on the router. When enable password is set up in the configuration file of the router, ISM recognizes this level of security and prompts the user to specify the password to execute any enable-mode commands from ISM.

Note ISM also supports Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus (TACACS+) security in the router. Your router configuration may vary if TACACS+ is implemented.

To specify the privilege level and password for enable mode on the router, use the following command:

enable password [level level]{password | encryption-type encrypted-password}

For more information about using this command, see the Cisco IOS Security Command Reference.

Configuring SNA Service Point Support

To configure SNA service point support on the router, you need to add Cisco IOS software sna host commands to the configuration file of your router. The specific commands that you add depend upon the type of connection that you wish to establish. For detailed information on configuring SNA service point support and the Cisco IOS software command for your interface type, see the Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Configuration Guide and Command Reference publications.

The following procedure shows the basic steps to define SNA service point support for Ethernet and Token Ring connections. Again, the actual commands that you use will depend upon the type of connection that you wish to establish. If you want to view some specific configuration examples, see the "Router Configuration Samples" section.

Step 1 Define a link to an SNA host in global configuration mode using the sna host command.

The following example shows the syntax of the sna host command for Token Ring, Ethernet, FDDI, RSRB, or virtual data-link control (VDLC) connections:

sna host host-name xid-snd xid rmac remote-mac rsap remote-sap lsap local-sap focalpoint

Note Be sure to specify the focalpoint argument when you define the SNA link. Accept only the default values for the other options (such as retries) in the sna host command. If you specify any other values for these options the router connection to ISM may not work properly. The focalpoint argument in the router configuration file is not related to ISM's Focal Point application.

Step 2 Enable the local service access point (SAP) on the interface when you are in interface configuration mode, using the command syntax:

sna enable-host lsap lsap-address

Step 3 Start an outgoing connection when you are in interface configuration mode, using the command syntax:

sna start host-name

For more information about these commands and their options, see the Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Command Reference.

Router Configuration Samples

This section provides five samples of the SNA Service Point configuration in a router configuration file. The following samples are provided:

Configuration Through a Local Ring to an IBM 3745 Token Ring Interface Connector

The following is an example of the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router with an interface configured through a local ring to 3745 Token Ring Interface Connector:

!
sna host CWBC02 xid-snd 05dcc002 rmac 4001.3745.1088 rsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint !
interface TokenRing0/1
	ip address 172.18.9.129 255.255.255.240
	ring-speed 16
	sna enable-host lsap 4
	sna start CWBC02
!

Configuration for a DSPU with RSRB on a CMCC

The following example shows the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router that contains a Cisco mainframe channel connection with an interface configured for RSRB:

!
dspu rsrb 325 1 900 4000.7000.0001
dspu rsrb enable-host lsap 4
!
dspu host CWBC01 xid-snd 05dcc001 rmac 4000.3333.4444 rsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint 
!
dspu rsrb start CWBC01
!
interface Channel4/1
	no ip address
	no keepalive
	csna C010 C0
!
interface Channel4/2
	ip address 172.18.9.145 255.255.255.240
	no keepalive
	lan TokenRing 0
	source-bridge 28 1 900
	adapter 4 4000.3333.4444

Configuration for DSPU with RSRB

The following example shows the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router with an interface configured for DSPU with RSRB:

source-bridge ring-group 600
source-bridge remote-peer 600 tcp 172.18.9.19
!
dspu host CWBC09 xid-snd 05dcc009 rmac 4001.3745.1089 rsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint dspu pool lupool host CWBC09 lu 2 16
!
dspu pu DSPUPC8 xid-rcv 05dcca18
dspu lu 2 9 pool lupool
!
interface TokenRing0
	ip address 172.18.9.19 255.255.255.240
	ring-speed 16
	multiring all
	source-bridge 85 3 600
	dspu enable-host lsap 4
	dspu start CWBC09

Configuration for RSRB with a Loopback

The following example shows the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router with RSRB and an interface configured with loopback:

!
source-bridge ring-group 600
source-bridge remote-peer 600 tcp	172.18.10.97
source-bridge remote-peer 600 tcp	172.18.10.98
!
sna rsrb 1011 3 600 4000.ffff.00cb
sna rsrb enable-host lsap 4
!
sna host CWBC0B xid-snd 05dcc00b rmac 4001.3745.1089 rsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint sna rsrb start CWBC0B
!
interface Loopback0
	ip address 172.18.10.97 255.255.255.252
!

Configuration for DLSw+ Using Virtual Data-Link Control

The following is an example of the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router that uses virtual data-link control over DLSw+:

source-bridge ring-group 99
dlsw local-peer peer-id 150.10.16.2
dlsw remote-peer 0 tcp 150.10.16.1
!
sna vdlc 99 4000.4500.01f0
sna vdlc enable-host lsap 12
!
sna host HOST-B xid-snd 065bbbb0 rmac 4000.7000.01f1 rsap 4 lsap 12 focalpoint
!
sna vdlc start HOST-B
!
interface serial 3
	description IP connection to dspu7k
	ip address 150.10.16.2 255.255.255.0
	clockrate 4000000
!

Correlating the Router and VTAM Configuration Information

The router's service point name and the XID number must correspond in both the router and VTAM configurations to successfully establish a link between the router and the SNA host. It is important that the network engineer and the MVS systems programmer communicate for proper setup of these two configurations.

The following example shows the format of a Cisco IOS software sna host command that you use to configure the router for SNA Service Point support:

sna host host_name xid-snd xid rmac remote_mac [rsap rsap_addr] [lsap local_sap] [focalpoint]

The values for the host_name and xid in the router configuration correspond to the VTAM PU definition in the following way:

The SERVICE_POINT_NAME argument that is shown in the VTAM PU definition is the name of the router that is configured in the router hostname command and in the host_name argument of the sna host command.
The idblock number and id number arguments that are shown in the VTAM PU definition are components of the router XID number that you specify as the value for xid in the xid-snd argument of the sna host command.

: For example, if the router XID is 05D00001, then you specify an idblock number of 05D and an id number of 00001 in the VTAM PU definition. You specify a value of 05D00001 in the xid-snd argument of the sna host command.

Example

The following example shows a VTAM configuration file that has been configured for a connection to a router with the hostname GLENDUSK and XID of 05DBB000:

SWDRTRS VBUILD TYPE=SWNET			x
GLENDUSK	PU	ADDR=01, PUTYPE=2, IDBLK=05D, IDNUM=BB000, DISCNT=(NO), ISTATUS=ACTIVE, MAXDATA=521, IRETRY=YES, MAXOUT=7, PASSLIM=5, MAXPATH=4	x x x x x x x x x

The sna host command in the router configuration for the router should appear:

sna host glendusk xid-snd 05dbb000 rmac 4001.3745.1088 rsap= 4001.3745.1088 fsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint

For more information about the sna host command, see the Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Command Reference.

Verifying the Router's Mainframe Connection

Once you have configured a VTAM connection for each router and verified that the configuration and SNA service point support have been properly defined for each router, you can test the router's configuration from SOLVE:Netmaster and VTAM. This is the first level of installation verification for ISM.

If the verification procedures indicate a problem with the link, see the "Troubleshooting" chapter to diagnose the source of the error.

Verifying the Router Connection from SOLVE:Netmaster

Use the following procedure to verify that the network devices are configured properly and that the router can attach to the network.

Step 1 From Operator Console Services (OCS), issue the following command for each router, where router_name is the hostname and service point name of the router that you are verifying:

D router_name

If properly configured and connected, the router status will display with an active (ACTIV) status. If the router does not display an active status, it is not successfully configured and attached to the network or the service point is not defined correctly in the configuration file of the router. See the "Troubleshooting" chapter to further diagnose the problem.

Step 2 Repeat Step 1 for each router that you plan to monitor using ISM.

Verifying Communication Between ISM and Routers

The NEWS facility in SOLVE:Netmaster has a Service Point Support facility which supports communication between ISM and routers. To verify that a router can communicate with your SOLVE region, complete the following steps:

Step 1 On the SOLVE : Primary Menu, type N.S.8 in the Select Option field.

The NEWS : Service Point Support panel (Figure 2-1) is displayed.

Figure 2-1: NEWS : Service Point Support Panel

Step 2 On the NEWS : Service Point Support panel, type 1 in the Select Option field.

Step 3 Type the node name of a router in the Node Name field.

Step 4 Type CONSOLE in the Appl Name field.

Step 5 Type show version in first line of the Text field and press Enter.

If the router is properly configured and connected, then the NEWS : Execute Command Response Display panel (Figure 2-2) is displayed, in response to the show version command.

If the router is not successfully configured and attached to the network or the service point is not defined correctly in the configuration file of the router, then an error message is displayed on the NEWS : Service Point Support panel. Press F1 to view help for the error message to further diagnose the problem.

Step 6 Repeat Steps 1 through 5 for each router that you plan to monitor using ISM.

Figure 2-2: NEWS : Execute Command Response Display Panel

Verifying the Router Connection from VTAM

You can also verify that the router is communicating with the mainframe from VTAM using the following procedure:

Step 1 From the MVS console, issue the following command for each router name, where router_name is the hostname and service point name of the router that you are verifying:

D NET,ID=router_name,E

Step 2 Repeat Step 1 for each router that you plan to monitor using ISM.

See the "Troubleshooting" chapter for further information about the response to this command.

Argument	Description
SERVICE_POINT_NAME	Service point name of the router (1 to 8 characters).
idblock number	Identification number that is sent to the host when a connection is being established. The idblock number corresponds to the first 3 hexadecimal digits of the router exchange identification (XID) number. It is recommended that you specify 05D for routers.
id number	Unique number that identifies the router. The id number corresponds to the last 5 hexadecimal digits of the router's XID number.

Table of Contents

Configuring the Mainframe-to-Router Link

Router Name

Enable Password

Example